Fee Check
Electronic filing / temp-tag dealer charges - overview
Some states let dealers pass through electronic registration or temp-tag vendor costs; those lines must not be labeled as state fees unless they are.
Printed on worksheets as: Electronic Filing Fee · E-Filing Fee · Temp Tag Fee · ELT Fee
- Who sets it
- The dealer
- Required by law
- Varies by state
- Typical amount
- No honest figure to give: it varies by store. The number on your sheet is the number.
- Whose money
- The dealer's own price for this. The dealer may decline to remove it, and you may decline the deal; either way it belongs in the out-the-door total you compare between stores.
The one question to ask
“Is this electronic-filing or temp-tag line the exact vendor charge, or an extra dealer fee?”
What it is
Many dealers use electronic lien/title or temporary-tag vendors. Some states expressly allow a limited electronic-filing or private-partner pass-through (for example California Vehicle Code §4456.5(a)(2) allows an electronic filing charge not exceeding the amount the dealer is charged by a first-line service provider, and forbids representing it as a governmental fee). Other states authorize an electronic filing system agent fee but leave the dollar amount dealer-set with disclosure rules (Florida Statutes §320.03(10)(d) and Fla. Admin. Code R. 15C-16.012(5)). If a worksheet lists "E-filing," "ELT," "temp tag," or "electronic registration," ask whether the amount is the exact vendor/state charge or an extra dealer markup, and whether state law caps or discloses it. Do not invent a typical national dollar range - amounts vary by state and by store.
Source
Cal. Veh. Code §4456.5(a)(2); Fla. Stat. §320.03(10)(d); Fla. Admin. Code R. 15C-16.012(5) · as of September 1, 2026
Fee Check explains what a line is; it doesn’t grade your deal or name a price. Rules change: the date above is when this entry was last checked against its source.
The next step
This tool says something is in there. DrivrShield AI says what.
The math can prove a payment carries more than your figures explain. It cannot see the line items. Photograph the worksheet and DrivrShield AI reads every line — what each fee is, which ones your state actually requires, which are the dealer's to remove, and the exact words to ask.
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