Classic Car Restoration Shops in Florida

Florida has no emissions test to plan around and a modest antique plate fee, but the repair shop rules are strict and the title rules have a few traps for project cars. These are the points to settle before a shop touches your car.

Sales tax on restoration work

• The state rate is 6%. Under Department of Revenue rule 12A-1.006, when the shop furnishes parts, the entire charge for repairing the vehicle is taxable, labor included. A restoration invoice with parts or materials is therefore normally taxed in full.
• Labor escapes tax only on a labor-only job where the labor is separately stated and the shop keeps records showing no parts were used. Few restoration jobs qualify.
• Sublet work such as paint, upholstery or machine work that is billed to you as part of a job that includes parts is generally taxed as part of the whole job.
• Sending the car out of Florida for work and bringing it back is also taxable under the same rule, so an out-of-state restorer does not avoid Florida tax.

Repair shop registration and estimates

The Florida Motor Vehicle Repair Act (sections 559.901 to 559.9221) is enforced by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Motor vehicle repair shops must register with the department before doing business, and running an unregistered shop is a second-degree misdemeanor. Some operators are exempt, so ask for the registration number, which must appear on your invoice.

• When the work will cost more than $150, the shop must give you a written estimate before any diagnostic or repair work. It must state the rate basis, any shop supply charge, the guarantee and the daily storage charge.
• You can waive the written estimate in writing. A restoration usually cannot be priced in one document, so ask for a new written estimate for each stage.
• The shop may not bill you more than $10 or 10 percent over the written estimate, whichever is greater but not more than $50, unless it promptly notifies you and you authorize, modify or cancel the work.
• The invoice must itemize labor, parts and merchandise, label replacement parts as used, rebuilt or reconditioned, and state the warranty. The estimate also lets you ask that replaced parts be saved.

Liens and unpaid bills

A shop that holds your car has a possessory lien for its labor and services (section 713.58) and can enforce it only by public sale under section 713.585. The shop must send certified mail notice to the owner, the customer and lienholders within 7 business days after storage charges begin to accrue, at least 30 days before the sale, and the sale cannot happen sooner than 60 days after the repair work is completed. Storage cannot accrue until 3 working days after the shop tells you the work is done. Before the sale you can demand a hearing at the circuit court clerk or post a cash or surety bond with the clerk, equal to the invoice plus accrued storage less what you have paid, to take the car back without a lawsuit (section 559.917). A car left with a towing or storage business falls under a separate lien law, section 713.78.

Titling a project car

• Florida titles every vehicle with no age exemption. For a car from another state you surrender the out-of-state title and complete a VIN verification.
• Florida's bonded title procedure is closed to older cars. It excludes vehicles more than 29 model years old, which in 2026 means model year 1997 and earlier, and it excludes out-of-state titles. If a classic comes without a title, ask the state about the other routes before you pay.
• A restoration is not a rebuilt vehicle unless the car was branded salvage or junk. If it was, a rebuilt inspection is required, with a $40 fee, receipts for major parts such as fenders, doors, engine, frame and transmission, and photos of the wrecked car.
• Before a car can be offered for sale, the state also brands titles for vehicles assembled from parts, kit cars, replicas, flood vehicles, custom vehicles (altered cars 25 years or older of a model year after 1948) and street rods (model year 1948 or older, altered).

Plates and inspections

Florida issues a permanent Horseless Carriage plate for private-use cars of model year 1945 or earlier and an optional permanent Antique plate for cars 30 years or older after the model year. The state license tax is $7.50, plus a plate manufacturing fee, and the statute sets no use limit for private-use antiques. Florida has no vehicle emissions testing and no periodic safety inspection among the statutes reviewed. The anti-tampering law still applies when a car is sold.