Surplus remittance

Definition

What a tow yard must hand on when an auctioned vehicle sells for more than the towing and storage bill.

Why It Matters

The lien clock decides when a yard may sell, and this decides where the money goes after. Florida requires a public sale for cash and pays the towing and storage charges and the costs of the sale first. When the owner or lienholder is absent, the rest is deposited with the clerk of the circuit court, who holds it for whoever is legally entitled and keeps five percent. Washington wants every surplus remitted to the state within thirty days, with a report naming the vehicles, and the owner of record may claim it for a year. Failing to send it is a listed ground to deny, suspend or revoke the operator's license, or to fine it up to a thousand dollars a violation. Ask for the auction ledger and the remittance receipts together, because a yard that kept the surplus booked somebody else's money as revenue.