Florida Statute 48.171 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title VI
CIVIL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Chapter 48
PROCESS AND SERVICE OF PROCESS

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F.S. 48.171

48.171 Service on nonresident motor vehicle owners, etc.—Any nonresident of this state, being the operator or owner of any motor vehicle, who accepts the privilege extended by the laws of this state to nonresident operators and owners, of operating a motor vehicle or of having it operated, or of permitting any motor vehicle owned, or leased, or controlled by him or her to be operated with his or her knowledge, permission, acquiescence, or consent, within the state, or any resident of this state, being the licensed operator or owner of or the lessee, or otherwise entitled to control any motor vehicle under the laws of this state, who becomes a nonresident or conceals his or her whereabouts, by the acceptance or licensure and by the operation of the motor vehicle, either in person, or by or through his or her servants, agents, or employees, or by persons with his or her knowledge, acquiescence, and consent within the state constitutes the Secretary of State his or her agent for the service of process in any civil action begun in the courts of the state against such operator or owner, lessee, or other person entitled to control of the motor vehicle, arising out of or by reason of any accident or collision occurring within the state in which the motor vehicle is involved.

History.—s. 1, ch. 17254, 1935; CGL 1936 Supp. 4274(7); ss. 1, 2, ch. 25003, 1949; s. 4, ch. 67-254; s. 278, ch. 95-147.

Note.—Former s. 47.29.

F.S. 48.171 on Google Scholar

F.S. 48.171 on CourtListener

Amendments to 48.171

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 48.171

Total Results: 46

Landers v. Milton

370 So. 2d 368

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Apr 19, 1979 | Docket: 1386566

Cited 108 times | Published

amenable to substituted service of process under section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1969),[1] and the *370 statutory

Drake v. Scharlau

353 So. 2d 961

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 13, 1978 | Docket: 1521840

Cited 24 times | Published

Drake by serving the Secretary of State under Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1975) and on Beacon by serving

Hernandez v. STATE FARM MUT. AUTO. INS. CO.

32 So. 3d 695, 2010 WL 1222689

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 31, 2010 | Docket: 1197529

Cited 16 times | Published

filed an Affidavit in Support of Service under section 48.171, Florida Statutes, in which the efforts to

Alvarado v. Cisneros

919 So. 2d 585, 2006 WL 119817

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 18, 2006 | Docket: 1678521

Cited 12 times | Published

concealment of whereabouts, for the use of section 48.171, Florida Statutes (2001). The defendants further

Monaco v. Nealon

810 So. 2d 1084, 2002 WL 429265

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 20, 2002 | Docket: 1654671

Cited 12 times | Published

to serve Monaco and Interstate pursuant to section 48.171, Florida Statutes (2000). In a lawsuit arising

Chapman v. Sheffield

750 So. 2d 140, 2000 WL 63044

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 27, 2000 | Docket: 1736631

Cited 11 times | Published

Wang, 632 So.2d 1132 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). Section 48.171, the applicable statute in this case, designates

Knabb v. Morris

492 So. 2d 839, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 1796

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 14, 1986 | Docket: 1223529

Cited 10 times | Published

substitute service of process on Knabb via section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1985).[1] Morris amended

Turcotte v. Graves

374 So. 2d 641

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 22, 1979 | Docket: 430527

Cited 10 times | Published

attempt to effectuate constructive service under Section 48.171, Florida Statutes, which allows service of

Paleias v. Wang

632 So. 2d 1132, 1994 WL 68831

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 9, 1994 | Docket: 1513998

Cited 8 times | Published

to support substituted service pursuant to section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1993), the complaint must

Green v. Nashner

216 So. 2d 492

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 17, 1968 | Docket: 420793

Cited 8 times | Published

48.161, Fla. Stat., F.S.A. under authority of § 48.171, Fla. Stat., F.S.A. At the time the order appealed

Great American Ins. Co. v. Bevis

652 So. 2d 382, 1995 WL 10447

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 13, 1995 | Docket: 1518062

Cited 7 times | Published

substituted service of process pursuant to section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1987). The secretary of

Torelli v. Travelers Indem. Co.

