Florida Statute 319.29 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXIII
MOTOR VEHICLES

Chapter 319
TITLE CERTIFICATES

View Entire Chapter

¹319.29 Lost or destroyed certificates.—

(1) If a certificate of title is lost or destroyed, application for a duplicate copy thereof shall be made to the department by the owner of the motor vehicle or mobile home or the holder of a lien thereon upon a form prescribed by the department and accompanied by the fee prescribed in this chapter. The application shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant. Thereupon the department shall issue a duplicate copy of the certificate of title to the person entitled to receive the certificate of title under the provisions of this chapter. The duplicate copy and all subsequent certificates of title issued in the chain of title originated by such duplicate copy shall be plainly marked across their faces “duplicate copy,” and any subsequent purchaser of the motor vehicle or mobile home in the chain of title originating through such duplicate copy shall acquire only such rights in the motor vehicle or mobile home as the original holder of the duplicate copy himself or herself had.

(2) Any purchaser of such motor vehicle or mobile home may at the time of purchase require the seller to indemnify him or her and all subsequent purchasers of the motor vehicle or mobile home against any loss which he, she, or they may suffer by reason of any claim or claims presented upon the original certificate. If the original certificate of title is recovered by the owner, he or she shall forthwith surrender the original certificate to the department for cancellation.

(3) If, following the issuance of an original, duplicate, or corrected certificate of title by the department, the certificate is lost in transit and is not delivered to the addressee, the owner of the motor vehicle or mobile home, or the holder of a lien thereon, may, within 180 days of the date of issuance of the title, apply to the department for reissuance of the certificate of title. An additional fee may not be charged by the department or a tax collector, as agent for the department, for reissuance under this subsection.

(4) The department shall implement a system to verify that the application is signed by a person authorized to receive a duplicate title certificate under this section if the address shown on the application is different from the address shown for the applicant on the records of the department.

History.—s. 10, ch. 23658, 1947; s. 8, ch. 25150, 1949; s. 11, ch. 25035, 1949; s. 6, ch. 65-190; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 14, ch. 82-134; s. 13, ch. 89-333; s. 345, ch. 95-148; s. 27, ch. 97-300; s. 2, ch. 2024-272; s. 3, ch. 2025-125.

¹Note.—Section 3, ch. 2025-125, added subsection (4), and redesignated current subsection (4) as subsection (5), effective July 1, 2026, to read:

(4) An application for a duplicate copy of a certificate of title may be fulfilled by the tax collector acting as an authorized agent of the department. Upon the applicant’s request, the duplicate copy may be issued by the tax collector and provided to the applicant at the tax collector’s office or mailed by the tax collector to the applicant’s address.

F.S. 319.29 on Google Scholar

F.S. 319.29 on CourtListener

Amendments to 319.29

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 319.29

Total Results: 3 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

Copy

Interstate SEC. Co. v. Hamrick's Auto Sales, Inc., 238 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 1st DCA 1970).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal

...The evidence shows, and it is admitted, that Hamrick, knowing full well that the original title certificates were in the hands of Interstate, nevertheless procured duplicate title certificates by falsely representing that the original title certificates had been lost or destroyed. This is clearly a violation of Section 319.29, Florida Statutes, relating to replacement of lost or destroyed title certificates....

Copy

Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc. v. Williamson Cadillac Co., 613 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 19 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 1080, 1993 Fla. App. LEXIS 157, 1993 WL 8884

...al contentions that, given the circumstances of Williamson's acquisition of the car, it was not "a buyer in ordinary course of business" under § 672.403(2), and that it could not secure title through the fraudulent duplicate title certificate under § 319.29(1).

Copy

Ne. Nat'l Bank of St. Petersburg v. Cent. Plaza Bank & Trust Co., 209 So. 2d 255 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1968).

Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1968 Fla. App. LEXIS 5619

...re the earlier lienor has possession of the original title certificate? To this question we answer yes and reverse the judgment of the lower court. The appellant cites as controlling § 319.27 (2), Fla.Stats, F.S.A. The appellee cites as controlling § 319.29(1) (2), Fla.Stats, F.S.A. First, we will pass on the applicability of § 319.29(1) (2)....

...It also tells how a purchaser may protect himself when presented with a duplicate certificate of title by a seller of an automobile. The statute does not control the decision on priority in liens. Appellee cites this statute in arguing that it was the duty of appellant to require Dunn to post a bond under § 319.29(2), Fla.Stats., F.S.A., and by failing to do so it should suffer the loss....

This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.