322.18 Original applications, licenses, and renewals; expiration of licenses; delinquent licenses.—
(1)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the department may issue an original driver license only after the applicant successfully passes the required examinations and presents the application to the department.
(b) The department may waive the driver license examination requirement if the applicant is otherwise qualified and surrenders a valid license issued by another state, a province of Canada, or the United States Armed Forces which is of an equal or lesser classification as provided in s. 322.12.
(2) Each applicant who is entitled to the issuance of a driver license, as provided in this section, shall be issued a driver license, as follows:
(a) An applicant who has not attained 80 years of age applying for an original issuance shall be issued a driver license that expires at midnight on the licensee’s birthday which next occurs on or after the eighth anniversary of the date of issue. An applicant who is at least 80 years of age applying for an original issuance shall be issued a driver license that expires at midnight on the licensee’s birthday that next occurs on or after the sixth anniversary of the date of issue.
(b) An applicant who has not attained 80 years of age applying for a renewal issuance shall be issued a driver license that expires at midnight on the licensee’s birthday that next occurs 8 years after the month of expiration of the license being renewed. An applicant who is at least 80 years of age applying for a renewal issuance shall be issued a driver license that expires at midnight on the licensee’s birthday that next occurs 6 years after the month of expiration of the license being renewed.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if an applicant establishes his or her identity for a driver license using a document authorized under s. 322.08(2)(c)5., the driver license shall expire in accordance with paragraph (b). After an initial showing of such documentation, he or she is exempted from having to renew or obtain a duplicate in person.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if an applicant establishes his or her identity for a driver license using a document authorized in s. 322.08(2)(c)7. or 8., the driver license shall expire 1 year after the date of issuance or upon the expiration date cited on the United States Department of Homeland Security documents, whichever date first occurs.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an applicant applying for an original or renewal issuance of a commercial driver license as defined in s. 322.01(7), with a hazardous-materials endorsement, pursuant to s. 322.57(1)(e), shall be issued a driver license that expires at midnight on the licensee’s birthday that next occurs 4 years after the month of expiration of the license being issued or renewed.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an applicant applying for an original issuance of a commercial driver license as defined in s. 322.01(7) shall be issued a driver license that expires at midnight 8 years after the licensee’s last birthday prior to issuance of the license.
(3) If a license expires on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, it shall be valid until midnight of the next regular working day and may be renewed on that day without payment of a delinquent fee.
(4)(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all licenses shall be renewable every 8 years and shall be issued or renewed upon application, payment of the fees required by s. 322.21, and successful passage of any required examination, unless the department has reason to believe that the licensee is no longer qualified to receive a license.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if an applicant establishes his or her identity for a driver license using a document authorized under s. 322.08(2)(c)5., the license, upon an initial showing of such documentation, is exempted from having to renew or obtain a duplicate in person, unless the renewal or duplication coincides with the periodic reexamination of a driver as required pursuant to s. 322.121.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if a licensee establishes his or her identity for a driver license using an identification document authorized under s. 322.08(2)(c)7. or 8., the licensee may not renew the driver license except in person and upon submission of an identification document authorized under s. 322.08(2)(c)7. or 8. A driver license renewed under this paragraph expires 1 year after the date of issuance or upon the expiration date cited on the United States Department of Homeland Security documents, whichever date first occurs.
(5) All renewal driver licenses may be issued after the applicant licensee has been determined to be eligible by the department.
(a) A licensee who is otherwise eligible for renewal and who is at least 80 years of age:
1. Must submit to and pass a vision test administered at any driver license office; or
2. If the licensee applies for a renewal using a convenience service as provided in subsection (8), he or she must submit to a vision test administered by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459, an optometrist licensed under chapter 463, or a licensed physician at a federally established veterans’ hospital; must send the results of that test to the department on a form obtained from the department and signed by such health care practitioner; and must meet vision standards that are equivalent to the standards for passing the departmental vision test. The physician or optometrist may submit the results of a vision test by a department-approved electronic means.
(b) A licensee who is at least 80 years of age may not submit an application for renewal under subsection (8) by a convenience service unless the results of a vision test have been electronically submitted in advance by the physician or optometrist.
