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Florida Statute 197.102 - Full Text and Legal Analysis
Florida Statute 197.102 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
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The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XIV
TAXATION AND FINANCE
Chapter 197
TAX COLLECTIONS, SALES, AND LIENS
View Entire Chapter
197.102 Definitions.
(1) As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) “Awarded” means the time when the tax collector or a designee determines and announces verbally or through the closing of the bid process in a live or an electronic auction that a buyer has placed the winning bid on a tax certificate at a tax certificate sale.
(b) “Department,” unless otherwise specified, means the Department of Revenue.
(c) “Omitted taxes” means those taxes which have not been extended on the tax roll against a parcel of property after the property has been placed upon the list of lands available for taxes pursuant to s. 197.502.
(d) “Proxy bidding” means a method of bidding by which a bidder authorizes an agent, whether an individual or an electronic agent, to place bids on his or her behalf.
(e) “Random number generator” means a computational device that generates a sequence of numbers that lack any pattern and is used to resolve a tie when multiple bidders have bid the same lowest amount by assigning a number to each of the tied bidders and randomly determining which one of those numbers is the winner.
(f) “Tax certificate” means a paper or electronic legal document, representing unpaid delinquent real property taxes, non-ad valorem assessments, including special assessments, interest, and related costs and charges, issued in accordance with this chapter against a specific parcel of real property and becoming a first lien thereon, superior to all other liens, except as provided by s. 197.573(2).
(g) “Tax notice” means the paper or electronic tax bill sent to taxpayers for payment of any taxes or special assessments collected pursuant to this chapter, or the bill sent to taxpayers for payment of the total of ad valorem taxes and non-ad valorem assessments collected pursuant to s. 197.3632.
(h) “Tax receipt” means the paid tax notice.
(i) “Tax rolls” and “assessment rolls” are synonymous and mean the rolls prepared by the property appraiser pursuant to chapter 193 and certified pursuant to s. 193.122.
(2) If a local government uses the method in s. 197.3632 to levy, collect, or enforce a non-ad valorem assessment, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Ad valorem tax roll” means the roll prepared by the property appraiser and certified to the tax collector for collection.
(b) “Non-ad valorem assessment roll” means a roll prepared by a local government and certified to the tax collector for collection.
History.s. 127, ch. 85-342; s. 64, ch. 88-130; s. 3, ch. 88-216; s. 5, ch. 90-343; s. 2, ch. 2011-151.

F.S. 197.102 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 197.102


Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 197.102

Total Results: 6  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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In Re Droumtsekas, 269 B.R. 463 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 2000).

Cited 2 times | Published | United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Florida | 2000 Bankr. LEXIS 1894, 2000 WL 33599623

...costs, and charges, and bids the lowest interest rate not in excess of eighteen percent a year. §§ 197.172, .432(5). . . . [A] tax certificate issued under section 197.432 is subject to redemption and therefore is merely a lien on the property. §§ 197.102(3), .432(2), .472....
...If there are no bids higher than the statutory minimum bid, the property is sold to the certificate holder. If there are other bids, the certificate holder may bid and the property will be sold to the highest bidder. § 197.542. Walker v. Palm Beach Commerce Center Associated, Ltd., 614 So.2d 1097, 1099 (Fla. 1993). Section 197.102(3) of the Florida Statutes clearly defines a tax certificate as a first lien on the real property....
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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2007).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

for the year in which title is acquired). 7 Section 197.102(3), Fla. Stat., defines "[t]ax certificate"
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In Re Lago, 301 B.R. 365 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2003).

Published | United States Bankruptcy Court, S.D. Florida. | 16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. B 263, 51 Collier Bankr. Cas. 2d 419, 2003 Bankr. LEXIS 1400

...payments pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 197.472. In addition, even though the certificate holders do not have claims against the Debtors individually, the certificate *371 holders are holders of secured claims with enforceable rights against the Debtors. Section 197.102(3), Florida Statutes, defines a tax certificate as a document "representing unpaid delinquent real property taxes....
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Sec. & Exch. Comm'n v. Elliott, 620 So. 2d 159 (Fla. 1993).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 20 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 596, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 271, 1993 Fla. LEXIS 746, 1993 WL 142089

...s having failed to file are unsecured creditors. Id. at 1557. Three statutes lead us to the conclusion that the legislature intended to exclude tax certificates from the operation of article 9 2 of Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). 3 First, section 197.102(3), Florida Statutes (1991), defines a tax certificate: “Tax certificate” means a legal document, representing unpaid delinquent real property taxes ......
...a lease or rents thereunder[.] Third, section 679.102(2), Florida Statutes (1991), governing the “policy and subject matter” of chapter 679, states: “This chapter does not apply to statutory liens except as provided in s. 679.310.” 4 Because section 197.102(3) clearly defines a tax certificate as a first lien on real property, the plain language of sections 679.104(10) and 679.102(2) expressly excludes tax certificates (a lien on real property and a statutory lien) from the chapter governing secured transactions....
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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1999).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

...titled to vote in district elections. The sale of a tax certificate does not make the certificate holder the owner of the property nor does it remove the present owner from possession of the freehold estate. 7 Rather, a tax certificate is defined in section 197.102 (3), Florida Statutes, to mean "a legal document, representing unpaid delinquent real property taxes, non-ad valorem assessments, including special assessments, interest, and related costs and charges, issued in accordance with this c...
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Ago (Fla. Att'y Gen. 2011).

Published | Florida Attorney General Reports

...d by a municipal or county governmental unit, or requiring the grantee to expend money for any purpose, except one that may require that the premises be kept in a sanitary or slightly condition or one to abate nuisances or undesirable conditions." 7 Section 197.102 (2), Fla....

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.