DUI Diversion Programs in Florida by County

Overview
We interviewed subject matter expert Robert Malove, a Board Certified criminal trial attorney (one of fewer than 400 in Florida) and founding member of the National College for DUI Defense, of The Law Offices of Robert David Malove, to give you the best possible answers on DUI diversion programs in Florida. This article covers who controls diversion in each county, what completing a program does to your record, the eligibility bars, and the arraignment-stage step that can waive eligibility in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

A Note Before You Read
This article answers the question the way Florida law answers it for most people. Your case has its own facts, and small details change outcomes. Nothing here is legal advice for your specific situation. If you want an answer about your case, call The Law Offices of Robert David Malove at (954) 861-0384. There is no pressure to hire anyone; you will simply get a straight answer.

The citation from your arrest lists a court date called an arraignment, and the same piece of paper serves as your notice of driver’s license suspension. You have a first DUI charge, a tow receipt, and a search history that keeps surfacing the word diversion, and you are trying to work out whether the county where you were arrested gives first offenders a way to keep a DUI conviction off their record.

If you are looking for a DUI diversion program in Florida, the direct answer is that there is no single statewide program. The elected state attorney in the county where you were arrested decides whether diversion exists there and what its rules are. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties each run a first-offender program, and completing one typically ends in a reckless driving plea instead of a DUI conviction.

The sections below cover who controls diversion, what it does to your record, the eligibility bars, the arraignment trap, and what each of the three counties offers. The answers come from a recorded conversation with Robert Malove, a Board Certified criminal trial attorney and former assistant public defender in Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties, and the quoted lines throughout are his, word for word.

Florida has no statewide DUI diversion program. Each county’s elected state attorney decides whether one exists and on what terms. A qualifying first offender who completes a program typically resolves the case as reckless driving with a withhold of adjudication and can later apply to seal the record.

That answer breaks into five working parts:

• Who controls it: the elected state attorney in each judicial circuit, not the Legislature and not the judge
• What it produces: a plea to reckless driving with a withhold of adjudication instead of a DUI conviction
• Why that matters: Florida law prohibits a withhold of adjudication on a DUI itself, so the reckless driving reduction is the only record-protecting exit
• Who gets in: generally first offenders with no crash and a breath result under the county’s ceiling
• What can waive it: in Broward and Palm Beach counties, demanding discovery and setting the case for trial at arraignment

Board Certified criminal trial attorney Robert Malove of The Law Offices of Robert David Malove explains that Florida leaves DUI diversion entirely to each county’s elected state attorney, so the program that exists where you were arrested may not exist at all one county over. The record stakes are set by statute: under section 316.656, Florida Statutes, no court may “suspend, defer, or withhold adjudication of guilt” for a DUI violation, which is why the reduction to reckless driving carries all of the record value.

TL;DR

• No statewide program exists. Each elected state attorney decides whether their circuit offers DUI diversion and writes its own rules. Some parts of Florida have none.
• Diversion protects the record. Completing a program typically ends in a reckless driving plea with a withhold of adjudication and a path to sealing.
• A DUI conviction is permanent. Section 316.656 bars any withhold on DUI, and a DUI conviction cannot be sealed or expunged.
• Arraignment is the fork. In Broward and Palm Beach counties, demanding discovery and setting trial at arraignment waives diversion eligibility.

Florida Leaves DUI Diversion to Each County’s Elected State Attorney

There is no statewide DUI diversion program in Florida and no statute that requires any circuit to offer one. Diversion exists county by county because the elected state attorney in each judicial circuit decides how DUI cases are prosecuted there.

Robert Malove puts it plainly:

“each jurisdiction is in control of their own program… They don’t have to offer a diversion program if they don’t want to. In some places in the state, they don’t.”
Robert Malove

As he puts it, “it’s not a statewide requirement”; the statute leaves prosecution policy to “the state attorneys who are elected there.” What Miami-Dade offers, Broward may structure differently, and a rural circuit may offer nothing at all. The way to find out what your county offers is to ask before your first court date, through the state attorney’s office handling your case or a DUI attorney who works in that courthouse. The three counties below are the ones Robert Malove discussed from his own practice.

Diversion Ends in a Reckless Driving Plea, Not a DUI Conviction

The value of DUI diversion is the exit charge. A completed program typically resolves the case as reckless driving with a withhold of adjudication, and after probation and every required condition are finished, the participant can apply to seal the record.

