Identify the license action before paying or applying
Florida separates administrative license action from the criminal DUI case. The FLHSMV DUI and administrative suspension overview covers both. A hearing about the suspension is not the criminal trial, and paying court costs does not establish that every driver license requirement has been satisfied.
Keep the citation, suspension notice, temporary permit, and any court judgment together. Write down the notice date, permit expiration, citation number, and the specific reason for the action. A driver can have more than one open sanction. Use the state's driving-record instructions to distinguish the free current-status check from a purchased driver history showing open and closed actions.
The Bureau of Administrative Reviews, commonly called BAR, handles the review and hardship questions. A regular license counter does not decide a contested administrative suspension. The official county office directory separates BAR contacts, license service centers, and clerks of court. Use the office identified on the notice for the pending review rather than mailing a time-sensitive application to an unrelated counter.
Administrative suspension periods and the first 10 days
For an unlawful alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, the standard administrative periods are six months for a first suspension and one year for a subsequent unlawful-alcohol suspension. A first refusal to submit to the required lawful test produces a one-year suspension; a subsequent refusal produces 18 months. These periods are different from a conviction-based revocation.
Under section 322.2615, a formal or informal review must be requested within 10 days after issuance of the suspension notice. An otherwise eligible driver receives a temporary permit expiring at midnight on the tenth day following issuance. Possessing the citation is not permission to drive after that permit expires.
Do not wait for a criminal court date to address the administrative deadline. A review request itself does not stop the suspension. Any later temporary authorization has its own eligibility conditions, restrictions, and expiration; obtain and read the actual permit rather than assuming that a pending hearing extends the original one.
Choose a challenge or a restricted-license eligibility review
To challenge the suspension, use HSMV 78065, Application for Formal or Informal Review. The form requests the citation number, notice date, license details, contact information, and review choice. Submit the citation copy and the $25 filing fee with the application. Keep evidence of delivery and payment, not merely a saved unsigned draft.
An informal review considers documents, without witness testimony. A formal review permits relevant testimony and evidence before a hearing officer; the current statute permits communications technology. The formal hearing must be scheduled within 30 days after the request is received. Follow BAR's instructions for attendance and documents; a criminal-case appearance does not substitute for this proceeding.
A separate route is available to qualifying first-time applicants under section 322.271(7). Eligibility requires no previous suspension under section 322.2615, no prior disqualification under section 322.64, and no previous DUI conviction, including qualifying out-of-state convictions. BAR checks the history; "my first Florida arrest" does not necessarily establish eligibility.
The April 2026 HSMV 72034 eligibility-review application calls for a citation copy, proof of DUI-school enrollment, the $25 filing fee, and the completed affirmation and witness information. Acceptance of the restricted privilege waives formal and informal review of that administrative suspension. It does not dismiss the criminal charge. The form also warns that a later DUI conviction invalidates the restricted license issued through this application. Address this choice during the initial notice period, before relying on a permit that is about to expire.
Restricted driving is not unrestricted reinstatement
The first-time eligibility route can avoid the ordinary no-driving waiting period for an eligible applicant. Otherwise, after a sustained suspension, the usual hardship waiting period is 30 days for unlawful alcohol or 90 days for a first refusal, generally measured from expiration of the last temporary permit. Where no permit was issued because the driver was ineligible, the statute instead measures from the suspension date. Repeat-refusal and prior-DUI history can bar hardship relief entirely.
A business-purposes restriction covers driving necessary to maintain livelihood, including work, education, church, and medical purposes. An employment-purposes restriction is narrower: travel to and from work and necessary job driving. Neither permits unrestricted recreational driving.
For other hardship applications, use HSMV 78306, Application for Administrative Hearing, rather than treating it as interchangeable with the first-time waiver form. Its April 2026 revision requests a decision on submitted documents when the hearing-waiver provision applies, but BAR may require a hearing. The form excludes specified serious-injury, death, and repeat-action cases from that waiver. Its filing fee is $12, not the $25 charged for the review routes above. Neither fee guarantees approval.
A DUI conviction creates separate revocation requirements
The conviction-based periods in section 322.28 begin on the conviction date. For an ordinary first DUI, the revocation is at least 180 days and no more than one year. A second conviction for an offense occurring within five years after a prior conviction brings at least five years. A third conviction for an offense occurring within ten years after a prior conviction brings at least ten years. DUI involving serious bodily injury has a minimum three-year revocation, subject to longer applicable repeat-offender periods.
Fourth convictions and DUI manslaughter carry permanent-revocation provisions. Restricted reinstatement in those cases depends on separate, limited statutory exceptions, not ordinary first-offense procedures. For repeat convictions, the offense dates and prior conviction dates matter; simply counting calendar years since an arrest can give the wrong result.
The state's DUI reinstatement FAQ distinguishes early hardship reinstatement after a first conviction from reinstatement after the revocation ends. Early hardship requires DUI-program completion and the applicable treatment proof. After the full period ends, enrollment may suffice initially, with continuing completion obligations. Present the judgment to BAR and obtain the requirements for that particular revocation. An earlier administrative permit does not carry over automatically.
Enroll in the correct DUI program and finish every component
Use FLHSMV's licensed DUI-program directory, not an ordinary traffic-school advertisement. Level I is generally for first-time offenders and includes at least 12 classroom hours. Level II is for multiple offenders and includes at least 21 hours. The program determines the appropriate enrollment and evaluation requirements. Classroom education, evaluation, and any treatment referral are distinct obligations.
Florida's DUI FAQ limits attendance to a program serving the county where the customer lives, works, or attends school. Confirm that connection before paying a provider elsewhere. Ask how enrollment and completion are reported to FLHSMV and obtain your own copies. A receipt for tuition is not the same as a completion report.
