Questions About Driving Records

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What is on the 3-year and 7-year driver records?

Driver license/ID card issuances, exams passed and driver education.
Guilty dispositions of traffic violations, that are within 3 or 7 years of the disposition date.
Crash entries, when a traffic citation was issued as a direct result of the crash. The crash entry has the same retention as an associated guilty disposition.
All open suspensions, revocations, cancellations, disqualifications of the driving privilege.
Suspensions, revocations, cancellations, and disqualifications cleared within 3 or 7 years of the date the record is run, unless the retention is met, and the entry has purged.
D-6 suspensions (failure to comply) once cleared, remain on the record 1 year from the reinstatement date and are then converted to a correspondence entry for 2 more years. Once this D6 entry converts to a correspondence entry it does not appear on 3- or 7-year driver records (transcripts).

What is on the complete driver record?

Driver license/ID card issuances, exams passed and driver education.
All guilty dispositions and adjudication withheld dispositions of traffic violations that appear on the entire record, unless the retention is met, and the entry has purged.
Crash entries, when a traffic citation was issued as a direct result of the crash. The crash entry has the same retention as an associated guilty disposition.
All open or closed suspensions, revocations, cancellations, disqualifications that appear on the complete driver history, unless the retention is met, and the entry has purged.
D-6 suspensions (failure to comply) once cleared, remain on the record 1 year from the reinstatement date and are then converted to a correspondence entry for 2 more years. This correspondence entry does appear on a complete record, unless the retention is met, and the entry has purged.
Correspondence entry indicating adjudication withheld-clerk of court (the person made school election when not eligible or made the election but did not complete the course).
Department approved correspondence.

What is adjudication withheld?

A person elected to complete a driver improvement school and provided proof of completion to the court in lieu of receiving points for a traffic violation.
A person elected to enter a plea of nolo contendere and provided proof of compliance for a violation.
The judge or traffic magistrate withheld adjudication for a violation.

How many times can I elect to complete driver improvement school in lieu of receiving points?

Effective July 1, 2024, Florida Statute 318.14(9), provides that a person may make no more than eight traffic school elections within their lifetime and once in a twelve-month period. This is for Florida violations only and the election is made through the Florida court in the county in which the person received the citation.
Florida commercial driver license holders are not eligible to elect completion of a driver improvement school to avoid assessment of points for traffic citations, regardless of whether the violation was committed in a commercial motor vehicle.

Why is personal information in the record blocked?

The Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) keeps your personal information private by limiting who has access to the information. DPPA is designed to limit public access to your social security number, driver license or ID card number, name, and address. Personal information protected by DPPA does not include date of birth, driving violations, and driver status.
The department automatically blocks the personal information in your motor vehicle and driver license records.
Florida Statute 119 (public records) allows for certain individuals in sworn or high-risk positions (ex: law enforcement officers, judges, and other public officials) to have their address and date of birth blocked, making this information exempt from DPPA upon request using form 96020.

How long do entries stay on the record?

Citation dispositions of guilty – Most non-moving/moving violations have a 3- to 5-year retention; for more serious violations the retention periods vary (10 years, 15 years, etc.) and depend on the severity of the violation.
Citation dispositions of adjudication withheld clerk of court (called school elections) are retained for 75 years with only allowed up to 5 in a lifetime) and for compliances, 75 years (only allowed up to 3 in a lifetime). See sections 318.14(9) and (10), Florida Statutes.
Citation dispositions of adjudication withheld by judge/magistrate have the same retention as guilty dispositions.
Suspensions and Revocations may vary (ex: 7 years, 10 years, etc.)
Alcohol related entries have a 75-year retention period.
Serious commercial driver license violations may vary (ex: 10 years, 55 years, etc.)
Disqualifications may vary (ex: 7 years, 55 years, etc.)

Why is the original issue date on my record showing my last issuance date when I have had my license or ID card for much longer?

If the license or ID card has been expired more than 18 months and there are no entries on the record to cause it to be retained, then the record purges (drops off) from the system. At the next driver license or ID card issuance there is no associated record on file, so this current issuance becomes the new original issue date.
To correct this date the department will need proof of an earlier license or ID card issuance.

What are the different types of actions on the driving record?

Revocation – the termination of a driving privilege.
Suspension – the temporary withdrawal of a driving privilege.
Administrative Suspension – the departmental withdrawal of the driving privilege.
Cancellation – the act of declaring a driving privilege void and terminated.
Disqualification – the withdrawal of the privilege to have a commercial driver license.
Withdrawal – the withdrawal of a driving privilege in another state. This action may be a suspension, revocation, cancellation or disqualification in the other state.

What are the different types of citation dispositions on the record?

Guilty – convicted of a violation or having been found guilty.
Estreature – bond was posted to guarantee an appearance in court, but then the person does not appear.
Forfeiture – the person who posted bond does not appear for court and forfeits the right to contest the ticket.
Adjudicated Delinquent – a juvenile found to have committed an offense that, if committed by an adult, would be a criminal offense.
Adjudication Withheld – Clerk of Court– the person made election to complete a driver improvement school in lieu of receiving points and completed the course or person elected to enter a plea of nolo contendere and provide proof of compliance.
Adjudication Withheld by the Court – the judge or traffic magistrate withheld adjudication.