Can Florida Suspend My Driver’s License for Not Paying Child Support?
While it may be true that failing to pay child support is largely a financial issue, this is not to say Florida law does not allow the Department of Revenue to take additional measures to ensure payments are made.
To protect the wellbeing of children in the state, Florida’s child support enforcement policies can lead to having your income withheld, your tax refund intercepted or having financial accounts levied. In addition to these financial actions, however, Florida can also suspend your driver’s license if you fail to pay child support.
Florida Law on License Suspension for Failing to Pay Child Support
Section 322.245 of The 2016 Florida Statutes outlines that a driver’s license may be suspended for failing to pay child support. For an ordinary, non-commercial driver who is obligated to pay child support, the license suspension process will begin if the individual is 15 days late in paying or fails to comply with a subpoena or order to appear.
At this point, the driver will have 20 days to do one of the following to prevent the license suspension:
- Pay the owed amount in full
- Enter an Agreement to Pay Delinquency
- Contest the Suspension and Delinquency Filed
Clearing a License Suspension Based on a Failure to Pay Child Support
If your license has been suspended for child support non-payment, your Florida family lawyer will assist you with filing a Motion to Contest Driver’s License Suspension in order to request that the suspension be stopped. Since Florida’s policy incentive is designed to ensure children receive payments, the Court is typically open to letting you pay a purge amount that will stop a suspension action.
Ideally, it is best to contest the suspension before it takes place, however. Florida law gives you 20 days to file a motion contesting a suspension action for child support non-payment. If you fail to exercise this right and contest the action, then your license will be suspended without further notice. At this point, you will have no choice but to try and stop the suspension after it has already taken place.
Once you have cleared your suspension with Florida’s Department of Revenue, you can then get your license reinstated. Do note, however, that a reinstatement fee may be required.
If you are concerned about the possibility of legal consequences for child support non-payment, contact The McKinney Law Group your Tampa Divorce Lawyer for a legal consultation.
If you have questions regarding Tampa family law, or are unaware as to the terms and conditions in, talk to, and retain, a family law attorney who can help. Contact Damien McKinney of The McKinney Law Group to discuss your case further. He can be reached by phone at 813-428-3400 or by e-mail at [email protected]