The Florida Senate

319.23  Application for, and issuance of, certificate of title.--

(1)  Application for a certificate of title shall be made upon a form prescribed by the department, shall be filed with the department, and shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in this chapter. If a certificate of title has previously been issued for a motor vehicle or mobile home in this state, the application for a certificate of title shall be accompanied by the certificate of title duly assigned, or assigned and reassigned, unless otherwise provided for in this chapter. If the motor vehicle or mobile home for which application for a certificate of title is made is a new motor vehicle or new mobile home for which one or more manufacturers' statements of origin are required by the provisions of s. 319.21, the application for a certificate of title shall be accompanied by all such manufacturers' statements of origin.

(2)  The applicant for a certificate of title shall indicate on the application if the motor vehicle is to be used as a taxicab, police vehicle, or lease vehicle or if the motor vehicle or mobile home is a rebuilt vehicle, as those terms are defined in s. 319.14 Upon issuance of a certificate of title for such vehicle, the department shall stamp, in a conspicuous place on the title, words stating the nature of the proposed use of the vehicle or stating that the vehicle has been rebuilt. This subsection applies to a mobile home, travel trailer, camping trailer, truck camper, or fifth-wheel recreation trailer only when the mobile home or vehicle is a rebuilt vehicle as defined in s. 319.14

(3)  If a certificate of title has not previously been issued for a motor vehicle or mobile home in this state, the application, unless otherwise provided for in this chapter, shall be accompanied by a proper bill of sale or sworn statement of ownership, or a duly certified copy thereof, or by a certificate of title, bill of sale, or other evidence of ownership required by the law of the state or county from which the motor vehicle or mobile home was brought into this state. The application shall also be accompanied by:

(a)1.  A sworn affidavit from the seller and purchaser verifying that the vehicle identification number shown on the affidavit is identical to the vehicle identification number shown on the motor vehicle; or

2.  An appropriate departmental form evidencing that a physical examination has been made of the motor vehicle by the owner and by a duly constituted law enforcement officer in any state, a licensed motor vehicle dealer, a license inspector as provided by s. 320.58, or a notary public commissioned by this state and that the vehicle identification number shown on such form is identical to the vehicle identification number shown on the motor vehicle; and

(b)  If the vehicle is a used car original, a sworn affidavit from the owner verifying that the odometer reading shown on the affidavit is identical to the odometer reading shown on the motor vehicle in accordance with the requirements of 49 C.F.R. s. 580.5 at the time that application for title is made. For the purposes of this section, the term "used car original" means a used vehicle coming into and being titled in this state for the first time.

(c)  If the vehicle is an ancient or antique vehicle, as defined in s. 320.086, the application shall be accompanied by a certificate of title; a bill of sale and a registration; or a bill of sale and an affidavit by the owner defending the title from all claims. The bill of sale must contain a complete vehicle description to include the vehicle identification or engine number, year make, color, selling price, and signatures of the seller and purchaser.

Verification of the vehicle identification number is not required for any new motor vehicle; any mobile home; any trailer or semitrailer with a net weight of less than 2,000 pounds; or any travel trailer, camping trailer, truck camper, or fifth-wheel recreation trailer.

(4)  The application for a certificate of title for a motor vehicle or mobile home previously titled or registered outside this state shall show on its face such fact and shall indicate the time and place of the last issuance of certificate of title, or registration, of such motor vehicle or mobile home outside this state and the name and address of the governmental officer, agency, or authority making such registration, together with such further information relative to its previous registration as may reasonably be required by the department, including the time and place of original registration, if known, and if different from the last foreign registration. The applicant shall surrender to the department all certificates, registration cards, or other evidence of foreign registration as may be in his or her possession or under his or her control.

(5)  The certificate of title issued by the department for a motor vehicle or mobile home previously registered outside this state shall give the name of the state or country in which the vehicle was last registered outside this state. The department shall use reasonable diligence in ascertaining whether or not the facts in the application are true; and, if satisfied that the applicant is the owner of the motor vehicle or mobile home and that the application is in the proper form, it shall issue a certificate of title.

