SEMINOLE DEALER NEWS

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1 SEMINOLE DEALER NEWS Volume IV, Issue II June 2008 Editor-in-Chief: Susie Harting HAVE YOU HEARD? This issue of Seminole Dealer News focuses on some updates to laws recently passed by the Florida Legislature, as well as some announcements and promotions regarding the office of the Seminole County Tax Collector. All items affect you either personally or professionally, so we hope you take the time to carefully read and understand the content. There are two items I would like to officially share with you. The first is that I look forward to serving as your Seminole County Tax Collector for four more years. Being unopposed allows me to focus totally on moving forward with the second item. The office of the Seminole County Tax Collector will be opening a fifth office location later this year. The address is 845 Primera Boulevard, in Lake Mary, which is just off Rinehart Road. When we open this new state-ofthe-art Branch office, we will be increasing our State area of responsibilities to include select express Florida driver license services. We will have a vehicle and vessel dealer desk, and will offer all DHSMV services currently available in our other branch locations. To prepare for our grand opening, we initiated a training program to rotate employees selected for reassignment to the Lake Mary Branch to educate them in driver license services. They will be ready to go immediately upon our receiving a Certificate of Occupancy from the City of Lake Mary. We believe 2008 will be another good year for the citizens of Seminole County. Sincerely, MOTORCYCLE ENDORSEMENT The Florida Legislators discussed a bill this year that would require all applicants for a motorcycle registration to show proof of a motorcycle endorsement prior to registering their vehicle. Important issues to note: Motorcycle Endorsement Pg 1 EFS Updates Pg 2 SCTC Website Update Pg 4 E-Checks Pg 5 New Plates Pg 6 July Fundraising Campaign Pg 7 Congratulations to Employees Pg 8 Vessel Fee Increases Pg 9 Electronic Temporary Registrations Pg 10 SEMINOLE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR OFFICE HOLIDAY CLOSINGS Friday, July 4, 2008 Independence Day Monday, September 1, 2008 Labor Day This would have required every person who purchased a motorcycle in their name to secure a motorcycle endorsement regardless of whether or not they were going to be the operator of the motorcycle. The bill did not pass. However, you should note that any person(s) operating any two or three wheeled unit with an engine more than 50 cc s is required to have a motorcycle endorsement on their driver license or a motorcycle-only license. 1

2 DEALER BTR IS YOUR BTR CURRENT? All businesses, including dealerships, are required to maintain a current Business Tax Receipt (BTR) in order to do business in Seminole County. Failure to maintain a current BTR could lead to the rejection of work brought into the local Tax Collector s Office. Not only should the BTR be renewed by September 30 every year, but all information must be maintained and should always match your DHSMV issued vehicle or vessel state dealer license. Any address, phone number, owner change, etc should be updated on your BTR as soon as the change has been made on your DHSMV state dealer license. The annual cost for an original or renewal dealer BTR in Seminole County is $45. The cost for making a change to a current BTR is only $3. In order to obtain your BTR, you must have: A valid state dealer license issued by the DHSMV. Signature of the owner or a corporate officer on our BTR application Federal ID number If your dealership is located in unincorporated Seminole County or within the City of Lake Mary or Sanford, you may obtain your County BTR at any Seminole County Tax Collector Branch office location, or online at (City licenses should to be purchased first.) If your dealership is located within the city limits of Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Longwood, Oviedo or Winter Springs, you will obtain both your City and County BTR at one time through the respective city hall. One stop shopping. Renewing your dealerships BTR is a legal requirement as a tax to do business within Seminole County. Make sure you are resolving all your suspensions within 15 days. All pending transactions should be cleared within 30 days from date of sale. Make sure to update the ELT Lienholder list reference sheet. DHSMV in Tallahassee updates the master list randomly. The most recent revision of the list can be accessed and/or printed by logging into our website ( Remember to double-check your work prior to finalizing the deal in CVR. This will help in reducing your voids and suspends. When you need this office to create a new customer so you can complete your work, make sure you fax us a copy of the customers driver license, passport, or a Sunbiz printout. Remember when you are having problems with the CVR System, you must call the CVR Support Help Desk and not your local CVR Representative. All CVR dealers should have and be using a laser printer to print the new HSMV The red forms are no longer acceptable. 2

