KEY INFORMATION FOR PARENTS ON TEEN DRIVING: The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles launched a parents section on its teen driving website www.flhsmv.gov/teens. The new and improved website now provides parents with useful information to help them teach their teens to become safe drivers. Florida’s graduated driver licensing program allows teens to obtain a learner’s permit at age 15, which restricts them to driving only under certain conditions with a licensed adult. Other restrictions apply to teens with an operator’s license until their 18th birthday.
To ensure that both parents and teens have a complete understanding of the law, an explanation of each phase of the graduated licensing program and the related restrictions can be found on the website. Certain behaviors are associated with the cause of the high fatality rate of teen drivers including: inexperience and immaturity combined with speed, alcohol consumption, not wearing seatbelts, distractions, drowsiness, and driving when visibility is limited. The website includes a driving guide and a driving log to track the 50 hours of practice that teens must record to obtain their intermediate operator’s license. To visit the website, please go to: www.flhsmv.gov/teens
REAL ID PUBLIC INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ROLLS ALONG: Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles launched a two-year “Gather.Go.Get” campaign that will empower Floridians with the needed tools to obtain a driver license or identification card that meets the standards of the Real ID Act of 2005. The internal launch started on May 2009 with information to DHSMV and Tax Collector employees. The next phase of the campaign is directed ongoing at partner organizations across the state. Some of the groups include AAA, airports, airlines, rental car companies, and travel websites, the Florida Bar Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. The first two phases are designed to educate those who could potentially receive questions from the public. The final phase, Public Release, is scheduled to begin this month. The campaign will bring notice to the public through an interactive website, press releases, press conferences, public service announcements, mailings, paid media and other formats.
DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY & MOTOR VEHICLES FEE SCHEDULE: Beginning September 1, 2009, certain fees for driver license and motor vehicle services will be changing. These new base fees were established by the Florida Legislature as part of the state’s budget development process. A combination of vehicle information is used to determine registration fees. They are the registration use, license plate type and class code. The class code is determined by the vehicle weight, body type, vehicle type and registration use. To see a sample, click here.
Customers will be notified of the new fees that are applicable to them via the renewal reminders that they will receive in the mail or at their local offices. A list of the new fees for the most frequently used motorist services is provided below. For a complete listing of all new motorist services fees, including the amount of the previous fee and the date of the most recent fee change, please click here. To review the Department’s most recent Benchmarking Analysis in which Florida’s operating costs and related fees were compared to several other participating states, click here. For a list of frequently asked questions and answers regarding Florida's new fees, click here.
DRIVER LICENSE AND IDENTIFICATION CARD RENEWAL: Driver licenses and identification cards can be renewed up 18 months prior to their expiration date. Please visit http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/renewing.html for more information regarding renewals.
REVIEW OF CURRENT REQUIREMENTS: Florida now requires additional documents for people renewing or obtaining their Florida driver license or identification card. Everyone must provide one proof of residential address, and one form of proof of social security number, if issued. The changes are required to bring Florida into compliance with the Real ID Act of 2005.
To renew or obtain a license or identification card, residents must now have one form of proof of residential address such as:
• Deed, mortgage, monthly mortgage statement, mortgage payment booklet or residential rental/lease agreement
• Florida Voter Registration Card
• Florida Vehicle Registration or Title
• A utility hook up or work order dated within 60 days of the application
• W-2 form or 1099 form
• A letter from a homeless shelter, transitional service provider, or a half-way house verifying that the customer resides at the shelter address
For a list of Proof of Residential Address documents, please visit http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/address.html.
Proof of social security number, if issued, includes one of the following:
• Social Security card
• Tax return
• W-2 form
• Pay check stub
• DD-214 (military discharge document)
• School record
• Documentation from the IRS containing your social security number
First time residents applying for a driver license or identification card must also provide proof of identity such as:
• Original or certified birth certificate (name on each document must match exactly or be accompanied by an official marriage certificate or court order)
• Valid passport
Non-US Citizens must provide additional documents such as:
• Valid permanent resident card
• Employment authorization card
The Department provides a list of acceptable documents online at http://www.flhsmv.gov/ddl/faqkeys.html.
REAL ID – BASIC FACTS: Florida will begin issuing Real ID driver licenses and ID cards no later than January 1, 2010. This means that:
• Your current, unexpired, Florida driver license or ID card will continue to be valid as identification for federal purposes until December 1, 2014 for individuals born after December 1, 1964, and December 1, 2017 for everyone else.
• After the 2014 and 2017 dates, Federal agencies will no longer accept a driver license or ID card unless it is Real ID compliant. This means you will not be allowed to board commercial flights or enter federal facilities unless you have a Real ID compliant document.
For more complete information about Real ID, please visit http://www.flhsmv.gov/realid/.
AN APPOINTMENT WILL SAVE YOU TIME! All customers who must visit one of our offices to renew, replace, or file a change of address to their driver license or identification card, are urged to secure an appointment prior to their visit. Connect via Internet at http://www.flhsmv.gov/oasis for an appointment to greatly reduce the length of the visit. Then link to the on-line pre-application and complete it before coming to one of our offices.
OUR OFFICE SCHEDULE: Driver license offices in Florida are open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Testing guidelines, that continue to provide excellent customer service, call for the start of the last oral examination and CDL test to begin each day at 3:30 p.m. The last written examinations and driving tests begin each day at 4:30 p.m. Please check our website at www.flhsmv.gov/offices/ for the most up-to-date information on office locations and schedules.
DRIVER LICENSES AND IDENTIFICATION CARDS FEES (In effect until 8/31/2009)
Class E (original) $27.00 CDL (renewal) $67.00
Class E (renewal) $20.00 ID Card (original) $10.00
CDL (original) $67.00 Endorsements $ 7.00
Driver License Services at Tax Collector office Service Fee $ 5.25
Buckle up your seatbelt!