495 So. 2d 837, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 2127

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 7, 1986 | Docket: 345911

Cited 7 times | Published

non-resident motor vehicle owner" statute, Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1985). Knabb v. Morris,

White v. Nicholson

386 So. 2d 74

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 30, 1980 | Docket: 2507312

Cited 7 times | Published

substituted service of process pursuant to Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1977). The attorney for

Plummer v. Hoover

519 So. 2d 1158, 1988 WL 10840

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 18, 1988 | Docket: 1698538

Cited 6 times | Published

substantiate out of state service of process under section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1985). That statutory provision

Jennings v. Montenegro

792 So. 2d 1258, 2001 WL 1007925

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 5, 2001 | Docket: 1735371

Cited 5 times | Published

allows.... § 48.161(1), Fla. Stat. (1999). Section 48.171, Florida Statutes likewise provides, in part

Journell v. Vitanzo

472 So. 2d 827, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1702

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 10, 1985 | Docket: 1793739

Cited 5 times | Published

resident of Florida concealing his whereabouts. § 48.171, Fla. Stat. (1982); Turcotte v. Graves, 374 So

Paola A. Alvardo-Fernandez v. Matthew Mazoff

151 So. 3d 8, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 15631, 2014 WL 4988409

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 8, 2014 | Docket: 1432430

Cited 4 times | Published

(citing § 48.181, Fla. Stat. (2011)). Under Section 48.171, the Secretary of State is the designated agent

Hernandez v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.

32 So. 3d 695, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 4190

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 31, 2010 | Docket: 60289879

Cited 4 times | Published

filed an Affidavit in Support of Service under section 48.171, Florida Statutes, in which the efforts to

Dubois v. Butler Ex Rel. Butler

901 So. 2d 1029, 2005 WL 1226133

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 25, 2005 | Docket: 1666349

Cited 4 times | Published

used the substituted service procedures of section 48.171, Florida Statutes (2003). "Because the statute

Linn v. Kidd

714 So. 2d 1185, 1998 WL 432788

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 3, 1998 | Docket: 461603

Cited 4 times | Published

jurisdiction where the defendant is found. Section 48.171 provides, in part: Service on nonresident motor

Logan v. Mora

555 So. 2d 1267, 1989 WL 153776

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 19, 1989 | Docket: 1724712

Cited 4 times | Published

certificate from the court clerk. [3] Pursuant to section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1987), the Secretary of

Peznell v. Doolan

722 So. 2d 881, 1998 WL 915450

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 25, 1998 | Docket: 1241883

Cited 3 times | Published

provisions of the Florida Long Arm Statute, section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1995), appellees alleged

Fernandez v. Cohn

54 So. 3d 1040, 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 1533, 2011 WL 613689

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 9, 2011 | Docket: 60298217

Cited 2 times | Published

service on the Secretary of State pursuant to section 48.171 of the Florida Statutes.1 The motion was granted

Hanna v. Millbyer

570 So. 2d 1087, 1990 WL 192002

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 4, 1990 | Docket: 351004

Cited 2 times | Published

the defendant was concealing his whereabouts. § 48.171, Fla. Stat. (1989). We reverse because (1) the

Barriat v. Salahud-Din

389 So. 2d 1216

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 28, 1980 | Docket: 1683220

Cited 2 times | Published

process upon the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1979). Reversed and remanded

Moss v. The Estate of Curt Hudson

252 So. 3d 785

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 23, 2018 | Docket: 7588434

Published

Concluding that substituted service of process under section 48.171, Florida Statutes (2015), was not properly

Mitschke-Collande v. Skipworth Properties Limited

201 So. 3d 660, 2016 Fla. App. LEXIS 4498

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 23, 2016 | Docket: 3046997

Published

service on the Secretary of State pursuant to section 48.171 of the Florida Statutes. The motion was granted

Green v. Lingle

166 So. 3d 221, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 9278, 2015 WL 3777711

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 18, 2015 | Docket: 60248333

Published

Plaintiff complied with § 48.161, Fla. Stat. or § 48.171, Fla. Stat.,” which set certain requirements for

Gardina v. Aronowitz

899 So. 2d 1248, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 5471, 2005 WL 906170

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 20, 2005 | Docket: 64837843

Published

sufficient to allow for substituted service. See § 48.171, Fla. Stat. (2004) (operation of motor vehicle

Northeast Transportation, Ltd. v. Lavender

643 So. 2d 1193, 1994 Fla. App. LEXIS 10132, 1994 WL 576099

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 21, 1994 | Docket: 64751513

