Isaiah's Law (HB 35, 2026): No Valid License Now Counts Toward Habitual Traffic Offender Status

Isaiah's Law: No Valid License Now Counts Toward HTO

Isaiah's Law is the short title of CS/HB 35, Chapter 2026-53, Laws of Florida, signed on April 23, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026. It makes one change, and it is a significant one for anyone who has had license trouble: a conviction for driving without a valid license under section 322.03 now counts as a "strike" toward Habitual Traffic Offender status under section 322.264. Three qualifying convictions within 5 years, from separate incidents, and the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles revokes your license for 5 years, and driving during that revocation is a third-degree felony. Before July 1, 2026, a no-valid-license conviction did not count, which made it a common and safe landing spot for a reduced driving-while-suspended charge. That strategy no longer protects you.

What the law changed

Section 322.264(1) lists the offenses that count toward HTO designation. Before Isaiah's Law, the list was: manslaughter resulting from operating a motor vehicle; DUI under section 316.193; any felony committed with a motor vehicle; driving while your license is suspended or revoked; failing to stop and render aid at a crash involving death or injury; and driving a commercial vehicle while disqualified. Chapter 2026-53 added a new paragraph (g):

• "Driving a motor vehicle without a valid license in violation of s. 322.03."

That is the entire substantive change. Three convictions for any combination of the listed offenses, arising from separate acts within a 5-year period, make you a habitual traffic offender. Fifteen convictions for point-carrying moving violations in 5 years do the same under section 322.264(2). The law is named for Isaiah Raposa, an 18-year-old motorcyclist killed in a December 2024 hit-and-run in Hillsborough County by a driver who, according to the bill's sponsor, had no valid license and a long citation history.

What HTO designation does

The designation is automatic once the record shows the convictions; FLHSMV issues the revocation by mail, often weeks after the third conviction, and many people learn about it from a traffic stop.

• Revocation: 5 years under section 322.27(5)(a), on top of whatever suspension you were already serving.
• Hardship license: none for the first 12 months. After 12 months you may petition FLHSMV under section 322.271(1)(b) for a restricted license limited to business or employment purposes, after an investigation and hearing.
• Driving while designated: a third-degree felony under section 322.34(5), up to 5 years in prison, even when the driving itself was uneventful.

The full picture, including how the designation shows up on the record and how it is challenged, is on Habitual Traffic Offender in Florida.

Why this matters after a DUI

A DUI case sets up the HTO problem more often than people expect. The DUI conviction is strike one. The license revocation that follows it, or the administrative suspension that started at arrest, leads to a driving while license suspended charge for a lot of people who have to get to work; that is strike two. Before July 1, 2026, a careful negotiation could resolve a DWLS case as a plea to no valid license, which kept the third strike off the record. Under Isaiah's Law, that plea is now a strike too. A DUI, a DWLS and a no-valid-license conviction within 5 years is a habitual traffic offender designation and a 5-year revocation, in addition to the sentences in each case.

Section 322.34(2)(c) adds a second trap for DUI defendants: a third or subsequent DWLS conviction is itself a third-degree felony when the current or most recent prior violation relates to a DUI suspension, a refusal suspension, a crash causing death or serious injury, or fleeing.

How people get caught by it

Most HTO designations are built out of cases nobody took seriously at the time. A no-valid-license citation in Sarasota or Manatee County is a criminal misdemeanor under section 322.03(1)(b), a second-degree misdemeanor on a first offense, but it is routinely resolved at arraignment with a plea and a fine. Three of those, or one of those plus an old DUI and a DWLS, and the designation follows. FLHSMV applies chapter 322's own definition of "conviction," which is broader than most people assume: for driver license purposes a plea with adjudication withheld can still count, so dispositions you might not think of as convictions can appear as strikes on the driving record. The practical rule after Isaiah's Law is that no license-related charge should be pleaded to without first pulling the full FLHSMV driving record and counting strikes.

What to do with a pending no-valid-license charge

• Fight the citation. Section 322.03(7) bars a conviction if you produce a license that was valid at the time of the stop, and the clerk can dismiss the charge for a $5 fee. Many "no valid license" cases are actually expired-license or out-of-state-license cases that belong under a different section.
• Check the count. If this would be the third strike within 5 years, the plea decision is really a decision about a 5-year revocation, and the case should be handled as one.
• Look at the other strikes. A prior conviction that was entered without a lawyer, or on a charge that did not actually qualify, can sometimes be set aside, which removes the strike.
• Use the compliance route where it exists. Under section 322.27(5)(b), when a designation rests on a third driving-while-suspended violation and the suspension was for a listed financial or administrative reason, proof of compliance leads the clerk to file an amended disposition removing the designation.

The traffic side of the practice, including citations that start out as civil infractions and end up as criminal charges, is covered on Florida traffic ticket lawyer and no valid driver's license in Florida.

Questions people ask

When does Isaiah's Law take effect?

July 1, 2026. Convictions for driving without a valid license under section 322.03 on or after that date count toward the three-in-five-years HTO designation under section 322.264.

Do my old no-valid-license convictions count?

The act does not say whether no-valid-license convictions from before July 1, 2026 count toward the three, and that is a question to raise before assuming either answer.

I pleaded to no valid license instead of DWLS last year. Am I safe?

A no-valid-license conviction before July 1, 2026 was not a strike when it was entered. Whether FLHSMV counts it now is the open question above; any new license-related charge should be reviewed with the full driving record in hand.

How long is the HTO revocation?

Five years under section 322.27(5)(a), with a possible business-purposes restricted license after 12 months under section 322.271(1)(b).

What is the penalty for driving as a habitual traffic offender?

A third-degree felony under section 322.34(5), punishable by up to 5 years in prison, 5 years of probation and a $5,000 fine.

Can the HTO designation be removed?

Sometimes, by setting aside one of the underlying convictions, correcting an error on the driving record, or through the amended-disposition process in section 322.27(5)(b) where it applies. See Habitual Traffic Offender in Florida.

Call or text (941) 920-5514, nights and weekends too, or request a free consultation by phone or video with former prosecutor Daniel D. Nawara. For the suspension that usually comes first, see driving with a suspended license in Florida.