How to Fill Out Form HSMV 90510: Florida Motor Vehicle Records Request

To fill out Form HSMV 90510, enter your contact information at the top, identify the vehicle, vessel, or mobile home you want records for (or the person whose records you’re seeking), choose the record type, check a permissible-use box under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, sign under penalty of perjury, and mail the form with a check or money order to the Division of Motorist Services in Tallahassee. Processing takes about two weeks after the department receives your request.¹

One thing to confirm before you start: Form 90510 covers records tied to vehicles, vessels, and mobile homes. It is not the form for driver history. If you need a transcript of someone’s driving record, violations, or license status, that request goes on Form 90511 with its own fee schedule.²

Step 1: Requester Information

The top section identifies you. Fill in your full name, the date, your mailing address, city, state, zip, email, phone, and fax if you have one. There’s also a reference number field for a case name or file number, which is useful if you’re an attorney, insurer, or investigator matching the request to a specific matter.

Sign the form. The signature line carries a declaration that reads, “Under penalty of perjury, I affirm that I am entitled to receive this information and understand that I may not redisclose this information,” except as Florida law and the DPPA allow.¹ The form notes that a signature is required if you’re requesting your own information. Sign every request regardless; an unsigned form is likely to come back unprocessed.

Step 2: Identify the Record

The middle section is where you tell the department what to look for. How you fill it out depends on whether you’re searching by property or by person.

Searching by Vehicle, Vessel, or Mobile Home

For a current registration, provide any identifiers you have: the VIN or hull identification number, the make, model year, title number, or Florida license plate. You can also enter a specific date if you need the registration as of a past date rather than today. More identifiers means faster processing.

For title records, you need either the VIN/HIN or the title number. A license plate alone won’t pull a title history.¹

Searching by Name

If you don’t have a vehicle identifier and want to find what’s registered under a person’s name, use the name-based search section. It asks for first, middle, and last name, date of birth, and driver license or ID number. No Social Security number is required. The driver license number isn’t strictly mandatory, but without it the department may not be able to tell apart people with the same name and birth date.

Step 3: Choose the Record Type and Fee

Check the box for the record you want. Every request has to include payment at submission; if you send too little, the department returns the whole package rather than processing part of it.

Current registration lookup: $0.50 per record
Title history printout: $1.00
Specific title transaction: $1.00 per page
Complete title history with scanned images: $25.00 deposit up front, with the final cost at $1.00 per page (the department contacts you for any balance beyond the deposit)
Name-based record search: $0.50 per record
Certification: add $3.00 per record

There is also a “Last known address” checkbox if you need the registered address on file for a vehicle’s owner.¹

Step 4: Check a Permissible-Use Exemption

Personal information in motor vehicle records is protected by the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, which bars state DMVs from releasing personal data except for specific approved purposes.³ Florida’s public records law mirrors that restriction.⁴

Page two of Form 90510 lists fourteen permissible-use exemptions. You must check at least one box that matches your reason for the request.

Government agency carrying out its official functions
Motor vehicle or driver safety, theft prevention, or emissions work
Normal course of business, verifying information the individual provided
Civil, criminal, or administrative proceedings, including arbitration
Research activities, so long as personal information isn’t published or used to contact people
Insurance underwriting, claims, or antifraud work
Notice to owners of towed or impounded vehicles
Florida-licensed private investigators or security services
Employers or their agents verifying a driver’s record for employment
Operating private toll roads or bridges
Individual consent on file with the state
Bulk distribution for surveys, marketing, or solicitations, subject to added restrictions
Written consent from the record subject
Other uses authorized by Florida law

Check the box that honestly matches your purpose. Attorneys should add the case number or court name. Businesses pulling records for employment screening should include the company name and federal employer identification number. The box you check is a binding legal statement about why you’re accessing another person’s information.¹

The DPPA has no journalism exemption. A reporter needing motor vehicle records would have to get the record subject’s written consent or rely on another applicable use.³

Step 5: Pay and Mail

Make the check or money order payable to the Division of Motorist Services. The form doesn’t list credit cards or online payment for this record type; motor vehicle record requests through Form 90510 aren’t available through the MyDMV Portal.⁵

Mail the completed form and payment to:

Division of Motorist Services
2900 Apalachee Parkway, Room B231, Mail Stop 57
Neil Kirkman Building
Tallahassee, FL 32399¹

Keep a photocopy of the completed form and your payment. A trackable mailing method helps you know when the two-week processing clock starts. If more than three weeks pass with no records and no follow-up from the department, your copy gives you a reference point when calling to check status.

What You Get Back

Records come back by mail as paper documents sent to the address you listed. If you requested certification, they carry an official department stamp. For a complete title history, the $25.00 deposit covers up to 25 pages at $1.00 per page; if the record runs longer, the department contacts you for the balance before releasing it.¹

When to Pay for Certification

Certification adds $3.00 per record and is worth it if you plan to use the record in court. Certified government records are self-authenticating under Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 902: you can introduce them without calling a witness to verify the document is genuine, as long as the record bears an official seal or an authorized signature.⁶ Florida DHSMV certified records meet that standard. Uncertified records can still come into evidence, but you may have to authenticate them through testimony, which adds cost and time.

Why the Exemption Box Matters

Misrepresenting your permissible use carries real consequences. Under federal law, anyone who knowingly obtains personal information from a motor vehicle record by false representation can be criminally fined under the general federal fines framework.⁷ The DPPA also lets the person whose records were improperly accessed sue for actual damages of at least $2,500 in liquidated damages, plus punitive damages for willful or reckless violations, attorney fees, and other equitable relief.⁸

If none of the fourteen categories clearly fits your situation, the safest path is to get written consent from the record subject and check exemption 13. That’s the box designed for exactly that scenario.

1
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Motor Vehicle, Vessel and Mobile Home Records Request
2
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 322.20 – Records of Licensees
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2721 – Prohibition on Release and Use of Certain Personal Information From State Motor Vehicle Records
4
Florida Senate. S 942 Filed
5
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. MyDMV Portal
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 902 – Evidence That Is Self-Authenticating
7
GovInfo. 18 U.S. Code 2723 – Penalties
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2724 – Civil Action