Florida Driver’s License Suspension: D6, DUI, and Reinstatement

A Florida driver’s license suspension temporarily takes away your right to drive, and getting it back means resolving whatever triggered it — an unpaid ticket, a lapsed insurance policy, a DUI arrest, unpaid child support, or too many points on your record — and then paying a reinstatement fee to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). A suspension has an end date or a clearance step; a revocation cancels the privilege entirely and forces you to reapply. The most common suspension in the state, called a D6, has no expiration and sits on your record until you clear it with the county court that issued the citation.

Why Florida Suspends Licenses

Florida runs a point system for moving violations. Twelve points in 12 months costs you your license for up to 30 days. Eighteen points in 18 months brings a three-month suspension. Twenty-four points in 36 months triggers a one-year suspension.¹ Points that already triggered a shorter suspension still count toward the longer thresholds.

Beyond points, several other situations trigger a suspension:

Insurance Lapses

Every registered vehicle in Florida must carry at least $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability.² The FLHSMV tracks coverage electronically, so a lapse gets reported quickly. When it happens, both your license and vehicle registration are suspended, and reinstatement fees climb with each occurrence: $150 the first time, $250 the second, and $500 for any additional lapse within three years of the first.³

Child Support Delinquency

If you fall behind on court-ordered child support, the clerk of the court or the state’s child support depository can ask FLHSMV to suspend your license. You’ll get a notice first, and you must pay a $25 delinquency fee and come into compliance. Ignore it, and the suspension takes effect 20 days after the order is mailed.⁴ A child support suspension does not qualify for a hardship license.

Non-Driving Criminal Offenses

Some convictions unrelated to driving still cost you your license. Pumping gas and leaving without paying carries a mandatory suspension of up to six months for a first offense and one year for a second.⁵ Drug convictions under Chapter 893 also trigger suspensions, though those may qualify for a hardship license after six months.

The D6 Suspension

A D6 is the state’s default response to an unresolved traffic citation. You get one when you forget to pay a fine, miss a court hearing, or fail to finish a court-ordered driver improvement course.⁶ After you miss the deadline, the clerk of the court has 10 days to notify FLHSMV, and the suspension takes effect 20 days after the state mails the order.

The D6 has no end date. A points suspension runs its 30 days or three months or year and then ends; a D6 stays active until the underlying citation is cleared in the county where you got it. Plenty of drivers are surprised to learn they have one, because the notice went to an old address. Once a traffic stop or a second citation reveals it, though, you’re presumed to know it exists, and that changes what a subsequent stop can be charged as.

DUI Suspensions Run on Two Tracks

A DUI arrest starts two separate proceedings: an administrative suspension imposed by FLHSMV, and criminal penalties handled by the court. The administrative suspension is immediate and does not depend on conviction.

For a first offense with a breath or blood alcohol level of .08 or higher, the administrative suspension lasts six months. Refuse the breath, blood, or urine test and it becomes one year. A second offense based on an unlawful alcohol level draws a one-year suspension; a second refusal draws 18 months.⁷ These timelines run independently of the criminal case. The FLHSMV’s decision does not bind the court, and the court’s outcome does not undo the administrative suspension.⁸

Reinstatement after a DUI conviction requires enrollment in or completion of a licensed DUI education program. If you’re reinstated on a restricted basis and don’t complete the program within 90 days, your license is canceled again. First-time offenders with a blood alcohol level of .15 or higher must install an ignition interlock device for up to six months.⁸

How to Reinstate Your License

Start by Checking Your Status

Before you pay anything, look up your record through the FLHSMV’s online portal at mydmvportal.flhsmv.gov using your driver’s license number.⁹ It’s common to have multiple suspensions stacked from different counties, and each one needs its own clearance.

Clear a D6 Through the County

A D6 can only be cleared through the court in the county that issued the citation. Contact that county’s traffic court, pay any outstanding fine, and finish any remaining requirements — a hearing, a driver improvement course, whatever the original order included. Some counties accept online credit card payments.¹⁰ Once you’ve satisfied the court, the county updates FLHSMV electronically, usually within 24 to 48 hours. If your county doesn’t submit clearances electronically, you’ll need to pick up a paper clearance form and bring it to a service center.

Clear an Insurance Suspension

You need a new policy that meets Florida’s minimums, and your insurer must file an SR-22 certificate with FLHSMV electronically confirming that you carry bodily injury and property damage liability coverage.² If the suspension followed a DUI, the required filing is the more expensive FR-44, with minimum coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident for bodily injury plus $50,000 for property damage.¹¹ Those limits sit well above what most Florida drivers carry, and premiums follow.

Pay the Reinstatement Fee

Once the underlying cause is cleared, you still owe a reinstatement fee to FLHSMV. The amount depends on the type of suspension:¹²

D6 (traffic citation): $60
General suspension: $45
Revocation: $75¹³
Insurance lapse: $150 for a first offense, $250 for a second, $500 for a third within three years³

You can pay in person at any driver license service center or by phone at 850-617-3000. From out of state, mail proof of satisfaction along with the fee to the Bureau of Motorist Compliance at P.O. Box 5775, Tallahassee, FL 32314-5775.¹⁰ Tax collector offices that process reinstatements may add a service fee of around $6.25. When your status reads “Valid,” you can request a replacement physical license.