(c) The department shall issue an identification card under s. 322.051 at no charge to a licensee who is at least 80 years of age and whose driving privilege is denied due to failure to pass a vision test pursuant to this subsection.
(6) If the licensee does not receive a renewal notice, the licensee or applicant may apply to the department, under oath, at any driver license examining office. Such application shall be on a form prepared and furnished by the department. The department shall make such forms available to the various examining offices throughout the state. Upon receipt of such application, the department shall issue a license or temporary permit to the applicant or shall advise the applicant that no license or temporary permit will be issued and advise the applicant of the reason for his or her ineligibility.
(7) An expired Florida driver license may be renewed any time within 12 months after the expiration date, with reexamination, if required, upon payment of the required delinquent fee or taking and passing the written examination. If the final date upon which a license may be renewed under this section falls upon a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the renewal period shall be extended to midnight of the next regular working day. The department may refuse to issue any license if:
(a) It has reason to believe the licensee is no longer qualified to receive a license.
(b) Its records reflect that the applicant’s driving privilege is under suspension or revocation.
(8) The department shall issue 8-year renewals using a convenience service without reexamination to drivers who have not attained 80 years of age. The department shall issue 6-year renewals using a convenience service when the applicant has satisfied the requirements of subsection (5).
(a) If the department determines from its records that the holder of a license about to expire is eligible for renewal, the department shall mail a renewal notice to the licensee at his or her last known address, not less than 30 days prior to the licensee’s birthday. The renewal notice shall direct the licensee to appear at a driver license office for in-person renewal or to transmit the completed renewal notice and the fees required by s. 322.21 to the department using a convenience service.
(b) Upon receipt of a properly completed renewal notice, payment of the required fees, and upon determining that the licensee is still eligible for renewal, the department shall send a new license to the licensee as evidence that the license term has been extended.
(c) The department shall issue one renewal using a convenience service. A person who is out of this state when his or her license expires may be issued a 90-day temporary driving permit without reexamination. At the end of the 90-day period, the person must either return to this state or apply for a license where the person is located, except for a member of the Armed Forces as provided in s. 322.121(5).
(d) Any person who knowingly possesses any forged, stolen, fictitious, counterfeit, or unlawfully issued license extension sticker, unless possession by such person has been duly authorized by the department, commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(e) The department shall develop a plan for the equitable distribution of license renewals and the orderly implementation of this section.
(9) The application form for a renewal issuance or renewal extension shall include language permitting a voluntary contribution of $1 per applicant to aid the homeless. Contributions made pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the Grants and Donations Trust Fund of the Department of Children and Families and used by the State Office on Homelessness to supplement grants made under s. 420.622(4) and (5), provide information to the public about homelessness in the state, and provide literature for homeless persons seeking assistance. For the purpose of applying the service charge provided in s. 215.20, contributions received under this subsection are not income of a revenue nature.
History.—s. 30, ch. 19551, 1939; CGL 1940 Supp. 4151(644); s. 30, 20451, 1941; s. 1, ch. 24346, 1947; s. 1, ch. 26911, 1951; s. 1, ch. 61-13; s. 2, ch. 67-242; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 72-211; ss. 3, 5, ch. 75-228; s. 17, ch. 78-394; s. 2, ch. 82-132; s. 22, ch. 84-359; s. 6, ch. 85-98; s. 40, ch. 89-282; s. 9, ch. 91-243; s. 31, ch. 95-143; s. 408, ch. 95-148; s. 7, ch. 95-326; ss. 39, 66, ch. 95-333; s. 6, ch. 96-414; s. 36, ch. 97-96; s. 4, ch. 2002-259; s. 1, ch. 2003-273; s. 30, ch. 2004-5; s. 79, ch. 2005-164; s. 3, ch. 2008-102; s. 32, ch. 2008-176; s. 3, ch. 2010-82; s. 34, ch. 2010-223; s. 3, ch. 2013-74; s. 12, ch. 2021-187; s. 23, ch. 2022-4; s. 2, ch. 2022-206.
