Big Changes for Florida Towing and Mechanic Liens

Effective February 1, 2021, all Florida towing companies, mechanic shops, and any entities processing towing and storage liens or mechanics liens are required to use an approved third-party provider.

Auto Data Direct is an approved third-party provider and has been working diligently to ensure Florida companies receive training and know what lies ahead for them. The Florida DHSMV has not released the updated TL-25 or TL-26 as of yet. For reference, links for the Florida Statutes for towing and storage liens and mechanics liens are below.

A few things to look out for:

Mechanics lien notifications must contain the motor vehicle repair shop’s registration number, owner’s name, physical address, and the entity name, as registered with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, of the business where the repair work or storage occurred, which must also appear on the outside of the envelope sent to the registered owner, the customer, and all other persons claiming an interest in or a lien on the vehicle.

If you are a towing company with multiple locations or a title company sending letters for numerous entities, the law requires the physical return address of the towing company or mechanic and repair shop (as listed with the Division of Corporations) to be listed on the outside of the envelope. ADD has implemented this change in the system. To update your profile in your ADD account, click on settings then go to form profiles.

Mechanics Statute FL 713.585

Towing Statute FL 713.78

ADD will post a link to the new TL’s after the Florida DHSMV releases them.