Fla. R. Traf. Ct. 6.600 · I. SCOPE, PURPOSE, AND CONSTRUCTION
FAILURE TO APPEAR OR PAY CIVIL PENALTY; REINSTATEMENT OF DRIVER LICENSE
Text — January 1, 2026 edition
(a) Notice of Failure to Appear or Pay. If no mandatory hearing is required and the defendant has been cited but fails to pay the civil penalty or appear, the clerk must send the department notice of such failure as required by section 318.15(1), Florida Statutes.
(b) Appearance After Notice Sent. If the defendant appears before the clerk after the notice was sent but before the department suspends the driver license, the defendant may pay the civil penalty together with any additional penalty required by section 318.18(8)(a), Florida Statutes, or may request a hearing. If the defendant requests a hearing, the clerk shall set the case for hearing upon payment of the costs specified in section 318.18(8)(a), Florida Statutes.
(c) Reinstatement of License. If the defendant appears before the clerk after the department suspends the driver license, the defendant may pay the civil penalty together with any additional penalty required by section 318(8)(a), Florida Statutes, or request a hearing. A request for a hearing must be made as provided by section 318.15(1)(c), Florida Statutes. If the official grants the defendant’s request for a hearing and determines that the defendant committed the infraction, the defendant shall be subject to the penalty provisions of section 318.14(5), Florida Statutes.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
Committee Notes
1988 Amendment. It was thought that a defendant who fails to appear until after his or her driver license has been suspended (which could be years later) should not be allowed to elect a hearing in those cases where the state has been prejudiced by the passage of time.
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 33–34)
- Text hash
- sha256 ac63182e46032bb672c114c205aea9f757afacd66b14782ce7e9a378ef7fe101
- 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
- § 318.14, Fla. Stat.Noncriminal traffic infractions; exception; procedures.Printed as section 318.14(5)
- § 318.15, Fla. Stat.Failure to comply with civil penalty or to appear; penalty.Printed as section 318.15(1); section 318.15(1)(c)
- § 318.18, Fla. Stat.Amount of penalties.Printed as section 318.18(8)(a)
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.