By Gay Cororaton, MIAMI REALTORS Chief Economist
Key takeaways
- Out-of-state driver license exchanges in Southeast Florida decreased in 2025 Q1 but were higher than the pre-pandemic levels in Miami-Dade County and St. Lucie County.
- Despite recent declines, the number of out-of-state driver license exchanges from New York, California, New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois in 2025 Q1 were above pre-pandemic levels.
- Foreign driver license exchanges were lower from one year ago, with Miami-Dade County as the largest recipient among Florida’s counties.
Access the 2025 Q1 Southeast Florida Driver License Exchanges Report HERE.
Miami-Dade County driver license exchanges fell 11% in 2025 Q1 but are 8% higher than in 2019 Q4
Driver licenses issued by other states and exchanged for a Florida driver license continued to normalize in Southeast Florida in 2025 Q1, according to Miami Association of REALTORS® (MIAMI) analysis of Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles data. New residents must exchange their out-of-state license for a Florida driver’s license within 30 days after establishing residency to drive on Florida’s roads.
In 2025 Q1, out-of-state driver license exchanges fell from one year ago in Miami-Dade County (-11%), Broward County (-21%), Palm Beach County (-14%), Martin County (-21%), and St. Lucie County (-10%).
Compared to the pre-pandemic levels in 2019 Q1, out-of-state driver license exchanges in 2025 Q1 were higher only in Miami-Dade County (+8%) and St. Lucie County (+5%) but were lower in Broward County (-21%), Palm Beach County (-14%), and Martin County (-20%).
Out-of-state movers from New York and California are still higher than the pre-pandemic level
In Miami-Dade County, driver license exchanges fell in 2025 Q1 from one year ago in eight of the top 10 states of origin, including New York (-9%), California (-14%), New Jersey (-9%), Georgia (-14%), and Illinois (-21%).
However, driver license exchanges from some of the top states of origin remain above the pre-pandemic level: New York (+23%), California (+34%), Texas (+11%), New Jersey (+15%), and Illinois (+10%).
Foreign driver license exchanges also decreased from one year ago
Foreign driver license exchanges also fell from the level one year ago in Miami-Dade County (-47%) , Broward County (-29%), Palm Beach County (-36%), Martin County (-26%), and St. Lucie County (-30%).
Compared to the pre-pandemic levels in 2019 Q1, foreign driver license exchanges were also lower in Miami-Dade (-10%) but higher in Broward (+11%), Palm Beach (+28%), Martin (+76%), and St. Lucie (+142%).
In Miami-Dade County, the largest origins of foreign driver license exchanges were Cuba, Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Argentina.
Tighter immigration policy is likely to have an impact on international migration not just in Florida but nationally, but Southeast Florida is likely to remain a top destination for people moving from abroad. According to the MIAMI 2024 International Transactions Report, MIAMI’s foreign buyers came from 49 coumtries [1]. According to the 2024 Population Estimates of the US Census Bureau, Miami-Dade County had the largest net international migration (+123,835) ; Broward County had the 5th largest(+56,567); and Palm Beach County had the 13th largest (+32,825) [2].