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4 On the left-hand side of the Seminole County Tax Collector s website, you will find an entire section devoted to you, our vehicle and vessel dealers. Look for the drop down box labeled Dealers located just below Online Services and Business Tax Receipts. Clicking on this drop down box will open up an array of options, which will address some of your more difficult questions in an efficient and easy to use manner. One of the newest options to the website is in regard to E-Titles. Have a question about E-Titles? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions tab, which provides a list of the most common questions asked about E-Titles and the answers. Need an E-Title printed? No problem, just click on the DHSMV Print E-Title box and this will immediately direct you to the DHSMV website where you can print an E-Title. What if you wanted to know if your customer s lienholder participates in the E-Title program or not? Click on ELT List to find all ELT participating institutions. Almost all of the DMV forms can be found on the website by clicking on DMV Forms. The only forms that cannot be found here are the HSMV (Dealer Reassignment) and HSMV (Secure Power of Attorney) because they are printed on special security treated paper. To make the process even more efficient, most of these forms can be filled in online and then printed for your convenience. A link for the DMV Procedure Manual can also be found on our website. This is the manual used by all Tax Collector Offices in Florida as a basis for interpretation of Florida Statutes and what is acceptable according to those statutes. You can use this to help answer customer s questions, and prevent your work from being rejected due to errors. In order to check if a customer s insurance company is valid in the state of Florida, simply click on Insurance Company Search. Using this option will also provide you with that insurance company s five-digit Florida Company Code. You may check to see if a customer s driver license is valid by clicking on Driver s License Check, and you may also get limited information on a Florida vehicle by going to Motor Vehicle Check. If the dealership sells a vehicle to a company, corporate information can be found by visiting Sunbiz.org. This information includes the Federal Identification Number, if the company has one. A link is provided for Sunbiz under the Dealer Section of the website, just below another very important link, the Renew Business Tax Receipt link (see article on Page 2). A very easy and efficient way to renew your BTR is to simply take care of it online. Online BTR renewals can be paid by either credit card or our new E-Check option. Speaking of E-Checks, a link is provided for dealerships to pay their DHSMV work online without the hassle of leaving a check with the work at the Tax Collector s Office. For more information on E-Checks, read the full page article on Page 5 of this newsletter. Many other options are available on the website to save you time and provide top-notch customer service. These include a list of Discretionary Sales Surtaxes for each County, links to TagTalk and Auto Data Direct (ADD), and an option of checking personalized plate availability for the customer who would like a personalized plate. If you have any question that cannot be answered by one of the links provided, feel free to any of our dealer representative employees by clicking on Ask a Dealer Clerk. A Customer Service Representative will be more than happy to answer your question. The website can be a very efficient and effective tool to help your dealership process DHSMV paperwork smoothly, and to keep those satisfied customers coming back through your door. 4

