Florida Statute 318, formally the Florida Uniform Disposition of Traffic Infractions Act, governs how every non-criminal traffic ticket in the state is handled. If you were cited under it, you have 30 days from the date on the ticket to do one of three things: pay the fine, elect traffic school, or plead not guilty and request a hearing. Each path has a different price tag and a different effect on your license, and doing nothing is the most expensive choice of all.
What Chapter 318 Covers
Chapter 318 applies to civil traffic infractions, which Florida defines as noncriminal violations that cannot result in jail time and do not come with a right to a jury trial or a court-appointed attorney.1Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Chapter 318 That’s most everyday tickets: speeding, running a red light, failing to yield, improper lane changes, and non-moving violations like expired registration.
Several serious traffic offenses are carved out of Chapter 318 and handled as crimes instead. DUI, reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, leaving the scene of a crash, and making false crash reports all go through the criminal court system, not the civil traffic process described here.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.17 – Offenses Excepted
The 30-Day Deadline and Your Three Choices
You have 30 calendar days from the citation date to respond through the clerk of court in the county where the ticket was issued. Your options under Section 318.14 are:3Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.14 – Noncriminal Traffic Infractions; Exception; Procedures
- Pay the fine, which admits the violation and puts points and a conviction on your record.
- Elect traffic school, which reduces the fine, withholds adjudication, and keeps points off your record.
- Plead not guilty and ask for a hearing, where you can win a dismissal or lose and pay more.
Ignoring the ticket is the fourth path, and it triggers an automatic license-suspension process that costs far more than any of the three legitimate choices.
Paying the Fine
Paying the fine is the quickest resolution. You can pay by mail, in person at the clerk’s office, or online in most counties. Payment waives your right to a hearing and counts as an admission that you committed the violation. The admission cannot be used against you as evidence in a related civil lawsuit, but the conviction and any associated points do appear on your driving history.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.14 – Noncriminal Traffic Infractions; Exception; Procedures
One thing to watch: the amount printed on the citation may not be the amount you actually owe. Counties can add local surcharges by ordinance that aren’t reflected on the officer’s printout. Confirm the total with the clerk before you send payment.
Electing Traffic School
Traffic school is the most popular election for drivers who want their record to stay clean. When you elect it, the court withholds adjudication, no points are assessed, and no conviction is reported. You still pay a fine, but the base civil penalty is reduced by 9 percent, with an administrative fee added on top.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.14 – Noncriminal Traffic Infractions; Exception; Procedures
To elect, notify the clerk of court in writing within 30 days of the citation, sign an affidavit, and pay the required amount. You then have between 60 and 90 days from the citation date to complete a state-approved Basic Driver Improvement course and file the certificate with the clerk. The exact deadline depends on the county.4Florida DHSMV. Driver Improvement Courses FAQ Miss it and you forfeit the fine payment, get the points, and face a suspension order.
Eligibility Limits
You can only elect traffic school once in any 12-month period, with a lifetime cap of five elections.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.14 – Noncriminal Traffic Infractions; Exception; Procedures Once those are gone, your only remaining choices are paying with points or contesting the ticket.
Violations That Don’t Qualify
Traffic school is off the table for speeding 30 mph or more over the limit, violations that require a mandatory court appearance, and certain registration or licensing offenses.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.14 – Noncriminal Traffic Infractions; Exception; Procedures Commercial license holders are excluded regardless of the violation, covered in a separate section below.
Contesting the Citation
To fight the ticket, notify the clerk within the 30-day window that you plead not guilty. The clerk schedules a hearing before a county judge or traffic hearing officer. The citing officer presents evidence, and you get to challenge it, cross-examine, and put on your own defense.
Win, and the ticket is dismissed. Lose, and you generally end up paying more than the original fine would have cost. A judge can impose a higher civil penalty, assess the full points, add mandatory court costs, and order you into a driver improvement course.
You can appeal a guilty finding to circuit court, but the appeal is limited to the record of the original hearing. No new evidence, no new witnesses.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.33 – Appeals You are responsible for producing that record, which usually means arranging a court reporter or approved recording device at your own expense before the hearing begins.6Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Administrative Order 2001-19.6 – Procedural Requirements for Pro Se Civil Infraction Traffic Court Appeals With no record, the appeal is dismissed.
Fine Amounts
Section 318.18 sets the base civil penalties. County surcharges and court costs are added on top, so your actual out-of-pocket will be higher than these numbers.
