Florida Statute 320.131 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XXIII
MOTOR VEHICLES

Chapter 320
MOTOR VEHICLE LICENSES

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F.S. 320.131

320.131 Temporary tags.—

(1) The department is authorized and empowered to design, issue, and regulate the use of temporary tags to be designated “temporary tags” for use in the following cases:

(a) Where a dealer license plate may not be lawfully used.

(b) For a casual or private sale, including the sale of a marine boat trailer by a marine boat trailer dealer. A “casual or private sale” means any sale other than that by a licensed dealer.

(c) For certified common carriers or driveaway companies who transport motor vehicles, mobile homes, or recreational vehicles from one place to another for persons other than themselves.

(d) For banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions which are not required to be licensed under the provisions of s. 320.27, s. 320.77, or s. 320.771, but need temporary tags for the purpose of demonstrating repossessions for sale.

(e) Where a motor vehicle is sold in this state to a resident of another state for registration therein and the motor vehicle is not required to be registered under the provisions of s. 320.38.

(f) Where a motor vehicle is required to be weighed or emission tested prior to registration or have a vehicle identification number verified. A temporary tag issued for any of these purposes shall be valid for 10 days.

(g) Where an out-of-state resident, subject to registration in this state, must secure ownership documentation from the home state.

(h) For a rental car company which possesses a motor vehicle dealer license and which may use temporary tags on vehicles offered for lease by such company in accordance with the provisions of rules established by the department. However, the original issuance date of a temporary tag shall be the date which determines the applicable license plate fee.

(i) In the resolution of a consumer complaint where there is a need to issue more than two temporary tags, the department may do so.

(j) While a personalized prestige or specialty license plate is being manufactured for use upon the motor vehicle. A temporary tag issued for this purpose shall be valid for 90 days.

(k) In any case where a permanent license plate cannot legally be issued to an applicant and a temporary license plate is not specifically authorized under the provisions of this section, the department shall have the discretion to issue or authorize agents or Florida licensed dealers to issue temporary license plates to applicants demonstrating a need for such temporary use.

(l) For use by licensed dealers to transport motor vehicles and recreational vehicles from the dealer’s licensed location to an off-premise sales location and return. Temporary tags used for such purposes shall be issued to the licensed dealer who owns the vehicles.

(m) When the existing owner of a vehicle has submitted an application to transfer a valid out-of-state title that is subject to a lien. A temporary tag issued for this purpose shall be valid for 60 days.

(n) When an active-duty military servicemember who has a valid Florida driver license provides evidence satisfactory to the department that he or she is deployed outside this state. A temporary tag issued for this purpose shall be valid for 60 days.

Further, the department is authorized to disallow the purchase of temporary tags by licensed dealers, common carriers, or financial institutions in those cases where abuse has occurred.

(2) The department may sell temporary tags, in addition to those listed above, to its agents and where need is demonstrated by a consumer complainant. The fee for a temporary tag issued under this section shall be $2 each. One dollar from each tag sold shall be deposited into the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program Trust Fund, with the remaining proceeds being deposited into the Highway Safety Operating Trust Fund. Agents of the department shall sell temporary tags for $2 each and shall charge the service charge authorized by s. 320.04 per transaction, regardless of the quantity sold. Except as specifically provided otherwise, a temporary tag issued under this section shall be valid for 30 days, and no more than two shall be issued to the same person for the same vehicle.

(3) Any person or corporation who unlawfully issues or uses a temporary tag or violates this section or any rule adopted by the department to implement this section commits a noncriminal infraction, punishable as a moving violation as provided in chapter 318 in addition to other administrative action by the department. Using a temporary tag that has been expired for a period of 7 days or less is a noncriminal infraction, and is a nonmoving violation punishable as provided for in chapter 318.

(4)(a) Temporary tags shall be conspicuously displayed in the rear license plate bracket or, on vehicles requiring front display of license plates, on the front of the vehicle in the location where the metal license plate would normally be displayed.

(b) The department shall designate specifications for the media upon which the temporary tag is printed. Such media shall be either nonpermeable or subject to weatherproofing so that it maintains its structural integrity, including graphic and data adhesion, in all weather conditions after being placed on a vehicle.

