Fla. Stat. § 316.613
civil infractionverifiedChild restraint requirements
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
316.613 Child restraint requirements. — (1)(a) Every operator of a motor vehicle as defined in this section, while transporting a child in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets, or highways of this state, shall, if the child is 5 years of age or younger, provide for protection of the child by properly using a crash-tested, federally approved child restraint device. 1. For children aged through 3 years, such restraint device must be a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturer’s integrated child seat. 2. For children aged 4 through 5 years, a separate carrier, an integrated child seat, or a child booster seat may be used. However, the requirement to use a child restraint device under this subparagraph does not apply when a safety belt is used as required in s. 316.614(4)(a) and the child: a. Is being transported gratuitously by an operator who is not a member of the child’s immediate family; b. Is being transported in a medical emergency situation involving the child; or c. Has a medical condition that necessitates an exception as evidenced by appropriate documentation from a health care professional. (b) The department shall provide notice of the requirement for child restraint devices, which notice shall accompany the delivery of each motor vehicle license tag. (2) As used in this section, the term “motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle as defined in s. 316.003 that is operated on the roadways, streets, and highways of the state. The term does not include: (a) A school bus as defined in s. 316.003. (b) A bus used for the transportation of persons for compensation, other than a bus regularly used to transport children to or from school, as defined in s. 316.615(1)(b), or in conjunction with school activities. (c) A farm tractor or implement of husbandry. (d) A truck having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds. (e) A motorcycle, a moped, a bicycle, or an electric bicycle. (3) The failure to provide and use a child passenger restraint shall not be considered comparative negligence, nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in the trial of any civil action with regard to negligence. (4) It is the legislative intent that all state, county, and local law enforcement agencies, and safety councils, in recognition of the problems with child death and injury from unrestrained occupancy in motor vehicles, conduct a continuing safety and public awareness campaign as to the magnitude of the problem. (5) Any person who violates this section commits a moving violation, punishable as provided in chapter 318 and shall have 3 points assessed against his or her driver license as set forth in s. 322.27. In lieu of the penalty specified in s. 318.18 and the assessment of points, a person who violates this section may elect, with the court’s approval, to participate in a child restraint safety program approved by the chief judge of the circuit in which the violation occurs, and, upon completing such program, the penalty specified in chapter 318 and associated costs may be waived at the court’s discretion and the assessment of points shall be waived. The child restraint safety program must use a course approved by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the fee for the course must bear a reasonable relationship to the cost of providing the course. (6) The child restraint requirements imposed by this section do not apply to a chauffeur-driven taxi, limousine, sedan, van, bus, motor coach, or other passenger vehicle if the operator and the motor vehicle are hired and used for the transportation of persons for compensation. It is the obligation and responsibility of the parent, guardian, or other person responsible for a child’s welfare as defined in s. 39.01 to comply with the requirements of this section. History. — s. 1, ch. 82-58; s. 1, ch. 86-49; s. 2, ch. 87-200; s. 2, ch. 91-136; s. 28, ch. 94-306; s. 903, ch. 95-148; s. 35, ch. 96-350; s. 56, ch. 99-8; s. 240, ch. 99-248; s. 1, ch. 99-316; s. 18, ch. 2000-313; s. 40, ch. 2005-164; s. 9, ch. 2008-176; s. 14, ch. 2011-66; s. 13, ch. 2012-181; s. 53, ch. 2014-224; s. 1, ch. 2014-226; s. 68, ch. 2016-239; s. 13, ch. 2017-3; s. 13, ch. 2017-150; s. 9, ch. 2020-69.
sha256 a6e7b7ac03b8808707359252ccbbd7de… · 2025 Fla. Stat., dual fetch-path pipeline · permanent corpus page →
Which text, as of when
2025 Florida Statuteslast amended 2020Decoded 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. 82-58; s. 1, ch. 86-49; s. 2, ch. 87-200; s. 2, ch. 91-136; s. 28, ch. 94-306; s. 903, ch. 95-148; s. 35, ch. 96-350; s. 56, ch. 99-8; s. 240, ch. 99-248; s. 1, ch. 99-316; s. 18, ch. 2000-313; s. 40, ch. 2005-164; s. 9, ch. 2008-176; s. 14, ch. 2011-66; s. 13, ch. 2012-181; s. 53, ch. 2014-224; s. 1, ch. 2014-226; s. 68, ch. 2016-239; s. 13, ch. 2017-3; s. 13, ch. 2017-150; s. 9, ch. 2020-69.
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.”
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Is a section 316.613 ticket criminal or a civil infraction in Florida?
Section 316.613 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 316.613 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 316.613 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 316.613 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.
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