How to Elect Traffic School After a Florida Ticket
Electing traffic school is a decision you make with the clerk, on a deadline, before the citation is paid. Here is the order the steps happen in, and where the 4-hour course fits.
Deadlines, fees and filing methods are set county by county. Nothing on this page overrides what your clerk or your court order tells you. Check with your county Clerk of Court and insurance carrier for eligibility.
Check your eligibility with the Clerk of Court
Eligibility is decided by the clerk and the court, not by the course provider. Under §318.14(9) an eligible driver may elect a driver improvement course up to eight times in their lifetime, with no election in the preceding 12 months. Ask the clerk to confirm your citation is eligible and that you have not already used an election in the last 12 months.
Elect traffic school through the applicable clerk
The election is made with the clerk for the county where the citation was issued, inside the window the clerk allows. Electing is what preserves the option — if you simply pay the citation, adjudication is generally entered and points are assessed.
Pay any applicable clerk amount
The clerk may require a payment at election, and court costs are set by the court. That amount is separate from the course price. The 18% reduction applies to the eligible civil penalty, not to court costs.
Choose the 4-hour Basic Driver Improvement course
Electing traffic school for an eligible citation points to the 4-hour BDI course. If a court order instead names an 8-hour or aggressive driving course, that order decides which course you take.
Complete the course before the clerk's deadline
The clerk sets the completion deadline. Finish the course before that date. Finishing late can mean the election does not help and additional penalties apply.
Confirm the certificate was received
You download your certificate from the course provider on completion. American Safety Institute reports your completion to the FLHSMV, typically within one business day. Then call or check with the clerk to confirm it has what it needs and that the case is closed as satisfied.
Worked example: Hillsborough County
In Hillsborough County, traffic citations are handled by the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court . A driver typically confirms eligibility with the clerk, makes the traffic school election through the clerk, pays whatever the clerk assesses at election, and then completes the course by the date the clerk sets.
This is Hillsborough’s process and it is county-specific. Other Florida counties use different filing methods, different election windows and different fee amounts. If your citation is from another county, follow that clerk’s instructions — the shape of the process is the same, the details are not.
Official resources
- Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers — find your county clerk
- Hillsborough County Clerk of Court
- Florida FLHSMV — driver improvement courses and driving records
These are official third-party sites. Confirm all deadlines and amounts there, not on this page.
The course you take after you elect
Once the clerk has recorded your election, complete the 4-hour Basic Driver Improvement course before the deadline you were given. It is $23.99, entirely online, with chapter quizzes and no final exam.
Related guides
Who runs this site, and who handles your course
MyFLDL.com is an independent website that helps Florida drivers find and enroll in approved driver improvement courses.
Approved course delivery is provided by American Safety Institute. Checkout, course access, certificates, refunds and course support are handled by American Safety Institute as the approved course provider.
Prices shown are the provider's current course prices. Any payment you make to a Clerk of Court is separate from the course price.
Enrollment and course questions: support@myfldl.com
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