VICTOR D. CRIST

EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE!

CLERK OF COURT & COMPTROLLER

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA

Drivers License

Florida Driver's License and Motor Vehicle Registration Information

The Clerk of Court can help you to obtain a transcript of your Florida driving history for a fee - you can request and pay for it at any of our locations Monday - Friday, 8AM - 5PM.

You can also request your Florida driving history from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and from the Hillsborough County Tax Collector.

The Clerk of Court is not the custodian of any information regarding your motor vehicle registration and license tags -- you will need to contact the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles or the Hillsborough County Tax Collector for tag and registration information.

Driving History

Florida: The Clerk's Office can assist you if your driver's license is suspended for failure to pay for a traffic ticket (citation), failure to complete or submit proof for traffic school, or any other court requirements for a Hillsborough County-issued traffic ticket (citation). We will inform you of the court requirements, including any additional costs that may be applicable. If your Florida driver's license is suspended because you failed to meet court requirements for a non-Hillsborough County traffic ticket, you will need to contact that county's Clerk's office [external 3rd party link]. If your Florida driver's license was suspended for any other reason, you will need to contact your local driver's license office [external 3rd party link] to obtain further information on obtaining driving records.

Out-of-State: The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and the Clerk of Courts are unable to provide you with driving records from states other than Florida. If you need driving records and histories for your driving in another state, you will need to contact the driver's license agency for that state.

Points on Driver's License

Upon payment of a civil traffic citation or an adjudication of guilt by the court on either an infraction or a criminal traffic ticket case, points may be assessed to your license by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

If you receive a traffic ticket from another state, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will apply points to your Florida driver's license the same as if you received that ticket here in Florida.

If you have an out-of-state driver's license, Florida will share the traffic citation information with the out-of-state authority that issued your driver's license, including whether you failed to pay or take care of the ticket.

Failure to take care of a Florida ticket may result in the suspension of your Florida driving privileges even though you might be operating a vehicle in Florida with a valid out-of-state driver's license.

Points do not expire. Points cannot be removed once they have been assessed by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Too many points accumulated against your driver's license within state-determined time periods may result in a suspension of your driving privileges.

Driver's License Suspension

What does it mean when my driver's license is suspended?

When your driver's license has been suspended, it means that the state that issued your driver's license has suspended your privileges to drive a motor vehicle. You are not allowed to operate a motor vehicle in any state when your driver's license is suspended until you clear the suspension and have your driving privileges reinstated by the state that suspended it.

Why is my driver's license suspended?

There are many possible reasons why your driving privileges have been suspended. If you have any past due, open traffic tickets in Hillsborough County, the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court can assist you with those. If your unpaid traffic tickets are with another county, you will have to contact that county's Clerk. It could have been suspended because you had too many points assessed in a period. You can find out more about driver's license suspensions from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

I received a suspension letter from the State of Florida

If your letter says that your driver's license was suspended for any reason other than a traffic ticket, you must contact the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

A driver's license can be suspended because of failure to maintain insurance, failure to pay child support, excessive points, driving under the influence, and being a habitual traffic offender, among other things.

If your letter says your driver's license was suspended because you failed to meet court requirements, it means that the Clerk of Court in the county where the traffic ticket was issued determined that you may have failed to pay the penalty by the due date, may have failed to complete traffic school and submit proof of completion by the due date, may have failed to provide proof of obtaining a driver's license, vehicle registration or insurance when required to do so, or may have failed to appear in court as required.

If your driver's license has been suspended due to failing to meet Hillsborough County court requirements and you possess a Florida driver's license, you may be able to resolve your court requirements and have the Clerk submit your clearance electronically to the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles to reinstate your driver's license.

If you possess an out-of-state (not issued in Florida) driver's license, and you failed to meet a Florida county court's requirements, you may be able to resolve these court requirements. You will receive a copy of your clearance letter within 2 to 3 business days via mail, if you provide the Clerk with a current mailing address. You will then need to submit this letter to your issuing state's driver's license agency.

If you satisfy the court requirements before the suspension date printed on your Order of Suspension, you will not be required to pay additional fees to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. If you satisfy the court requirements after the date printed on your Order of Suspension, you will be required to pay a $60 reinstatement fee, in order for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to reinstate your driver's license.

If your court requirements were ordered from another Florida county court, you will need to contact that county's clerk to resolve your court requirements. You can look up the court clerks by the county here.