Customers who are issued a Uniform Traffic Citation have the option to pay the citation, contest the citation or take a driver improvement course. Customers have 30 days to make this election with the clerk of court listed on the citation. Failure to elect within 30 days may result in additional fines along with a suspension of the driving privilege.
Option 1: Pay the Fine
If a customer elects to pay the citation, they can pay the civil penalty listed on the front of the citation to the Clerk of Court directly by visiting the clerk’s office in the county the violation occurred. Please visit the locations page at: https://www.flhsmv.gov/locations/ and click on the county where the violation occurred to locate the Clerk of Court’s contact information.
If you wish to save the trip and pay your traffic fine online for any of the sixty-seven counties please visit www.payflclerk.com to pay the traffic fine.
Payment of the civil penalty is considered a conviction and points will be assessed to the driver’s record, if applicable.
For certain violations, you will be required to show proof of compliance to the clerk of court in the form of a driver license or registration certificate, whichever is applicable, in addition to payment, if you were cited for:
- Driver license expired less than six months;
- Expired tag less than six months;
- Failure to display a valid driver license; or
- Failure to display a valid registration.
You are required to complete a driver improvement course in addition to the fine if you are convicted of:
- Passing a school bus;
- Racing;
- Reckless Driving;
- Running a red light; or
- Traffic Control Device.
Please note, accumulation of points may increase the cost of your insurance or lead to the suspension of license. A breakdown of points can be found on our Points & Suspensions page.
Option 2: Contest the Citation
Customers who receive a traffic citation must contact the Clerk of Court in the county where the violation occurred to contest the citation. Please visit the locations page at: https://www.flhsmv.gov/locations/ and click on the county where the violation occurred to locate the Clerk of Court’s contact information.
If you request a hearing and the County Judge/Magistrate/Hearing Officer determines that you have committed the offense, they may impose a penalty and/or require completion of a driver improvement course.
Option 3: Elect a Driver Improvement Course
Customers who receive a traffic citation may be eligible for an 18% reduction in citation fees and points may be withheld if they take a driver improvement course. After 30 days from the date of the citation, if a customer has not elected to take a driver improvement course, they are no longer eligible to elect.
A customer may only elect to take a driver improvement course five times within their lifetime.
Here is what you need to know about taking a Basic Driver Improvement Course after receiving a traffic citation:
- Contact the Clerk of Court. Within 30 days of receiving your traffic citation, you must contact the Clerk of the Court in the county where your citation was issued to elect to take a Basic Driver Improvement Course.
- Pay the citation. By electing to attend the Basic Driver Improvement Course, the traffic citation fine is reduced by 18%. In addition, each Clerk of the Court imposes appropriate court cost.
- Submit the certificate of completion. Upon completion of the Basic Driver Improvement Course, you must take the certificate of completion to the Clerk of Court where you made the election. Visit our locations page to find the nearest location.
Visit our Basic Driver Improvement page to view the list of FLHSMV-approved course providers.
You may check the status of your driver license at our Driver License Check page.
