Starting Friday, Feb. 6, Florida will offer driver license exams in just English, raising questions and concern from both officials and advocates.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles made the announcement last week.

"Language translation services will no longer be permitted for knowledge or skills examinations, and any printed exams in languages other than English will be removed for use," the FLHSMV said in a press release.

Previously, non-commercial license exams could be taken in multiple languages including Spanish, Haitian-Creole and Portuguese.

Exams for commercial licenses for driving larger vehicles like trucks were available in English and Spanish.

Hillsborough County Tax Collector Nancy Millan, whose office issues driver licenses, said the announcement came as a surprise.

"We have provided multiple language testing for almost two decades, and in every year, we've added a different language on there because we recognize the need," said Millan.

According to her office, about 37% of the more than 13,500 driver license skills test examinations taken in Hillsborough last year were administered in languages other than English.

Millan said DMV offices in her county have seen an influx of people in the last several days. About half of the written exams were administered in a non-English language, she said.

"That is an indicator that people have heard and they're trying to get things done prior to that rule change," said Millan.

A handful of other states have similar English-only policies, including Oklahoma, Wyoming and South Dakota.

Crackdowns on commercial licenses started at the federal level last year.

Last April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order mandating that "anyone behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle is properly qualified and proficient in English."

A deadly crash in Florida last August involving a semi-tractor-trailer driver from India intensified the administration's scrutiny of licenses issued to drivers not proficient in English.

The incident also prompted a Florida bill (SB 86) that, in part, would require law enforcement officers to take into custody truck drivers who are determined to be undocumented immigrants and help transfer them to federal immigration officials.

The bill would also require impounding trucks driven by undocumented immigrants who are taken into custody and impose $50,000 fines on the vehicles' owners.

The bill has passed one Senate committee during the ongoing legislative session. A House companion bill has yet to be voted on by any committee.

Republican representative Tobin Overdorf, whose district includes St. Lucie County, where the truck accident happened, said he supports the English-only requirement for all drivers.

"This is an issue that, gratefully, could be handled outside of the legislature and was done in a quick and efficient manner," said Overdorf.

Eliseo Santana is with the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater and long-time advocate of the Hispanic community. He believes the policy change will make Florida's roads less safe.

"They're going to create a new segment of our population that is unable to comply with getting their driver's license," said Santana. "The side effects is that all of us are going to be affected."

Santana said he's worried the change will lead to more unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the road.

Santana also pointed out this could affect Florida's large Puerto Rican community. More than 1.1 million Puerto Ricans live in Florida. The dominant language of the U.S. territory is Spanish.

"I'm upset. They're putting us all in danger," Santana said.

Rep. Overdorf said he believed any uninsured and unlicensed drivers on the road would "likely be taken off the roadway sometime soon by law enforcement."

Millan said the FLHSMV did not provide a reason for the policy change.

In Florida, people have to provide proof of legal residence in order to obtain a license.

"As a daughter of Cuban immigrants, I can empathize with the challenges that people face when they come into this country," said Millan. "Having those credentials is critical, especially when you're establishing yourself in a new country."

WUSF reporter Douglas Soule and the News Service of Florida contributed to this report.