Florida mandates driver's license tests must be taken in English, eliminates other languages

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has announced Friday that all driver's license tests will now only be in English.

This change will begin on Friday, Feb. 6 and will apply to all driver license classifications, including oral exams, FLHSMV said.

Before, these tests were offered in multiple languages for non-commercial driver licenses. For commercial drivers, the tests were only available in English and Spanish to get both their learner's permit and driver's license.

That includes the "Class E Knowledge Exam" for the learner's permit which consists of 50 multiple choice questions covering Florida traffic laws, road signs, and safe driving practices. To pass this test and to get the permit, the test taker must score an 80% or higher, which is 40 out of the 50 questions correct.

To get the driver's license after the permit, the test taker has to take a skills test, according to FLHSMV. The test taker will have to drive an actual vehicle and perform maneuvers that would be used on the road, such as a three point turn, parking, stopping quickly, and backing up the vehicle.

FLHSMV said that they are implementing the change statewide and will no longer allow interpreters for any of the oral exams and for the printed tests, the ones that are in any other language will be removed.