1. What are the requirements to be licensed as a title agency? Resident and nonresident agencies licensing requirements
2. Where do I record my “related title services” on the HUD-1 form? Related title services are now referred to as “Closing Services” under s. 627.7711 (1)(a), Florida Statutes, and should be recorded on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement Line 1101. The examination of records is not a part of closing services; it is considered part of the primary title services. Similarly, the title search is not included in the definition of “Related Title Services” and is defined separately. Closing Services include: • Services performed by the licensee • Preparing the documents for the closing • Conducting the closing • Disbursing the funds from the closing
3. Where do I record the recertification fee? The recertification of a title is considered part of the primary title services, which are a component of the premium and a separate fee is not charged to the consumer.
4. Can I charge a separate fee for postage, mailing, or overnight shipping? The Florida Statutes defines “closing services” as including preparing the documents and conducting the closing. Therefore any charges related to these functions should be included in the agency’s closing services fee. The definition of “primary title services” includes performing the steps necessary to issue the title insurance policy. The insurer’s liability for the gap period does not end until the proper documents are recorded in the county where the property is located. Therefore, the expense incurred by the agency to get these documents should be included in that agency’s share of the title insurance premium. In many closings the lender will require certain debts of the buyer to be satisfied as part of the loan process. In order for the title agency to disburse these funds from the escrow account within the payoff deadline, it may be necessary to send the payments to each creditor using overnight or express mail services. While these payoffs are being disbursed from the escrow account, the primary purpose of the payments is to satisfy a lender requirement not a title insurance requirement. The department would not object to separate charges being made to the buyer for this service, as long as the agency did not add an amount to the charges from the provider of these services. The department would not expect these charges to be recorded in the title section of the HUD-1 form.
5. Can I charge for the examination of the title records? The examination or evaluation of records to determine the insurability of a property is considered part of the primary title services, which are a component of the premium and a separate fee is not charged to the consumer.
6. How do I properly record a rebate my agency is giving? To assure proper credit to the appropriate party, any rebate of the agent’s share of the premium should be noted on the HUD-1 Settlement Statement form in the 1100 section on any line not assigned to another topic. It is important to note Florida Statutes s. 627.780 requires licensees to “quote, charge, accept, collect or receive” only the promulgated rate (premium), which should be recorded on lines 1108, 1109, and 1110. The same is true of the charges for the other title related services; listing the amount to be charged in the appropriate line will satisfy these requirements. Agencies looking to return part of these charges back to the payer will need to itemize their rebates on one of the blank lines in Section 1100. (Please see example below.)

Section 1100 directions for Florida HUD-1 Settlement Statements effective October 1, 2007
1100.	Title Charges
1101.	Settlement or closing fee	to	Fee for Closing Services
1102.	Abstract or title search	to	Fee for title search
1103.	Title examination	to	No longer valid (part of Premium)
1104.	Title insurance binder	to	If charged needs credit applied to premium
1105.	Document Preparation	to	No longer valid (part of Closing Services)
1106.	Notary fees	to	No longer valid (part of Closing Services)
1107.	Attorney's fees	to	Fees charged by attorney for services not listed above
	(Includes above items numbers:)
1108.	Title insurance	to	Issuing agency’s name, underwriter's name & total premium for all title insurance
	(Includes above items numbers:)		- above may carry over into his section -
1109.	Lender's coverage	$	Coverage amount & premium for lender's coverage only
1110.	Owner's coverage	$	Coverage amount & premium for owner's coverage only
1111.			Any unassigned line may be used to list any rebate that
1112.			applies to this closing transaction.
1113.			Also used to record credit for binder previously charged

7. Can we charge for the storage of the closing records? The Florida Statutes require the title insurance agency and the title insurance company to retain copies of the records related to the issuance of the title insurance policy and the funds disbursed from the escrow account. These fees should not be passed on to the consumer as separate line item charges. The title insurance agency may include the cost of storage of these records in the agency’s calculations for the closing services fee.
8. How long do I have after a closing to record the deed and mortgage? The liability to the insurance company remains open ended until the deed and the mortgage are properly recorded. Therefore, it is in everyone’s best interest to record these documents as soon after the closing as possible. Failing to record the documents could create a claim for the insurer, which could put the agency in violation of the Florida Statutes, as well as jeopardize the agency’s contract to represent that title insurer.

