How to Fill Out and Submit the Florida Title Application (HSMV 82040)

To title a vehicle in Florida, complete the Florida title application, HSMV 82040, and submit it in person to your county tax collector’s office or a licensed license plate agency along with proof of ownership, photo ID, payment for fees and sales tax, and a VIN verification if the vehicle isn’t already titled in Florida. The same form handles private sales, gifts, out-of-state transfers, and new vehicle purchases, and it also works for mobile homes and vessels. You can download it from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles website or pick one up at any county tax collector location.¹

What to Have in Front of You

Gather everything before you start filling in fields. A single missing document sends you home for a second trip.

You need an unexpired photo ID. A driver’s license or ID card from Florida or any other U.S. state or territory works, as does a U.S. passport or passport card. A foreign passport is acceptable when paired with a valid U.S. Permanent Resident card or other documentation of current legal presence.²

Proof of ownership depends on where the vehicle came from. For a brand-new vehicle, bring the Manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin from the dealer.³ For a used vehicle bought from a private seller or an out-of-state dealer, bring the existing title with the transfer section completed: both buyer’s and seller’s printed names and signatures must appear. A vehicle previously titled in another state also needs a VIN verification, discussed below.

One more thing to know before you sign. Florida Statute 319.23 requires the title application to be sworn to before a notary public or another officer authorized to administer oaths.⁴ Tax collector offices keep notaries on staff, so it’s simpler to leave the signature blocks blank until you’re at the counter.

Working Through the Form

Form 82040 has 13 numbered sections. Not every section applies to every transaction; a private-sale buyer, for example, has nothing to enter in the dealer sales tax section. The form marks required fields.¹ The sections below are the ones applicants most often get wrong.

Owner and Co-Owner Information

Enter the full legal name, date of birth, driver’s license or ID number, and mailing address of every owner. If there will be co-owners, the form asks you to pick “OR” or “AND” between the names. “OR” lets either owner sell or transfer the vehicle alone. “AND” requires both signatures for any future transaction. The form also has checkboxes for survivorship designations such as tenancy by the entirety and rights of survivorship, which govern what happens to the title if one owner dies.

Vehicle Description

Enter the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number exactly as it appears on the dashboard plate or door jamb. One wrong digit gets the whole application kicked back. You also need make, model, year, body type, color, weight, and fuel type. If the vehicle was previously titled elsewhere, list that state and the old title number.

Lienholder Information

If the vehicle is financed, record the lender’s name, address, federal employer ID number, and the date of the lien. Florida law requires every lien on a titled vehicle to be noted on the title record.⁵ A checkbox in this section lets the lienholder authorize FLHSMV to send the title directly to the owner once the lien is satisfied. Skip the whole section if you own the vehicle free and clear.

Transfer Type

Check the box that matches how you got the vehicle: sale, gift, repossession, court order, inheritance, or other. If you bought it, enter the purchase price; the tax collector uses it to calculate sales tax. Enter the date of acquisition as well.¹

Odometer Declaration

Florida Statute 319.23 requires a sworn odometer disclosure on used vehicles, in line with federal odometer fraud rules.⁴ Record the mileage shown and check one of the three boxes: actual mileage; not actual mileage (if the odometer has been replaced or repaired); or in excess of mechanical limits (if it has rolled over). Falsifying this section is a federal offense.

VIN Verification

Section 8 must be completed for any used vehicle not currently titled in Florida, including trailers weighing 2,000 pounds or more. A qualified inspector confirms that the VIN on the chassis matches the VIN on your paperwork, then signs and marks their inspector category. Details on who can do this in the next section.

Sales Tax Exemption Certification

If the transaction is exempt from sales tax, such as a genuine gift with no money exchanged, you certify the exemption in Section 9 rather than paying at the counter.

VIN Verification for Out-of-State and Used Vehicles

Any used motor vehicle not already titled in Florida must go through a physical VIN inspection before the title application can be processed.⁶ The inspector compares the VIN stamped on the vehicle to the VIN listed on your title documents. This protects buyers from unknowingly purchasing a stolen or re-identified vehicle.

Any of the following can perform the inspection:

A law enforcement officer from any state
A Florida licensed motor vehicle dealer
A Florida notary public
A tax collector or license plate agency employee
An FLHSMV compliance examiner or inspector
A military police officer

The inspector records the results on Form HSMV 82042 or directly in Section 8 of Form 82040, and signs with their name, date, and inspector category.⁷ Handling the VIN check at the tax collector’s office when you drop off the application is usually the fastest route, since a staff member can inspect the vehicle in the parking lot and complete the paperwork on the spot.