(6)  In the case of the sale of a motor vehicle or mobile home by a licensed dealer to a general purchaser, the certificate of title must be obtained in the name of the purchaser by the dealer upon application signed by the purchaser, and in each other case such certificate must be obtained by the purchaser. In each case of transfer of a motor vehicle or mobile home, the application for certificate of title, or corrected certificate, or assignment or reassignment, must be filed within 30 days from the delivery of the motor vehicle or mobile home to the purchaser. An applicant must pay a fee of $20, in addition to all other fees and penalties required by law, for failing to file such application within the specified time. If a licensed dealer acquires a motor vehicle or mobile home as a trade-in, the dealer must file with the department, within 30 days, a notice of sale signed by the seller. The department shall update its database for that title record to indicate "sold." A licensed dealer need not apply for a certificate of title for any motor vehicle or mobile home in stock acquired for stock purposes except as provided in s. 319.225

(7)  The department shall in no event issue a certificate of title for any motor vehicle or mobile home to any applicant until the applicant has shown that:

(a)  All sales or use taxes due on the transfer of the motor vehicle or mobile home are paid.

(b)  A current motor vehicle registration as required by s. 320.02, except for a vehicle not required by law to have such registration, has been obtained.

(c)  In each case in which a mobile home or recreational vehicle-type unit is classified as real property and an "RP" series sticker has been issued, the applicant has informed the property appraiser of the county wherein the mobile home or recreational vehicle-type unit is to be located of the intended site of the mobile home or recreational vehicle-type unit.

(d)  The provisions of s. 319.225 have been complied with.

(8)  The title certificate or application for title must contain the applicant's full first name, middle initial, last name, date of birth, sex, personal or business identification, which may include, but need not be limited to, a driver's license number, Florida identification card number, or federal employer identification number, and the license plate number or, in lieu thereof, an affidavit certifying that the motor vehicle to be titled will not be operated upon the public highways of this state.

(9)  The department, upon the issuance of a certificate of title for a mobile home upon which no identification or serial number is affixed or ascertainable, may assign and require the permanent affixation upon such mobile home of an identification number. Prior to the assignment of any identification number, the department shall require satisfactory assurances that the application for a certificate of title and identification number is not being made for any unlawful purpose.

(10)  The department shall use security procedures, processes, and materials in the preparation and issuance of each certificate of title to prohibit to the extent possible a person's ability to alter, counterfeit, duplicate, or modify the certificate of title.

(11)  All titles, manufacturers' statements of origin, applications, and supporting documents submitted with the application, including, but not limited to, odometer statements, vehicle identification number verifications, bills of sale, indicia of ownership, dealer reassignments, photographs, and any personal identification, affidavits, or documents required by or submitted to the department, shall be retained by the department for not less than 10 years.

History.--s. 4, ch. 23658, 1947; s. 3, ch. 25150, 1949; s. 1, ch. 28184, 1953; s. 2, ch. 61-296; s. 6, ch. 65-190; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 72-15; s. 2, ch. 75-66; s. 1, ch. 77-102; s. 4, ch. 78-221; s. 1, ch. 78-225; s. 2, ch. 78-412; s. 1, ch. 79-32; s. 1, ch. 79-399; s. 1, ch. 80-388; s. 7, ch. 82-134; s. 2, ch. 83-91; s. 42, ch. 85-180; s. 7, ch. 88-306; s. 1, ch. 89-53; ss. 12, 16, ch. 89-333; s. 339, ch. 95-148; ss. 13, 21, ch. 96-413; s. 12, ch. 99-248; s. 5, ch. 2001-196; s. 112, ch. 2002-20; s. 1, ch. 2004-29; s. 58, ch. 2005-164; s. 6, ch. 2009-71.