Vehicle Tags, Titles and Boat Registration — Brevard County, Florida

Vehicle, mobile home and boat titles and registrations in Brevard County are processed by the Brevard County Tax Collector, which runs the five motor vehicle counters in Palm Bay, Melbourne, Viera, Merritt Island and Titusville for the state.

The FLHSMV Brevard County listing names the counters as 450 Cogan Drive in Palm Bay, 1515 Sarno Road in Melbourne, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Blvd. Suite A108 in Viera, 1605 N. Courtenay Parkway in Merritt Island and 800 S. Park Ave. in Titusville. Each one is a dual center that also covers vehicles, trailers, vessels, mobile homes, specialty tags and disability parking permits. FLHSMV states that all Brevard offices are county tax collector-sponsored service centers, so a tax collector service fee is added to the state motorist fees at every Brevard counter.

For owners in Palm Bay, Malabar, Grant-Valkaria, Micco and Barefoot Bay, the Cogan Drive and Sarno Road counters are the South Brevard choices, and FLHSMV gives 321-633-2199 as the South Brevard motorist line. Much of the work never needs a counter: the Brevard County Tax Collector handles renewals online and accepts several requests by mail at PO Box 850, Titusville, FL 32781-0850 (Tax Collector titles and registrations page).

A first Florida title and registration at a Brevard County Tax Collector counter needs proof of identity, proof of Florida insurance, the old title or a dealer certificate of origin, a verified vehicle identification number and the state fees.

Newcomers to Melbourne, Palm Bay or anywhere else in Brevard have a short clock. FLHSMV says a new resident must obtain insurance from a Florida-licensed agent and title and register vehicles, vessels and mobile homes within 10 days of establishing residency. All owners sign the Application for Certificate of Title With/Without Registration (HSMV form 82040). A vehicle coming from another state needs its VIN physically inspected; the Brevard County Tax Collector does this as a courtesy at the time of registration, weather permitting, and a law enforcement officer, a Florida notary or a Florida dealer can also complete Form 82042 (Brevard County Tax Collector). Used vehicles arriving from a foreign country go to a state compliance examiner instead.

Insurance is checked before a Brevard plate is issued. The Brevard County Tax Collector requires Personal Injury Protection of at least $10,000 and Property Damage Liability of $10,000 from a Florida agent or broker, while motorcycles, mobile homes and trailers are exempt from the insurance rule.

The largest single charge is the $225 initial registration fee, which the Brevard County Tax Collector says may be imposed the first time a license plate is purchased for a motor vehicle in Florida; it applies to private automobiles, motor homes and trucks under 5,000 pounds. An owner who sold or disposed of a vehicle and bought a replacement can often transfer the old plate and avoid it, and owners who surrendered a plate at a Palm Bay or Titusville counter keep the surrender paperwork for the same reason.

The FLHSMV fee schedule adds $2.50 when a paper title is printed and a $2 lien recording fee when a loan is recorded; the Brevard counter then adds its service fee. Sales tax is collected at the Brevard County Tax Collector when it is due on the purchase.

Most Brevard County registrations expire at midnight on the registered owner's birthday, and the Brevard County Tax Collector renews them online and at its Palm Bay, Melbourne, Viera, Merritt Island and Titusville counters.

The Tax Collector titles and registrations page lists the exceptions to the birthday cycle: company-owned and short-term leased vehicles renew in June, long-term leases are staggered across the year, and trucks over 8,000 pounds and for-hire vehicles carrying nine or more passengers renew in December. The metal plate is issued to the owner for ten years, and a new plate with new letters and numbers arrives in the tenth year. Cars and trucks are taxed by weight, while travel trailers and mobile homes are taxed by length.

An online renewal through the Brevard County Tax Collector renewal page needs proof of Florida insurance plus either the PIN printed on the renewal notice or the plate number and the owner's date of birth. Paying by e-check costs nothing extra; a credit card carries a $3.50 convenience fee per renewal that the Brevard County Tax Collector does not receive. The office aims to process each online transaction within 2 business days, with the decal or plate mailed within 5 days.

