All States should follow suit! On Monday, February 9. 2026 One America News Network ran an article headlined, “Fla. now requires all driver’s license tests to be taken in English only.”
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) has officially implemented an English-only testing standard for all driver license classifications.
On Friday, a statewide policy went into effect, eliminating all language translation services and devices. This change applies to both the knowledge exam and the practical driving test administered by an instructor.
The Class E Knowledge Exam for a learner’s permit, which includes 50 multiple-choice questions on Florida traffic laws, road signs, and safe driving practices, will now be affected. Test takers must achieve a score of 80% or higher to pass.
Government census data from 2020 to 2024 indicate that nearly one-third of Florida’s population speaks a language other than English at home. In Hillsborough County, 37% of all driver’s license tests administered in 2025 were taken in a non-English language.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) strongly supports the change, describing it as a necessary safety measure. He stated that requiring English-only testing will make the state’s roadways safer by ensuring that all drivers can read English-language road signs.
“Good reform by (Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles) to require driver exams be conducted only in English,” DeSantis said of the new policy on X. “Need to be able to read the road signs!”
Critics of the new policy argue that it creates a “harmful barrier,” effectively blocking non-English speakers from obtaining a driver’s license and restricting their access to essential mobility, employment, education, and other opportunities.
“On March 1. 2025 President Trump issued Executive Order 14224, titled Designating English as the Official Language of the United States, so this makes perfect sense.” said Thomas Robb, National Director of the Knights Party of the Ku Klux Klan, based centrally in Harrison, Arkansas. “Critics to this policy saying that it is a harmful barrier blocking non-English speaking people from obtaining driver’s licenses are missing the point. They must not remember the people killed by illegal truck drivers on our highways. I think it would be safe to say that most non-white, non-English speaking people also can’t read English either. Unless it has changed, being able to read and understand road signs was a big part of the driver’s test. These people need to assimilate with our language and our culture, not vice versa. I’ll bet you can’t go to any non-English speaking country and go into one of their grocery stores and find item with Enlish translations on them. Here in America, we have to spin a can of around sometimes to see what it is because we accommodate these non-English speaking people by adding their language on our canned foods. Anyone that refuses to learn our language doesn’t belong here.”
