Florida Bar Character and Fitness Info Resources

Traffic Violations, Questions 22a and 22b

Question 22(a) covers citations that resulted in a high fine or a license suspension or revocation. The time period involved covers your entire driving career.

Question 22(b) asks for all other traffic infractions received during the last three years, regardless of outcome.

A D.U.I. is covered by Question 21.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is the first stop in looking for Florida traffic offenses information.

You should also perform a driver's license check, which gives your current license status and lists open suspensions. This online service is free.

The following are helpful steps to ensure you find your traffic violations and driving history:

1. You may be able to pull the record in person at driver's license stations. The fee is usually less than twenty dollars.

2. Request a record or check your records for every state in which you have obtained or held a driver’s license. Click this link for an interactive map search provided by the state of Nevada. If that method proves unsatisfactory, a simple Google search using the state name and driving record (ex. Colorado driving record) should return the state's website for obtaining driving records in that state. Try to avoid commercial vendors.

3. If you are unsure or cannot remember whether you have had a violation in another state, request a driving history from every state you have driven in.

4. Another way you may be able to find driving records is to go to the county clerk of courts for the counties you have driven in and check the records. In Florida this has become difficult, since many counties no longer provide the service.

5. The driving history reports range from 3 years (typical) to a full driving history (some states). The most common range is 3 years to 10 years.

6. The online county records will often provide a longer history than the official driving record transcript/abstract.

7. There is usually a fee associated with obtaining the record whether you get the record online, mail your request, or visit the Clerk's offices or driver's license offices in-person.

8. Some traffic offenses are classified as criminal violations. In Florida non-dismissed criminal traffic violations cited via a Uniform Traffic Citation will appear on your driving record, even if an "Arrest Affidavit" was not filed with the court. (If you were booked, the jail fingerprints will also generate an FDLE record entry) For other states you should make sure you check your criminal records as well.

9. Remember to update Question 22(b) within 30 days if you receive any qualifying traffic citation between the application date and the 3L conversion.

Vehicular Offenses, Question 21

Question 21 inquires about DUI, driving with an Unlawful Blood Alcohol Level, and vehicular manslaughter or homicide.

Please Note: Unlike the questions on traffic violations, this question specifically states "in your entire life" and includes "accused of" not just 'arrested for' or 'convicted of' the listed offenses. Therefore, anything short of a full driving history must be supplemented with a criminal record check and personal memory. Sealed or expunged records must be unsealed and reported as well.

To search for criminal records in any state, you need to know the jurisdiction in which the crime was committed. Individual clerks of court will have criminal record searches.

The links provided below will take you directly to the criminal and traffic records searches in the clerks of court websites for Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe and Palm Beach counties. Keep in mind that different courts classify cases differently. To respond accurately to the questions related to felonies or misdemeanors, you will have to parse out offenses by type.

For a fee, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will provide a detailed criminal record history for Florida offenses. 

Remember that any sealed or expunged criminal records will have to be unsealed or unexpunged as part of your bar application process.