Are Traffic Tickets Public Record in Florida?

Receiving traffic a ticket is a pain. No one wants to pay an expensive fine or go through the hassle of contesting the ticket in court. Luckily, a traffic lawyer can go to court for you to fight the ticket. You have the best chance of getting your ticket dismissed or reduced if you enlist the aid of a qualified defense attorney.

In Florida, traffic violations are part of the public record. This allows insurance companies, employers, and government agencies to measure driver safety for their businesses. If you receive a citation, it will go on your record, affecting your insurance rates and possibly your employability if you are a CDL holder.

Contact The Ticket Lawyers if you have any questions regarding traffic citations and your public record. If you’ve recently received a citation, we can help you fight it in court. We have years of experience getting tickets just like yours dismissed for our clients across the State of Florida.

Schedule a free consultation with The Ticket Lawyers now at (866)-985-7740.

Who Has Access to Public Records?

Your driving record is available to anyone who pays for access. However, personal information, such as birth date, social security number, and residential address is not available to individuals who request your Florida records. This is due to your Constitutional right to privacy guaranteed by Florida law.

Certain businesses and government entities have access to complete driver’s license records. Companies must be registered with the government and meet certain requirements to access an individual’s public record. They can view your personal information that would be otherwise unavailable to anyone but you.

Driver’s license records come in three-year, seven-year, or lifetime packets. They will contain a plethora of information on your driving history, including traffic violations and any points you may have on your license.

What Type of Information is Listed on My Public Record?

According to the State of Florida website, your driving record includes the following information:

• Personal information – In most cases, your driving record includes identifying information, such as your name, date of birth, social security number, and residential address. However, this information is not available when the record is ordered online. This is done to protect your right to privacy under Florida law.
• Current license type – This refers to what type of driver’s license you have. Most people have a Class E license, while others may hold a CDL or specialized license.
• Original and prior state information – Contains information on when your driver’s license was issued and if you hold driver’s licenses in any other states.
• License type – Data on the type of driver’s license you hold, the status of your driving privileges, as well as the issue dates and expiry dates of your driver’s license. Your status will be listed as eligible, non-eligible, canceled, suspended, disqualified, or revoked.
• Issuance history – These are the issue dates of your licenses and I.D. cards, as well as renewal dates and replacements.
• Exams – Contains information on your driver’s license exam scores, eye test results, and knowledge tests. It also shows how many times you took the exam and the number of failures.
• Restrictions and endorsements – Lists any restrictions on your driving privileges, such as a requirement to wear corrective lenses or using an IID. Also, endorsements refer to additional driving privileges you may have, like operating a motorcycle or transporting hazardous materials.
• Special driver information – Organ donation status, safe driving certificate, or eligibility to renew your license online.
• Violations – Information on any tickets you may have been issued, including the date, time, and location of where you were given the traffic citation. It also includes the number of points on your license.
• Crashes – Any crashes you may have been involved in but not necessarily caused.
• Driver improvement school – Lists the driver improvement schools you completed after any traffic violations.

Are My Traffic Tickets Part of My Public Record?

Traffic tickets are not personally identifiable information, so they are available on your public record. As mentioned above, any traffic violations on your driver’s license are listed by a three-year, seven-year, or lifetime record.

How Long Do Traffic Tickets Stay on My Record?

Most traffic citations stay on your public record for a period of three to five years, depending on their severity. However, alcohol-related offenses can stay on your record for up to 75 years, and serious traffic offenses can stay on a CDL record for 55 years.

The best way to keep tickets off your record is to contest them in court and try to get them dismissed. A traffic ticket lawyer is equipped to handle any traffic case and show up to court on your behalf.

How Long Do Points Stay on My Florida Driving Record?

Points from traffic tickets remain on your driving record for 36 months from when the ticket was issued. Every new batch of points has a new expiration date.

For example, if you are issued a citation in January 2021, the points will stay on your license until January 2024.

What Are My Options If I Get a Traffic Ticket?

You have three options when you are given a civil traffic citation.

• Pay – Pay the fine and be done with it. You have 30 days from when the ticket was issued to pay the citation. Otherwise, you could face late fees and a possible license suspension if enough time has passed.
• Argue – Contest the traffic citation in court. You can argue the information listed by the ticket is incorrect or was improperly logged. If the issuing police officer doesn’t show up, you can have the ticket thrown out. If the equipment used to cite you was malfunctioning, any evidence it provided could be used as grounds to have the ticket dismissed.
• Traffic school – You can attend traffic school once a year for a total of five times in your life. You can avoid points on your license by completing the course. However, course completion can only be applied to one ticket. It will also not cancel the fine, so you will still have to pay even if you complete the course.

How Can I Avoid a Traffic Violation Being Added to My Public Record?

Completing a driver improvement course, otherwise known as traffic school, will keep a traffic violation off your driving record. However, the traffic course will be listed in the information provided by a three-year, seven-year, or lifetime report. You have 30 days from when the citation was issued to inform the court of your intent to attend a driver improvement course.

The only other way to avoid a traffic violation being added to your record is by getting the ticket dismissed in court. If you are acquitted of the offense, and a judge dismisses the ticket, a county clerk will remove the citation from your Florida record. You have 30 days from when the citation was issued to inform the court of your intent to fight the ticket.

Criminal traffic citations cannot be dismissed. It would be best to address the criminal charges with a lawyer to void the ticket associated with the criminal traffic violation. However, this is done in criminal court, not traffic court. You cannot have a lawyer show up on your behalf, and you must be present for the court proceedings.

Out-of-state traffic violations cannot be removed by a Florida court or driver improvement course. You must contest the ticket in court where the citation was issued.

Contact The Ticket Lawyers Today!

Have you been issued a traffic ticket? Are you worried about whether the citation will show up on your public record?

Contact The Ticket Lawyers today to find out if we can have your traffic ticket dismissed in court. We can attend traffic court on your behalf, making the process easy and convenient for you. Our law firm has years of experience representing clients across Florida, getting them the best outcome possible for their traffic case. We handle all types of traffic infractions, minor and major.

Schedule a free consultation with us to start the fight against your traffic citation today.

Call The Ticket Lawyers now at (866)-985-7740.