How Long Does Reckless Driving Stay on Record in Florida?

In Florida, a reckless driving conviction stays on your driving record for well over a decade, and it stays on your criminal record permanently unless a court seals or expunges it. If the charge grew out of an alcohol-related incident, the driving record entry can be retained for 75 years. How long does reckless driving stay on your record in Florida depends on which record you mean, because the state keeps two separate ones and the rules for each are different.

Your Driving Record

The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) keeps every Florida driver’s crash reports, conviction abstracts, and license actions.¹ Ordinary moving and non-moving violations stay on file for three to five years. More serious violations are retained longer, which the DHSMV describes as 10 years, 15 years, or more depending on severity.²

Reckless driving is a criminal traffic offense, not an ordinary ticket, so it falls in the longer-retention category. The DHSMV does not publish a single named retention period for reckless driving itself. If the charge started as a DUI and was reduced to reckless driving (a “wet reckless”), the alcohol-related retention rule applies and the entry can stay on your record for 75 years.²

When employers or insurance companies pull your record, they usually request the complete version, which reaches back roughly 11 years and includes everything the shorter three- and seven-year reports leave out. That means a reckless driving conviction stays visible to the people who look at your record for well over a decade.

Your Criminal Record

Reckless driving is a misdemeanor under Florida law, so a conviction creates a separate entry in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) criminal history database.³ That entry is permanent. It does not expire. Background check providers, government agencies, and potential employers can see the arrest, charge, and conviction indefinitely.

The only way to take a reckless driving entry off your criminal history is a court-ordered seal or expungement, and the rules for both are narrow.

License Points and Suspension

A reckless driving conviction adds four points to your Florida license.⁴ Points matter inside rolling windows the DHSMV uses to decide on suspensions:

12 points in 12 months: up to a 30-day suspension
18 points in 18 months: up to a 3-month suspension
24 points in 36 months: up to a 1-year suspension

After 36 months, the four points stop counting toward a suspension, though the underlying conviction is still on the driving transcript.⁴ If the court withheld adjudication on the reckless driving charge, no points are added at all.

Insurance Impact

Insurers in Florida generally treat reckless driving as a major infraction, sitting just below DUI on their severity scale. Surcharges for serious moving violations typically last three to five years from the conviction date, and premiums rise substantially during that window.

A reckless driving conviction can also trigger an SR-22 filing, a certificate of financial responsibility you must keep on file with the state. The SR-22 obligation runs three to five years, and if it lapses your license is suspended. The insurance consequences can therefore outlast the license points by a wide margin.

Can You Get It Removed

Florida treats sealing and expungement differently, and most people with a reckless driving record will only qualify for sealing, if they qualify at all.

Sealing

To seal a criminal history record, you must meet all of the following under Florida law:⁵

The court withheld adjudication on the reckless driving charge. If you were formally convicted, sealing is not available.
You have no prior criminal convictions in Florida, ever.
You have never previously sealed or expunged a record in Florida.
You are no longer under court supervision, including any probation tied to the case.

The withhold-of-adjudication requirement is the one that stops most people. When a judge withholds adjudication, you enter a plea (usually no contest) but the court does not formally find you guilty. You still face penalties such as fines and probation, but the lack of a formal conviction preserves your eligibility to seal later. If no withhold was negotiated at sentencing, the door to sealing is closed.⁶

Expungement

Expungement physically destroys the record rather than restricting access to it, and the bar is higher. You generally qualify only if the charges were dropped, dismissed, or you were acquitted. If your record was previously sealed for at least 10 years, you can petition to convert the seal into an expungement.⁷ A reckless driving case resolved through a no-contest plea with a withhold will not be eligible for expungement until that 10-year sealed period has passed.

One boundary worth knowing: a felony reckless driving conviction, which happens when the offense caused serious bodily injury, cannot be sealed under any circumstances.

How to Apply

The process starts with the FDLE, not the court. You first apply for a Certificate of Eligibility, submitting a certified copy of your case disposition, a fingerprint card, and a $75 processing fee.⁵ The fee is non-refundable. The FDLE will deny the certificate if your record shows any disqualifying factor, including a prior conviction, a prior seal or expungement, or an adjudication of guilt on the charge you want sealed.

Once issued, the certificate is valid for 12 months.⁵ Within that year, file a petition in the county where the reckless driving charge was handled. The petition must include the certificate and a sworn statement that you meet every eligibility requirement. Lying on that sworn statement is itself a third-degree felony, so get it right. A judge then decides whether to grant the seal, and if approved, the FDLE and other agencies are notified to restrict public access. Local court filing fees apply on top of the $75 FDLE fee and vary by county.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.20 – Records of the Department; Fees; Destruction of Records
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Questions About Driving Records
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 316.192 – Reckless Driving
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke License
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 943.059 – Court-Ordered Sealing of Criminal History Records
6
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Reasons for Denial
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 943.0585 – Court-Ordered Expunction of Criminal History Records