What You’ll Pay

Florida title fees are set by statute and are the same at every county tax collector’s office. The figures below are for electronic titles; add $2.50 for a paper title mailed to you.⁸

Original title, new vehicle: $77.25
Original title, used vehicle, including out-of-state transfers: $85.25
Transfer or duplicate title: $75.25
Lien recording fee: $2
Fast title, same-day printing, in person only: $10 additional
Late title fee: $20

The $10 gap between new-vehicle and used-vehicle titles is a statutory surcharge for vehicles previously registered outside Florida.⁹ Registration, license plate costs, and sales tax are separate charges handled at the same visit.

Sales tax runs 6% on the purchase price statewide.¹⁰ Your county of residence may add a discretionary sales surtax that applies to the first $5,000 of the purchase price.¹¹ Vehicles bought out of state and brought into Florida owe the same 6% use tax; if you already paid sales tax to another state, Florida generally credits that amount, so you pay only the difference.

A vehicle given as a gift between individuals is exempt from sales tax so long as no money changes hands and the new owner does not assume an outstanding lien.¹² The exemption isn’t limited to family; any genuine gift between individuals qualifies. Mark “Gift” in Section 5 and complete the sales tax exemption certification in Section 9. Your county tax collector may also want a notarized gift affidavit.

Where to Submit It

Bring the completed 82040, your supporting documents, and payment to your local county tax collector’s office or a licensed license plate agency.¹ In person is the standard route and the only way to get a same-day fast title. The clerk reviews your paperwork on the spot and can flag missing signatures or math errors before they become a problem. If a VIN inspection is needed, a staff member can typically handle it in the parking lot during the same visit.

Paper Title or Electronic Title

Florida defaults to an electronic title, stored in the FLHSMV database rather than printed.¹³ An e-title carries the same legal weight as a paper one, and you don’t need paper to trade the vehicle in at a Florida dealership.

If you want paper, you have two options:

Standard paper title: add $2.50 to your title fee. FLHSMV mails it, and it typically arrives within three to four weeks.¹⁴
Fast title: pay $10 extra, request it in person at the tax collector’s office, and walk out with a printed title the same day.¹⁵

Signing Through Someone Else

If you can’t appear in person, another person can sign the title application on your behalf using Form HSMV 82053. That power of attorney lets a designated person apply for a title, transfer ownership, register the vehicle, or record a lien for you.¹⁶

One limit worth knowing: Form 82053 cannot be used to let a single person or entity sign as both buyer and seller on the odometer disclosure. That situation, common when a lienholder holds the physical title or when the title has been lost, requires the secure power of attorney, Form HSMV 82995.¹⁶

Mobile Homes and Vessels

Form 82040 is not limited to cars and trucks. The same form titles mobile homes and vessels, with additional fields for each. For a mobile home, you enter the physical address where the home is located and indicate whether it sits in a rental park with ten or more lots. For a vessel, a dedicated section covers hull material, propulsion type, fuel type, and intended use; vessels 26 feet or longer and all sailboats require the vessel’s draft. Vessel owners should note that the lienholder checkbox authorizing FLHSMV to send the title directly to the owner does not apply to vessels. On a financed vessel, the title goes to the lienholder until the lien is released.¹⁷

1
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title
2
Lee County Tax Collector. Title and Registration Identification Requirements
3
Miami-Dade County Tax Collector. Acquiring a Title
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 319.23 – Application for, and Issuance of, Certificate of Title
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 319 – Title Certificates
6
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Identification Number and Odometer Verification
7
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Form HSMV 82042
8
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Fees
9
Florida Senate. Florida Code 319.32 – Fees, Service Charges, Disposition
10
Florida Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Rates by State
11
Florida Senate. Florida Code 212.054 – Discretionary Sales Surtax
12
Florida Department of Revenue. Do I Have to Pay Sales Tax When I Transfer My Car Title if the Car Was a Gift
13
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Electronic Liens and Titles
14
Flagler County Tax Collector. Motor Vehicle Titles
15
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 319.323 – Expedited Service, Applications, Fees
16
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Power of Attorney for a Motor Vehicle, Mobile Home, Vessel or Vessel With Trailer
17
Sumter County Tax Collector. Application for Certificate of Title Form 82040