“many counties have diversion programs for a first offender where they can resolve their case to a lesser charge of reckless driving… receive a withhold of adjudication, and after they complete their probation and all the terms and conditions that are required, they can apply to have their records sealed.”
Robert Malove

A DUI conviction offers no equivalent path. Section 316.656 prohibits any court from withholding adjudication on a DUI, and of the conviction itself Robert said: “You can’t take that off your record, it’s not subject to expungement. You can’t get it sealed. It stays with you forever.” The same statute bars a judge from accepting a plea to a lesser included offense when the test result was 0.15 or above; in a diversion case, the reduction comes through the state attorney’s own charging decision, not from the bench. Board Certified criminal trial attorney Robert Malove of The Law Offices of Robert David Malove treats the reckless driving reduction as the record-saving outcome in a Florida DUI case precisely because state law forbids courts from softening the DUI charge on their own.

First-Offense Status, No Crash, and Breath-Test Ceilings Control Eligibility

Florida DUI diversion programs limit entry to first offenders, and the standard disqualifiers are a crash, a prior record, and a breath result above the county’s ceiling.

Palm Beach County publishes its criteria in the Palm Beach County 1st Time DUI Offender Program terms from the State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit: no breath samples over the 0.200 mark, no accidents, no similar priors, no prior formal diversion, no prior prison sentences, and no accompanying felony or drug charges. Every case is still evaluated individually, at the discretion of the office’s DUI filing unit. The transcript carries the same bars in Robert’s shorthand: “you can’t get in if you have a car accident,” and a second offense closes the door entirely.

The breath-test ceiling produces a result Robert considers lopsided, and he names it directly:

“they have restrictions sometimes if your breath test is too high, which I think is unfair, because the guy who refuses to take the breath test will never know what his breath test was, but he gets in… those are the rules of the game, and so we have to learn how to work within them.”
Robert Malove

The cooperator with a high number can be barred while the refuser, whose number no one will ever know, qualifies. The rule stands anyway; the work is knowing the conditions before the first court date.

Demanding Discovery at Arraignment Waives Diversion in Broward and Palm Beach Counties

In Broward and Palm Beach counties, the diversion decision carries a procedural deadline. According to Board Certified criminal trial attorney Robert Malove of The Law Offices of Robert David Malove, a defendant who demands discovery and sets the case for trial at arraignment in either county thereby waives eligibility for the DUI diversion program.

In his words: “it varies by county, but in Broward County, in Fort Lauderdale, as well as in Palm Beach County, if you make a demand for discovery, at your arraignment,” that step is “considered a waiver of eligibility to get into the diversion program.” Palm Beach County puts the same rule in writing. Its published program terms state that the plea resolution “must be entered prior to the filing of any defense motions, demands for discovery, or demands for jury trial,” and that failure to follow the rule “will result in disqualification from this program.”

Discovery is how a defense lawyer tests the state’s case: the breath machine’s calibration and service records, the stop video, the legality of the arrest. In these two counties, filing that demand spends the diversion option. Robert’s caution runs the other way too: “you gotta be careful to make sure that we don’t… encourage somebody to demand discovery on a bad case,” where fighting first costs the one resolution that would have protected the record. The read on the evidence has to happen before arraignment, while both doors are still open.

Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Each Run Their Own Program

The three counties where Robert Malove spent his years as an assistant public defender each run a first-offender DUI program, and each writes its own terms.

Miami-Dade County. The State Attorney’s Office runs one DUI diversion program, called Back on Track. By the office’s published description, eligibility “is based on the defendant’s criminal history, driving history, and circumstances surrounding the DUI arrest,” and successful participants “will have an opportunity to receive a withhold of adjudication on a reduced charge of Reckless Driving.” Anyone charged there can walk through eligibility with a Miami DUI lawyer before the first court date.

Broward County. Broward offers diversion for first offenders, and it is one of the two counties where Robert flagged the arraignment waiver rule. The State Attorney’s public diversion page lists misdemeanor and felony tracks without a DUI-specific writeup, so current terms are confirmed case by case through the office. That makes local counsel the practical source: a Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer who works those courtrooms deals with the program’s terms as they stand now.

Palm Beach County. The State Attorney for the 15th Judicial Circuit publishes its 1st Time DUI Offender Program terms. An approved participant completes four pre-conditions: 20 community service hours, DUI school, the Victim Impact Panel, and installation of an ignition interlock device. The state then offers a plea to reckless driving with adjudication withheld, drops the DUI charge, and places the participant on probation; on successful completion, no points go against the license. The plea has to be entered at the arraignment stage, the same trap described above in official print. A West Palm Beach DUI lawyer can walk you through the published criteria and what the conditions cost before that date.

