Florida Statute 320.18 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXIII
MOTOR VEHICLES

Chapter 320
MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSES

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320.18 Withholding registration.—

(1) The department may withhold the registration of any motor vehicle or mobile home the owner or co-owner of which has failed to register it under the provisions of law for any previous period or periods for which it appears registration should have been made in this state until the tax for such period or periods is paid. The department may cancel any vehicle or vessel registration, driver license, identification card, or fuel-use tax decal if the owner or co-owner pays for any vehicle or vessel registration, driver license, identification card, or fuel-use tax decal; pays any administrative, delinquency, or reinstatement fee; or pays any tax liability, penalty, or interest specified in chapter 207 by a dishonored check, or if the vehicle owner or motor carrier has failed to pay a penalty for a weight or safety violation issued by the Department of Transportation or the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The Department of Transportation and the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles may impound any commercial motor vehicle that has a canceled license plate or fuel-use tax decal until the tax liability, penalty, and interest specified in chapter 207, the license tax, or the fuel-use decal fee, and applicable administrative fees have been paid for by certified funds.

(2) An owner of a motor vehicle is exempt from the payment of a license tax for any previous period or periods for which registration should have been made upon presentation to the department by the owner of a notarized or certified affidavit stating that such motor vehicle was continuously maintained in dead storage and was not operated at any time during the registration period or periods for which the exemption is being claimed.

(3) In the case of repossession, a mobile home is exempt from registration when the dwelling is not transferred or titled for occupancy.

History.—s. 6, ch. 7275, 1917; s. 1, ch. 7737, 1918; RGS 1011; s. 5, ch. 8410, 1921; s. 3, ch. 10182, 1925; CGL 1285; s. 3, ch. 15625, 1931; s. 3, ch. 16085, 1933; s. 6, ch. 65-190; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 6, ch. 69-178; s. 1, ch. 78-216; s. 42, ch. 83-318; s. 63, ch. 94-306; s. 915, ch. 95-148; s. 42, ch. 96-413; s. 9, ch. 2001-196; s. 65, ch. 2005-164; s. 18, ch. 2011-66; s. 41, ch. 2013-160.

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Amendments to 320.18

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 320.18

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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1988).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

...Brantley: You ask substantially the following: If a mobile home owner fails to register the home as required by Ch. 320 , F.S., but pays tangible personal property tax on the mobile home pursuant to s. 193.075 , F.S., may registration be refused under s. 320.18 , F.S., until the owner pays the license tax fees for the period(s) it appears registration should have been made? In summary: The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has the authority to refuse registration of a mobile home until the license tax is paid for the period(s) registration should have been made....

...1 (e.s.) The Legislature has implemented this constitutional prescription in s. 320.08 , F.S. The statute levies an annual license tax for the operation of mobile homes, as defined in s. 320.01 (2), F.S., 2 to be paid to and collected by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (department) or its agent. 3 Section 320.18 (1), F.S., provides: The department may withhold the registration of any motor vehicle or mobile home the owner of which has failed to register it under the provisions of law for any previous period or periods for which it appears regi...

...paid. 4 Furthermore, an unpaid license tax constitutes a first lien upon the mobile home which, if it remains unpaid for more than thirty days, may be enforced by issuance of a tax warrant. 5 As a presumptively valid enactment of the Legislature, 6 s. 320.18 , F.S., provides a method by which the department can insure the payment of license tax fees for mobile homes subject to registration under Ch....

...9 A review of the legislative history of s. 193.075 , F.S., reveals that it was created to provide statutory guidance to tax assessors in categorizing unlicensed mobile homes for assessment purposes. 10 Subsequent to the creation of s. 193.075 , F.S., however, ss. 320.18 and 320.19 , 11 F.S., were amended to specifically include mobile homes. 12 Reading the statutes together, ss. 193.075 , 320.18 and 320.19 , F.S., have a common purpose in insuring that mobile homes not classified as real property do not escape taxation....

...such that the tax burden is imposed uniformly and does not result in double taxation. See also, AGO 66-6 concluding that both a license tax and an ad valorem tax could not be assessed on a mobile home for the same year. 15 See, footnote 1, supra. 16 Section 320.18 (1), F.S., allows the department to withhold the registration of a mobile home until the registration tax is paid for any period(s) "it appears registration should have been made." In the event a mobile home owner pays ad valorem tax on the mobile home pursuant to s. 193.075 , F.S., for a taxing period, it could be argued that the tax year for which the ad valorem tax is paid is not a period "registration should have been made" under s. 320.18 (1), F.S.