Florida shifts to English-only driver license exams, bans translators and interpreters

New policy takes effect February 6

Florida will require all driver’s license exams to be given in English only starting Feb. 6, 2026.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced the change on January 30, and the policy applies to all license types, including oral exams.

Translation services and interpreters will no longer be allowed during testing. Officials are also removing printed exams in other languages from testing sites statewide.

Multiple languages were previously offered

Before this change, non-commercial license tests were available in several languages. These included Spanish, Haitian Creole, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and French.

Commercial learner’s permit and commercial driver’s license tests were offered in English and Spanish only.

Interpreters were allowed for oral exams and skills tests, and third-party testing providers also offered multilingual options to applicants across the state.

Thousands of exams were affected statewide

The policy change will affect a large number of test takers.

In Hillsborough County alone, about 37% of skills tests were given in non-English languages in 2025, which equals more than 13,500 exams in just one county.

The new rules apply statewide and include third-party testing providers.

Tax collector offices had only about one week to prepare for the change, and officials say translations for road tests have been in place for decades.

Deadly August crash sparked policy change

On August 12, 2025, a semi-truck driver attempted an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike near Fort Pierce in St. Lucie County.

The driver used a turn-around area marked “Official Use Only,” and his tractor-trailer stretched across all northbound lanes. A minivan traveling behind crashed into the trailer.

The collision set off a chain of events that led directly to Florida’s new English-only testing policy.

Three people died in collision

The crash killed three people. Herby Dufresne, 30, of Florida City, was driving the minivan.

Rodrigue Dor, 54, of Miami, and Faniola Joseph, 37, of Pompano Beach were passengers. Dor and Joseph died at the scene, while Dufresne was airlifted to a hospital but later died from his injuries.

The truck driver survived and now faces serious criminal charges in St. Lucie County.

Driver faces multiple homicide charges

Harjinder Singh, 28, was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide and three counts of manslaughter. Authorities arrested him in California and flew him back to Florida to face charges.,

He is being held without bond at the St. Lucie County Jail.

Singh pleaded not guilty in September 2025, and his criminal trial is ongoing. The case has drawn national attention to commercial trucking safety standards.

Federal tests revealed English failures

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration tested Singh after the crash and found major problems. He answered only 2 of 12 verbal questions correctly and identified only 1 of 4 highway traffic signs correctly.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called the crash “a preventable tragedy.”

The Department of Transportation launched investigations into how Singh obtained his commercial licenses in the first place.

Multiple states issued him licenses

Singh obtained a commercial driver’s license in Washington state in July 2023, and California issued him another commercial license in July 2024.

Federal officials said he should not have received either license based on his English proficiency. The DOT threatened to withhold funding from states that do not enforce English requirements.

Officials also criticized New Mexico for not testing Singh during a traffic stop in July 2025.

Legislature considers trucking bill

Senate Bill 86 is moving through the Florida Legislature in response to the crash. The Senate Transportation Committee approved it in a 6-3 vote along party lines.

The bill would require officers to detain undocumented commercial drivers. It would also impound trucks and impose a $50,000 fine on owners.

Motor carriers who violate the rules could be barred from operating in Florida entirely.

Reactions to policy are mixed

State officials say the goal is to keep roads safe through clear communication between drivers. Tax collector offices were surprised by the short notice before the policy took effect.

Some community members say the policy is unfair to legal immigrants who are still learning English, while others support the change and say drivers should understand road signs and laws.

Gubernatorial candidate James Fishback said he would go further and revoke existing licenses issued in other languages.

Test requirements remain the same

The Class E knowledge exam has 50 multiple-choice questions, and test takers must score 80% or higher to pass. The skills test includes maneuvers like three-point turns, parking, and backing up..

No interpreters will be allowed during any portion of testing under the new policy. These rules apply to new licenses, renewals, and all license classifications across the state.

National debate over trucking safety grows

The crash sparked a national conversation about commercial trucking safety and driver qualifications. The DOT ordered audits of commercial license issuance across multiple states to find similar problems.

The State Department temporarily paused commercial truck driver visas while reviews continue. Singh’s case became part of larger debates over immigration enforcement, and his criminal trial continues in St. Lucie County.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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