To keep points off your license, you may pay the ticket AND elect to attend a Basic Driver Improvement Court (4 hour) for civil infraction citations (non-criminal).
The Driver Improvement Course option may NOT be available if:
1. Your traffic violation requires a mandatory court appearance (i.e. speeding in excess of 30+mph over posted speed limit; crash with serious bodily injury or fatality, or passing a stopped school bus on the exiting side)
2. You possess a valid Class A, B or C commercial driver's license (CDL)
3. You have elected to attend a Florida approved basic driver improvement course within the last 12 calendar months
4. You have taken a driver improvement course more than 5 times in your lifetime
5. You are not eligible for the Driving school election as determined by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Online Driver's license check
6. If you are not a Florida resident - you should first check with your local Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure that your state accepts the Florida Basic Driver Improvement courses to remove points from your license.
If you qualify to attend the course and choose this option, the required amount you must pay within 30 days of the offense date will differ from the amount listed as the civil penalty. To obtain your correct court costs you may contact our office at 850-689-5000 or 850-651-7200. NOTE: Traffic school option must be elected with 30 days of receiving the citation. Option no longer available after 30 days.
To elect by phone contact our third party payment center (nCourt) at 1-855-893-7926.
To elect online go to www.okaloosaclerk.com, select "Pay Traffic Tickets and Court Costs" from our home page and follow the prompts.
To elect by mail you may print the Driver Improvement School Election Affidavit from our website at www.okaloosaclerk.com. The affidavit must be notarized and should accompany a cashier's check or money order. NOTE: If you qualify to attend the course and choose this option, the required amount you must pay within 30 days of the offense date will differ from the amount listed as the civil penalty. To obtain your correct court costs you may contact our office at 850-689-5000 or 850-651-7200.
Failure to provide the completion certificate within 90 days of electing to attend the driver improvement course will result in the suspension of your driver's license and additional costs. To reinstate your license, the additional costs fee must be paid. Costs may vary depending upon your civil penalty of your offense.
You may find a list of approved Florida courses by visiting www.flhsmv.gov. The clerk's office is unable to recommend a course to you.