Florida D-6 Clearance: Court Steps, Fees, and Reinstatement

A Florida D-6 clearance is the electronic notice a county clerk of court sends to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles confirming that you’ve resolved the traffic court obligation behind your license suspension. Until the FLHSMV receives that clearance from the clerk, your license stays suspended. Getting one means going back to the court that flagged you, satisfying whatever you missed, and then paying a separate reinstatement fee to the state.

Why You Have a D-6 Hold

Florida clerks of court start the D-6 process when you fail to follow through on a traffic citation. The three usual triggers are missing a court date, not paying fines or court costs, and not completing a court-ordered traffic school course on time.¹

After you miss a deadline, the clerk is required to mail or email you a notice giving you 30 more days to comply, plus a delinquency fee of up to $25. Only if you ignore that notice does the clerk transmit the suspension to the FLHSMV, which then mails its own order taking effect 20 days later.¹ If you catch the problem during that cure window, you can usually head off the suspension altogether.

Find Out Which Court Is Holding Your License

You can’t clear a D-6 without knowing which clerk’s office issued it. Pull together the case number, the county where you got the ticket, and the citation number. If you’ve lost the paperwork, most Florida clerks have an online case search where you can look up records by name or driver license number, and you can call the clerk’s office directly.

If you have holds in more than one county, you’ll have to clear each one separately through that county’s clerk. There is no single office that handles them all. The FLHSMV’s online driver license check portal lists every active hold on your record, which is the fastest way to see every county you need to contact.²

Satisfy What the Court Wants

What you do next depends on why you were flagged. If you owe money, pay the full fine plus late charges and the delinquency fee. If you missed traffic school, complete a state-approved course and submit the certificate to the clerk. If you missed a court date, call the clerk to find out whether you need to reschedule or whether paying the fine will close the case.³

If You Can’t Pay It All at Once

Florida law requires the FLHSMV suspension order to tell you that you can contact the clerk to set up a payment plan for fines, fees, and court costs.¹ Terms vary by county, but most clerks charge an administrative setup fee (commonly $25) and expect monthly payments until the balance is cleared. Miss a payment and you’ll pick up new late fees, so treat the schedule seriously.

Watch for Collection Surcharges

If your fines have already been sent to a collection agency, the bill grows. Florida law has allowed collection agencies to add a surcharge of up to 40% on top of the balance. A $300 ticket can turn into $420 or more. Settling directly with the clerk before the account reaches collections saves real money.

How the Clearance Gets to the FLHSMV

Once you’ve satisfied the court, the clerk generates the D-6 clearance and, in most counties, sends it to the FLHSMV electronically. Paper clearances are no longer accepted from dozens of counties, including Broward, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Pinellas.⁴ Ask the clerk how your county handles it before you leave the office.

Check whether the clearance has posted using the FLHSMV’s online driver license check. When the status reads “Court Requirements Met,” the clearance has been processed on the state’s side.² Your license is not automatically restored at that point. One more step remains.

Pay the Reinstatement Fee

After the court clears your record, the FLHSMV charges a reinstatement fee before your license goes active again. You have four ways to pay:³

Online through the FLHSMV portal at mydmvportal.flhsmv.gov, once the clerk has marked your suspension as “Requirements Met.”
By phone at 850-617-3000 with a credit card.
In person at any Florida driver license service center or, in some counties, a Tax Collector’s office that handles driver license services.
By mail: send a check or money order payable to the Division of Motorist Services, with your Florida driver record number, to the Bureau of Motorist Compliance, P.O. Box 5775, Tallahassee, FL 32314-5775. Allow at least 10 business days for processing.

Some clerks’ offices can process the reinstatement at the same time they take your court payment, which saves you a separate trip. Ask when you’re there.

What It All Costs

Clearing a D-6 involves paying two separate entities, and the total adds up fast if fines have been sitting:

Delinquency fee of up to $25 to the clerk for the late compliance notice.¹
A per-citation D-6 clearance processing fee to the clerk, with the amount set by the county.
The original fine plus any civil late charges that have accrued.
The reinstatement fee to the FLHSMV, listed on the agency’s fees page at flhsmv.gov/fees.⁵
A renewal fee if your license expired while suspended: $48 for a standard Class E license or $75 for a commercial driver license, plus a possible $6.25 service fee at Tax Collector offices.⁵

These are all separate charges. Paying the court fines does not eliminate the reinstatement fee, and the reinstatement fee does not cover the court fines. Budget for both before you start.

If You Need to Drive Before the Suspension Is Cleared

Florida offers two restricted licenses for drivers who can show hardship. A “business purposes only” license allows driving to and from work, for on-the-job tasks, and for educational, church, and medical needs. An “employment purposes only” license is narrower, limited to commuting and required work driving.⁶

To qualify, you have to show the suspension creates a serious hardship that keeps you from supporting yourself or your family. The FLHSMV may require proof you’ve completed an approved driver improvement course and can ask for letters of recommendation.⁶ Not every suspension qualifies, and DUI-related revocations carry their own waiting periods and conditions.

Don’t Drive on a Suspended License

This is where a traffic ticket turns into something much worse. Driving on a suspended license in Florida is a criminal offense when you knew about the suspension, and the penalties stack with each conviction:⁷

First knowing offense: second-degree misdemeanor, up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Second knowing offense: first-degree misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Third knowing offense: first-degree misdemeanor with a mandatory 10-day minimum in jail.
Third offense tied to DUI, fleeing, or a traffic fatality: third-degree felony, up to five years in prison.

Driving without knowing about the suspension is treated as a moving violation rather than a crime, but that is a difficult argument once the FLHSMV has mailed you a formal order. Check your status online before you drive if you have any doubt.

If You Hold a CDL

A D-6 suspension carries extra weight for commercial drivers. Driving a commercial motor vehicle while suspended is a first-degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a third-degree felony on a second offense under Florida law.⁷ Federal rules add that a first conviction for operating a commercial vehicle while your CDL is suspended or revoked brings a one-year disqualification from all commercial driving, and a second conviction is a lifetime disqualification.⁸ If your living depends on a CDL, clearing a D-6 should be your first call Monday morning.

One Note If a DUI Is Involved

Most D-6 suspensions trace back to unpaid fines or missed court dates and don’t involve special insurance filings. If the underlying offense was a DUI conviction, though, Florida requires an FR-44 certificate before reinstatement. An FR-44 proves you carry liability coverage well above the state minimum: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per crash for bodily injury, plus $50,000 for property damage.⁹ You must keep that coverage in force for three years from reinstatement. If the policy lapses, your insurer notifies the FLHSMV and your license is suspended again.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXIII – 322.245 Suspension of License Upon Failure of Person Charged With Offense to Comply With Directives of Court
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Driver License Check
3
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Traffic Citations or Court Suspensions
4
Manatee County Tax Collector. Florida Traffic Citation Suspension (D6)
5
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
6
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 322 Section 271 – Authority of Department to Reinstate
7
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 322.34 – Driving While License Suspended, Revoked, Canceled, or Disqualified
8
eCFR. 49 CFR Part 383 Subpart D – Driver Disqualifications and Penalties
9
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 324.023 – Financial Responsibility for Bodily Injury or Death