The “Pay It and Forget It” Trap: How Paying a Traffic Ticket Can Send You to Prison

By: John Guidry

Believe it or not, you can go to jail after simply paying off your traffic tickets. Here is the nightmare scenario:

• The Advice: A well-meaning clerk tells you, “Just pay all your outstanding tickets to get your license back.”
• The Action: You pay them. You get a shiny new license.
• The Result: Two months later, you are pulled over and charged with a Felony.

How could this happen? When you pay a ticket for “Driving While License Suspended” (even without knowledge), you are entering a Guilty Plea.

• The Math: If you pay three of these tickets within a 5-year period, the DMV designates you a Habitual Traffic Offender (HTO).
• The Consequence: Your license is legally revoked for 5 Years. If you drive during this time, it is a 3rd Degree Felony punishable by 5 years in prison.

Did you pay a ticket only to lose your license?

We might be able to undo the damage. Call John today at (407) 423-1117.

HTO: Felony or Misdemeanor?

Most officers will arrest you on a Felony charge if you are caught driving as an HTO. But not all HTO cases are felonies.

1. The “Financial Reason” Exception If your HTO status was caused solely by financial suspensions (e.g., failing to pay child support or civil fines), the charge should be reduced to a Misdemeanor.

• The Law: Florida Statute 322.34(10)(b)(2).
• The Defense: We scrutinize your driving record. If the underlying suspensions were purely financial, we move to downgrade the charge from a Felony (5 years prison) to a Misdemeanor (1 year jail max).

2. The Qualifying Offenses You cannot get the misdemeanor reduction if your HTO status involves any of the following:

• DUI
• Refusal to submit to a breath test
• Traffic offense causing death/serious injury
• Fleeing or Attempting to Elude

How We Fight an HTO Suspension

Just because the DMV says you are an HTO doesn’t mean it’s permanent. We attack the underlying convictions that created the suspension.

1. The “Clerk’s Option” (Amnesty)

• The Tool: Florida Statute 318.14(10)(a) allows certain drivers to avoid court by getting their license back before their first court date.
• The Benefit: If you qualify and act fast, the charge is withheld, meaning it does not count as a conviction toward HTO status.

2. Vacating Old Pleas

• The Strategy: If you paid a ticket without knowing it would suspend your license for 5 years, we can file a motion to Vacate the Plea.
• The Goal: We argue you didn’t make a “knowing and intelligent” waiver of your rights. If we knock out just one of the three underlying convictions, the 5-year HTO revocation vanishes instantly.

John’s 2026 Update: The “Dummy License” & Double Jeopardy

Note: In the past, we could argue that if you never had a license, you couldn’t have it revoked. In 2026, the legislature has closed that door.

1. The Death of the “Never Had a License” Defense It used to be that if you never obtained a license, you couldn’t be a “Habitual Traffic Offender” because you had no license to revoke (Crain v. State).

• The 2026 Reality: The legislature amended Florida Statute 322.34(5). Now, the law explicitly applies to anyone whose “driving privilege” is revoked, even if they never held a physical card.
• The “Dummy Number”: The DMV now assigns a “Dummy License Number” to unlicensed drivers. If you get three tickets under that number, you become an HTO felon just like anyone else.

2. Double Jeopardy (Gil v. State) Police often try to charge you with both a Misdemeanor DWLS and a Felony HTO for the same stop.

• The Defense: The Florida Supreme Court ruled in Gil v. State that this is unconstitutional.
• The Tactic: If the State charges you with the misdemeanor first and you plea to it quickly, they are barred from filing the felony later. We use this speedy-plea strategy to lock in the lesser charge before the prosecutor upgrades it.

Don’t Pay Without a Plan

Paying a ticket is the same as standing in front of a judge and saying “I Guilty.” Before you click “Pay Now” on the Clerk’s website, call us. We can check if that payment will cost you your license for the next five years.

Call me at (407) 423-1117. Let’s analyze your driving record.

About John Guidry II

John Guidry II is a seasoned criminal defense attorney and founder of the Law Firm of John P. Guidry II, P.A., located in downtown Orlando next to the Orange County Courthouse, where he has practiced for over 30 years. With more than three decades of experience defending clients throughout Central Florida since 1993, Guidry has successfully defended thousands of cases in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard, Lake, and Volusia counties. He has built a reputation for his strategic approach to criminal defense, focusing on pretrial motions and case dismissals rather than jury trials.

Guidry earned both his Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration from St. Louis University in 1993. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. His practice encompasses the full spectrum of Florida state criminal charges, with a particular emphasis on achieving favorable outcomes through thorough pretrial preparation and motion practice.

Beyond the courtroom, Guidry is a prolific legal educator who has authored over 400 articles on criminal defense topics. He shares his legal expertise through his popular YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, where he has built a substantial following of people eager to learn about the law. His educational content breaks down complex legal concepts into accessible information for the general public.

When not practicing law, Guidry enjoys tennis and pickleball, and loves to travel. Drawing from his background as a former recording studio owner and music video producer in the Orlando area, he brings a creative perspective to his legal practice and continues to apply his passion for video production to his educational content.