Overview
- Effective Feb. 6, all driver knowledge and road tests in Florida are administered only in English, with interpreters and non‑English printed exams eliminated across all license classes.
- Miami‑Dade said customers with appointments scheduled before Feb. 6 may test in English or Spanish until March 31, while some counties reported mixed guidance and internal emails indicating staggered deployment of the new system.
- DMV locations saw a last‑minute rush for Spanish, Haitian‑Creole and other language exams ahead of the cutoff, and some sites experienced brief outages and long lines.
- State officials, echoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, justify the change as a road‑safety measure requiring drivers to understand signs and instructions, whereas critics including Nikki Fried argue it is discriminatory and could increase unlicensed, uninsured driving.
- The policy shift follows renewed federal emphasis on English proficiency for commercial drivers and political scrutiny after a fatal August Turnpike crash; about one‑third of Floridians speak a non‑English language at home and roughly two‑thirds of Miami‑Dade testers used Spanish last year.