There is a published deadline discrepancy worth resolving at enrollment. Section 322.291 uses 90 days after reinstatement for course and evaluation completion; the April 2026 eligibility and hardship applications instead warn of cancellation if school is unfinished within 90 days of enrollment. Ask BAR and the licensed program to confirm the deadline in writing, and plan to satisfy the earlier date rather than relying on the longer interpretation. Failure to complete required treatment can also cause cancellation after the original suspension period ends.
The posted DUI-program fee schedule, checked October 20, 2026 and labeled effective October 1, 2023, lists Level I registration at $330 and Level II at $495. It separately lists records, reassignment, evaluation, and supervision charges. Request an itemized quote, including any assessments and treatment costs; do not treat the registration figure as the entire cost of reinstatement.
Install an ignition interlock when the sanction requires it
Start with the state ignition-interlock program and approved-provider list. A first conviction involving an alcohol level of 0.15 or higher, or a minor in the vehicle, generally requires at least six months. A second conviction generally requires at least one year, increased to at least two years for the higher alcohol level or a minor passenger. The court order and applicable statutory category control the particular requirement.
The IID FAQ explains an important timing rule: installation alone does not start the credited restriction period. The license must be reinstated and the IID restriction placed on the driving record. Arrange installation and the licensing transaction as coordinated steps, then keep the monitoring appointments. A device receipt does not authorize driving while the license remains suspended.
The separate ignition-interlock statute also addresses medical waivers and vehicles subject to installation. A medical issue is not an automatic exemption or immediate unrestricted reinstatement. Have BAR evaluate the applicable process before changing or removing a required device.
Arrange the FR-44 filing when the conviction requires it
For qualifying DUI findings or pleas after October 1, 2007, section 324.023 requires enhanced financial responsibility: $100,000 bodily injury liability for one person, $300,000 for two or more people in a crash, and $50,000 property damage liability. FLHSMV's DUI FAQ also identifies the $350,000 combined-single-limit option and directs drivers to maintain the FR-44 for three years from reinstatement.
Ask the insurer to make the required FR-44 filing and confirm that FLHSMV has received it. An ordinary insurance identification card does not demonstrate that this filing has posted. The enhanced requirement is tied to the qualifying DUI disposition; do not automatically assign it to every administrative test-refusal notice before determining the underlying action. Avoid a coverage lapse while the filing obligation remains active.
Pay the applicable fees and confirm the record is cleared
The FLHSMV fee schedule, checked October 20, 2026, lists a $130 administrative charge for alcohol- or drug-related offenses, a $45 suspension reinstatement fee, and a $75 revocation reinstatement fee. Applicable license issuance, exams, and other outstanding sanctions can create additional charges. Do not add both suspension and revocation fees to every case without checking which actions require payment.
The schedule's $15 DUI-program assessment is not the total price of DUI school, and the $12 interlock assessment is not the full installation or monitoring bill. Insurance premiums, treatment, and provider charges are separate. Obtain the actual reinstatement statement before paying, especially when the record contains multiple actions.
The official MyDMV Portal service description lists administrative hearing requests, sanction and stop inquiries, driver-record requests, and clearance letters. Account access or a payment confirmation does not by itself establish eligibility to drive. After school reporting, insurance filing, interlock processing, and fees are complete, verify the current license status and every restriction. Keep the clearance documents with the final BAR decision.
Under-21 and commercial-driver cases have additional rules
Florida's under-21 administrative law uses a 0.02 alcohol threshold, rather than the ordinary 0.08 threshold. A first qualifying alcohol-level suspension lasts six months; a later one lasts a year. At 0.05 or higher, completion of the required licensed DUI-program course is an additional condition. The temporary permit under this law does not become effective until 12 hours after issuance. Read an under-21 notice under its own statute rather than applying every adult rule unchanged.
For CDL and commercial learner's permit holders, commercial-driver disqualification rules apply in addition to other license actions, including certain offenses in a personal vehicle. The commercial-vehicle alcohol threshold is 0.04. A noncommercial hardship approval is not permission to operate a commercial motor vehicle; Florida provides no commercial hardship license during disqualification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a dropped DUI charge automatically remove the administrative suspension?
No. Distinguish dismissal from a not-guilty verdict at trial. Section 322.2615(16) requires invalidation of the unlawful-alcohol-level suspension when the driver is found not guilty at trial of the underlying DUI. Subsection (14)(b) separately says the criminal disposition does not affect a refusal suspension. Submit the actual court disposition and verify the resulting record change.
Can I drive while my formal review is pending?
Only under a valid permit or license authorizing that driving. Filing a review request does not itself stop the suspension or extend the original temporary permit. Read the dates and restrictions on any authorization BAR actually issues.
Is the first-time restricted-license application the same as contesting the suspension?
No. HSMV 72034 asks for restricted reinstatement based on eligibility. Acceptance waives formal and informal review of that administrative suspension. HSMV 78065 instead requests a review challenging the action. Neither resolves the criminal case.
Does ordinary traffic school satisfy DUI-school requirements?
No. Use a licensed DUI program and complete the assigned education, evaluation, and any required treatment. The appropriate provider must serve the county of your residence, employment, or schooling. Confirm reporting and retain completion evidence.
Does the ignition-interlock period start when the device is installed?
Not by installation alone. FLHSMV requires reinstatement and the IID restriction on the driver record before time counts. The installation appointment and the license transaction are separate steps.
Will my license become valid automatically when the suspension date passes?
Not necessarily. Outstanding school, treatment, insurance, interlock, fee, or other sanction requirements can prevent reinstatement. Check the current record after satisfying the written requirements; an expired suspension period is not a substitute for a valid driving privilege.