To find out if your license is suspended in Florida, use the free Driver License Check on the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) website at mydmvportal.flhsmv.gov. Enter your license number, complete the CAPTCHA, and the system returns your current status in real time.1Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Driver License Check No Social Security number is required. The whole check takes about thirty seconds.
What You Need to Run the Check
You need your Florida driver license number, the alphanumeric code printed on the front of your card that typically begins with the first letter of your last name. If you have lost the physical card, the number often appears on an old insurance declarations page or a previous traffic citation. You can also call FLHSMV or visit a local driver license office in person to request your status.
The online portal pulls from the state database in real time, so a suspension that was entered today will show up today, before any mailed notice reaches your address. That timing matters: once the record shows a suspension, the state treats you as on notice, and driving becomes a much bigger problem than checking.
Reading Your Status
The tool returns one of a handful of designations. Valid means you can drive. Suspended means your driving privilege is temporarily withdrawn and can be restored once you resolve the underlying cause and pay a reinstatement fee. Revoked is more serious: your license is terminated, and you generally have to reapply after the revocation period ends rather than simply reinstating. Other designations, like cancellation or disqualification, appear less often but signal that you should not be behind the wheel until you understand why.
If the result is anything other than valid, the next question is why. The reason controls what you have to do to get your license back, and in some cases whether the state will even let you drive on a restricted basis in the meantime.
Why Florida Licenses Get Suspended
Too Many Points
Florida assigns points to your record for each moving violation conviction, and accumulating them quickly triggers an automatic suspension: 12 points in 12 months suspends you for up to 30 days, 18 points in 18 months for up to 3 months, and 24 points in 36 months for up to a year. Individual violations carry 3, 4, or 6 points depending on severity, with 6 points for offenses like leaving the scene of a crash with more than $50 in property damage or a speeding violation that causes a crash.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke Driver License or Identification Card
Unpaid Traffic Citations
This is one of the most common reasons Floridians discover a suspended license. When you fail to pay a fine, miss a court date, or skip court-ordered driving school, the clerk of court notifies FLHSMV, which places an indefinite D-6 suspension on your record. It stays there until you satisfy the court’s requirements in the county where the citation was issued. Unpaid tickets in multiple counties must be cleared separately.
DUI Convictions
A DUI conviction produces a revocation rather than a suspension. A first DUI with no death involved carries a revocation of 180 days to 1 year, a second DUI within 5 years is at least 5 years, a third within 10 years is at least 10 years, and a fourth DUI or DUI manslaughter is permanent with no possibility of reinstatement. DUI causing serious bodily injury, vehicular homicide, or leaving the scene of a crash involving injury or death results in a minimum 3-year revocation.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.28 – Period of Suspension or Revocation
Driving Without Required Insurance
Florida requires vehicle owners to carry at least $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability.4Florida Statutes. Florida Code 627.736 – Required Personal Injury Protection Benefits If you cannot show proof that coverage was in force when cited, the court will order FLHSMV to suspend both your license and vehicle registration on conviction. Presenting proof of insurance you know to be expired or canceled is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.5Florida Statutes. Florida Code 316.646 – Security Required
Child Support Delinquency
Florida can suspend your license and vehicle registration if you fall behind on child support payments or fail to respond to a subpoena in a paternity or support case.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13016 – Suspension of Driver Licenses and Motor Vehicle Registrations The suspension stays in place until the Department of Revenue or a court confirms you are back in compliance.
Habitual Traffic Offender Designation
Three or more convictions within five years for serious offenses like DUI, vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run with injuries, or driving on a suspended license will get you labeled a habitual traffic offender. So will 15 moving violation convictions within five years.7Florida Statutes. Florida Code 322.264 – Habitual Traffic Offenders The resulting revocation is far more severe than a standard suspension.
Do Not Drive Until You Have Checked
Florida law distinguishes between driving on a suspended license without knowing about the suspension and driving while you know. The unknowing version is treated as a moving violation. The knowing version is a crime. A first knowing offense is a second-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. A second is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year and a $1,000 fine. A third is still a first-degree misdemeanor but with a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail. A third or subsequent offense tied to DUI, refusal to submit to a breath test, a crash causing serious injury, or fleeing law enforcement becomes a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Driving while a habitual traffic offender designation is in place is an automatic third-degree felony.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.34 – Driving While License Suspended, Revoked, Canceled, or Disqualified
Courts are generally unsympathetic to the “I didn’t know” defense when FLHSMV mailed a notice to your address on file. Checking the portal before you drive is the simplest way to keep a forgotten ticket from becoming a criminal record.
Reinstating a Florida License
Reinstatement always involves two steps: fixing whatever caused the suspension, and paying an administrative fee to FLHSMV. The fee depends on the type:9Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
- General suspension: $45
- D-6 suspension (unpaid citation): $60
- Revocation: $75
- Worthless check suspension: $55
- Alcohol or drug-related offense: an additional $130 administrative fee on top of the revocation or suspension fee
- Child support suspension: $45 to $60, depending on whether the Department of Revenue or a court initiated the action
For a D-6, contact the clerk of court in the county that issued the citation. Most counties transmit clearances to FLHSMV electronically once you pay the fine or complete the required steps. For a DUI-related revocation, you must complete a DUI substance abuse education course before reinstatement is possible.10Justia Law. Florida Code 322.271 – Authority to Modify Revocation, Cancellation, or Suspension of Driver License
SR-22 and FR-44 Filings
Some reinstatements require you to file a financial responsibility certificate before your license comes back. An SR-22 is required after non-DUI offenses like driving without insurance or reckless driving, and certifies at least Florida’s standard minimum liability coverage. An FR-44 is required after a DUI conviction and certifies substantially higher limits: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per crash for bodily injury, plus $50,000 for property damage.11Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. FR-44 Cases – Increased BIL/PDL Limits for DUI Cases Your insurer files the certificate with FLHSMV electronically. You must maintain the filing for three years from the date of reinstatement; if the policy lapses, the insurer notifies the state and your license is suspended again.
Getting a Hardship or Restricted License
If a suspension would leave you unable to work or meet essential obligations, Florida allows you to request a restricted driving privilege at one of two levels: business purposes only, which covers driving to and from work, on-the-job driving, school, church, and medical appointments; or employment purposes only, limited to commuting and on-the-job driving required by your employer.10Justia Law. Florida Code 322.271 – Authority to Modify Revocation, Cancellation, or Suspension of Driver License
You request a hearing with FLHSMV and demonstrate that the suspension creates a genuine hardship by preventing you from supporting yourself or your family. The hearing filing fee is $12.9Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees For DUI-related suspensions, you must complete the required substance abuse course before restricted privileges can be granted. FLHSMV can waive the hearing for some suspension types if you have already enrolled in or completed the required course, but suspensions involving death, serious bodily injury, or multiple DUI convictions cannot be waived.10Justia Law. Florida Code 322.271 – Authority to Modify Revocation, Cancellation, or Suspension of Driver License Driving outside the terms of the restricted license, such as running personal errands with employment-only privileges, can cost you the restricted privilege entirely.