Before you start

Florida residency and a Duval County address
Proof of identity and lawful presence, with certified English translations where needed
Your foreign licence, to be surrendered on exchange
Florida-issued insurance from a Florida-licensed agent before you can register a vehicle

Step-by-step

1
Check the five-country reciprocity list first
Valid licence holders from Canada, France, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan are exempt from the written and driving tests and exchange directly. This single check decides whether the process is one appointment or a permit, practice period and two exams.
OnlineWho: YouBefore booking
2
Book with the Duval County Tax Collector
Driver licence services are county-delivered in Florida. Book online rather than queuing; Duval's offices are appointment-led and the 30-day deadline is really a deadline to have been seen.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
3
Take the vision and hearing screening
Required of every applicant regardless of reciprocity. If you are not exempt from the exams, you sit the Class E knowledge test on road rules and signs and then the road test, for which you supply a registered and insured vehicle.
In personWho: You
4
Buy Florida insurance before you buy the car
Florida requires a minimum of $10,000 personal injury protection and $10,000 property damage liability, from an insurer licensed in Florida — a foreign or out-of-state policy will not register the vehicle. The state does not mandate bodily-injury liability at all, which is why the legal minimum is genuinely inadequate cover.
OnlineWho: YouBefore purchase
5
Title and register within ten days
Once you establish residency or take ownership, the vehicle must be titled and registered through the tax collector within 10 days. Florida charges a substantial one-off 'initial registration fee' on a plate that is new to you, on top of the title and registration charges.
In personWho: YouWithin 10 days
6
Learn the local road conditions before hurricane season
Jacksonville's afternoon storms from June to September drop visibility to nothing in minutes and flood low-lying intersections in San Marco, Riverside and along the beaches roads. The bridges over the St. Johns close in high winds, which can cut the city in half during a storm.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driver licence, surrendered on exchange
Passport, visa and I-94
Social Security card, if issued
Two proofs of a Florida residential address
Florida insurance card issued by a Florida-licensed agent, for vehicle registration

Things most newcomers don’t know

The reciprocity list is five countries long, and that is the whole list.

Canada, France, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan. Colorado, Michigan and several other states maintain broader or different lists, so advice written for another state is actively misleading here. If your country is not one of the five, plan for a permit and two exams and start early.

Source: FLHSMV — driver licences and ID cards

Florida's legal minimum insurance covers almost nothing.

The mandated package is $10,000 personal injury protection and $10,000 property damage liability, with no bodily-injury liability requirement at all — nearly unique among states. Cause a serious injury with only the minimum and you are personally exposed. Newcomers who buy 'the legal minimum' to save money are buying something much thinner than the same phrase means elsewhere.

Source: FLHSMV — insurance requirements

Registration needs a Florida policy, not just any policy.

The insurance must come from an insurer licensed to write in Florida. Keeping a policy from your previous state, or an international one, does not satisfy the requirement, and the 10-day registration clock keeps running while you shop.

Source: FLHSMV — insurance requirements

The initial registration fee is a real, one-off sum, not a formality.

Florida charges a substantial one-time fee when a licence plate is issued to you for the first time, separate from title and registration charges. It surprises people who budgeted from another state's flat plate fee — check the tax collector's published schedule before you buy.

Source: FLHSMV — new resident guide

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming your country is on the reciprocity list without checking — it is five countries long.
Buying a car before arranging a Florida-issued policy and blowing the 10-day registration deadline.
Treating Florida's minimum insurance as adequate cover when it excludes bodily-injury liability.
Budgeting for registration without the one-off initial registration fee.
Driving into standing water after an afternoon storm — the low intersections here flood fast and drain slowly.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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