(5) Any person who knowingly and willfully abuses or misuses temporary tag issuance to avoid registering a vehicle requiring registration pursuant to this chapter or chapter 319 commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(6) Any person who knowingly and willfully issues a temporary tag or causes another to issue a temporary tag to a fictitious person or entity to avoid disclosure of the true owner of a vehicle commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

(7) Any person authorized by this section to purchase and issue a temporary tag shall maintain records as required by this chapter or departmental rules, and such records shall be open to inspection by the department or its agents during reasonable business hours. Any person who knowingly and willfully fails to comply with this subsection commits a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(8) The department shall administer an electronic system for licensed motor vehicle dealers to use for issuing temporary tags. If a dealer fails to comply with the department’s requirements for issuing temporary tags using the electronic system, the department may deny, suspend, or revoke a license under s. 320.27(9)(b)16. upon proof that the licensee has failed to comply with the department’s requirements. The department may adopt rules to administer this section.

(9)(a) The department shall implement a secure print-on-demand electronic temporary tag registration, record retention, and issue system required for use by every department-authorized issuer of temporary tags by the end of the 2007-2008 fiscal year. Such system shall enable the department to issue, on demand, a temporary tag number in response to a request from the issuer by way of a secure electronic exchange of data and then enable the issuer to print the temporary tag ¹that has all required information. A motor vehicle dealer licensed under this chapter ²may charge a fee to comply with this subsection.

(b) To ensure the continuation of operations for issuers if a system outage occurs, the department shall allow the limited use of a backup manual issuance method during an outage which requires recordkeeping of information as determined by the department and which requires the timely electronic reporting of this information to the department.

(c) The department may adopt rules necessary to ³administer this subsection. Such rules may include exemptions from the requirements of this subsection as feasibly required to ³administer the program, as well as exemptions for issuers who do not require a dealer license under this chapter because of the type or size of vehicle being sold.

History.—ss. 1-4, ch. 59-348; s. 1, ch. 61-150; s. 6, ch. 65-190; ss. 24, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 195, ch. 71-136; s. 1, ch. 72-46; s. 10, ch. 75-66; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 1, ch. 78-217; s. 4, ch. 78-225; s. 1, ch. 80-217; s. 3, ch. 82-97; s. 25, ch. 82-134; s. 38, ch. 83-318; s. 3, ch. 85-176; s. 1, ch. 87-401; s. 1, ch. 88-395; s. 9, ch. 90-329; s. 79, ch. 93-120; s. 2, ch. 94-142; s. 12, ch. 94-314; s. 74, ch. 94-353; s. 23, ch. 95-333; s. 41, ch. 96-413; s. 13, ch. 97-300; s. 33, ch. 99-248; s. 64, ch. 2005-164; s. 1, ch. 2008-71; s. 23, ch. 2008-176; s. 9, ch. 2009-206; s. 5, ch. 2010-161; s. 26, ch. 2010-162; s. 8, ch. 2011-3; s. 6, ch. 2024-272.

¹Note.—As amended by s. 23, ch. 2008-176. The amendment by s. 1, ch. 2008-71, uses the word “with” instead of the words “that has.”

²Note.—As amended by s. 23, ch. 2008-176. The amendment by s. 1, ch. 2008-71, uses the words “shall be authorized to” instead of the word “may.”

³Note.—As amended by s. 23, ch. 2008-176. The amendment by s. 1, ch. 2008-71, uses the word “implement” instead of the word “administer.”