Counties beyond these three set their own policies, and some offer no program. The state attorney’s office prosecuting your case can tell you what exists where you were arrested.

County Court Prosecutors Work Under Supervisors and Heavy Caseloads

Diversion decisions run through county court prosecutors, who tend to be early in their careers, carry large caseloads, and answer to supervisors on how cases are handled.

“especially in county court, they’re the least experienced. It’s the starting place for many of them. They want to keep their caseload manageable.”
Robert Malove, Board Certified criminal trial attorney

He adds that “almost always in the county court prosecutors have a supervisor looking over their shoulder” on case preparation. For a defendant, that means the offer on your case is shaped by office policy and written criteria, measured against rules a supervisor signs off on. And when the resolution on the table erases the conviction risk and opens a sealing path, the calculus from the defense chair is blunt: “it’s hard to turn down a resolution where you know you… are going to be able to get it taken off your record.”

The Time to Involve a Lawyer Is Before Arraignment

Diversion is a pre-arraignment decision, and it runs alongside a second clock: you have 10 days from the arrest to act on your license with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). The criminal case and the license case are separate tracks with separate deadlines, and the diversion question lives in the first one.

Robert describes the firm’s opening sequence in a new case:

“first things first, let’s keep them driving and at work… And then we’ll pull the case apart and figure out what is… what are the strengths and weaknesses?”
Robert Malove

That strengths-and-weaknesses read is what the arraignment decision depends on: fight, or take the resolution that protects the record. In Broward and Palm Beach counties, that call cannot be unmade once discovery is demanded and the case is set for trial.

The firm’s aim in that conversation is the one Robert states without decoration: “we try to do our best to… leave the client off in a better position than the one that they were when they found us.” When a client shows signs of a substance problem, Robert pushes treatment rather than pretending the case is the only issue; a second offense forecloses diversion permanently. No lawyer controls the outcome. Eligibility sits with the state attorney’s filing unit, and the lawyer’s job is to put the strongest accurate file in front of it, in time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a DUI diversion program in Florida?

There is no statewide program. Each county’s elected state attorney decides whether a DUI diversion program exists in their circuit and sets its terms, and some parts of the state offer none. Miami-Dade runs Back on Track, Palm Beach County publishes its 1st Time DUI Offender Program, and Broward County offers first-offender diversion with terms confirmed through the State Attorney’s Office.

What does completing a DUI diversion program do to your record?

Completing a program typically resolves the case as reckless driving with a withhold of adjudication instead of a DUI conviction, and after probation and all conditions are finished you can apply to have the record sealed. In Palm Beach County’s published version, the state also drops the DUI charge and no points go against your license.

Can a DUI conviction be sealed or expunged in Florida?

No. Robert Malove says a DUI conviction is not subject to expungement, cannot be sealed, and stays with you forever, and section 316.656, Florida Statutes prohibits any court from withholding adjudication on a DUI. That permanence is why diversion matters: the reckless driving reduction with a withhold is the route that keeps sealing possible.

Who qualifies for Miami-Dade’s Back on Track program?

By the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s published description, eligibility is based on the defendant’s criminal history, driving history, and the circumstances surrounding the DUI arrest, and the office’s prosecutors make the call. Robert Malove describes it as a first-offender program, consistent with the bars that run through every county’s version: no crash, no prior record, and limits tied to the breath result.

Does demanding discovery end diversion eligibility in every county?

Robert Malove named two counties where it does: Broward and Palm Beach, where demanding discovery and setting the case for trial at arraignment is treated as a waiver of diversion eligibility. Palm Beach County publishes that rule in its program terms. Other circuits write their own procedures, which is one more reason to have counsel answer the question for your specific county before anything is filed.

Talk to a Florida DUI Lawyer Before Your Arraignment

Robert Malove is a Board Certified criminal trial attorney, one of fewer than 400 in the state out of more than 100,000 active members of the Florida Bar. The distinction requires at least 25 contested cases and a minimum of 20 jury trials every 5 years.

If you are under investigation, have been arrested for DUI, are facing a second charge, or have a conviction on your record and want an expert criminal defense attorney on your side, fill out this form or call us now at (954) 861-0384.

The Law Offices of Robert David Malove serves clients across Florida, with DUI defense teams in nine offices: Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, Fort Pierce, Gainesville, Key West, and Sarasota.