Florida Distracted Driving Laws: Fines, Points, and Exceptions

Florida’s distracted driving laws make texting behind the wheel a primary traffic offense, meaning police can stop you for that alone, and they impose an even stricter rule in school zones and active work zones where holding a phone for any reason is illegal. A first texting ticket runs $30 plus court costs. A repeat offense, a school- or work-zone violation, or a crash tied to phone use brings points, higher fines, and insurance consequences that outlast the ticket by years.

What the Law Actually Prohibits

Two separate statutes govern phone use behind the wheel in Florida, and they cover different conduct.

The general texting ban makes it illegal to manually type letters, numbers, or symbols into a wireless device while your vehicle is moving. It also covers reading or sending any text-based message, including texts, emails, and instant messages. If your fingers are entering data or your eyes are reading data on the screen, you’re in violation.¹

The word “manually” carries the rule. You can still hold your phone to your ear for a voice call in most areas. You can tap a single button to activate a feature or start a voice command. You cannot type a message, scroll through a text thread, or compose an email while the car is in motion.

The school- and work-zone rule goes further. In school crossings, school zones, and active work zones, you cannot use a wireless device in a handheld manner at all while your vehicle is moving. No holding the phone for any reason, voice calls included. The device has to be mounted, connected through Bluetooth, or operated entirely by voice.²

One detail about work zones trips people up: the handheld ban only applies when construction workers are actually present on or immediately next to the road. Driving through an empty work zone at 2 a.m., the stricter rule doesn’t apply, though the general texting ban still does.²

Fines and Points by Offense

The financial penalty depends on whether the offense is classified as nonmoving or moving. County court costs and surcharges push the actual total well above the base fine.³

First texting offense: nonmoving violation, $30 base fine plus court costs, no points on your license.¹
Second or subsequent texting offense within five years: moving violation, $60 base fine plus court costs, three points on your license.¹
Handheld use in a school or work zone: moving violation, $60 base fine plus court costs, three points on your license.²

Points stack across all your moving violations. Florida can suspend your license once you hit 12 points in 12 months, 18 points in 18 months, or 24 points in 36 months.⁴ Three points from a single texting ticket won’t get you there alone, but combined with a speeding ticket or two they add up quickly.

Crashes and Civil Liability

This is where the consequences jump. If you use a wireless device unlawfully and it results in a crash, Florida assesses six points against your license instead of the usual three.⁴

There’s also a separate two-point add-on for committing any moving violation while using a wireless device in a school safety zone. Those two points stack on top of whatever the underlying violation carries. Speeding through a school zone while on your phone and causing a crash produces a point total that can approach the suspension threshold on its own.⁴

The citation also opens the door to civil liability. Violating a traffic statute like the texting ban can be used as evidence of negligence in a personal injury lawsuit. It doesn’t automatically prove you were negligent, but it gives an injured driver, passenger, or pedestrian direct evidence that you failed to exercise reasonable care.

Exceptions Written Into Both Laws

Both statutes share the same core exceptions. Your vehicle is not “being operated” when it is stationary, so using your phone while stopped in traffic or at a red light is not a violation.¹

Other permitted uses while driving:

Reporting an emergency, a crime, or suspicious activity to law enforcement.
Navigation, including phone-based GPS apps. In school and work zones, the device still has to be hands-free.
Receiving traffic alerts, weather warnings, and data used by the vehicle itself.
Voice-operated communication through a hands-free system, factory-installed or aftermarket Bluetooth.
Operating an autonomous vehicle with the automated driving system engaged.

Emergency vehicle operators, law enforcement, firefighters, and EMS personnel performing official duties are exempt from both statutes.¹²

Your Rights During the Stop

Florida wrote a specific privacy protection into the texting law. If an officer pulls you over for a texting violation, the officer must inform you of your right to decline a search of your phone. The officer cannot access the device without a warrant and cannot confiscate it during the stop.¹

In practice, the citation rests on what the officer observed from outside your vehicle. If you were holding your device and appeared to be typing, that observation supports the ticket. You do not need to hand over your phone or unlock it.

Commercial Drivers Face Stricter Federal Rules

If you hold a commercial driver’s license, federal regulations layer on top of Florida law. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration prohibits all handheld mobile phone use while driving a commercial motor vehicle, not just texting. You cannot hold a phone to make a call, dial by pressing more than a single button, or reach for a device in a way that takes you out of your seated driving position.⁵

The federal definition of “driving” is also broader. For commercial vehicles, you are considered to be driving even when temporarily stopped in traffic or at a red light. You have to pull off the road and come to a safe stop before picking up your phone.⁵

Federal penalties can reach $2,750 per offense for the driver, and employers who allow or require handheld device use face fines up to $11,000. Multiple convictions can disqualify a CDL for up to 120 days.⁶

Insurance Impact

A first texting offense classified as a nonmoving violation generally will not appear on your driving record in a way that triggers an insurance increase. The second offense within five years is different. Once a distracted driving ticket becomes a moving violation with points, your insurer can see it and adjust your rates. Florida doesn’t cap how much an insurer can raise your premium for a moving violation, so the three-point hit from a repeat ticket or a school-zone violation often costs more in higher premiums over the following years than the base fine itself.

If the violation involves a crash, the six-point assessment makes the insurance consequences substantially worse. Insurers treat at-fault accidents as major risk indicators, and a distracted driving citation attached to a crash is strong evidence of fault. A significant rate increase that persists for several years is the typical result.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.305 – Wireless Communications Devices; Prohibition
2
FindLaw. Florida Code 316.306 – School and Work Zones; Prohibition on the Use of a Wireless Communications Device in a Handheld Manner
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 318.18 – Amount of Penalties
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke Driver License or Identification Card
5
eCFR. 49 CFR 392.82 – Using a Hand-Held Mobile Telephone
6
FMCSA. No Texting Rule Fact Sheet