Electronic Temporary Registration Systems, also known as ETR is a mandatory system required by all dealers, including automobile and RV. This system is designed to streamline the submission of customer and vehicle information the DMV in real time. It also allows an instant update to law enforcement and toll authorities to verify authenticity of the temp tag and removes the need for you to keep a physical temporary license plate log.
When you are ready, simply choose the vendor that best fits your dealership and follow their registration steps. The vendors will have different prices and procedures so do some research before choosing. For a current list of Certified Service Providers click here. Dealers who are not interested in a contract with the ETR vendors must issue all temporary license plates through the Tax Collector’s Office.
Each tag must be issued as print-on-demand, except in the case of an ETR system outage or a trailer with a net weight of less than 2,000 lbs. In the off chance that the department is down, there is an offline process that is available but requires you complete the online submission within one business day. If you happen to find yourself in this situation it’s a good idea to be extra diligent in making copies and noting who signed what and why. Because much of the software available today includes timestamping technology and also provides confirmation for what is submitted, you should note these as well. You will need to carefully log all of the information being taken in for your records. Following the best practices like these will make the transfer of information to the system (when it is up and running again) easy and painless.
A few more things to know are, only one temporary tag is to be issued to one vehicle. It would be unlawful to reuse the same tag for another vehicle. In connection, you may not issue more than two tags for the same vehicle. For example, your customer (John Smith) just purchased a RV and needs a temporary license plate. Later, he needs a second temporary plate (this can happen if the plate expires). After the second issuance, no more plates can be issued to the customer for that vehicle. Further, the dealer can only issue up to four temp tags per vehicle. Say Jane Doe buys the same car that John Smith had. You can only issue two temporary tags to her for the same vehicle. A dealer may not issue a temporary tag when the use of a dealer license plate is valid.
There is a $2 temporary tag fee that goes to the FLHSMV through your chosen ETR provider. You may disclose the fee as “state mandated” however if you collect any fees above that amount, the extra may not be named a state fee and must be clearly disclosed in the sales agreement.
Refer to the Temporary Tags section of the Motor Vehicle Procedure Manual for a complete list of requirements. Click here for frequently asked questions regarding ETR.