We contacted the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (HSMV) to see what you could do in your situation as a Canadian that spends half the year in Florida and has property in FL but wants to keep your Ontario, Canada residency.
The FL HSMV representative sad that the Florida Legislature did indeed enact a new law that became effective November 1, 2009, which prohibits the HSMV from issuing a "Valid in Florida Only" license. This change along with a few other changes regarding Florida driver's licenses were made in order to comply with the Real ID Act mandates. So the HSMV will:
- No longer issue "Valid in Florida Only" driver's license.
- Allow Floridians to hold either a driver license or an identification card, but not both simultaneously.
- Issue driver licenses and identification cards displaying a driver’s full legal name on the face of the card.
The FL HSMV representative said that under Section 322.18 of the Florida Statutes, Canadian citizens may obtain an original Florida driver license and retain their Canadian driver license by passing the necessary exams. Alternatively, if a Canadian citizen surrenders their Canadian license to obtain a Florida license, the necessary exams will be reciprocated [waived].
They went on to say if a Canadian resident already holds or has held a Florida driver license and simply is seeking renewal, no additional exams are required and the customer may retain their Canadian driver license.
Hopefully this clarifies the Florida licensing process for you. It appears that you can still get a Florida license and keep your Ontario, Canada license even with the new licensing changes due to the Real ID Act mandates. The FL HSMV representative we contacted said the State does indeed recognize the contributions of all of the out-of- country part-time residents to Florida's economy and continue to strive to provide excellent customer service to them, so if you have more questions you should contact the HSMV directly.
Once have settled everything with regards to a Florida license you should be able to buy, register and insure a vehicle, to keep in FL for the full year, without any issues. You can get started here for free auto insurance quotes for Florida.
|