What F.S. 322.08(7) Requires for a Florida Driver License

Florida Statute 322.08(7) bars the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from issuing you a Florida driver’s license or identification card if you already hold a valid license or ID from another state.¹ In plain terms, you cannot carry two active credentials. Before Florida will hand you a license, your out-of-state one has to go.

What the Subsection Actually Says

Subsection (7) does one narrow thing. It tells the department it may not issue a Florida license or ID to anyone who currently holds a valid license or ID from another state.¹ The prohibition is absolute. It does not matter how recently your other license was issued, how much time is left on it, or whether you plan to visit the other state again. If the credential is still valid somewhere else, Florida will not issue yours until that changes.

This catches people off guard when they move to Florida and want to hold onto their old license as a backup. They cannot. The statute leaves no room for keeping both.

Surrendering Your Out-of-State License

Clearing the bar in subsection (7) means turning in your out-of-state license at the time you apply, or confirming it has already been cancelled. The department checks whether you hold a credential elsewhere during the application. If you do, that credential needs to be surrendered before your Florida license is issued.

If you are applying with a REAL ID-compliant license from another state as your primary identity document, that same license satisfies the identity requirement before it is surrendered.¹ You hand it over as part of the process. Once Florida issues your new license, the old one is no longer valid.

The Exception for Military Members

Nonresidents who hold a valid license from their home state are not required to get a Florida license, which keeps most active-duty service members and their families off the hook while stationed in Florida on orders.² As long as the home-state license stays valid, a service member can keep driving in Florida without triggering the subsection (7) problem, because they never apply for a Florida license in the first place.

A Florida Attorney General opinion has narrowed this. The exemption disappears once a service member takes non-military employment in Florida or enrolls their children in Florida public schools. At that point, they are treated as residents and must apply for a Florida license like anyone else, meaning the out-of-state credential has to be surrendered.³

What Happens If You Try to Hide the Other License

Applicants swear to the truth of their application under oath.¹ If you conceal the existence of your out-of-state license to get around subsection (7), you are not just risking the Florida license. Using a fake name, making a false statement, hiding a material fact, or committing any other fraud on a driver’s license application is a third-degree felony in Florida.⁴ A third-degree felony carries up to five years in prison⁵ and a fine of up to $5,000.⁶

A narrower exception exists for false age alone: lying only about your age, or possessing a license with an altered date of birth, is charged as a second-degree misdemeanor rather than a felony.⁴ Concealing a second license does not fall under that exception. It falls under the general fraud provision.

Where Subsection (7) Fits in the Rest of the Statute

Subsection (7) is one piece of a longer application statute. The other subsections set out what you must bring and provide: full legal name, gender, county of residence, mailing address, proof of residential address, country of birth, a physical description, proof of your social security number, and proof of your date of birth, all in a form the department finds satisfactory.¹ A military identification card counts as acceptable proof of a social security number.

For identity, Florida accepts one primary document from a defined list:¹

A certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate
A valid, unexpired U.S. passport or passport card
A naturalization certificate issued by the Department of Homeland Security
A valid, unexpired alien registration receipt card (green card)
A Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the U.S. Department of State
An unexpired employment authorization card issued by the Department of Homeland Security
A REAL ID-compliant license from another state, issued under substantially similar identity standards
Proof of nonimmigrant classification from the Department of Homeland Security, for original licenses only

Proof of residential address is required but not itemized in the statute. The department fills in the specifics through its own administrative rules, accepting documents such as utility bills, lease agreements, and bank statements showing your name at a Florida address. Homeless applicants can use a letter from a shelter, transitional service provider, or halfway house, dated within the last 60 days.⁷

So subsection (7) is the gate: even if you have every other required document in order, Florida still cannot issue your license while another state’s credential is active in your name. Deal with that first, and the rest of the application can proceed.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.08 – Application for License; Requirements for License and Identification Card Forms
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 322.04 – Exemptions
3
My Florida Legal. Exemption from Drivers License, Military
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 322.212 – Unauthorized Possession Of, and Other Unlawful Acts in Relation To, Driver License or Identification Card
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
7
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. U.S. Citizen – What to Bring