Florida Statute 948.06: Violations, Hearings, and Sanctions

Florida Statute 948.06 is the law that governs what happens when someone on probation or community control is accused of breaking the rules of their supervision. It covers the affidavit filed by the probation officer, the arrest or notice to appear, bond decisions, the violation hearing, alternative sanctions handled outside court, and the sentences a judge can impose if a violation is proven. The stakes are high because a judge who revokes supervision can resentence you up to the statutory maximum for the original offense, not just the time you had left on probation.

Technical Violations and Substantive Violations

The most important line in 948.06 is the one between technical and substantive violations. A technical violation is any alleged violation of supervision that does not involve a new felony, misdemeanor, or criminal traffic offense.¹ A failed drug test, a missed meeting, a broken curfew, or unauthorized travel out of the county all fall in this bucket. A substantive violation is an allegation that you committed a new crime while on supervision.

The classification decides almost everything that follows. Technical violations can sometimes be handled by the probation officer through an alternative sanctioning program, without ever reaching a judge. Substantive violations always go to court, expose you to a higher risk of revocation, and in some cases eliminate any right to bond while the case is pending.

The statute also applies to both probation and community control, but community control is the more restrictive form of supervision, and a violation that counts as low-risk for a probationer is treated as moderate-risk for someone on community control.²

How a Violation Case Begins

The process starts with an affidavit of violation filed by your probation officer. The affidavit identifies the condition you allegedly broke and the facts supporting the claim.¹ For technical violations, the officer must first check whether you qualify for the alternative sanctioning program described below. If you qualify, the officer can address the violation without filing the affidavit.

Once the affidavit is filed, a judge reviews it to decide whether reasonable grounds exist to believe a violation occurred. For a new law violation, the judge may issue an arrest warrant. For technical violations by a person with no prior conviction or current allegation of a qualifying offense, the judge may issue a notice to appear rather than a warrant.¹

Once the affidavit is filed and a warrant is issued, a notice to appear is served, or a warrantless arrest occurs, the clock on your probation stops. The statute calls this tolling. The time remaining on your sentence freezes until the court rules on the violation, so months spent waiting for a hearing do not count toward finishing your supervision.¹

Arrest and Whether You Get a Bond

A violation warrant can be served by any probation officer, law enforcement officer, or anyone authorized to serve criminal process in Florida. There is no automatic right to bond. At a first appearance for a new law violation, the judge must inform you of the alleged violation, and if you do not admit it, the judge decides whether to release you with or without bail or hold you in custody. In making that call, the court can consider whether you are more likely than not to receive a prison sentence for the violation.³

Some people get no bond at all. The statute requires the court to hold the following individuals without bail:

Violent felony offenders of special concern as defined in the statute
People on felony probation who are arrested for a qualifying offense (a list that includes murder, sexual battery, robbery, kidnapping, aggravated battery, arson, and burglary, among others)
Habitual violent felony offenders, three-time violent felony offenders, and sexual predators arrested for a qualifying offense

Anyone in these categories must be kept in custody until the violation is resolved.³ That can mean weeks or months in jail before the hearing.

The Violation Hearing

If you do not admit to the violation, the court schedules a formal hearing. You have the right to appear in person, to be represented by an attorney, to present evidence, and to confront and cross-examine witnesses.³

The state does not have to prove the violation beyond a reasonable doubt. It only has to show the violation occurred by the greater weight of the evidence, meaning it was more likely than not that you broke a condition. Evidence too weak to convict you of a new crime in a separate trial can still be enough to support a violation finding. The court must also be satisfied the violation was willful and substantial. A missed appointment because you were hospitalized is treated differently than one you simply skipped. You do not need a new criminal conviction for a violation to stick, because the statute expressly says a court conviction is not required to prove the “live without violating any law” condition was broken.⁴

Financial violations get their own rule. If the state proves you failed to pay restitution or supervision costs, you must show by clear and convincing evidence that you genuinely cannot pay despite real efforts to earn the money. Even then, the court must consider alternatives to incarceration before locking you up for inability to pay.³

