Ship a Car to Florida for Winter: Plates, Insurance, Storage

Getting a car to Florida for the winter is the easy part. The questions that catch part-year residents come after: whether the car needs Florida plates, whether the home-state policy still counts after a few months, how a large car hauler gets past the guard gate, and where the car spends the summer. This guide works through each one. For when to book the trip south and back, see when to book snowbird car shipping; for prices, see what shipping the car costs.

Shipping the car south: the short version

1. Pick a first available date four to six weeks before you want the car there, and plan to be flexible by a few days.
2. Clear delivery with your community’s gate or association, and name an adult who can receive the car if it arrives first.
3. Prepare the car: a quarter tank, alarms off, the toll tag out of the windshield and a set of dated photos.
4. Inspect it at delivery and write any damage on the Bill of Lading before you sign.

The sections below cover the questions that come after the car arrives.

Do you need Florida plates to spend the winter there?

Not if your residence stays in your home state. Under section 320.37 of the Florida Statutes, a nonresident whose car is properly registered and plated in the home state does not have to register it in Florida. That exemption ends when you take a job in Florida, enroll a child in a Florida public school or establish residency, and FLHSMV’s new-resident page then gives you 10 days to register the car in Florida. The same page lists living in Florida for more than six consecutive months among the ways you may be considered a resident, so a season that runs from October into May deserves a second look.

If you have read that a car kept in Florida more than 90 days must be registered there, the statutes say otherwise: the 90-day test is in Florida’s insurance law, section 627.733, while the registration exemption for nonresidents in section 320.37 sets no day limit for a car. It does set one for recreational vehicles and mobile homes kept in Florida for at least 6 consecutive months, and section 320.38 ends the exemption for a nonresident who takes a Florida job or enrolls a child in a Florida public school, with 10 days to register.

The table sums up what Florida’s statutes and its motor vehicle agency say for the three situations snowbirds usually face.

Sections 320.37 and 627.733 of the Florida Statutes set the first row, and FLHSMV’s new-resident and insurance pages the other two. Florida’s required security means at least $10,000 of personal injury protection and $10,000 of property damage liability, according to FLHSMV.

If you do become a resident, a used car that is not yet titled in Florida needs a VIN and odometer verification on form HSMV 82042. A Florida notary, licensed Florida dealer, law enforcement officer or state compliance examiner, such as a tax collector employee, can complete it. Before you leave home, also check whether your home-state registration, emissions check or safety inspection will expire while you are away, and renew early if your state allows it.

This is general information rather than legal advice. FLHSMV and your county tax collector’s office have the final word on your case.

Does your home-state insurance cover a car wintering in Florida?

Not automatically once the car passes 90 days in the state. Section 627.733 requires security for a nonresident’s car that has been physically present in Florida for more than 90 days during the preceding 365, whether it was operated or not, so days the car sits in a garage count as well as days on the road. A car that arrives in early November passes 90 days in early February. The statute defines that security as a policy “delivered or issued for delivery in this state” or another method the state approves, so ask your insurer, in writing, whether your home-state policy qualifies or whether you need a Florida policy for the months the car stays.

A car registered in Florida carries a stricter rule. FLHSMV’s insurance page says Florida coverage must be continuous throughout the registration period, regardless of where the vehicle is and even if it is not driven or does not run. If you want to drop coverage on a Florida car while you are up north, the agency’s instruction is to surrender the plate before cancelling; a lapse can lead to suspension of the license and plate and a reinstatement fee of up to $500.

The truck trip itself is a separate question from both. Your own policy and the carrier’s cargo insurance each have limits and exclusions, and our guide to car shipping insurance explains what to ask before pickup.

Delivery into gated and age-restricted communities

Where you stay matters more than the city. A University of Florida survey published in 1997 found that about three in four seasonal residents in its sample (76 percent) wintered in the southeast and southwest regions of the state, and that they lived in mobile homes (21.3 percent), apartments (17.9 percent) and attached homes (12.5 percent) more often than permanent residents did. Those are the settings that make a large car hauler work hardest: a guard gate, tight turns, low branches, speed humps and association rules about commercial vehicles.

1. Ask the association office what it allows before you book, including delivery hours and any rule against trucks over a certain size.
2. Choose a meeting point if the truck cannot get in. A wide, legal lot nearby works well, as long as the owner permits it.
3. Name a receiver if the car will arrive before you do. Any adult you trust can inspect the car and sign the Bill of Lading.
4. Share the gate code or add the driver to the guest list, and give the broker a phone number that someone will answer on delivery day.

Lane pages that end in South Florida, such as New York to Miami and Chicago to Miami, carry notes on local delivery conditions.

Storage: when the car arrives first, and over the summer

If the car gets there before you, a storage facility can stand in for a receiver. Confirm that it accepts deliveries from a large carrier, what hours it keeps, and who will walk around the car and sign for it, then give the broker the facility’s contact details at booking. Ask whoever signs for the car to photograph it at delivery, so you can see its condition before you arrive.

If the car stays in Florida for the summer, the months you are away line up with the Atlantic hurricane season, which NOAA dates from June 1 to November 30, with most activity between August and October. Indoor storage away from low, flood-prone ground is the safer choice, and it is worth confirming that your comprehensive coverage includes wind and flood damage while the car sits. A car left in Florida keeps counting toward the 90-day insurance rule, and a Florida-registered car still needs continuous coverage. A battery maintainer, if the facility allows one, avoids a flat battery in the fall.

If the car comes home in spring, book the northbound leg early. Lanes such as Florida to New York and Miami to New York carry live northbound ranges, and the snowbird route planner shows both legs together.

The toll transponder

Your northern toll tag probably works in Florida. The Central Florida Expressway Authority states that E-ZPass is accepted on all Florida toll roads, and FDOT reported in 2021 that its SunPass program had become interoperable with E-ZPass. Take the transponder off the windshield before pickup, though, and carry it with you or seal it in a shielding bag if your toll agency provides one. Left in place, it can be read at toll gantries on the truck’s route and billed to your account.

Packing and preparation

Standard preparation applies: a quarter tank of fuel, alarms off and a full set of dated photos. Snowbirds are often tempted to use the trunk as a moving box for the season, so read the rules on personal items before packing, and see the preparation guide for the rest.

What shipping the car costs

In the October 2026 edition of the HaulFare price model, a running sedan on an open carrier runs about $1,070 to $1,335 from New York to Florida in November and about $1,115 to $1,390 for the trip home in April. The licensed transport partner confirms the actual price.

The Florida car shipping page has the current model estimates for the state and links every published Florida lane. Major southbound corridors each have their own page: New York to Florida, New Jersey to Florida, Michigan to Florida and Illinois to Florida. The snowbird car shipping price report compares the corridors month by month for the whole season.

Before the car heads south, ask the broker your quote request goes to for the carrier’s name and MC number, then look the carrier up in the FMCSA SAFER system or with our company verifier. When your dates are set, a quote shows the estimate for your lane before you share contact details.

HaulFare is a price guide and referral service, not a broker or motor carrier. Quote requests go to our licensed transport partner, an FMCSA-licensed auto transport broker, who arranges transport with FMCSA-registered carriers. HaulFare receives a referral fee from our licensed transport partner; you pay HaulFare nothing.