Operation Green Light Waives Collection Fees, Gets Sarasota Area Drivers Back On The Road

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — Operation Green Light, a statewide driver license reinstatement program, will assist Sarasota County drivers Thursday through Sunday of this week.

The program helps individuals with suspended or revoked driver’s licenses pay their overdue court obligations, including traffic tickets, according to a county news release.

If not paid within 90 days of the due date, each Florida county’s Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Comptroller’s office is required to turn over unpaid tickets and other outstanding court fines and fees to an outside collection agency under state law.

While Operation Green Light doesn’t eliminate these fees and fines, through this program the Sarasota County Clerk and Comptroller's office has been authorized to waive collection agency fees — some as high as 30 percent — for anyone who pays off their court obligations, including traffic tickets, in full or signs up for a monthly payment plan, the county said.

The Clerk and Comptroller's office will also help customers who are eligible to reinstate their suspended driver license for an additional fee.

This assistance will be offered at the following dates and locations this week:

• Thursday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., at R.L. Anderson Administration Center at 4000 S. Tamiami Trail in Venice
• Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Historic Courthouse at 2000 Main Street in Sarasota