The Florida Senate

319.21  Necessity of manufacturer's statement of origin and certificate of title.--

(1)  No manufacturer, distributor, licensed dealer, or other person shall sell or otherwise dispose of a new motor vehicle or a new mobile home to a distributor, licensed dealer, or other person without delivering to such distributor, licensed dealer, or other person a manufacturer's statement of origin duly executed and with such assignments thereon as may be necessary to show title in the purchaser thereof, on forms approved by the department; nor shall any distributor, licensed dealer, or other person purchase, acquire, or bring into the state, except for temporary use and not for sale, a new motor vehicle or a new mobile home without obtaining from the seller thereof the manufacturer's statement of origin. Such statement of origin shall be in the English language. In addition to the assignments stated herein, the manufacturer's statement of origin shall contain a certification of the identification and description of the motor vehicle or mobile home delivered and the name and address of the distributor, licensed dealer, or other person to whom the motor vehicle or mobile home was originally sold, over the signature of an authorized official of the manufacturer who made the original delivery; however, no statement of origin shall be required for any new motor vehicle or new mobile home purchased from a person other than a manufacturer or a representative of a manufacturer in a state which does not require such statement of origin. Prior to the issuance of a certificate of title for any such new motor vehicle or new mobile home, the holder of any security interest therein may demand and receive from the owner thereof the manufacturer's statement of origin and may retain it as long as he or she holds the security interest.

(2)  When a motor vehicle is built in two or more stages, each manufacturer must provide a manufacturer's statement of origin for each stage.

(3)  Except as provided in s. 320.27(7), no person shall sell or otherwise dispose of a motor vehicle or mobile home without delivering to the purchaser or transferee thereof a certificate of title with such assignment thereon as may be necessary to show title in the name of the purchaser. No person shall purchase or otherwise acquire or bring into the state a motor vehicle or mobile home, except for a surviving spouse as provided by s. 319.28 or except for temporary use, unless such person obtains a certificate of title for it in his or her name in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. However, any licensed dealer may, in lieu of having a certificate of title issued in the dealer's name, reassign any existing certificate of title, except as provided in s. 319.225 It shall not be necessary for any licensed dealer to obtain a certificate of title on any new motor vehicle or new mobile home which he or she is selling or which he or she acquires for sale if the dealer obtains a manufacturer's statement of origin as provided in subsection (1); however, the dealer shall attach the manufacturer's statement of origin to the separate application for initial certificate of title which is made by the purchaser and certify on the face of such application that the vehicle is a new motor vehicle or new mobile home and shall also disclose the name and address of the manufacturer, distributor, or other person from whom the dealer acquired such motor vehicle or mobile home. In no event shall a manufacturer's statement of origin be issued or reissued to any distributor, licensed dealer, or other person for the purpose of updating any motor vehicle or mobile home for sale. As used in this subsection, the term "updating" means:

(a)  Modification of the motor vehicle or mobile home in such a manner that it resembles in appearance the current year's model as defined in ¹s. 319.14(3);

(b)  Replacement of the original identification number and chassis number, which replacement reflects a change in the year manufactured, or any other modification which misrepresents the actual year manufactured; or

(c)  Issuance of another manufacturer's statement of origin changing the model year of manufacture.

(4)  Notwithstanding the provisions of other laws of this state, no motor vehicle or mobile home shall be eligible for initial registration in this state unless the provisions of this section have been complied with.

History.--s. 2, ch. 23658, 1947; s. 1, ch. 25150, 1949; s. 1, ch. 61-296; s. 6, ch. 65-190; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 77-11; s. 5, ch. 82-134; s. 4, ch. 89-333; s. 336, ch. 95-148; s. 7, ch. 95-333; s. 11, ch. 96-413.

¹Note.--The definition of the current year's model was deleted from s. 319.14(3) by s. 3, ch. 89-333.