Terms Used In Florida Statutes 319.241

  • Certificate of title: means the record that is evidence of ownership of a vehicle, whether a paper certificate authorized by the department or a certificate consisting of information that is stored in an electronic form in the department's database. See Florida Statutes 319.001
  • Department: means the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. See Florida Statutes 319.001
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Satisfaction of lien: means full payment of a debt or release of a debtor from a lien by the lienholder. See Florida Statutes 319.001
  • writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
The owner of a motor vehicle or mobile home upon which a lien has been filed with the department or noted upon a certificate of title for a period of 5 years may apply to the department in writing for such lien to be removed from the department files or from the certificate of title. The application shall be accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the department that the applicant has notified the lienholder by certified mail, not less than 20 days prior to the date of the application, of his or her intention to apply to the department for removal of the lien. Ten days after receipt of the application, the department may remove the lien from its files or from the certificate of title, as the case may be, if no statement in writing protesting removal of the lien is received by the department from the lienholder within the 10-day period. If, however, the lienholder files with the department within the 10-day period a written statement that the lien is still outstanding or that a second judgment lien certificate has been filed with the Department of State, the department shall not remove the lien until the lienholder presents a satisfaction of lien to the department. If a second judgment lien certificate was filed with the Department of State, the department must remove the notice of the first judgment lien certificate and add notation of the second judgment lien certificate at the end of all noted liens. Ten days after the receipt of an application for a derelict motor vehicle certificate and notification to the lienholder, the department may remove the lien from the derelict motor vehicle record if a written statement protesting removal of the lien is not received by the department from the lienholder within the 10-day period.