CLEARWATER - Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicle fees will increase on Sept. 1.
The Pinellas County Tax Collector’s Office is advising motorists with birthdays before November to renew their vehicle registrations and driver license for two years and save.
Individual registration cost increases will vary depending on vehicle type, weight, or if anything other than a standard license plate is displayed. Call the Tax Collector’s office for details on eligibility and the best times to apply at 727-464-7777.
A typical vehicle registration will increase in cost from $46.10 to $71.15, a 35 percent increase, with all but $3 going to the state.
Driver’s license fees for a Class E, the kind most people have, are increasing from $27 to $48 with renewal fees going from $20 to $48. Fees for other driver license classes also are scheduled to go up.
Examples of other increases include the fee for an original or duplicate title which is going up from $24 to $70.
Several new fees also take effect on Sept. 1, including a filing fee for hardship hearing and an interlock fee assessed by vendor added to driver’s licenses. For vehicle registrations, there is a new service fee for paper title, a re-inspection fee and others.
The Florida Legislature increased the tax collector’s service fee for driver licenses by $1, from $5.25 to $6.25. The legislature did not increase the tax collector’s service charge for registrations; it remains at $3.
For more information and a look at the complete new fee schedule, visit www.taxcollect.com and click on the What’s New button or call 562-3262.
