Bringing a car from another state: getting a Florida title

1. Get Florida insurance on the car first. The tax collector requires proof of Florida PIP/PDL coverage to title and register a vehicle.
2. Have the VIN and odometer verified. Use Section 8 of HSMV 82040 MV or the separate form HSMV 82042. It must be signed by one of four people: a licensed Florida dealer, a Florida notary public, a law enforcement officer, or an FLHSMV / tax collector / license plate agency employee (many tax collector offices do it in the parking lot).
3. Bring the out-of-state title in your name (or the registration if that state does not issue titles). If a lender holds the title, the tax collector can request it from the lienholder; ask for the lienholder's address and account number.
4. Fill HSMV 82040 MV. Section 5: how acquired (Sale with price, or Gift, etc.) and the date. Section 6: odometer declaration.
5. Sales tax. If you bought the car in another state and paid tax there, Florida gives credit for that tax; use tax is due only on any difference. If you owned the car six months or more before bringing it to Florida, it is presumed not subject to Florida use tax. Bring the purchase paperwork showing tax paid.
6. Go to the tax collector with the verified 82040, the out-of-state title, proof of Florida insurance, your Florida driver license, and payment: $85.25 original used title (electronic), $225 initial registration if this is your first Florida plate, plus registration.
7. Surrender the old title and plate. Florida keeps the out-of-state title; return the old plate to the previous state if it requires it.

• Out-of-state title (or registration if a non-title state), lien released or lienholder details
• HSMV 82040 MV with Section 8 VIN/odometer verification signed, or HSMV 82042
• Proof of Florida insurance for this vehicle
• Florida driver license (new residents: get it first; the tax collector needs it)
• Purchase paperwork showing sales tax paid, if bought recently
• Payment: $85.25 title, $225 initial registration if applicable, plus plate/registration

• Skipping the VIN verification, or having it signed by someone not on the list (a friend, an out-of-state notary).
• Arriving without Florida insurance: the office cannot issue the registration.
• Buying out of state within the last 6 months without proof of tax paid: Florida use tax on the full price.
• Salvage or rebuilt brand on the out-of-state title: a Florida inspection may be required before a Florida title issues; do not assume the branding transfers cleanly.
• Title in a company name or with a lienholder: extra paperwork; call the tax collector before you go.
• Forgetting that the $225 initial registration applies when you have no Florida plate to transfer.

• Title transfer: $75.25 (paper title printed: $77.75; fast title: $85.25)
• Late penalty after 30 days: $20.00 (F.S. 319.23(6))
• Lien recording, if any: $2.00
• Initial registration if you have no Florida plate to transfer: $225.00
• Sales tax on a purchase: 6% state sales/use tax plus the county discretionary surtax (surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of the price).

Fee schedule: FLHSMV FEES-01 Rev. 04/26 · source