Remove the Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO) Designation in Florida

Florida Law changed on July 1, 2026. If you have been designated as a Habitual Traffic Offender, you may still be able to save your driving privilege by filing a post-conviction motion to set aside one of your underlying “strikes.”

Previously, many drivers avoided HTO status because “No Valid Driver’s License” (NVDL) charges did not count as a “strike” toward the five-year revocation. That has changed. As of July 1, 2026, the Florida legislature approved “Isaiah’s Law” (CS/HB 35) which now includes NVDL convictions in the list of offenses that trigger an HTO designation.

This means that even if a prosecutor or judge reduced your charge to “No Valid License” in the past to help you avoid a strike, those pleas now count against you. Furthermore, under the new law, if you are designated as an HTO and never held a valid license, you are not eligible for a hardship license at any point during the five-year revocation.

How Do You Become a Habitual Traffic Offender?

To become an HTO, your Florida driving record must show three convictions within a five-year period for any combination of the following:

• NEW: Driving without a valid license (NVDL) (effective on July 1, 2026);
• Driving while license suspended or revoked (with knowledge);
• Driving while license suspended or revoked (without knowledge), a civil infraction, but only if you are adjudicated guilty;
• DUI (Driving Under the Influence);
• Voluntary or Involuntary Vehicular Manslaughter;
• Using a motor vehicle in the commission of a felony;
• Leaving the scene of an accident involving death or personal injury;
• Driving a commercial vehicle while disqualified.

Can You Erase or Set Aside a Strike that Caused the HTO Revocation?

Yes. If your five-year revocation occurred within the last two years, you may qualify to have one of the underlying convictions “set aside.” If the court agrees, then the underlying conviction is removed from your driving record which also removes the HTO revocation that relied on that conviction.

The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm are experienced in filing filing post-conviction motions to vacate or set aside one of the underlying convictions. That way, we can help our clients remove the HTO designation from their driving reocrd.

If a judge signs an order to vacate one of the three “strikes,” the Florida DHSMV will typically lift the HTO revocation, and your license can become valid again within days. This is often the only way to avoid the mandatory five-year wait and the high insurance costs associated with an HTO status.

Contact Sammis Law Firm

We help drivers throughout Florida, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Polk Counties, navigate these new legislative hurdles. Don’t wait until your one-year hardship window expires—especially since the new law makes many drivers ineligible for hardship licenses entirely.

Call us today at 813-250-0500 to discuss your driving record.