One statute box, a 30-day clock, and a menu the law hands everyone
Florida Traffic Tickets — the Civil Infraction System
Most Florida traffic tickets are noncriminal civil infractions under § 318.14 — decided in county court on a fixed statutory menu: pay within 30 days, elect the driver-improvement course, or request the hearing where the state must prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt. A short list of charges (DUI, reckless, fleeing, leaving the scene) is criminal by statute, and a shorter list requires a mandatory hearing.
The citation's statute box is the whole key: it names the charged section, and §§ 318.14, 318.17, and 318.19 classify it from there — civil infraction (most of chapter 316), criminal traffic (the § 318.17 exceptions), or civil-with-mandatory-hearing (the § 318.19 list, including 30-plus-mph-over speed). The War Room decodes the box and shows each statute verbatim.
The civil menu runs on one clock: within 30 days of issuance the cited person generally pays (an admission by statute), enters the clerk's payment plan, elects the basic driver improvement course where eligible (adjudication withheld, penalty reduced 18 percent, no points — once per 12 months, eight lifetime), or elects to appear at a hearing. Missing the window has statutory consequences the clerk must report, ending in a license suspension order.
Points and dollars come from different statutes: § 322.27(3)(d)'s graduated scale assigns points on conviction (3 for ordinary moving violations up to 6 for the listed conduct), while § 318.18's schedule plus county-authorized costs sets the payable amount — which is why the number printed on the citation controls and generalizations about fines are commonly wrong.
Hearings are real proceedings under the Florida Rules of Traffic Court: hearing officers (rule 6.630), order of hearing and evidence rules, a 180-day speedy-trial rule for infractions (rule 6.325), and a device-identification rule for speed cases (rule 6.445). What happens at any particular hearing varies — nothing about outcomes is predictable in advance.
Do it, don't just read it
Common questions
Do points always follow a ticket?
Generally points follow a CONVICTION on the § 322.27(3)(d) scale — but the school election withholds adjudication and by statute no points are assessed, and the statute carves out several camera-enforcement violations entirely. Verify your disposition with the clerk.
What actually happens if I just don't respond?
§ 318.15 states the machinery: the clerk must notify the DHSMV within 10 days of a failure to comply, and the department must issue a license-suspension order. The 30-day window is a real clock, and letting it run is itself a choice with statutory consequences — verify any date with the clerk.
Is my ticket criminal or civil?
The charged section decides. § 318.17 excepts a short list from the civil system — fleeing, leaving the scene, DUI, reckless driving, false crash reports, and the willful-refusal and obstruction subsections — and chapter 316 offenses classified as criminal ride the same exception. The War Room shows the classification with the statute's own words.
Can this tool tell me whether to fight my ticket?
No — and that line is the product. It shows the charged statute verbatim, computes the window, and lays out every option with its stated consequences. Which option fits your situation is a decision for you, or for a licensed attorney; the attorney connection is free to request and the attorney's firm bills directly.
The governing text — verbatim, never paraphrased
This guide is editorial; the linked pages carry the verbatim, hash-pinned text with its verification state. When a guide and the rule text could ever differ, the rule text wins — that is the whole doctrine.
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