What Florida tag and title fees are made of

The title fee

Florida's title fee schedule (FLHSMV fees-01 (opens the official site in a new tab)) sets an electronic title with no lien at:

• $75.25 to transfer a Florida title.
• $75.25 for a new vehicle's first title, from its certificate of origin, plus the $2 lemon law fee ($77.25 in all).
• $85.25 for a used vehicle whose title comes from another state.

Which one applies depends on the ownership document surrendered, not on where the buyer lives. A title for a for-hire vehicle costs $21 less (section 319.32(5)(b) (opens the official site in a new tab)).

What can add to the title side

• A lien: $2 to record the lender on the title.
• A paper title: $2.50. A title the state holds electronically has no such fee.
• A fast title: $10.
• A new vehicle: a $2 lemon law fee on vehicles up to 10,000 lb.
• Filing late: $20 ($10 for a vessel or off-highway vehicle) when the title application is filed more than 30 days after the sale. See the 30-day title deadline.
• Branch fee: $0.50 per title (section 320.04(1)(c) (opens the official site in a new tab)).

Registration: weight, add-ons and the plate

Registration tax is set in weight brackets under section 320.08 (opens the official site in a new tab). For a private car, the total with the standard state add-on fees is $27.60 up to 2,499 lb, $35.60 from 2,500 to 3,499 lb, and $45.60 at 3,500 lb and up.

The add-ons are small state fees that ride on a registration: reflectorization, air pollution control, emergency medical services, a service fee and several others.

• Initial registration fee, $225 (section 320.072 (opens the official site in a new tab)): only on a brand-new Florida registration. It isn't owed on a renewal, or when a plate moves from a vehicle the buyer disposed of.
• Metal plate, $28 (section 320.06(1)(b) (opens the official site in a new tab)) when a new plate is issued. The plate is good for 10 years.
• Plate transfer, $4.10, plus $4.50 for vehicles other than a passenger car or a truck under 5,000 lb.
• Personalized and specialty plates add their own yearly fees.

Tax collector or private tag agency

Florida's own fees are the same whether you file with a county tax collector or at a private tag agency. A private agency charges its own service fee on top, set by a county-authorized schedule.

Sales tax is separate

Sales tax isn't part of the tag and title fees. It's 6% state tax plus the county's discretionary surtax on the first $5,000, and with a trade-in the 6% applies to the difference in price. Work it out for any Florida county.

Getting a number for a real car

Weight, the plate, a lien and timing all move the total, so the only dependable number is one built from the actual vehicle and deal.

Florida revises its fee charts from time to time, and the statutes take precedence over the charts. Check FLHSMV's current schedule before you quote a buyer.