Florida hardship license

Florida's “hardship license” is a business- or employment-only privilege granted at a hearing. A first-time DUI suspension can qualify at once — but taking it waives your challenge to the suspension.

What a Florida hardship license is

Florida has no statute titled “hardship license.” What people mean is a driving privilege restored “on a limited or restricted basis for business or employment use only” under section 322.271 — after a suspension or revocation, on a showing that losing the license “causes a serious hardship.” It comes in two sizes.

• Business purposes only: any driving necessary to maintain a livelihood — to and from work, on-the-job driving, education, church and medical purposes.
• Employment purposes only: to and from work and necessary on-the-job driving, nothing else.

“Driving for any purpose other than as provided by this paragraph is not permitted.” The holder also keeps any restriction that applied to their old license class.

How you get one: the hearing

On request, the department holds a hearing within 30 days, in the county where the driver lives. The driver has to show that the suspension or revocation causes a serious hardship, precludes them from carrying out their normal occupation, trade or employment, and that driving is necessary to support themselves or their family.

What the department asks for

• Proof of the department-approved driver training course, or of the DUI program's substance abuse education course and evaluation — or, for point-system and administrative DUI suspensions, proof of enrollment, with treatment if referred.
• Letters of recommendation from respected business people, law enforcement officers or judicial officers, if the department requires them.

Fail to finish the course within 90 days of reinstatement, or drop out of treatment, and the department cancels the license until it is completed. The hearing can be waived on request once the driver has enrolled — except where the case involved death or serious bodily injury, multiple DUI convictions, or a second suspension under the same provision.

After a DUI arrest: the administrative suspension

The officer suspends the license on the spot for the department: six months after a first breath or blood result of 0.08 or more, one year after a first refusal — one year and eighteen months respectively if there was a prior suspension under the section. The driver gets a 10-day temporary permit and has 10 days to ask for a formal or informal review, or for a review of eligibility for a restricted privilege.

First time? You can be eligible straight away

A person who has never had a 322.2615 suspension, never been disqualified under 322.64 and never been convicted of DUI is eligible for a restricted, business-purposes-only privilege for the length of the suspension. The catch is written into the same subsection: “Acceptance of the reinstated driving privilege… is deemed a waiver of the right to formal and informal review.” Taking the hardship license means giving up the challenge to the suspension.

Otherwise: 30 or 90 days of hard suspension

If the suspension is sustained, a business or employment license is not available until 30 days after the last temporary permit expired for a failed test, or 90 days for a refusal.

After a DUI conviction: the revocation

A conviction brings a court-ordered revocation: at least 180 days and not more than one year for a first DUI not involving death; at least five years for a second within five years; at least ten years for a third within ten years.

Long revocations: 12 or 24 months first

A person revoked for five years or less may petition for a business- or employment-only privilege twelve months after the revocation; more than five years, after twenty-four months. They must have not driven and have been drug free for at least the twelve months before, and accept DUI-program supervision with reports at least three times a year, at their own cost. The department may also require an ignition interlock.

Who cannot have one

The privilege is not available to someone with two or more DUI convictions or two refusal suspensions whose license is revoked under 322.28 or suspended under 322.2615 — except through the long-revocation petition above — or to a habitual traffic offender before twelve months, or to anyone permanently revoked outside the DUI-manslaughter route.

Insurance comes with it

A DUI in Florida is followed by the FR-44 rather than the SR-22: proof at 100/300/50, far above the ordinary minimum, for three years. A hardship license does not remove that requirement, and the department may also require an interlock. FR-44 vs SR-22 and Florida interlock cover those two pieces; driving without insurance in Florida covers the lapse rules, and Florida license reinstatement sets out every reason's fees and steps.

Common questions