How to Complete Florida Form HSMV 82995: Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney

Florida form HSMV 82995 is the state’s secure Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney and Odometer Disclosure. Use it when the paper title isn’t available at closing because a lienholder holds it, it has been lost or destroyed, or it’s an electronic title the seller can’t access.¹ The form lets a seller appoint someone, usually a dealership, to transfer the title and disclose the odometer reading on their behalf, and it lets the purchaser do the same on the buying side. Download it from the FLHSMV website or pick up a copy at any county tax collector’s office.

Make Sure 82995 Is the Right Form

Florida has two motor vehicle power of attorney forms, and grabbing the wrong one is an easy mistake. The HSMV 82053 is the general, non-secure version. It works when an attorney-in-fact needs to handle odometer disclosure for only the buyer or only the seller, and it covers vessels, mobile homes, and situations like applying for a duplicate title where both-sided odometer disclosure isn’t involved.²

The HSMV 82995 is the secure form required when one person or entity, most often a dealership, will sign the odometer disclosure as both the seller’s and the buyer’s representative. Florida law bars the same person from signing as both transferor and transferee on an odometer statement unless the transaction runs through this secure form.³ One more boundary worth noting up front: the 82995 is for motor vehicles only. Boats, vessels, and mobile homes go on the 82053.

What To Gather Before You Start

Have this information in front of you before you fill in any fields:

The full 17-character VIN from your registration, insurance card, or the driver’s-side dashboard.
The year, make, model, and body type as they appear in state records.
The title number, if you have a copy or can get it from your lienholder.
The current odometer reading in whole miles, dropping any tenths. The form accepts five- or six-digit readings.
Full legal names and addresses for the seller, any co-seller, the purchaser, and any co-purchaser. A dealership appointed as attorney-in-fact must include its dealer license number.

Filling Out Part A (Seller)

Part A is for the vehicle’s owner. Start with the vehicle description block at the top of the form: enter the VIN, year, make, model, body type, and title number if known.¹

Then move into the appointment language. Print the seller’s name and the name of the person or dealership being appointed as attorney-in-fact, along with the date. Signing Part A grants that attorney-in-fact authority to transfer the title, satisfy any existing lien, and disclose the odometer reading as stated on the form.

Below the appointment, complete the odometer disclosure. Write the mileage in whole miles and select one of three certifications:

Reflects actual mileage: accurate to the best of your knowledge.
In excess of mechanical limits: the odometer has rolled past its maximum display, which applies to some older five-digit odometers.
Not the actual mileage: a catch-all for any known discrepancy, such as a broken odometer or a replaced instrument cluster.

Both the seller and any co-seller sign and print their names. The purchaser also signs Part A to acknowledge the seller’s mileage disclosure. Every signature line needs a printed name beside it. Illegible signatures without printed names are a common cause of rejection.

Filling Out Part B (Purchaser)

Part B is only valid if Part A has already been completed. This section lets the purchaser appoint an attorney-in-fact, usually the same dealership, to apply for title and registration, file a lien, and sign the mileage disclosure on the new title, but only if that disclosure matches Part A.¹

Fill in the purchaser’s name, the dealership or business name being appointed, and the date. The odometer reading and the certification checkbox in Part B must be identical to Part A. Any mismatch between the two sections invalidates the form. The seller’s representative signs on behalf of the dealership, and the purchaser plus any co-purchaser sign and provide an address.

Filling Out Part C (Attorney-in-Fact)

Part C is completed by the person who actually exercises the power of attorney and transfers the information onto the title document. This section certifies that the mileage recorded on the title matches Parts A and B and equals or exceeds any mileage previously stated on the title or reassignment documents.¹ The person completing Part C has to be the same individual who signs the title. Don’t let one employee handle Part C while another fills in the title.

Odometer Exemptions

Not every vehicle needs an odometer disclosure. The form lists three exemptions:

Vehicles with a model year of 2011 or newer are exempt after 20 years; vehicles with a model year of 2010 or older are exempt after 10 years.
Non-self-propelled vehicles, meaning trailers and similar equipment towed by another vehicle.
Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating above 16,000 pounds.

If your vehicle qualifies, complete the rest of the form and skip the odometer fields.¹

Notarization and Witnesses

Signatures on the form must be acknowledged before a notary public. For general and durable powers of attorney executed after October 1, 2011, Florida also requires two subscribing witnesses in addition to notarization.⁴ In practice, the title clerk at a tax collector’s office often serves as one of the two witnesses before notarizing the document.

Florida caps notary fees at $10 per notarial act.⁵ Many tax collector offices provide notary services on site, so you can handle everything in one visit. If you use an outside notary, bring a valid government-issued photo ID.⁶

Where To File and What It Costs

Bring the completed, notarized 82995 to your local county tax collector’s office or license plate agent. It’s almost always submitted alongside the HSMV 82040, the Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title that the purchaser files.⁷ The person exercising the power of attorney is responsible for delivering the form to the state.

Budget for these fees:

Title transfer fee of $75.25 for an electronic title. Add $2.50 for a printed paper title, plus a $2 lien recording fee if there’s a lienholder on the new title.⁸
Sales tax of 6 percent on the sale price of a used vehicle, collected at the time of title transfer. County discretionary surtaxes may add to that amount.
Notary fee of up to $10 per act.

Over-the-counter transactions at the tax collector’s office are typically processed the same day. A paper title, if requested, arrives by mail within three to four weeks.⁹ Keep a photocopy of the notarized 82995 and every supporting document until the new title shows up.

Mistakes That Get the Form Rejected

Tax collector offices see the same errors on 82995 submissions again and again. Watching for them saves you a return trip and another round of notarization.

Mismatched odometer readings between Part A and Part B. Even a one-digit difference invalidates the form.
Part B completed without Part A. Part B is explicitly void unless Part A has been filled in first.¹
A different person completing Part C than the one signing the title.
Missing printed names next to signatures.
Using the 82995 for a vessel. Vessel transactions require the 82053.
Missing notarization or missing witness signatures.
Selecting “reflects actual mileage” when the odometer has clearly rolled over, which creates a federal compliance problem the tax collector will catch.

Failing to complete the required information or failing to file the form with the state is a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute 319.225.³ The FLHSMV cannot issue a new certificate of title until the odometer disclosure requirements have been met, so an incomplete form doesn’t just delay the transaction, it blocks it.

1
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida HSMV 82995 – Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney/Odometer Disclosure
2
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Form 82053
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 319.225 – Transfer and Reassignment Forms; Odometer Disclosure Statements
4
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Motor Vehicle Procedure Manual – Title and Lien Power of Attorney
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 117.05 – Use of Notary Commission; Unlawful Use; Notary Fee; Seal; Duties; Employer Liability; Name Change; Advertising; Photocopies; Penalties
6
Florida Courts. Notary Public Requirement
7
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles – Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title
8
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
9
Flagler County Tax Collector. Motor Vehicle Titles