Speeding 31+ Over in Florida: Criminal Threshold & Points

Florida Statute 318.18 classifies speeding 30 mph or more over the posted limit as a criminal traffic violation, not a civil infraction. This means you face a criminal misdemeanor charge that carries up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, and a mandatory court appearance. You cannot pay the ticket online and move on. The criminal threshold applies regardless of the posted speed limit. Driving 61 mph in a 30 mph zone triggers the same criminal classification as driving 85 mph in a 55 mph zone. Florida Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies treat these violations as arrestable offenses. You may be taken into custody at the scene, though officers often issue a notice to appear instead. This criminal designation separates Florida from the majority of states, which treat even extreme speeding as a civil traffic violation unless it crosses into reckless driving territory. In Florida, the speed differential alone makes it criminal. Under current state DMV point rules, a criminal speeding conviction adds 4 points to your license and activates a separate insurance surcharge tier that lasts longer than a standard speeding ticket.

A conviction for speeding 30+ mph over the limit adds 4 points to your Florida driving record. Florida uses a rolling 12-month window for point accumulation. If you reach 12 points within 12 months, your license is suspended for 30 days. If you reach 18 points within 18 months, the suspension extends to 3 months. If you reach 24 points within 36 months, the suspension lasts 1 year. Criminal speeding violations push many drivers over the suspension threshold faster than they expect. A single 4-point criminal speeding ticket combined with an earlier 3-point speeding ticket and a 3-point red light violation totals 10 points. One more violation within the 12-month window triggers suspension. Points from a criminal speeding conviction remain on your Florida driving record for 3 years from the conviction date, not the citation date. Florida does allow restricted licenses during point-based suspensions if you qualify under hardship criteria. You must apply through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and demonstrate that suspension prevents you from working, attending medical appointments, or maintaining necessary household responsibilities. The restricted license limits you to business purposes only and requires proof of SR-22 insurance filing, even though the points violation alone does not require SR-22. The filing period lasts the duration of the hardship license plus 2 years after full reinstatement.

A criminal speeding conviction triggers a surcharge that typically ranges from 50% to 90% above your base rate, depending on your carrier and your prior violation history. GEICO, Progressive, and State Farm all classify criminal traffic violations in a higher surcharge tier than civil speeding tickets. The surcharge remains active for 3 to 5 years on most carriers' rating schedules, which extends beyond the 3-year window during which points remain on your DMV record. Carriers evaluate criminal speeding differently than standard point violations because the criminal classification signals higher risk. A driver convicted of a criminal traffic offense is statistically more likely to file a future claim than a driver with a civil speeding ticket, even when both violations carry the same point value. This risk profile triggers both a higher surcharge percentage and a longer surcharge duration. If you carry a preferred-tier policy at the time of conviction, your carrier will likely non-renew your policy at the next renewal period rather than surcharge you. GEICO, Allstate, and Travelers all move criminal traffic violators out of preferred tiers and into standard or non-standard programs. Non-standard carriers like Direct Auto Insurance, Acceptance Insurance, and Gainsco specialize in criminal traffic violators and typically quote monthly rates between $180 and $320 for minimum liability coverage, compared to $90 to $140 for drivers with clean records.

Criminal speeding charges in Florida require a court appearance. You cannot resolve the case by paying a fine online. You will receive a notice to appear with a scheduled court date, typically 4 to 6 weeks after the citation. Missing this court date results in a bench warrant for your arrest and an automatic license suspension. You have three options at the court appearance. You can plead guilty or no contest, which results in a conviction, 4 points on your license, and the full insurance surcharge. You can request a trial, which delays the case and requires you to defend against the criminal charge with evidence. Or you can negotiate a plea agreement with the prosecutor, which may reduce the charge to a lesser violation in exchange for a guilty plea. Many prosecutors in Florida counties offer plea reductions for first-time criminal speeding offenders. A common reduction is from criminal speeding to standard speeding (under 30 mph over), which drops the point value from 4 to 3 or 4 (depending on the final speed) and removes the criminal classification. This reduction eliminates the criminal record, shortens the insurance surcharge window, and preserves your ability to take a Basic Driver Improvement course to remove points. The plea reduction typically requires you to pay the original fine plus court costs, but the insurance savings over 3 years often exceed $3,000.

Florida allows you to remove 3 points from your driving record by completing a state-approved Basic Driver Improvement (BDI) course. You can take the course once every 12 months and up to 5 times in your lifetime. The course must be completed before you request the point reduction from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The BDI course does not automatically remove points. You must submit a completion certificate to the DHSMV and request the point reduction in writing. The reduction applies to your DMV record within 10 business days of approval. However, the reduction does not automatically trigger a rate review from your insurance carrier. You must contact your carrier at your next renewal period and request a re-rate based on the updated point total. If you do not request the re-rate, the surcharge persists even though your DMV record shows fewer points. For criminal speeding convictions specifically, the BDI course only helps if the conviction is reduced to a civil violation through a plea agreement. If you plead guilty to the original criminal charge, most carriers maintain the criminal traffic violation surcharge for the full 3 to 5 year period regardless of your DMV point total. The criminal designation, not the point value, drives the surcharge in these cases.

A criminal speeding conviction alone does not require SR-22 filing in Florida unless the violation triggers a license suspension. If you accumulate 12 points within 12 months and your license is suspended, you must file SR-22 when you apply for reinstatement. The filing period lasts 3 years from the reinstatement date. SR-22 is not insurance. It is a certificate your insurance carrier files with the Florida DHSMV to prove you maintain continuous liability coverage. If your coverage lapses for any reason during the 3-year filing period, your carrier notifies the DHSMV within 10 days and your license is suspended again. Reinstatement after a lapse-triggered suspension requires a new SR-22 filing and restarts the 3-year clock. Not all carriers offer SR-22 filing. Preferred carriers like State Farm and Allstate typically decline to file SR-22 for criminal traffic violators, which forces you into the non-standard market. Progressive, GEICO, and Direct Auto Insurance all file SR-22 in Florida. The filing itself costs $15 to $25, but the real cost comes from the non-standard policy rates, which run 40% to 70% higher than standard market rates for the same coverage.

Criminal speeding surcharges last 3 to 5 years depending on your carrier. GEICO applies the surcharge for 3 years from the conviction date. Progressive extends it to 5 years. State Farm applies it for 3 years but excludes drivers with criminal violations from preferred pricing tiers for 5 years, which keeps you in a higher-cost program even after the surcharge expires. Your rate begins to recover after the surcharge drops off your policy. The conviction remains on your driving record for 3 years from the conviction date, but carriers stop applying the surcharge after their internal lookback window closes. A driver paying $280 per month immediately after a criminal speeding conviction typically sees rates drop to $160 to $200 per month once the surcharge expires, assuming no additional violations during the lookback period. Shopping carriers accelerates recovery. Non-standard carriers like Gainsco and Acceptance Insurance specialize in recent criminal traffic violators and offer lower initial rates than preferred carriers who surcharge existing customers. Switching to a non-standard carrier immediately after conviction often saves $40 to $80 per month compared to staying with a preferred carrier that has surcharged your policy. After the lookback window closes, you can shop back into the preferred market for lower long-term rates.