5 E-CHECKS FOR DEALERS The Seminole County Tax Collector is offering a new and exciting way to pay for dealer transactions. Most dealerships are familiar with the payment system used by the Tax Collector branches. Currently, payment for dropped dealer work is made by leaving a blank check with the work and receiving a receipt once the work has been processed. Unfortunately, given the world we live in today and the possibility of fraud, this process leaves a number of dealerships with an uncomfortable feeling. In order to alleviate this problem, the Tax Collector s office has introduced the option of paying for dropped dealer work by E-Check. The E-Check method can be highly beneficial to both parties. The program offers dealerships a more secure way to pay for their transactions while also allowing Tax Collector employees to complete their work and follow proper accounting policies in a timely manner. The E-Check process begins when title work is dropped by the dealer and then processed by the local branch office. After the work is processed, a Tax Collector employee will fax a batch receipt that shows all work processed and a grand total to be paid. Once the fax is received, you should proceed to our website, and click on the Dealer Section tab. Under this tab is a section titled Pay Your Dealer Work Online. Clicking on this button leads you to the dealer information form. Here, you will enter the name and dealer number for your dealership. You will then enter the payment amount that was faxed to you, as well as the batch number located in the top left corner of the batch receipt. Please note that a.50 convenience user fee will be charged by the service provider for each E-Check processed. No portion of this convenience fee is retained by the Tax Collector s Office. Once past this screen, you will see an image similar to a check. Here you will enter the dealership name, address, and a valid telephone number on the check. When you get to the bottom of the screen you will be asked for your bank s routing number and your business account number. Both of these are found at the bottom of all checks. In order to receive a confirmation of the transaction, you will also need to enter an address. After all information has been entered, clicking continue will take you to the Confirmation screen. Be sure to verify that all the information is correct, and read the authorization statement. If you agree to the statement, click Agree, and print the Confirmation page. Shortly after clicking Finished, an will be sent to you acknowledging receipt of your E-Check payment. Once payment is submitted, confirmation should be received the same day. The E-Check method of payment has been successfully implemented for the past year in the Seminole County Tax Collector s Property Tax Department. It has proven to be a highly efficient and secure way of paying for tax transactions. We expect nothing less when it comes to dealer transactions. If you have any questions about E-Check, please visit the Frequently Asked E-Check Questions page located on the Seminole County Tax Collector s website. Simply click General Information and then Payment Information. If the question is not answered on the website, please feel free to call Branch Operations Manager Susie Harting at Remember, you may also establish an Escrow Account with us as another alternative. 5

6 Did you know: That nearly half of all blindness can be prevented and it often occurs with no signs or symptoms? That 1 in 10 children are at risk from undiagnosed vision problems? That about 90% of all eye injuries are preventable with proper safety eyewear? That by the year 2030 more than one million Floridians will have vision impairments such as glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration? The month of May was heralded as Prevent Blindness Month in the office of the Seminole County Tax Collector. Donations to Prevent Blindness Florida help children receive free vision screening and provide education about the importance of eye safety. It helps adults with screenings to identify risk for eye disease and assists families with vision care, glasses, and treatment for eye disease. We would like to give a big THANK YOU to all our dealers who have helped save a child s sight through their generous donations. NEW SPECIALTY PLATES It has happened again. Florida has four new specialty plates! The recently approved plates by the 2008 Florida Legislature vary in interest and should make a nice addition to our ever-growing collection. LIGHTHOUSE: ($27.00) The Florida Lighthouse Association has created this plate to help generate funds to restore and preserve our many lighthouses along the coastlines of Florida. HORSE COUNTRY: ($27.00) The Florida Loves Horses plate was created to improve public safety by funding programs involved in the rehabilitation of at-risk youth, using horses along with other animals for educational and counseling courses. IN GOD WE TRUST: ($27.00) Supporting educational scholarships for children of Florida s military personnel is the goal of the In God We Trust plate. FLORIDA TENNIS: ($27.00) The Florida Tennis plate is sponsored by the United States Tennis Association. Proceeds from the plate will benefit nonprofit organizations that operate tennis programs for atrisk youth. 6

7 MANATEE AND SEA TURTLE JULY CAMPAIGN Summer is here! That means Floridians and vacationers alike will be spending more time on our beaches and waterways. But when you are out having fun in the sun, remember that we are not the only ones spending time in the water. Florida is home to both manatees and sea turtles, and it is important to respect these animals and the areas in which they live. Florida beaches are home to 80% of the loggerhead sea turtles in the United States and summer is the nesting season for these fascinating creatures. Florida s nesting sea turtles include the loggerhead, the green, and the leatherback turtles. During the summer approximately 50,000 turtles can be found here. Sea turtles can migrate thousand of miles, but they generally return to lay their eggs on the same beach where they hatched. Did you know that Florida is the state with the largest population of manatees? We have over 3,000 of these marine mammals. Manatees are found in the warm waters of shallow rivers, bays, estuaries, and coastal waters. They are slow moving, gentle creatures that can grow to lengths of 10 to 12 feet, and weigh in at 1,500 to 1,800 lbs. Manatees can live up to 50 or 60 years in the wild, but unfortunately many die each year due to boating strikes. The Manatee and Sea Turtle Voluntary Contribution Campaigns were started during the fiscal year A customer donating $5.00 or more is eligible to receive a manatee or sea turtle decal from the Tax Collector s Office so they can proudly display their support for these creatures. The decal concept originated by an idea from one of our very own employees, Mrs. Carolyn Peronti. She presented the idea to Tax Collector Ray Valdes and he had some printed with our own design. The decal concept spread to other offices, and was then adopted by the Fish & Game Commission. It then grew to become an annual statewide art contest sponsored by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The contest encourages students to support protection efforts through learning about manatees and sea turtles and their role in Florida s environment. Florida Tax Collectors participate by accepting volunteer donations for the decals at their offices throughout the state. These campaigns generate over $100,000 per year for the Save the Manatee Trust Fund and the Marine Resources Conservation Trust Fund, which are both aimed at providing rescue, rehabilitation, research, and public education. The office of the Seminole County Tax Collector put forth a special effort several years ago and challenged other Florida Tax Collectors in a friendly competition. As a result, we won First Place in the statewide Manatee contribution campaigns in 1991, 1993, and 1998, and Second Place in 1994 and Since then the larger counties with manatees in residence have made it a point to up their collection efforts and be in the winner s circle. (The whole purpose in the first place.) We are hoping to rejuvenate our campaign effort again this year. If you or your dealership would like to make a special contribution, just let us know! 7