F.S. 320.131 on Google Scholar

F.S. 320.131 on CourtListener

Amendments to 320.131

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Civil Citations / Citable Offenses under S320.131

R or S next to points is Mandatory Revocation or Suspension

S320.131 (3) TEMPORARY TAG - Unlawful use of Changed to Non-Criminal - Points on Drivers License: 3

S320.131 (3) TEMPORARY TAG - Expired 7 days or less - Points on Drivers License: 0

S320.131 (4)(a) TEMPORARY TAG - must be displayed in the license plate bracket on the exterior of the vehicle Changed to Non-Criminal - Points on Drivers License: 3

S320.131 (5) TEMPORARY TAG - Unlawful use - knowingly - Points on Drivers License: 0

Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 320.131

Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

S320.131 3 - FRAUD - REPEALED 2010-162 - M: S

S320.131 5 - FRAUD - MISUSE OF TEMP TAG TO AVOID REGISTR VEH - M: F

S320.131 6 - FRAUD - ISSUE TEMP TAG TO AVOID DISCLOSURE TRUE OWNER - F: T

S320.131 7 - TRAFFIC OFFENSE - FAIL TO KEEP RECORD OF TEMPORARY TAGS - M: S

Cases Citing Statute 320.131

Total Results: 13

State v. Diaz

850 So. 2d 435, 2003 WL 21087992

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: May 15, 2003 | Docket: 1783843

Cited 33 times | Published

clearly visible from the rear of the vehicle." § 320.131(4), Fla. Stat. (2000) (emphasis added). While

Sands v. State

753 So. 2d 630, 2000 WL 217529

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Feb 25, 2000 | Docket: 1729014

Cited 7 times | Published

the legislature modified Florida Statute section 320.131, by including a new subsection (4), which reads

State v. Parrish

731 So. 2d 101, 1999 WL 218411

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 16, 1999 | Docket: 1733775

Cited 5 times | Published

1108 (Fla. Sept. 22, 1998). Holmes explains: Section 320.131, Florida Statutes (1995), authorized temporary

McKally v. Perez

87 F. Supp. 3d 1310, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23737, 2015 WL 758283

District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Feb 6, 2015 | Docket: 64300566

Cited 4 times | Published

use of temporary license plates, see Fla. Stat. § 320.131, has specific instructions for replacement license

Holmes v. State

710 So. 2d 651, 1998 WL 171456

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 15, 1998 | Docket: 1445189

Cited 3 times | Published

tag was visible on the rear of the vehicle. Section 320.131, Florida Statutes (1995), authorized temporary

State v. English

148 So. 3d 529, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 15812, 2014 WL 5039681

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 10, 2014 | Docket: 60243546

Cited 1 times | Published

expiration date on a temporary tag. Id..', see also § 320.131(4), Fla. Stat. There, the Florida Supreme Court

Riggins v. State

67 So. 3d 244, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 17177, 2010 WL 4484629

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 10, 2010 | Docket: 60302078

Cited 1 times | Published

Riggins is correct on this issue as well. Section 320.131(2) provides for the issuance of temporary license

Calvin Eugene Baker v. State of Florida

164 So. 3d 151

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 26, 2015 | Docket: 2659808

Published

issues the temporary license tag. See § 320.131(1), (4), Fla. Stat. (2000). Id. at

State v. Tullis

970 So. 2d 912, 2007 WL 4547385

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 28, 2007 | Docket: 1695563

Published

subsequently found on Tullis. Tullis contended that section 320.131(4), Florida Statutes (2006),[1] does not require

Herrera-Lara v. State

932 So. 2d 1138, 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 9767, 2006 WL 1667355

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 16, 2006 | Docket: 64845658

Published

Instead, temporary tags are addressed in section 320.131, which describes unlawful conduct relating

Maroone Chevrolet, L.L.C. v. Suntrust Bank

904 So. 2d 618, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 9714, 2005 WL 1458751

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 22, 2005 | Docket: 64839070

Published

temporary tag” (emphasis added). According to § 320.131(l)(k), Fla. Stat.: In any case where a permanent

Borys v. State

824 So. 2d 204, 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 9698, 2002 WL 1466290

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 10, 2002 | Docket: 64817037

Published

temporary tag was not displayed in accordance with section 320.131(4), Florida Statutes (2000), and therefore

Roberts v. Auto Plan, Inc.

632 So. 2d 642, 1994 Fla. App. LEXIS 319, 1994 WL 22579

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 28, 1994 | Docket: 64746563

Published

eliminate any duty that may be created by section 320.131 for a dealership that issues temporary tags