In Florida, a licensed driver keeps the license in immediate possession while driving and presents it when a law enforcement officer demands it. A digital license may be shown instead, but if the officer cannot verify it immediately, the driver presents the printed one. A driver who cannot show a license may be required to put a fingerprint on the citation.
A driver required to carry insurance keeps proof of it in immediate possession and displays it on an officer's demand. An owner who does not commits a nonmoving infraction, and knowingly presenting proof of insurance that is not in force is a first degree misdemeanor.
Most traffic tickets are noncriminal infractions, with 30 days to act. A person cited for most traffic violations is charged with a noncriminal infraction. One who does not elect to appear pays the civil penalty, or enters a payment plan with the clerk, within 30 days after the citation is issued, and doing so admits the infraction and waives a hearing. A person cited for a criminal traffic violation or one requiring a mandatory hearing signs the citation as a promise to appear.
A driver without a commercial license cited for many infractions may instead elect a basic driver improvement course. Adjudication is then withheld, the civil penalty is reduced by 18 percent, and no points are assessed, but the election is not available if one was made in the preceding 12 months.
Not carrying the license is itself a noncriminal infraction punished as a nonmoving violation.
Sources for this section (3)
- Fla. Stat. 322.15 — License to be carried and exhibited on demand
- Fla. Stat. 316.646 — Security required; proof of security and display thereof
- Fla. Stat. 318.14 — Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception; procedures
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Florida attorney.