8 Paula Prevatt, who is the Assistant Manager in our Casselberry Branch Office, was recently promoted to be the Manager of our NEW Lake Mary Branch Office. Paula has been with the Tax Collector since 1989, serving primarily in Sanford and Casselberry. Keesha Richardson started her career with us in 1997, and is the Workleader in the Sanford Office in charge of the DHSMV Mailroom. Keesha was recently promoted to Supervisor, and was selected to serve as Paula s right-hand person and back up when the new Lake Mary Branch Office opens. Amy Tyler began working with us in Amy is currently a Supervisor in the Casselberry Branch Office, and has spent considerable time in the Oviedo Office prior to her reassignment to Casselberry. As Supervisor, Amy will become second-in-command in Casselberry when Paula relocates to the Lake Mary Branch Office. This smiling face in the Casselberry Branch Office for the past 6 years is Sonya Jones. Sonya has been a shining star employee consistently gaining added responsibilities. Sonya has been promoted to Senior Customer Service Representative, and will soon be assuming a new role. Stay tuned. 8

9 FYI Computer generated, laser printed or facsimile (stamped) signatures of the vehicle owner or co-owner are acceptable on applications for title, affidavits, etc. However, they are not acceptable when an odometer disclosure is required. The Code of Federal Regulations, 49 CFR s (c) requires that a transferor of a motor vehicle provide an odometer disclosure statement which must be signed by the transferor, including the printed name. Similarly, 49 CFR s (f), requires that the transferee must sign the disclosure statement and print their name. In accordance with these provisions, buyers and sellers must actually sign and print their names when completing odometer disclosure statements. Make sure the full name of the person appointed on the HSMV (Secured Power of Attorney) and the HSMV (Power of Attorney) is printed. On the HSMV 82053, the Person Making the Statement is the person signing the Power of Attorney, not the person appointed. Make sure that addresses, dates, and signatures are on all paperwork (ex. HSMV 82995, 82994, 82053, 82040, etc). If you have more than one dealership location, please include the suffix at the end of your dealer license number on all paperwork. This is very important for the franchise dealers because of the different vehicle makes and models on various lots. VESSEL REGISTRATION FEE EFFECTIVE JULY 1, Effective July 1, 2008, the fees to register recreational and commercial vessels will increase. The new fees by vessel class and size is: Class A-1 Less than 12 feet in length, and all canoes to which propulsion motors have been attached, regardless of length: $10.75 Class A-2 12 feet or more and less than 16 feet in length: $21.50 Class 1 16 feet or more and less than 26 feet in length: $34.00 Class 2 26 feet or more and less than 40 feet in length: $83.50 Class 3 40 feet or more and less than 65 feet in length: $ Class 4 65 feet or more and less than 110 feet in length: $ Class feet or more in length: $ The Dealer Classification fee will now be $ Note: The following counties have an Optional County Fee that is handled strictly within that county: Dade, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Palm Beach, Volusia, Broward, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee, Monroe, Charlotte, and Collier. 9

