Florida Statute 316.305: Texting Ban, Fines, and School Zones

The Florida texting while driving law, codified at Florida Statute 316.305, makes it illegal to manually type or read on a wireless device while your vehicle is moving. A first offense is a $30 nonmoving violation with no points. A second violation within five years is a $60 moving violation that adds three points to your license. A separate statute, 316.306, goes further in school zones and active work zones by banning all handheld device use, even voice calls.

What Counts as Texting While Driving

The prohibition targets a specific action: manually typing letters, numbers, or symbols into a wireless device, or sending and reading data on that device for nonvoice communication. That covers texting, emailing, instant messaging, and any similar screen-based activity while you drive.¹

The statute defines a “wireless communications device” broadly as any handheld device designed to receive or transmit text-based messages, store data, or connect to the internet in a way that allows text communication.¹ Your phone is the obvious target, but a tablet or other wireless handheld can fit the definition too.

There is one wrinkle most drivers do not realize. The statute says a stationary vehicle is not being “operated,” so if you are stopped at a red light, checking your phone does not violate 316.305.¹ The moment the vehicle starts moving again, the ban applies.

When You Can Still Use Your Phone

Several uses are carved out of the texting ban. You are permitted to use a device while driving to:

Navigate using GPS, traffic updates, or a navigation system.
Report an emergency, crime, or suspicious activity to law enforcement.
Receive weather warnings, traffic alerts, or other safety-related information.
Use voice-operated or hands-free messaging that does not require you to manually type characters or read text on the screen.
Operate an autonomous vehicle with the automated driving system engaged.

Emergency vehicle operators, law enforcement officers, firefighters, and EMS professionals performing official duties are also exempt.¹

The hands-free exception is the one that affects most daily driving. Tapping a single button to start or end a call, triggering a voice command, or activating a feature is fine. Scrolling through messages, typing a reply, or reading a thread is not. The line is sustained manual interaction with the device.

School Zones and Work Zones Have Stricter Rules

Florida Statute 316.306 goes beyond texting in school crossings, school zones, and active work zones. In these areas, you cannot use a wireless device in a handheld manner at all. Holding your phone to make a call, scrolling, or any hand interaction with the device while driving through the zone is a violation.²

The work zone rule only applies when construction personnel are actually present or operating equipment on or immediately adjacent to the road. An empty work zone with cones but no workers does not trigger the handheld ban. School zone restrictions follow the posted signage and times.

The same exceptions as 316.305 carry over: first responders on duty, emergency reporting, hands-free navigation, voice-operated Bluetooth calls, and safety alerts remain permitted. The key difference is that voice calls must be fully hands-free. Even holding the phone to your ear to take a call violates 316.306 in these zones.²

The handheld ban became enforceable on January 1, 2020, about six months after the broader texting ban took effect on July 1, 2019.³

Fines, Points, and Insurance Impact

The penalty depends on whether it is your first or repeat offense and where the stop happened.

Regular Roads Under 316.305

A first offense is a nonmoving traffic infraction. The base fine is $30, though court costs and local fees typically push the total higher, often into the $100 range depending on the county.⁴ No points are added for a first offense.¹

A second or subsequent violation within five years is a moving violation with a $60 base fine plus court costs. Three points are assessed against your license, and the moving-violation classification can push up your insurance rates.⁴

School and Work Zones Under 316.306

A handheld violation in a school zone or active work zone is automatically a moving violation carrying three points on your license, even for a first offense.²

First-time 316.306 offenders have a path to leniency. You can elect to complete a wireless device driving safety program approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and finishing the program can waive the fine and points. Alternatively, a first-time offender who shows the clerk of court proof of purchasing hands-free equipment, such as a Bluetooth device, may have the case dismissed with only court costs owed.²

Points accumulate across all your moving violations. Twelve points in twelve months brings a suspension of up to 30 days; 18 points in 18 months, up to three months; 24 points in 36 months, up to a year.⁵ A single texting conviction stacked onto an existing speeding ticket can be enough to cross a threshold. Traffic fines are not tax-deductible under federal law.⁶

How a Traffic Stop Works

Texting while driving is a primary offense. An officer can pull you over for that alone, with no need to observe speeding, drifting, or any other violation first.¹ The same primary-offense authority applies to handheld use in school and work zones under 316.306.² Before 2019, texting while driving was only a secondary offense, meaning officers needed another reason to stop you.

A citation does not give the officer access to your phone. The statute requires the officer to tell you that you have the right to decline a search of the device. The officer cannot access the contents without a warrant and cannot confiscate the phone while waiting for one.¹ These protections track the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Riley v. California, which held that police generally need a warrant to search the digital contents of a phone.⁷

Commercial Drivers Face Stricter Federal Rules

If you drive a commercial motor vehicle, Florida’s texting law is only one layer. Federal rules from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration prohibit handheld mobile phone use for CMV drivers altogether, including voice calls. To make a call you have to use a hands-free device within arm’s reach, and pressing more than a single button to dial or answer counts as a violation.⁸

The federal definition of “driving” is also tougher. Under FMCSA rules, you are still driving when temporarily stopped in traffic or at a light. The exemption only kicks in once you have pulled completely off the road to a safe location. A CMV driver who texts at a red light violates federal rules even though it would not violate Florida Statute 316.305.⁸

Penalties run much higher: drivers face civil penalties up to $2,750 per violation and can be disqualified from operating a commercial vehicle after multiple offenses. Employers who require or allow drivers to use handheld devices face fines up to $11,000.⁹

If a Crash Is Involved

A texting violation that causes a crash exposes you to civil liability well beyond the ticket. Under the doctrine of negligence per se, violating a safety statute like 316.305 can serve as proof that you breached your duty of care to other drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. The injured person still has to prove your texting caused their specific injuries, but the statutory violation removes the separate argument over whether your behavior was careless.

The financial exposure jumps by orders of magnitude. A $30 or $60 fine is minor compared to a personal injury lawsuit where the at-fault driver was demonstrably breaking the law at the moment of impact. Phone records showing active texting at the time of the collision are powerful evidence, and the explicit statutory prohibition makes the negligence argument harder to defend. If another driver was texting when they hit you, the 316.305 violation strengthens your injury claim considerably.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.305 – Wireless Communications Devices; Prohibition
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 316.306 – School and Work Zones; Prohibition on the Use of a Wireless Communications Device in a Handheld Manner
3
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Put It Down: Focus On The Road
4
Miami Springs FL. Florida Law Makes Texting While Driving a Primary Offense
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke License
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 162 – Trade or Business Expenses
7
Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Riley v. California
8
eCFR. 49 CFR 392.82 – Using a Hand-Held Mobile Telephone
9
FMCSA. Distracted Driving