FLHSMV notes that these figures are only the base vehicle tax and that other statutory fees apply, so the total on a Brevard renewal notice is higher. A renewal can be refused at a Brevard County Tax Collector counter for unpaid traffic court fines (a D6 suspension), a dishonored check, a child support suspension, a wrecker operator lien, unpaid parking or toll violations, or failure to turn a car over to a repossessor.

A mobile home in Brevard County must carry a current decal at all times, even when empty, and the Brevard County Tax Collector sells those decals for a calendar year that ends December 31.

The Tax Collector mobile home page sets three rules that matter in mobile home neighborhoods from Barefoot Bay and Micco to Titusville: the fee depends on the length of the home, a double wide needs a separate registration for each side, and missing a year leaves delinquent tax. An owner who also owns the land under the home can switch to a real property decal instead of renewing every year, by applying through the Brevard County Property Appraiser at (321) 264-6700 and then taking the application and title or registration to the Brevard County Tax Collector.

Those amounts come from section 320.08 of the Florida Statutes and are flat taxes; the Brevard County Tax Collector adds the usual service charges at the Palm Bay or Viera counter. Mobile homes do not need a VIN verification or an odometer reading when a title moves from another state, according to the Brevard titles page.

A motorized boat used on the Indian River Lagoon, the St. Johns River or the Atlantic off Brevard must be titled and registered at a Brevard County Tax Collector counter within 30 days of purchase.

The FLHSMV vessel titling page says a buyer launching on the Indian River Lagoon must keep proof of the purchase date aboard during those 30 days, and that registration can run for one or two years. Proof of ownership is the manufacturer's certificate of origin for a new boat, the Florida or out-of-state title signed over for a used one, or the old registration plus a bill of sale from a state without titles. Federally documented vessels and non-motor-powered vessels under 16 feet are among the exemptions from titling. A FLHSMV FAQ adds that non-motor canoes and kayaks longer than 16 feet are titled but not registered, and that boaters visiting Brevard waters from another state may use a valid out-of-state registration for 90 days.

Each vessel registration at a Tax Collector counter also carries a $2.25 service fee and a $0.50 FRVIS fee (FLHSMV fee schedule). Brevard boaters skip one charge paid elsewhere: Florida lets counties add an optional county vessel fee, and the FLHSMV list of counties that charge it (Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Dade, Hardee, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Monroe, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota and Volusia) does not include Brevard. Titling adds $5.25 for an electronic title, $7.75 for paper or $11 for a fast title, $1 per lien, and $4 more for a boat last registered outside Florida.

After the Palm Bay, Melbourne or Titusville counter issues the paperwork, the Florida number goes on both sides of the bow in block characters at least three inches high, and the year decal goes on the port side next to the number (FLHSMV numbering rules). Operators born on or after January 1, 1988 also need a Boating Safety Education Identification Card from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to run a boat of 10 horsepower or more on Brevard waters.

A Brevard vehicle sale must be transferred within 30 days of the seller's assignment, or the Brevard County Tax Collector adds a $20 fee on top of the title and registration fees.

The seller fills in the buyer's name, the selling price and the odometer reading on the Florida title, and a bill of sale can serve as proof of price, according to the Brevard County Tax Collector. A lost title is replaced with Form 82101 and a $78.25 fee at a Brevard County Tax Collector office, signed by the lienholder if a loan is still open. A duplicate registration costs $5.60 at a branch or by mail to the Titusville post office box, or $6.00 online through MyDMV Portal, and the same prices apply to an address change, which must be reported within 30 days.

Owners who cancel insurance but keep the vehicle must surrender the plate, either by mail to the Brevard County Tax Collector administrative office or in person at a Palm Bay, Melbourne or other branch, with no appointment needed. Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the Brevard County Tax Collector and FLHSMV vessel and fee pages.