Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles: Translation Requirements for Documents in Another Language

Worth knowing about Florida FLHSMV

Florida FLHSMV requirements in detail

What Florida repealed, and what is left

Florida once had a driver-license rule titled Translation of Foreign Documents: 15A-1.0015, adopted in 1992 under the Division of Driver Licenses.

The state's rule register shows it repealed on June 3, 2014, and nothing on the current What to Bring lists replaces it (FAC 15A-1.0015, Translation of Foreign Documents (repealed 2014)).

The rule with the same title under the motor vehicle division, 15C-1.013, is still in force, and FLHSMV's title procedure quotes it (TL-10). It covers titling and registration only.

The non-citizen lists are built on federal documents: an I-94 with a valid passport and US visa, an employment authorization card, a green card, or an immigration judge's order or USCIS notice (non-immigrant, immigrant).

The name you want must appear on those documents: both lists say a name changed by marriage, divorce or court order must be changed on your USCIS documents.

The 2023 handbook also names a government-issued out-of-country passport, license or ID card as a secondary document for applicants without a Social Security number (Florida Class E Driver License Handbook, revised August 2023).

None of these pages says what happens when such a document is in another language, so that is the question to ask.

Moving to Florida with a license from abroad

You count as a resident if you enroll children in public school, register to vote, file for a homestead exemption, accept employment or live in Florida more than six consecutive months, and you then have 30 days (Visiting Florida FAQs).

The reciprocity list in the handbook, revised in August 2023, waives exams for a valid license from France, South Korea and Taiwan, and the driving exam only for Germany; a Canadian license must be surrendered to get the waiver (Florida Class E Driver License Handbook, revised August 2023).

The old reciprocity rule, 15A-1.004, was repealed along with the translation rule (FAC 15A-1.004, Reciprocity (repealed 2014)), so confirm your country at the office.

Anyone else takes the vision test, a 50-question knowledge exam and a driving test in a vehicle they bring themselves (General Information: tests and exams).

If you have never held a license, or do not have it with you, you also take the Traffic Law and Substance Abuse Education course first (Florida Class E Driver License Handbook, revised August 2023).

A non-citizen getting an original license leaves with a 60-day paper permit without a photo, and the card runs for the period on the USCIS document, at most one year (What to Bring: Non-Immigrant).

English-only exams

FLHSMV announced on January 30, 2026 that all knowledge and skills exams would be in English from February 6, for every license class, including exams given orally.

Translation services are no longer permitted and printed exams in other languages were to be removed (FLHSMV: Driver license exams in English only (January 30, 2026)).

The 2023 handbook still mentions a language interpreter riding along on the driving exam (Florida Class E Driver License Handbook, revised August 2023); the later announcement controls, so do not plan on one.

Documents people usually translate

• Foreign passport, shown with a US visa and I-94 (no translation rule published)
• Out-of-country passport, license or ID card as a secondary document (no translation rule published)
• Marriage certificate, divorce decree or court order for a name change (no translation rule published)
• License from France, Germany, South Korea or Taiwan for an exam waiver (no translation rule published)

What to do in Florida

• Call the FLHSMV Customer Service Center at (850) 617-2000, listed in the handbook, or ask at a driver license service center, whether your document in another language needs a translation and of what kind. Many offices require an appointment.

• Check your documents against the list for your status, immigrant or non-immigrant: originals or certified copies, valid for more than 60 days where the list says so.

• If your license is from France, Germany, South Korea or Taiwan, ask the office to confirm the waiver in the handbook before you book an exam.

Frequently asked questions