Florida Notary VIN Verification: $10 Fee Cap and 10-Day Deadline

For a Florida notary VIN verification, the notary physically inspects the vehicle identification number on your car, compares it to your out-of-state title, and signs Part B of Form HSMV 82042 under their official seal. The maximum fee is $10.¹ You then file that signed form with your county tax collector as part of titling the vehicle in Florida.²

When You Need a VIN Verification

Florida requires VIN verification on every used motor vehicle that carries an out-of-state or foreign title and is being titled in Florida for the first time. That covers cars, trucks, motorcycles, and motor homes. Trailers need verification too, but only if they weigh 2,000 pounds or more.²

A new vehicle bought from a Florida dealer does not need this step; the dealer handles the title directly. The requirement exists for vehicles whose history sits outside Florida’s title database.

A notary is one option among several. Florida Statute 319.23(3)(a) also authorizes a law enforcement officer from any state, a licensed Florida motor vehicle dealer, a Florida DHSMV compliance examiner or license inspector, and a military police officer to perform the inspection.³ If you are visiting the tax collector’s office anyway to file the title paperwork, staff there can often do the verification on the spot at no extra charge.

What to Bring to the Notary

Download Form HSMV 82042 from the Florida DHSMV website at no cost. Fill in the vehicle description, year, make, body style, and color before the appointment. Read the current odometer directly from the dashboard and record it on the form; the form’s odometer disclosure section satisfies the federal requirement under 49 C.F.R. 580.5.³

Bring the out-of-state title itself. The notary compares the VIN on the vehicle against the VIN on the title and the VIN on the form. All three must match exactly. If any state issued your title electronically, request a paper title or certified copy from that state’s DMV before scheduling the inspection, because the notary needs a physical document to compare against.

And bring the vehicle. This is an in-person physical inspection; the notary has to see the VIN plates on the car.

What Happens During the Inspection

The notary checks the VIN in two places on the vehicle: under the windshield, visible through the lower driver’s side of the dashboard, and inside the door jamb.² Both locations have to show the same 17-character sequence, and that sequence has to match the title and the form. A single transposed digit gets the application rejected. The notary also confirms the odometer reading you wrote down.

Once everything matches, the notary signs the Part B certification and applies the official seal. Use permanent ink throughout. The form warns in bold that any alteration or erasure may void it, so do not try to fix mistakes with white-out. If something goes wrong on the page, start with a fresh form.²

The $10 Fee Cap

A Florida notary can charge no more than $10 per notarial act.¹ Some notaries charge less, some charge the full $10, and mobile notaries who travel to your location typically add a separate travel fee that falls outside the statutory cap on the notarial act itself.

Remote Online Notarization Will Not Work

Florida permits remote online notarization for many documents, but not for this one. Part B requires the notary to certify they have physically inspected the vehicle, which cannot happen over video. The authority for notaries to verify VINs comes from Section 319.23(3)(a), which sits outside the online notarization provisions in Chapter 117. A remote online VIN verification will be rejected.²

If Both Buyer and Seller Are Present, You May Not Need a Notary at All

Florida gives you a second option that skips the notary entirely. If the buyer and seller are together at the time of sale, they can jointly inspect the VIN and both sign Part A of Form HSMV 82042 as a sworn affidavit that the number matches.³ No notary, no officer, no fee. Both signatures are mandatory, though, so if the seller is in another state or the sale happened online, Part A is off the table and you are back to Part B.

Foreign-Titled Vehicles Are Different

If your vehicle was previously titled in a foreign country rather than another U.S. state, a Florida notary cannot help you. Neither can a law enforcement officer or a dealer. Only a Florida DHSMV compliance examiner or inspector is authorized to verify a vehicle entering from outside the United States, so you need to visit a DHSMV field office or a tax collector location that has a compliance examiner on staff.⁴

Filing the Form and the 10-Day Deadline

Take the signed HSMV 82042 to your county tax collector’s office along with the out-of-state title, proof of Florida insurance, and payment for the title fees and any applicable tax. In person is faster than mail because staff can flag errors on the spot rather than returning the paperwork to you.²

New residents have 10 days from the date they establish Florida residency to title and register a vehicle. The state counts residency from the date you enroll children in school, register to vote, accept employment, or take a similar step indicating you have settled in Florida.⁵ That window is tight, so lining up the notary before or right after your move is the practical move.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 117.05 – Use of Notary Commission; Unlawful Use; Notary Fee; Seal; Duties
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Identification Number and Odometer Verification (HSMV 82042)
3
Florida Legislature. Florida Code 319.23 – Application for, and Issuance of, Certificate of Title
4
Polk County Tax Collector. VIN Verifications
5
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. New Resident – Welcome to Florida!