Alternative Sanctions for Technical Violations

Every judicial circuit in Florida is required to run an alternative sanctioning program for technical violations. It lets probation officers impose consequences with court approval, without a full violation prosecution.¹

Low-Risk Violations

Low-risk technical violations for a probationer include a positive drug or alcohol test, failing to report, missing a required class or treatment session, breaking curfew, leaving the county without permission, failing to report a change of address or employment, and falling behind on restitution or community service hours.⁵ For a first or second low-risk violation within the same supervision term, the officer can offer:

Up to 5 days in county jail
Up to 50 additional community service hours
Counseling or treatment
Support group attendance
Drug testing
Loss of travel or other privileges
Curfew for up to 30 days
House arrest for up to 30 days

The proposed sanctions have to be submitted to the court for approval before they are imposed.⁵

Moderate-Risk Violations

The same conduct that is low-risk for a probationer is moderate-risk when the person is on community control. A third low-risk violation by a probationer in the same supervision term also escalates to moderate-risk.⁵ Sanctions for a first moderate-risk violation are heavier: up to 21 days in county jail, curfew or house arrest for up to 90 days, electronic monitoring for up to 90 days, or residential treatment for up to 90 days.³

Who Is Not Eligible

You are excluded from the alternative sanctioning program if you are classified as a violent felony offender of special concern, if the violation is a new criminal offense, if you have absconded from supervision, if you violated a stay-away order, or if you have a prior moderate-risk violation during your current supervision term.⁵ If you are ineligible, the officer files a formal affidavit and the case goes to a judge.

Mandatory Modification for Certain First-Time Technical Violations

Even when a technical violation reaches court, 948.06 limits the judge in some situations. The court must modify or continue probation rather than revoke it if all of these are true:

You are on probation, not community control
You are not classified as a violent felony offender of special concern
The violation is a low-risk technical violation
The court has not previously found you in violation on a filed affidavit during your current supervision term (successful completion of alternative sanctions does not count)

When modifying under this rule, the court can impose up to 90 days in county jail as a special condition.³ If fewer than 90 days remain on your probation, the court may revoke supervision but still cannot impose more than 90 days in a county facility. In practice, this caps incarceration exposure for a first-time low-risk technical violation at 90 days of county jail rather than state prison.

What the Judge Can Do If a Violation Is Found

When the court finds a willful and substantial violation and the mandatory modification rule does not apply, the judge has three options: continue supervision, modify its terms to make them stricter, or revoke supervision entirely.¹

Modification usually means added conditions: substance abuse treatment, more frequent reporting, extended supervision, community service hours, or tighter travel limits. The judge can also move someone from probation to the more restrictive community control program.

Revocation is the outcome that carries the greatest exposure. If the court revokes supervision, it can impose any sentence that could have been imposed at the original sentencing, up to the statutory maximum for the underlying offense.³ If the underlying offense was a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison and you got probation, a revocation exposes you to the full five years. The judge is not limited to whatever time was left on your probation.

The tolling rule can push things further. If your probation was tolled for an extended period while the violation was pending, the court can impose a sanction that, combined with the supervision already served and the tolled time, exceeds the normal statutory maximum by up to the length of the tolled period.³ A long delay in resolving a violation can produce more total supervision time than the statutory cap would ordinarily allow.

For a violent felony offender of special concern, the calculus changes entirely. If the court finds that person poses a danger to the community, revocation is mandatory and the judge must sentence up to the statutory maximum or longer if permitted by law.³ There is no room to continue or modify supervision once the danger finding is made.

Credit for Time Already Served on Supervision

If the court revokes supervision and then imposes a new term of probation or community control, you do not receive credit for the time you already spent on the prior supervision term.³ The combined total of all supervision terms still cannot exceed the statutory maximum for the underlying offense. Someone who served two years of a five-year probation before revocation could face up to another five years of supervision on resentencing, as long as the total stays within the statutory cap.

1
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 948.06 – Violation of Probation or Community Control; Revocation; Modification; Continuance; Failure to Pay Restitution or Cost of Supervision
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 948.001 – Definitions
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 948.06 – Violation of Probation or Community Control
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 948.03 – Terms and Conditions of Probation
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 948.06 – Violation of Probation or Community Control