The Florida HSMV 71120 Certification of Address form lets someone who owns or leases the home you live in vouch for your residential address when you apply for a Class E driver license or state ID card. You use it when you don’t have two address documents in your own name, which is what the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles otherwise requires. The form is one page, free to download at flhsmv.gov, and you sign it together with your certifier.1Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Certification of Address
When You Would Use This Form
Florida Statutes sections 322.051 and 322.08 require every driver license and ID card applicant to give the department proof of residential address.2The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.08 – Application for License FLHSMV wants two documents. If both aren’t in your name, the 71120 fills the gap by having a household member confirm you live there.
The typical user is a young adult still living with a parent, or someone who recently moved in with a spouse, partner, or roommate and hasn’t accumulated mail at the new address. It works for original, renewal, and replacement Class E licenses and for Florida ID cards. It does not work for commercial driver license applications.1Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Certification of Address
Who Can Sign as Your Certifier
Your certifier is a person who owns or leases the home where you live: a parent named on the mortgage, a roommate who signed the lease, a spouse who owns the property. The point of the form is that this person has authority over the residence and can confirm you live there.1Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Certification of Address
Their signature is a sworn statement, not a favor. The form warns on its face that knowingly making a false statement in connection with a driver license or ID card application is a crime under Florida law. Ask someone who understands they are signing a legal declaration.
Two Documents Your Certifier Must Bring
The certifier brings two documents in their own name, one from each of two categories. The categories are not interchangeable, and this is where applications most often get bounced.
A Household Information Document
One of the following, showing the certifier owns or leases the property:
- Deed or mortgage
- Property tax bill or record
- Recent monthly mortgage statement
- Rental or lease agreement
A Supporting Document
One of the following in the certifier’s name at the same residential address:
- Florida voter registration card
- Professional license issued by a U.S. government agency
- Selective Service card
- Employer documentation dated within the last 60 days, such as a pay stub or W-2
- Florida vehicle or vessel documentation
- Utility bill (water, gas, electric, phone, cable) dated within the last 60 days
- Homeowner’s or auto insurance policy or bill dated within the last 60 days
- Federal, state, county, or city government-issued document dated within the last 60 days
- Bank, credit card, or investment account statement dated within the last 60 days
- FDLE registration form completed by the local sheriff’s department or Department of Corrections, dated within the last 30 days
Watch the dates. Most supporting documents must be no older than 60 days, and the FDLE registration form must be within 30 days. A utility bill from three months ago will be rejected.1Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Certification of Address
Filling Out the Form
Download the form at flhsmv.gov or pick up a paper copy at a county tax collector’s office. The applicant section asks for your full legal name and the residential address you’re claiming. Use the physical street address, not a P.O. box. The certifier section takes the certifier’s full legal name and repeats the same address. Both names should match the government-issued ID each of you will present.
Below the name and address fields, the certifier checks the boxes for the household information document and the supporting document they are bringing. Then both of you sign and date the form.
Notarize or Sign at the Office
The certifier’s signature has to be either notarized in advance or witnessed by the FLHSMV issuance examiner at your office visit.1Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Certification of Address If you skip the notary, the certifier has to come with you to the appointment. Pick whichever is easier for the two of you, but decide before you go.
What to Bring to the Office
Bring the completed form, the certifier’s two documents, and everything else your application requires. Many Florida offices operate by appointment, so check the local office or the state’s location finder at flhsmv.gov/locations before showing up.3Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Locations
The 71120 only covers address. For a first-time license or ID, you still need to bring original documents proving your identity and Social Security number, with the exact list depending on whether you’re a U.S. citizen, immigrant, or non-immigrant.4Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. What to Bring
At the counter, if the form wasn’t notarized, the examiner witnesses the certifier’s signature. The examiner then checks the certifier’s two documents against the boxes marked on the form. Once the address portion clears, you continue with the rest of the application.
Penalties for a False Certification
You and the certifier are both signing under penalty of law. Under Florida Statute 837.06, knowingly making a false written statement to mislead a public servant is a second-degree misdemeanor.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 837.06 – False Official Statements6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures, Limitations7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines A false certification can also lead to revocation of the license or ID card it was used to obtain. Treat the form as the sworn statement it is.