(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the “Florida Uniform Federal Lien Registration Act.”

(2) SCOPE.—This section applies only to federal tax liens and to other federal liens, notices of which, under any act of Congress or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto, are required or permitted to be filed in the same manner as notices of federal tax liens.

(3) PLACE OF FILING.—

(a) Notices of liens, certificates, and other notices affecting federal tax liens or other federal liens, notices of which, under any act of Congress or any regulation adopted pursuant thereto, are required or permitted to be filed in the same manner as notices of federal tax liens, must be filed in accordance with this section.

(b) Notices of liens upon real property for obligations payable to the United States, and certificates and notices affecting the liens, shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the real property subject to the liens is situated. If by law the county recorder and custodian of the official records of a county is other than the clerk of the circuit court, a reference in this section to the clerk of the circuit court shall be deemed to be the county recorder so designated by law.

(c) Notices of federal liens upon personal property, whether tangible or intangible, for obligations payable to the United States, and certificates and notices affecting the liens, shall be filed as follows:

1. If the person against whose interest the lien applies is a corporation or a partnership whose principal executive office is in this state, as these entities are defined in the internal revenue laws of the United States, in the office of the Secretary of State.

2. If the person against whose interest the lien applies is a trust that is not covered by subparagraph 1., in the office of the Secretary of State.

3. If the person against whose interest the lien applies is the estate of a decedent, in the office of the Secretary of State.

4. In all other cases, in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county where the person against whose interest the lien applies resides at the time of filing of the notice of lien.

(4) EXECUTION OF NOTICES AND CERTIFICATES.—Certification of notices of liens, certificates, or other notices affecting federal liens by the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States or his or her delegate, or by any official or entity of the United States responsible for filing or certifying of notice of any other lien, entitles them to be filed, and no other attestation, certification, or acknowledgment is necessary.

(5) DUTIES OF FILING OFFICER.—

(a) If a notice of federal lien, a refiling of a notice of federal lien, or a notice of revocation of any certificate described in paragraph (b) is presented to a filing officer who is:

1. The Secretary of State or his or her designee, the filing officer shall cause the notice to be marked, held, and indexed in accordance with the provisions of ss. 55.202 and 55.203.

2. Any other officer described in subsection (3), the filing officer shall mark and index the notice or certificate in the same manner as other instruments filed for recording in the official records.

(b) If a certificate of release, nonattachment, discharge, or subordination of any lien, or if a refiled notice of federal lien, is presented to the Secretary of State for filing, he or she shall:

1. Cause a certificate of release or nonattachment to be marked, held, and indexed as if the certificate were a termination statement within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code, but the notice of lien to which the certificate relates may not be removed from the files.

2. Cause a certificate of discharge or subordination to be marked, held, and indexed as if the certificate were a release of collateral within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code.

3. Cause a refiled notice of federal lien to be marked, held, and indexed as if the refiled notice were a continuation statement within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code.

(6) FEES.—

(a) The charges or fees of the Secretary of State, with respect to a notice or certificate filed under this section, or for searching records with respect thereto, are:

1. For filing a notice of lien, which fee shall include the cost of filing a certificate of release or nonstatement for said notice of lien, $25.

2. For indexing of each additional debtor or secured party, $3.

3. For each additional facing page attached to a notice or certificate, $3.

4. For use of a nonapproved form, $5.

5. For filing a certificate of discharge or subordination, $12.

6. For filing a refiled notice of federal lien, $12.

7. For filing any other document required or permitted to be filed under this act, $12.

8. For certifying any record, $10.

(b) The charges or fees of the clerks of the circuit court with respect to a notice or certificate filed under this section shall be the same as prescribed in s. 28.24, relating to instruments recorded in the official records.

(7) UNIFORMITY OF APPLICATION AND CONSTRUCTION.—This section shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this section among the states enacting it and to permit a filing officer, including the Secretary of State, who is now using a paper filing system to record notices of liens, certificates, and other notices affecting federal tax liens or other federal liens to use a filing system consisting of paper or an electronic or magnetic medium, or some combination thereof, as he or she considers appropriate, and to permit federal officials to file notices of liens upon real or personal property for obligations payable to the United States, and certificates and notices affecting those liens, under the filing system being maintained by the Secretary of State or the filing officer.

History.—s. 1, ch. 92-25; s. 837, ch. 97-102; s. 17, ch. 2001-154; s. 31, ch. 2007-134.