Instructions For Payment Of Documentary Stamp Tax and Recording Fees - Certificates Of Title
Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division performs only two functions in conjunction with foreclosure sales. Those functions are to accept payments for the Documentary Stamp Tax and Recording fees, and to record the certificates when received from the Clerk's office. Questions regarding issuance of Certificates of Title should be directed to the
Clerk of Court.
Certificate of Title (CET) Tracking Log
Track “Certificate of Titles” online! Track and follow the recording process regarding Certificates of Title after issuance by the Clerk of Courts (continue to check the Clerk’s docket to determine if a CET has been issued). Find the answers to your questions: Has the Recorder’s office received the Certificate of Title from the Clerk of Courts? Has the Recorder’s office received your documentary stamp taxes and recording fees? Has the Certificate of Title been recorded? Now you can easily find the answers to these questions and many more answers to other related information regarding the recording process and how it all relates to the processing of Certificate of Title process.
Foreclosure Sale - Documentary Stamp Tax and Recording fee Payments
- At the time of bidding, identify the proper Grantee (Successful-Awarded Bidder). It is your responsibility to ensure that the Certificate of Title is issued to the correct Grantee (Successful-Awarded Bidder). If there is an Assignment of Bid, the assignment has to be filed with the Clerk of Court before the sale, and the plaintiff, when working the case for the sale on Real Auction, should indicate the name on title as the assigned name. Note: Per the Florida Department of Revenue, if the bid is assigned to an exempt party, the tax would still be due on the original bid. Only when an exempt party is the successful bidder would no tax be due.
- There is a 10-calendar day period during which an action may be filed that could cause the Certificate of Title not to be issued. The Clerk of Court will not issue a Certificate of Title before that 10-calendar day period has expired. Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division will not accept Documentary Stamp Tax and recording fee payments if the Certificate of Title has not been issued.
- After 10 days, on the 11th calendar day or as soon as possible thereafter, verify that the Certificate of Title has been issued. If you have "premium access" to the
Clerk of Courts website, you can do so by viewing the case detail.
- Your payment should reach us no later than 15 calendar days after the Certificate of Title has been issued by the Clerk. The payment should include documentary stamps and recording fees of $10.00 for the first page, and $8.50 for each additional page. A remittance is provided for your use.
Certificate of Title remittance form
- Case Number (show exactly as shown on the auction website)
- Parcel ID# (show exactly as shown on the auctionwebsite)
- Sale Date
- Sale Price (bid amount)
- Your name, address, daytime phone number including extension, and email address
- Prepare your payment. Make checks payable to Broward County Board of County Commissioners. Personal checks are accepted for payments of $49.99 or less. Certified funds are required for payments of $50 or more. If you are a volume bidder, you may find it convenient to establish an escrow account with us, and/or set up to remit via electronic check. To request an application for an escrow account or electronic check information, email
rttcet@broward.org.
- Prepare the mailing envelope as noted. You must prepare the envelope in this manner even if you are hand-delivering your payment.
- If sending via Express Mail:
Display “CERTIFICATE OF TITLE DESK” and sale date PROMINENTLY on the outside of the express envelope. - You can group express mailing payments for multiple sale dates into a single mailer. Place payments and attachments for each sale date in an envelope, with the sale date on the outside of the envelope. Put these envelopes inside the express mailer. In the lower left-hand corner of the express envelope, write:
“Sale Dates: (Most Recent Sale Date) and earlier”
- Enclose required information, payment and a self-addressed postage paid envelope.
Late Payments
If your documentary stamp tax payment is late, and the Certificate of Title has already been recorded:
As the Broward County Recorder, it is our responsibility to collect the tax and recording fees in order to record the Certificate of Title. However, we also have a responsibility to the public to record notice that the property has been sold.
The time limit for submission of Documentary Stamp Tax to the Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division will be 15 calendar days after the Certificate of Title has been issued. If tax has not been received by that date, the Certificate of Title will be recorded without tax and recording fees. We will then notify the Florida Department of Revenue of your failure to pay the tax, leaving you or your client at risk not only for the unpaid tax, but also for penalties and interest assessed by the Florida Department of Revenue. The recording fees will have to be sent to our office.
When Documentary Stamp Tax is remitted late, the only way that we can process the late remittance is to create a certified copy of the recorded Certificate of Title and re-record it to affix tax. There is fee for the certified copy ($1 per page plus $2 flat fee for certification) and a fee for recording ($10 for the first page plus $8.50 per additional pages). A check box is provided on the remittance form for the purpose of acknowledging and including fees in your remittance.
