Fla. Stat. § 316.231
civil infractionverifiedLamps on other vehicles and equipment
How Florida classifies this section
Noncriminal traffic infraction (civil)
“Except as provided in ss. 318.17 and 320.07(3)(c), any person cited for a violation of chapter 316, s. 320.0605, s. 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.16(2) or (3), s. 322.1615, s. 322.19, or s. 1006.66(3) is charged with a noncriminal infraction”
— § 318.14(1), Fla. Stat., verbatim
The statute, verbatim
316.231 Lamps on other vehicles and equipment. — Every vehicle, including animal-drawn vehicles and vehicles referred to in s. 316.215(3), not specifically required by the provisions of this section to be equipped with lamps or other lighting devices shall at all times specified in s. 316.217 be equipped with at least one lamp displaying a white light visible from a distance of not less than 1,000 feet to the front of said vehicle, and shall also be equipped with two lamps displaying red light visible from a distance of not less than 1,000 feet to the rear of the vehicle, or, as an alternative, one lamp displaying a red light visible from a distance of not less than 1,000 feet to the rear and two red reflectors visible from all distances of 600 to 100 feet to the rear when illuminated by the lawful lower beams of headlamps. A violation of this section is a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318. History. — s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 26, ch. 76-31; s. 182, ch. 99-248.
sha256 299fddd845c67d3b49c6e0af51a51b96… · 2025 Fla. Stat., dual fetch-path pipeline · permanent corpus page →
Which text, as of when
2025 Florida Statuteslast amended 1999Decoded against the 2025 Florida Statutes as ingested — dual fetch-path verified, hash-pinned. Session laws amend sections on their own effective dates; the 2026 Laws of Florida are indexed as the corpus's overlay.
History. — s. 1, ch. 71-135; s. 26, ch. 76-31; s. 182, ch. 99-248.
License points — the scale, shown
Point values attach on conviction, under § 322.27(3)(d)'s graduated scale. Which row a case lands on can turn on facts the citation and the disposition determine — the rows that could reach this section are shown with their own words and conditions. The scale is shown, not applied.
“All other moving violations (including parking on a highway outside the limits of a municipality)—3 points.”
“Any moving violation covered in this paragraph, excluding unlawful speed and unlawful use of a wireless communications device, resulting in a crash—4 points.”
Decode your own citation — free
The War Room reads the statute box off your citation (typed, or photographed in your browser — the image never uploads), computes your 30-day window with the arithmetic shown, and lays out every option with its consequences quoted. Free with a verified account; no payment, no card.
Open the War Room — free accountQuestions drivers ask
Is a section 316.231 ticket criminal or a civil infraction in Florida?
Section 316.231 sits in the noncriminal traffic infraction framework: Except as provided in ss. 318.17 and 320.07(3)(c), any person cited for a violation of chapter 316, s. 320.0605, s. 320.07(3)(a) or (b), s. 322.065, s. 322.15(1), s. 322.16(2) or (3), s. 322.1615, s. 322.19, or s. 1006.6… (§ 318.14(1), Fla. Stat.). The § 318.17 criminal exceptions do not name this section.
What is the deadline after a section 316.231 citation?
Under § 318.14(4)(a), a person charged with a noncriminal infraction who does not elect to appear generally has 30 days after the date of issuance to pay or enter the clerk's payment plan. The War Room computes the exact window from your citation's issuance date, arithmetic shown, and § 318.15 states what follows a missed window. Verify any date with the clerk of the county on the citation.
What are the options after a section 316.231 ticket?
The § 318.14 menu, where it applies: pay the penalty (an admission by statute), enter a payment plan, elect the basic driver improvement course where eligible (adjudication withheld, no points, once per 12 months and eight times lifetime), or request the infraction hearing where the state must prove the infraction beyond a reasonable doubt (§ 318.14(6)). Any option can be walked with a licensed attorney — choosing is yours, or one to make with counsel.
How many license points can section 316.231 carry?
Points attach on conviction under § 322.27(3)(d)'s graduated scale. The rows that could reach this section carry 3, 4 points, with conditions the statute itself states (crash involvement, speed over the limit, school-zone factors). The scale is shown, not applied — which row fits a case depends on facts the citation and the disposition determine.
Can this page tell me what to do about my ticket?
No — and that line is the product. It shows the statute verbatim, the classification, the point rows, and the options with their stated consequences. What to do about a specific ticket is a decision for you, or for a licensed attorney; the free War Room decodes your citation, and the attorney connection is free to request with the firm billing directly.
Related sections
TrialVector is software, not a law firm, and provides legal information, not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by using this tool. The software is not an attorney, and conversations with it are not protected by attorney-client privilege. Deadlines shown are arithmetic from the inputs you provide — verify every date with the clerk of the court named on your citation. Nothing here predicts or promises any outcome in any case. Florida citations only — other states are not yet covered, and this tool will say so rather than guess. Reading your ticket happens in your browser; the decision about what to do with it never happens in software.