1. Can I deposit escrow funds into an interest bearing account? You may if the buyer and the seller have given you permission in writing to do so prior to depositing the funds. However, the escrow funds are considered fiduciary funds the agency is holding for benefit of another. Any interest earned on these funds should be addressed in this permission and it should note that the agency may not accept the interest unless both parties have voluntarily released their right to that interest.
2. Are Sweep accounts allowed for escrow funds? As a general rule, no. Most sweep accounts remove funds from an escrow account at the end of the business day to be invested in other investments that are not federally insured as required by §626.8473. In addition, the buyer and the seller must agree in advance to allowing the funds to earn interest.
3. Is there any way to get a sweep account that is allowed? Yes. Every buyer and every seller must agree to allow the escrow funds to earn interest prior to those funds being deposited into the account to be swept. In addition, the sweeping of the account must only result in the funds being transferred into an account that meets the requirements of §626.8473. A separate escrow account must be maintained for escrow funds accepted as part of a closing where the buyer or the seller did not agree to allow the account to earn interest.
4. What is the penalty of I allow my escrow account to be swept into an account that does not comply with §626.8473? If the escrow funds being moved are greater than $300, the transfer may be considered a felony crime and punishable as provided in §775.082, 775.083, or 775.084, depending on the total amount of funds involved.
5. Can a title agency accept escrow funds for a transaction that does not include the issuance of title insurance? The Florida Statutes do not prohibit the acceptance of escrow funds outside a title insurance transaction and Florida Statutes §877.101 specifically identifies licensed title insurance agencies as an entity that may accept escrow funds.
   PLEASE NOTE: Accepting escrow funds for a transaction outside one that results in the issuance of a title insurance policy may not be covered under your agency’s surety and fidelity bonds. You should also check your agency’s errors and omission coverage, too.
6. If there is less than $10 in the escrow account, can a check be written to the agency to bring the balance to “0”? No. Escrow funds are received by an agency in a fiduciary capacity. All funds must be properly accounted and paid to appropriate party. Failing to disburse any amount from the escrow fund is a violation of Florida Statutes §626.8473.
7. Is it okay to enter into an agreement where my agency keeps any amount due to the consumer that is less than $25? The Florida Statutes defines all funds received by a title insurance agent or agency received from others as escrow funds to be trust funds held in a fiduciary capacity.  The title insurance agent or agency is not the owner of these funds.  A title insurance agent, title insurance agency or a title insurer is entitled to receive only the amounts listed on the settlement statement form for the services or products that entity provided.  Anyone that retains any portion of a fee that the consumer overpaid must refund that overage immediately.  The Department of Financial Services does not recognize any waiver of the provisions of the Florida Statutes that relate to funds held in escrow and/or disbursed from escrow by a licensee.
   
   A title insurance agent or agency must immediately return any amounts that are due to the consumer, regardless of the amount.
   
   Florida Statutes §626.8473(7):
   A title insurance agent, or any officer, director, or employee thereof, or any person associated therewith as an independent contractor for bookkeeping or similar purposes, who converts or misappropriates funds received or held in escrow or in trust by such title insurance agent, or any person who knowingly receives or conspires to receive such funds, commits:
   
   1. If the funds converted or misappropriated are $300 or less, a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   2. If the funds converted or misappropriated are more than $300, but less than $20,000, a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   3. If the funds converted or misappropriated are $20,000 or more, but less than $100,000, a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
   4. If the funds converted or misappropriated are $100,000 or more, a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
8. How do I handle payment of fees for electronic recording of title documents? Section 695.27, Florida Statutes, permits the electronic transmission and recording of real property documents.  Electronic filings may require that an electronic payment accompany the documents to be recorded.  The consumer should be charged the exact amount of the fee charged to the agency to record the documents pursuant to Section 626.8473, Florida Statutes.  There is no statutory prohibition on the electronic payment of title fees directly to a title agency’s account, nor do the statutes address how the agency should handle such payments.  If a title agency chooses to accept electronic payments for these services, such payments may be made to escrow or other accounts, following the guidelines below.  Electronic recording payments are trust funds subject to the provisions of Section 626.8473, Florida Statutes; agencies must hold trust funds in a fiduciary capacity and the funds are at no time the property of the title agency or agent.
   
   1. Escrow: If an agency chooses to accept payments in this manner, the payment amount should be transferred to a different account to complete the payment.  As always, agencies should carefully monitor escrow accounts and allow only authorized signors to access escrow funds.  Agencies using an electronic escrow account may deposit these funds using a paper check or electronic transfer and should ensure that the paper check or electronic funds transfer number appears on the escrow disbursement ledger.
   2. Exclusive: If an agency chooses to maintain an account exclusively for the purpose of collecting payments for electronic filings, the agency should still be prepared to provide to the Department an auditing of funds as needed. 
   3. Operating: Under Section 626.8473(4), Florida Statutes, agencies may not use their general operating accounts for the deposit of electronic filing payments.  The commingling of the funds is prohibited and would impermissibly subject the payment to the debts of the agency.

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