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Florida Paperwork,
Written the Way the Statute Reads

Florida's Motor Vehicle Repair Act does not stop at the garage door. Section 559.903 names mobile motor vehicle repair shops and self-employed individuals, so the estimate, disclosure and invoice rules apply to your van too. Trackara Pro builds them into Florida quotes, work orders and invoices, and switches them on when your business state is Florida.

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Available today on the Trackara Pro web portal, included with every plan, and on the signing link your customer opens. Coming to the iPhone and Android apps.

What your customer signs on a Florida job over $150

Please read carefully, check one of the statements below, and sign:

I understand that, under state law, I am entitled to a written estimate if my final bill will exceed $150.

_____ I request a written estimate.

_____ I do not request a written estimate as long as the repair costs do not exceed $______. The shop may not exceed this amount without my written or oral approval.

_____ I do not request a written estimate.

Signed ______________ Date ________

F.S. 559.905(2), printed word for word.

The Law

What Florida Requires

Three rules catch most mobile mechanics, and none of them care whether you have a bay.

Over $150, the Customer Chooses

Before repair work that will cost more than $150, you must present a separate, blocked notice in capital letters. The customer asks for a written estimate, sets a not-to-exceed amount, or declines one, and signs. (F.S. 559.905(2))

Your Estimate Becomes a Ceiling

A final bill cannot run past the written estimate by more than $10 or 10 percent, whichever is greater, and never by more than $50, unless the customer approves the extra orally or in writing. (F.S. 559.909)

Fourteen Items on the Estimate, Six on the Invoice

The Act lists them and FDACS's checklist spells them out: the odometer reading, the proposed completion date, flat rate or hourly, the charge for the estimate, whether to save replaced parts, storage charges, and your registration number on the invoice, among others. (F.S. 559.905(1), 559.911)

Built In

What Trackara Pro Handles

The rules live in the paperwork, so that is where we put them.

The Disclosure, Word for Word

Florida quotes and work orders over $150 carry the 559.905(2) statement in its own capitals block. Your customer ticks one option, enters a limit if they pick that one, and signs from the link you send.

The Overage Cap, Worked Out

Trackara Pro works out the most you can bill against the signed estimate, or the limit your customer set. If the invoice runs past it, record how the customer approved (phone call, text message, email, in person or signed in writing) and who approved, and the invoice prints the authorization line.

State Fees, Worded the Way FDACS Asks

Add the new tire fee ($1.00 each, F.S. 403.718) or the battery fee ($1.50 each, F.S. 403.7185) as its own line, and the required statement prints with it.

Used, Rebuilt, Reconditioned

Mark a replacement part used, rebuilt or reconditioned, or code it no charge or reduced for warranty work, and the label prints on that line, as section 559.911 asks.

The Per-Job Items

Proposed completion date, the customer's request, whether to save or return replaced parts, method of payment, and another person who may authorize work, with their phone number. Anything left blank prints as a line to fill in by hand.

Shop Statements, Set Once

In Settings, Florida estimate & invoice statements asks how you charge labor, your estimate charge, your warranty in months and miles, daily storage, shop supplies and a teardown fee. Press Add to my default terms, and every new quote, work order and invoice carries them.

Subtotals and Miles Out

Mark a line as sublet or shop supplies, and Florida documents total parts, labor, sublet, shop supplies and fees separately. Work orders and invoices record the odometer when the vehicle leaves as well as when you start.

Registration and the FDACS Notice

Your number prints on Florida quote and invoice PDFs as Florida registration: MV-, and Florida documents carry the consumer notice about inspecting replaced parts and the FDACS line, 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352). Settings reminds you if the number is missing.

County Surtax Hint

When you pick a customer, Trackara Pro suggests Florida's combined state and county rate from their ZIP code or county. Your tax rate does not change until you tap Apply.

Registration

Who Florida Counts as a Repair Shop

Section 559.903(8) defines a motor vehicle repair shop as any person who, for compensation, engages or attempts to engage in the repair of motor vehicles owned by other persons, and lists mobile motor vehicle repair shops and self-employed individuals among them. Work limited to the coach portion of a recreational vehicle is excluded.

Section 559.904 requires each shop to register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before doing business, and to renew every two years. The fee is set per location, per year, by how many employees perform repairs: $50 for 1 to 5, $150 for 6 to 10, and $300 for 11 or more. The initial fee is waived for honorably discharged veterans, service members who have served on active duty, and their spouses. Your first application includes copies of your estimate and invoice forms. FDACS takes registrations at ConsumerCompliance.FDACS.gov.

The statute waives registration for an individual with no employees and no established place of business, and for a mobile shop it counts the owner's home address as the place of business. If you are not sure where you stand, ask FDACS at 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352).

Good to Know

Before You Rely on It

Trackara Pro does not register you with FDACS. You apply and renew with FDACS directly.
The county rate hint uses Florida's calendar 2026 surtax table and warns you when that table is out of date. Florida charges the county surtax on the first $5,000 of a single item, and the hint does not account for that, so check big-ticket parts yourself.
Quotes, work orders and invoices you created before adding the Florida statements keep their old terms.

Works With

Florida Rules Ride on Your Everyday Paperwork

Florida Paperwork Is Included

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Florida Repair Act FAQ

Answers for Florida mechanics

Do mobile mechanics have to follow Florida's Motor Vehicle Repair Act?

Yes. Section 559.903(8) lists mobile motor vehicle repair shops and self-employed individuals in its definition of a motor vehicle repair shop, and section 559.904 requires registration with FDACS before doing business. The fee is $50, $150 or $300 a year per location, depending on how many employees perform repairs, and the registration is renewed every two years.

When does a Florida customer have to get the written estimate disclosure?

When repair work will cost more than $150. Section 559.905(2) requires a separate, blocked notice in capital letters where the customer requests a written estimate, sets a not-to-exceed amount, or declines one, and signs. Trackara Pro adds that block to Florida quotes and work orders.

How far can my final bill go over the estimate in Florida?

By $10 or 10 percent of the estimate, whichever is greater, and never by more than $50, unless the customer approves the extra orally or in writing (section 559.909). Trackara Pro shows the cap and records the approval on the invoice.

Does any of this change my paperwork if I am not in Florida?

No. The Florida features switch on when your business state is Florida. Shops in other states see no change.

Is this legal advice?

No. Trackara Pro follows the statute text and the FDACS checklist, and that checklist tells each shop to consult its own legal counsel about its obligations. You are responsible for your own paperwork and registration.

Sources: Florida Statutes 559.903, 559.904, 559.905, 559.909 and 559.911 (leg.state.fl.us, read September 2026) · FDACS, Motor Vehicle Repair Estimate and Invoice Requirements, rev. 06/27/24

Florida Paperwork,Written the Way the Statute Reads