10 ELECTRONIC TEMPORARY REGISTRATION (ETR) IS HERE Effective July 1, 2008, all Florida Vehicle Dealers will be REQUIRED to issue Electronic Temporary Registrations (ETR) to customers that have purchased a vehicle and do not have a metal plate to transfer. WHAT IS ETR? Electronic Temporary Registration (ETR) is a program that allows dealers to report the issuance of temporary plates to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) through approved third party vendors / providers (ATPV s). As dealers issue the temporary plates, the customer and vehicle information will be electronically filed with the DMV and will be available immediately to law enforcement and all authorized interested parties. WHO WILL ETR AFFECT? Participation in this program is mandatory for ALL dealers issuing temporary plates. Failure to comply with this process may cause the DMV to take administrative action against your state dealer license. WHY DOES FLORIDA NEED ETR? Temporary plates issued through dealers have caused a number of problems in the past with law enforcement. When dealers issued temporary plates, the only record of who the plate was issued to was a manual log kept at the dealership. The vehicle database held only the information of which dealer purchased the plate. This meant that when law enforcement attempted to look up a temporary plate in the database, the only way they could retrieve the customers information is to contact the dealer and have them reference their logs. This has proven to be both inefficient and even dangerous for our law enforcement officers. ETR will help prevent the risk of fraud associated with temporary plates, including reproducing and/or altering information printed on the plate. HOW WILL ETR WORK? ETR is only available to dealers with a valid dealer license. The first step for dealers in the ETR process is to contact one of the ATPV s listed on Page 11 and determine which system best suits their needs. Once activated, the dealer will be required to have a laser printer and high speed Internet access. Temporary plates will be printed on demand at the dealership. Old stock temporary plates will not be permitted for use after the July 1st deadline, except in a single circumstance listed below, and by following the specific requirements. ARE THERE ANY EXEMPTIONS? At this time, there are only two exemptions to the ETR process. The first exemption is that trailers under 2,000 lbs are exempt from print-on-demand temporary plates. The only other exemption that will apply is if the system is offline. During those times, dealers will be able to use old stock temporary plates, but will be required to record the issuance of the plate with the DMV within 24 hours as well as retain proof that the electronic system was offline. 10

11 WHO ARE THE ETR APPROVED THIRD PARTY VENDOR/PROVIDERS? There are four ATPV s at this time that have been certified by the DHSMV. AutoData Direct Title Technologies, Inc. INSTeTAG CVR 1379 Cross Creek Circle Tallahassee, FL Contact: Jim Taylor Montfort Dr Ste N Magnolia Ave 477 SW 128 th Terrace Dallas, TX Orlando, FL Tioga, FL Contact: David Cerutti Contact: Michael Hudson X 2 Contact: Scott Belcher WHAT WILL THE PLATES LOOK LIKE? Each approved third party vendor / provider has their own state approved plate design. They are either printed in black or green ink and contain the necessary information for a temporary license plate. Legislation was recently changed to require that license plates must be displayed in the rear license plate brackets on a vehicle. Temporary plates will no longer be legal if displayed in the rear window of a vehicle. IS THERE A STATE APPROVED FEE THAT CAN BE COLLECTED? A state fee of $2.00 is allowed and should be accounted for in the same manner that dealers are listing it now. This is the only fee that can be disclosed as a state fee and it is not sales taxable. WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED? You will need to contact the ATPV s in order to determine your costs to participate in the program. As a dealer, it is imperative that you immediately start the process of researching and selecting an ATPV that best fits your needs since the July 1st deadline is here. If you have any further questions, please visit the DMV website at or contact your local DMV Regional Office. SEMINOLE COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR OFFICE DEALER SECTION TELEPHONE NUMBERS Sanford Office: County Services Building 1101 E. First Street Sanford, FL (fax) Altamonte Office: 995 N SR 434 Suite 505 Altamonte Springs, FL (fax) Casselberry Office: 384 Wilshire Blvd. Casselberry, FL (fax) Oviedo Office: ShelMar Prof l Center 1490 Swanson Dr Suite 100 Oviedo, FL (fax) 11