Ignition interlock requirements in Florida

In Florida the device comes before the license, on every car you routinely drive, for at least six months to five years by offense count — and if the court forgets to order it, the department orders it anyway.

The device comes before the license

Florida does not leave the interlock to the sentencing judge alone. Its driver-license chapter tells the department what to do: “Before issuing a permanent or restricted driver license… the department shall require the placement of a department-approved ignition interlock device” for anyone convicted of the DUI offenses the section lists. The device goes “on all vehicles that are individually or jointly leased or owned and routinely operated by the convicted person” — not one car of the driver's choosing.

A documented medical condition that would stop the device working may be considered. It is not a way around the period: with a medical waiver, a restricted license waits until the installation period would have expired, and a permanent reinstatement is limited to an employment-purposes-only license under the supervision of a licensed DUI program until then.

How long: a ladder by offense count

The section sets minimum periods, not exact ones, and every step uses the word “continuous”:

• First offense: the device may be installed for at least 6 continuous months.
• First offense at the higher blood- or breath-alcohol level, or with a passenger under 18: at least 6 continuous months — and at least 2 continuous years if it happens a second time.
• Second offense: at least 1 continuous year.
• Third offense: at least 2 continuous years, whether or not it falls within ten years of a prior conviction.
• Fourth or subsequent offense: at least 5 years.

“Continuous” matters. A period interrupted by removing the device is not a period completed. And a conviction anywhere counts: for this section, a DUI conviction under Florida law, a prior conviction under the former section, or a conviction in another state for a similar alcohol- or drug-related driving offense is a conviction of driving under the influence.

If the court does not order it, the department does

A sentencing court can miss the device or set the wrong period. Florida closes that gap: if the court fails to order the mandatory placement, or the applicable period, at sentencing or within 30 days afterwards, “the department shall immediately require that the ignition interlock device be installed.” It applies to reinstatement after any DUI-based revocation, suspension or cancellation for an offense on or after July 1, 2005.

What the court's own order looks like

The traffic chapter gives the court its own interlock power, with a precise setting: the vehicle must not start “if the operator's blood alcohol level is in excess of 0.025 percent or as otherwise specified by the court.” When a court imposes a device, it states the requirement and period on the record, orders the department's records to reflect it, orders installation on any vehicle the person owns or operates, and requires proof of installation and periodic reporting.

When you cannot pay for the installation

If the person claims inability to pay, the court determines it, and may order that part of the DUI fine already paid be allocated to the installation cost. That is the statutory version of a payment concession; it does not set a device price, and this page does not either.

Proof within 30 days

Where the license is not suspended or revoked, the person proves compliance to the department within 30 days; without proof, and without a good-cause finding, the court notifies the department. Where the suspension or revocation is for less than three years, the department requires proof of compliance before reinstatement.

Violating it costs a year — or five

A conviction for violating the interlock section revokes the driving privilege for 1 year from the conviction. A separate violation during the same period of required use revokes it for 5 years.

Where the FR-44 comes in

Florida's DUI filing is not an ordinary SR-22. It is an FR-44 at 100/300/50, for 3 years, described on the Florida page and compared with every other state in FR-44 vs SR-22. The device and the FR-44 come out of the same conviction but run under different chapters, and the higher liability limits do not come off when the device does.

The state's own fee on each installation

Apart from whatever the provider charges, the authorized installer must collect and remit $12 for each installation to the department, for the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund that runs the interlock program. That is a statutory fee, not a device price.

Who certifies the device, and what the provider reports

The department certifies, or has certified, the accuracy and precision of each device's testing component and publishes the list of approved devices; certification costs are borne by the manufacturers. No model may be certified unless it meets or exceeds current National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standards.

A provider whose devices are certified must contract with the department to operate in Florida, and the department must contract with any certified provider that asks. The contract has to cover installation and removal, service, inspection and monitoring, and corrective action if the provider falls out of compliance — and it requires the provider to send the department electronic reports on driver activity, bypass approvals, compliance and client violations. In practice, the department sees what the device records.

What this page does not cover

Florida's DUI fines, jail terms, license revocation periods and the rule-based fees charged by device providers are in provisions this site has not read for this page.

Common questions