- Pedestrian violations: $15
- Non-moving violations, such as expired tags: $30
- Standard moving violations not involving speed: $60
Speeding fines scale with how far over the limit you were driving:7Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.18 – Amount of Penalties
- 1 to 5 mph over: warning, no fine
- 6 to 9 mph over: $25
- 10 to 14 mph over: $100
- 15 to 19 mph over: $150
- 20 to 29 mph over: $175
- 30 mph or more over: $250
School and Construction Zone Multipliers
Speeding fines double in a school zone or designated school crossing, and even 1 to 5 mph over in a school zone carries a flat $50 fine instead of a warning. Construction zone fines are also doubled, but only when workers are actually present or operating equipment on or immediately next to the road.8Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 318.18 – Amount of Penalties Signage alone doesn’t trigger the doubling.
Points and When They Suspend Your License
Under Section 322.27, each moving violation conviction adds points to your driving record:9Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke License
- 3 points: speeding up to 15 mph over, and most other moving violations
- 4 points: speeding more than 15 mph over, running a red light, reckless driving, passing a stopped school bus without causing serious injury
- 6 points: leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, speeding or texting that causes a crash, passing a stopped school bus causing serious injury or death
An additional 2 points are added for any moving violation committed while using a wireless device in a school safety zone.9Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke License
Cross one of the DHSMV’s rolling point thresholds and a suspension is mandatory:
- 12 points in 12 months: suspension of up to 30 days
- 18 points in 18 months: suspension of up to 3 months
- 24 points in 36 months: suspension of up to 1 year
This is why the traffic school option is so valuable. Two moderate tickets close together can put you within striking distance of a suspension, and every ticket you resolve without points buys back margin.
What Happens If You Miss the 30-Day Deadline
If you don’t pay, elect school, or request a hearing within 30 days, the clerk notifies the DHSMV within 10 days. The department then issues an order suspending your driver’s license and driving privilege, effective 20 days after the suspension notice is mailed.10Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 318.15 – Failure to Comply with Civil Penalty; Failure to Appear
To get your license back, you pay the original fine plus any late fees, then a $60 non-refundable reinstatement fee at a driver’s license office or through the clerk.10Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 318.15 – Failure to Comply with Civil Penalty; Failure to Appear The suspension itself stays on your DHSMV record for seven years after reinstatement. Get pulled over while suspended, and the civil ticket you ignored has now escalated into a potential criminal charge.
There is one narrow safety valve. You can still request a hearing within 180 days of the original violation date, even after suspension. But your license stays suspended until you clear the outstanding obligations.
Violations That Require a Mandatory Hearing
Some infractions are serious enough that Florida forbids paying them off or electing school. Section 318.19 requires a hearing for:11Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 318.19 – Infractions Requiring a Mandatory Hearing
- Infractions causing a fatal crash
- Infractions causing serious bodily injury
- Speeding 30 mph or more over the posted limit
- Passing a stopped school bus under certain provisions of 316.172
- Certain load-securement violations under 316.520
For these citations, appearing before the court is not optional.
Rules for Commercial Driver’s License Holders
If you hold a commercial driver’s license or a commercial learner’s permit, traffic school is unavailable, even when the ticket was written while you were driving your personal vehicle.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 318.14 – Noncriminal Traffic Infractions; Exception; Procedures Federal regulation 49 CFR 384.226 prohibits states from masking, deferring, or diverting a traffic conviction off a CDL holder’s record.12eCFR. 49 CFR 384.226 – Prohibition on Masking Convictions
The practical effect is that CDL holders can only pay with points or contest the ticket. Because accumulated points threaten your livelihood, fighting borderline citations is often worth more effort for commercial drivers than for regular license holders.
Out-of-State Drivers
An out-of-state license doesn’t let you drive away from a Florida ticket. Florida participates in the Driver License Compact and the Nonresident Violator Compact, which together cover most U.S. states.13CSG National Center for Interstate Compacts. Driver License Compact
Under these agreements, Florida reports your violation to your home state, which applies its own points and consequences. Fail to pay or appear, and your home state can suspend your license until you resolve the Florida citation under the Nonresident Violator Compact.14CSG National Center for Interstate Compacts. Nonresident Violator Compact
You have the same three options as a Florida resident, but check with the issuing county’s clerk about whether your home state will honor a Florida withhold of adjudication before you elect traffic school. Not every state treats a withhold the same way.