Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.165 · I. SCOPE, PURPOSE, AND CONSTRUCTION
COMPLAINT; SUMMONS; FORM; USE
Text — January 1, 2026 edition
(a) Uniform Traffic Citation. All prosecutions for criminal traffic offenses by law enforcement officers shall be by uniform traffic citation as provided for in section 316.650, Florida Statutes, or other applicable statutes, or by affidavit, information, or indictment as provided for in the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. If prosecution is by affidavit, information, or indictment, a uniform traffic citation shall be prepared by the arresting officer at the direction of the prosecutor or, in the absence of the arresting officer, by the prosecutor and submitted to the department.
(b) Amendment of Citation. The court may allow the prosecutor to amend in open court a traffic citation alleging a criminal traffic offense to state a different traffic offense. No new traffic citation need be issued by the arresting officer. The court shall grant additional time to the defendant for the purpose of preparing a defense if the amendment has prejudiced the defendant.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Committee Notes
1988 Amendment. It was felt that due process required the court to grant a continuance to the defendant as a matter of right, if the amendment prejudiced the defendant. The committee felt that this should be mandatory and not discretionary.
Source of truth
- Edition
- January 1, 2026 edition
- Official file
- https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2026/07/2026_7-JAN-Traffic-Court-Rules-01-01-2026.pdf (PDF pages 14)
- Text hash
- sha256 2e42e67031d254ee23dd31a772aa108df2ef8dd35139b951620ea2300d82e602
- Composed by
- compose_book.py 2026-10-03: pypdfium2 primary, PyMuPDF check, PDF bookmarks as the inventory
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
The Florida Statutes
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.