Florida car rental law: a guide for rental companies

Florida's rental rules are about money and liability more than about the contract. There is a daily surcharge and sales tax to collect, a capped but real liability for crashes your renters cause, and a default that your insurance pays first. Unlike California and New York, Florida has no statute capping what you charge for damage or for a damage waiver. That puts more weight on what your own agreement says.

Do I collect the rental car surcharge?

Yes, if you rent cars for hire that seat fewer than nine passengers. Section 212.0606(2) imposes $2 per day or any part of a day, on the first 30 days of a rental only, whether the rental is booked in person or online. The rental company collects it. Three details matter on the invoice:

• Part days count. A 3-day-and-2-hour rental is 4 surcharge days.
• It stops at day 30. A 45-day rental carries $60, not $90.
• It is taxed. The surcharge "is subject to all applicable taxes imposed by this chapter", so sales tax applies to it as well.

The Department of Revenue says the surcharge is reported on the Solid Waste and Surcharge Return (DR-15SW), by the county the surcharge is attributed to. Peer-to-peer car-sharing programs pay $1 a day and collect it themselves.

What sales tax applies to a car rental?

Section 212.05(1)(c) taxes the lease or rental of tangible personal property at 6% of gross proceeds, with two rules for rentals of less than 12 months. A car rented in Florida is taxed on the whole rental, even if it is dropped off in another state. A car rented elsewhere and dropped off in Florida is exempt. Counties add their own discretionary sales surtax; rates and the registration steps are in car rental taxes by state.

Renviq can apply the location's combined sales tax rate and add the surcharge as an extra priced per day. It does not stop that extra at day 30 by itself, so on rentals longer than 30 days check the surcharge line before you send the invoice.

Am I liable when a renter causes a crash?

Yes, up to limits. Florida's dangerous instrumentality doctrine comes from case law, not from a statute: an owner answers for injuries caused by whoever drives the car with permission. Section 324.021(9)(b)2 caps that for rentals and leases of less than a year, "notwithstanding … existing case law". The lessor is deemed the owner only up to:

The extra $500,000 is reduced by whatever is recovered from the renter, the driver and their insurers. The caps do not touch liability for your own negligence. They apply to a "rental company", meaning a business that rents a majority of its vehicles to people with no affiliation to it (324.021(9)(c)).

On top of that sits the federal Graves Amendment (49 U.S.C. 30106). It says an owner in the rental business is not liable under state law merely for owning the car, when the owner was not negligent and committed no crime. It keeps state insurance requirements in force. How the federal shield and the state caps play out in a particular lawsuit is a question for your attorney.

Whose insurance pays first, mine or the renter's?

Yours, unless your agreement says otherwise. Section 627.7263(1) makes the lessor's liability and personal injury protection (PIP) insurance primary, for the limits required by sections 324.021(7) and 627.736, unless the face of the agreement states otherwise in at least 10-point type. To make the renter's insurance primary, the agreement must carry this sentence in at least 10-point type:

"The valid and collectible liability insurance and personal injury protection insurance of any authorized rental or leasing driver is primary for the limits of liability and personal injury protection coverage required by ss. 324.021(7) and 627.736, Florida Statutes."

Florida is a PIP state. Section 627.736(1) requires a qualifying policy to provide PIP up to $10,000 in medical and disability benefits and $5,000 in death benefits. If your insurance is primary, those are the PIP limits it answers for first; the renter's own policy goes first only if your agreement says so as above.

If you shift primary cover to the renter, record whose policy it is and when it ends. Renviq stores the renter's own auto insurance (carrier, policy, expiry, card scan) on the customer record and on the agreement. It warns you when the policy ends before the return date.

What can I charge for damage, and for a damage waiver?

We found no Florida statute that caps a renter's liability for damage, caps the price of a collision damage waiver, or prescribes a waiver notice, the way California's Civil Code and New York's General Business Law do. What you can charge comes from your agreement and general contract and consumer law. In practice that means:

1. Write the liability down. Say what the renter owes for damage, theft and loss of use, and how you calculate it.
2. Make the waiver clearly optional, with its daily price and what voids it, next to the renter's signature.
3. Prove the damage. A claim with dated pickup and return photos is a claim the renter, their insurer or a card issuer can check.

Do I have to check the renter's licence?

Yes. Section 322.38 says you may not rent to anyone who is not licensed, or licensed in their home state or country if a nonresident. You must inspect the licence and verify it is unexpired before renting. You must also keep a record of the plate, the renter's name and address, licence number and where it was issued, open to police inspection. For keyless or app-based rentals, verifying the licence at enrolment satisfies the rule.

Florida sets no minimum renting age in these statutes, and no cap on an underage fee; that is your policy and your insurer's. Renviq checks minimum age, years licensed and licence class per vehicle at booking, and runs young-driver fees as fee rules.

How do I pass SunPass and toll-by-plate charges on?

Section 316.1001(2)(c) makes the owner liable for an unpaid-toll citation unless, within 14 days of the citation, you send an affidavit naming the person who rented the car. It must give their name, address, date of birth and, if known, licence number. The citation then goes to the renter.

We found no Florida statute in force that caps the admin fee you add when you pass a toll on; we found nothing showing that a 2016 bill to cap it at $10 a day passed. Disclose any fee in the agreement. The export and matching steps are in charging rental customers for tolls. Renviq imports SunPass statements in one go, matches each toll to the rental that had the car and bills a rental's tolls on one invoice.

Florida checklist

1. $2 a day surcharge on the first 30 days, taxed, filed on DR-15SW by county.
2. 6% sales tax plus county surtax on the whole Florida-origin rental.
3. Commercial liability and PIP cover on every car; caps in 324.021(9)(b) understood with your insurer.
4. Agreement states in 10-point type whose insurance is primary, using the statutory sentence if it is the renter's.
5. Damage liability, waiver price and exclusions written into the agreement.
6. Licence inspected, unexpired, recorded.
7. Toll affidavits sent within 14 days.