What is DLAP?
The State Attorney’s Office in Tampa, Hillsborough County is using a new type of misdemeanor diversion program for anyone charged with a first or second criminal traffic citation for either:
- no valid driver’s license; or
- driving while license suspended or revoked with knowledge.
In some cases, the person might be admitted into the program even if they have a long list of prior offenses. The State Attorney has estimated that a significant number of the roughly 15,000 adult criminal-traffic cases opened each year might be eligible for DLAP.
An attorney can help you determine if you might be eligible for DLAP. If the prosecutor agrees to let you enter the program, the State Attorney’s Office will provide your attorney with a referral form that must be sent to Court Options.
On the form, you must list your contact information, case number, and DL number. If you have multiple cases, you must complete a referral form for each case. The program fee is $200 (two hundred dollars) which is less expensive than entering a plea.
To register for the DLAP program, you must report in person to Court Options immediately or you might be able to register online.
The Drive Legal Again Program (DLAP) in Hillsborough County, FL?
The State Attorney’s Office determines eligibility for the program. A person may be ineligible to enter the DLAP program if their driver’s license was suspended for DUI, a drug conviction, or owing past-due child support. Agreeing to enter the program is not considered an admission of guilt. To enter the program you or your attorney must waive speedy trial.
After satisfactory completion of the DLAP program, the State Attorney’s Office will drop the charges in the criminal traffic citation. The charges are dropped when the State Attorney’s Office files a form called a “nolle pross.”
In order to successfully complete the DLAP program in Hillsborough County, FL, you are not necessarily required to obtain a valid Florida Driver’s License.
The individual must register for the program within five (5) business days after agreeing to participate in the Drive Legal Again Program (DLAP).
Participants have ninety (90) days to complete the requirements of the program and must attend four (4) classes. The participant must also by the $150 fee and pay an additional $50 for the cost of prosecution.
The DLAP office program is administered by a company called Court Options, Inc., which was founded by Ruben Valdivia and George Romagosa. It is a Florida for-profit corporation based in Palmetto Bay, FL. The Tampa offices are located at the following address:
Court Options
2109 East Palm Street, Suite 101
Tampa, FL 33605
813-374-0312
DLAP@courtoptions.org
bmccallum@courtoptions.org
www.CourtOptions.org
What Happens After You Complete DLAP?
After you complete DLAP, the state attorney’s office will file a “NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE NOLLE PROSEQUI AFTER COMPLETION OF THE DRIVE LEGAL AGAIN PROGRAM.” The nolle prosequi form used in these types of cases might provide:
The State of Florida, by and through the undersigned assistant state attorney, having been informed that the defendant has successfully completed the Drive Legal Again Program (DLAP), and having determined that dismissal of the charges without prejudice is appropriate in this cause due to the defendant’s successful completion of DLAP, hereby enters an administrative nolle prosequi in the above-styled cause.
The filing of the nolle prosequi in Florida means that the charges are dropped and no plea of “guilty” or “no contest” was ever entered. If the person has no convictions for any crime in Florida, then they would be eligible to expunge the criminal history record.
Talk with an attorney before you decide whether to use up your once in a lifetime expunction. An attorney might recommend that you not use up the expunction on this type of misdemeanor.
Additional Resources
Hillsborough County DLAP – Visit the website for Court Options which manages the DLAP program in conjunction with the State Attorney’s Office in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, FL, for cases pending at the courthouse in Tampa and Plant City, FL.
Finding an Attorney for DLAP in Tampa, FL
The attorneys at Sammis Law Firm represent clients charged with a variety of criminal traffic crimes in Tampa, FL, including having no valid driver’s license or driving on a revoked or suspended license with knowledge.
Contact us to speak with an experienced attorney about fighting your criminal charges.
Call 813-250-0500.
This article was last updated on Monday, June 6, 2022.