Hardship and Restricted Licenses

If a suspension would keep you from working or supporting your family, you may be able to apply for a restricted hardship license. Florida offers a “business purposes only” license (work, school, church, medical appointments) and a narrower “employment purposes only” license (commuting and on-the-job driving).¹⁴ Eligibility depends on why your license was suspended:

Points suspension: enroll in or complete a 12-hour Advanced Driver Improvement (ADI) course before applying.¹⁵
First DUI with alcohol level of .08 or higher: wait 30 days after the suspension takes effect, enroll in DUI school, and apply for a hearing.
First DUI with test refusal: wait 90 days, enroll in DUI school, and apply for a hearing.⁷
Habitual Traffic Offender revocation: wait one year, complete the ADI course, and apply through the Bureau of Administrative Reviews.¹⁶
Drug offense: wait six months and complete a licensed DUI program school.
Child support: not eligible.

To apply, file FLHSMV Form 78306 (Application for Administrative Hearing) with the Bureau of Administrative Reviews nearest your home, along with a $12 filing fee and proof of course enrollment or completion.¹⁷ The bureau may decide your case on paper unless the offense involved death, serious injury, multiple DUI convictions, or a repeat suspension under the same statute, all of which require a formal hearing. If you’re granted a restricted license and don’t finish the required course within 90 days of enrollment, that restricted license is canceled.

Penalties for Driving on a Suspended License

What happens when you’re caught driving suspended depends almost entirely on whether the state can prove you knew about the suspension. Without knowledge, it’s a moving violation — a fine but no jail.¹⁸ But “I didn’t know” is harder to run than most drivers assume. A prior citation, a mailed notice, or an admission to an officer is enough. There’s also a rebuttable presumption of knowledge whenever FLHSMV records show a prior suspension order, which covers most D6 situations.

Once knowledge is established, penalties escalate:

First offense with knowledge: second-degree misdemeanor, up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.¹⁹²⁰
Second offense with knowledge: first-degree misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Third offense with knowledge (general): mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail.
Third offense when the suspension relates to DUI, test refusal, a crash causing death or serious injury, or fleeing law enforcement: third-degree felony, up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.¹⁸

Vehicle Impoundment

The officer can take your vehicle at the stop. If your suspension was for an insurance violation or Habitual Traffic Offender designation, you’re the registered owner, and you’ve been convicted once before for driving while suspended, impoundment or immobilization is mandatory. You won’t get the vehicle back until you provide proof of valid insurance to the arresting agency, and leaving it more than 35 days can result in a lien.²¹ Driving under the influence while your license is already suspended or revoked from a prior DUI conviction subjects the vehicle to outright seizure and forfeiture.

Habitual Traffic Offender Designation

Three or more convictions within five years for serious offenses (DUI, leaving the scene of a crash involving injury, driving while suspended, or committing a felony with a vehicle) triggers a Habitual Traffic Offender designation.²² You can also qualify by accumulating 15 moving violations with assessed points within five years. HTO status is a five-year revocation of all driving privileges, with no hardship eligibility for the first year.¹⁶ Driving on an HTO revocation can be charged as a third-degree felony.

A Florida Suspension Follows You Across State Lines

Florida has been a member of the Driver License Compact since 1967, built around the principle of “one driver, one license, one record.”²³ When Florida suspends your license, that information is shared with other member states, and member states are supposed to refuse to issue a license to anyone whose driving privilege is suspended or revoked elsewhere. If your Florida suspension traces back to a citation from another state, you’ll need proof of satisfaction from that state’s court, bearing the court seal, before a Florida service center will lift it.¹⁰

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 322.27 – Authority of Department to Suspend or Revoke License
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 324.0221 – Suspension of License and Registration
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.245 – Suspension of License Upon Failure to Pay Child Support
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 812.014 – Theft
6
Justia. Florida Code 318.15 – Failure to Comply With Civil Penalty
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.2615 – Suspension of License; Right of Review
8
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida DUI and Administrative Suspension Laws
9
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Driver License Check
10
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Traffic Citations or Court Suspensions
11
Florida Senate. Florida Code 324.023 – Financial Responsibility; Proof of Compliance for DUI
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Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
13
Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.21 – License Fees; Procedure for Handling and Collecting Fees
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.271 – Authority to Modify Revocation, Cancellation, or Suspension Order
15
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Advanced Driver Improvement (ADI) Course Providers
16
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Other Common Suspensions and Revocations
17
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Application for Administrative Hearing
18
Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.34 – Driving While License Suspended, Revoked, Canceled, or Disqualified
19
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures
20
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
21
Florida Senate. Florida Code 322.34 – Driving While License Suspended, Revoked, Canceled, or Disqualified
22
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.264 – Habitual Traffic Offenders
23
The Council of State Governments. Driver License Compact