Bought a car from a private seller in Florida: how to get the title in your name

1. Check the title before you pay. The seller's name must be printed as the owner on the front of the title (F.S. 319.22(3)); if it is not, the tax collector will refuse the transfer. Compare the VIN on the title with the VIN plate on the dashboard and door jamb. Look for anything written over or erased.
2. Have the seller complete the "Transfer of Title by Seller" section on the front of the paper title: odometer reading (no tenths), date of sale, sale price, printed name and signature. If two owners are joined by "AND", both must sign; joined by "OR", one signature is enough. No notary is needed for this section, even though there is a notary block (FLHSMV procedure TL-11).
3. Sign the odometer disclosure as the buyer. Federal law requires it on any vehicle that is not exempt. The seller must check "actual mileage", "not the actual mileage" or "exceeds mechanical limits" if that applies.
4. If the seller only has an electronic title (no paper), you both go to a tax collector office or license plate agency with photo ID and reassign it there using HSMV 82994, or the seller first orders a paper title ($2.50 by mail, $10 fast title).
5. Get a bill of sale. Use HSMV 82050 (Notice of Sale and/or Bill of Sale). The seller also files its top part to end their liability for the car. Keep your copy: if the price on the title is ever questioned, the tax collector will ask for this.
6. Fill out HSMV 82040 MV (Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title). Section 5: check "Sale" and write the price. Section 6: odometer declaration. Leave Section 8 (VIN verification) blank: it is only needed for cars never titled in Florida.
7. Go to the county tax collector (or a license plate agency) with: the signed title, the 82040, the bill of sale, your Florida driver license, proof of Florida insurance for the car, and payment. Bring the plate you are transferring, if you have one.
8. Pay. $75.25 for an electronic title ($77.75 if you want the paper title printed and mailed, $85.25 for a fast title the same day), plus 6% sales tax on the price and your county's surtax on the first $5,000, plus registration. If you have no Florida plate to move over, add the $225 initial registration fee.

• Original Florida title signed by the seller (front section completed, odometer, date, price)
• HSMV 82040 MV completed and signed
• Bill of sale (HSMV 82050) signed by both
• Your Florida driver license or ID
• Proof of Florida insurance (PIP and PDL) for this vehicle
• The plate you are transferring, or be ready to pay initial registration ($225)
• Payment: fee + sales tax + registration; tax collectors charge extra for cards

• Waiting more than 30 days: $20 late fee (F.S. 319.23(6)). The $10 you may read elsewhere is the boat penalty.
• Seller's name not printed on the title as owner ("title jumping"): the transfer is refused and it is a first-degree misdemeanor if done to commit fraud.
• Price written over or corrected on the title: the office will demand the original bill of sale or a duplicate title.
• Declaring a price far below book value: if it is under 80% of the average loan value, tax is charged on the book value unless you both sign DOR form DR-99A.
• Only one signature when the title says "John Smith AND Jane Smith".
• Lien still shown on the title: the lienholder must release it first, or the transfer stops.
• Buying with a temporary tag: you still owe Florida sales tax and must still transfer within 30 days.

• 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