The Florida Senate

320.04  Registration service charge.--

(1)(a)  There shall be a service charge of $2.50 for each application which is handled in connection with original issuance, duplicate issuance, or transfer of any license plate, mobile home sticker, or validation sticker or with transfer or duplicate issuance of any registration certificate. There may also be a service charge of up to $1 for the issuance of each license plate validation sticker, vessel decal, and mobile home sticker issued from an automated vending facility or printer dispenser machine which shall be payable to and retained by the department to provide for automated vending facilities or printer dispenser machines used to dispense such stickers and decals by each tax collector's or license tag agent's employee.

(b)  In addition to the fees provided in paragraph (a), any tax collector may impose an additional service charge of not more than 50 cents on any transaction specified in paragraph (a) or on any transaction specified in s. 319.32(2)(a) or s. 328.48 when such transaction occurs at any tax collector's branch office.

(c)  The service charges prescribed by paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be collected from the applicant as compensation for all services rendered in connection with the handling of the application. Such fees shall be retained by the department or by the tax collector, as the case may be, as other fees accruing to those offices.

(2)  The service charges shall be collected by the department on all applications handled directly from its office; and the proceeds thereof, together with any fees returned to it by the tax collector, shall be paid into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. No tax collector, deputy tax collector, or employee of the state or any county shall charge, collect, or receive any fee or compensation for services performed as notary public in connection with or incidental to the issuance of license plates or titles. The provisions of this subsection and of s. 116.38(2) prohibiting the charging, collecting, or receiving of notary public fees do not apply to any privately owned license plate agency appointed by the county manager of a charter county which has an appointed tax collector.

(3)  The department may absorb all or any portion of any interchange, assessment, charge back, authorization or settlement or equivalent fees charged by financial institutions relating to a credit or debit card transaction. The department may request approval to establish additional budget authority to pay additional fees related to credit and debit card transactions pursuant to s. 216.177.

History.--s. 2, ch. 7275, 1917; RGS 1007; s. 3, ch. 8410, 1921; s. 2, ch. 10182, 1925; CGL 1281; s. 1, ch. 15625, 1931; ss. 1, 5, ch. 16085, 1933; ss. 1, 2, ch. 23149, 1945; s. 10, ch. 26484, 1951; s. 43, ch. 26869, 1951; s. 1, ch. 61-403; s. 1, ch. 63-143; s. 6, ch. 65-190; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 72-79; s. 1, ch. 74-338; s. 6, ch. 75-66; s. 3, ch. 78-207; s. 47, ch. 80-274; s. 1, ch. 82-50; s. 23, ch. 82-134; s. 8, ch. 83-318; s. 2, ch. 85-324; s. 54, ch. 90-132; s. 8, ch. 98-324; s. 19, ch. 99-248; s. 4, ch. 99-289; s. 44, ch. 2000-152; s. 26, ch. 2000-313.