Published

Apple-gate, 377 So.2d 1150. . Notice that section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1993), appears to authorize

Cornell v. Cyriaque

592 So. 2d 1172, 1992 Fla. App. LEXIS 168, 1992 WL 4468

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 15, 1992 | Docket: 64664839

Published

appellant and attempted service of process via section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1990). The record presented

Plain ex rel. Plain v. Crosson

532 So. 2d 69, 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2324, 1988 Fla. App. LEXIS 4568, 1988 WL 105204

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 13, 1988 | Docket: 64637475

Published

non-resident defendants exists, pursuant to Section 48.171, Florida Statutes, which requires that the

Lopez v. Sly

499 So. 2d 71, 12 Fla. L. Weekly 133, 1986 Fla. App. LEXIS 11169

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 30, 1986 | Docket: 64623814

Published

non-resident motor vehicle owner” statute, Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1985). Accordingly, the

U-Haul Co. v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

445 So. 2d 1082, 1984 Fla. App. LEXIS 11860

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 22, 1984 | Docket: 64603141

Published

a “motor vehicle” with the consequence that Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1981), entitled, Service

Sanders v. Ludwig

442 So. 2d 314, 1983 Fla. App. LEXIS 24472

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 2, 1983 | Docket: 64601498

Published

second amended complaint for service under § 48.171. Section 48.171 provides in part as follows: Any nonresident

Young v. Young

382 So. 2d 355, 1980 Fla. App. LEXIS 15689

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 12, 1980 | Docket: 64575537

Published

of process be obtained in accordance with section 48.-171, Florida Statutes (1979).1 In order to meet

Government Employees Insurance Co. v. Mendez

372 So. 2d 544, 1979 Fla. App. LEXIS 15376

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 3, 1979 | Docket: 64570879

Published

the Florida Secretary of State pursuant to Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1977). Subsequently, appellants’

Milton v. Landers

349 So. 2d 722, 1977 Fla. App. LEXIS 16469

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 4, 1977 | Docket: 64560048

Published

subject to substituted service of process under Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1969); and the statutory

Milton v. Landers

371 So. 2d 673, 1977 Fla. App. LEXIS 22751

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 4, 1977 | Docket: 64570478

Published

subject to substituted serT vice of process under Section 48.171, Florida Statutes (1969); and the statutory

Wilson v. Kanter

328 So. 2d 458

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 12, 1976 | Docket: 60023

Published

other must be determined. In this case Florida Statute 48.171 "Service on nonresident motor vehicle owners

Moline v. Krukowski ex rel. Krukowski

329 So. 2d 22, 1976 Fla. App. LEXIS 14003

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 2, 1976 | Docket: 64552946

Published

under § 48.171, Fla.Stat., the automobile long-arm statute. We' find this point well taken. § 48.171, Fla

Howard Niggles Pontiac-Buick, Inc. v. Brooks

285 So. 2d 38

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 6, 1973 | Docket: 64535465

Published

it was not subject to substituted service under § 48.171, Fla.Stat., F.S.A., in the circumstances alleged

Maryland Casualty Co. v. Hartford Accident & Indemnity Co.

264 So. 2d 842, 1972 Fla. App. LEXIS 6559

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 29, 1972 | Docket: 64526966

Published

of Florida, so as to come within the purview of § 48.171, Fla.Stats., F.S.A. or as engaging in business

Hoover ex rel. Butler v. Gates

229 So. 2d 909

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 30, 1969 | Docket: 64512702

Published

nonresident of Florida, pursuant to the provisions of § 48.171, Fla.Stat., F.S.A. Le-Blance moved to quash the

Penn v. Ashley

226 So. 2d 351, 1969 Fla. App. LEXIS 5278

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 11, 1969 | Docket: 64511291

Published

S. §§ 48.161, 48.171 et seq., F.S.A. . F.S. § 48.171, F.S.A. . Howland v. Bevis (5th Cir. 1960),

Marion County Hospital District v. Namer

225 So. 2d 442, 1969 Fla. App. LEXIS 5437

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 24, 1969 | Docket: 64510771

Published

Service Statute. The statute just referred to (Section 48.171, Florida Statutes, F.S.A.) provides as follows: