Florida insurers handling salvage titles and certificates of destruction will face new identity verification standards for electronic signatures from July 1, 2026.
The change comes through CS/HB 961, an enrolled bill amending Section 319.30(3)(d) of the Florida Statutes. Rep. Jon Albert and Rep. Susan Valdes sponsored the measure, which moved through the House Government Operations Subcommittee.
The bill targets a narrow but frequent part of auto claims operations: odometer disclosures submitted electronically by insurers and authorised agents in connection with salvage certificates of title and certificates of destruction.
Before the amendment, an electronic signature consistent with Florida’s general electronic commerce law was enough to satisfy the signing requirement. Insurer-submitted odometer disclosures also had to use an electronic signature as defined in Section 668.003(4).
The new law keeps that definition but adds stricter controls. Insurers or their authorised agents must maintain control processes and procedures acceptable to the department.
Those controls must provide adequate identity verification, preservation, disposition, integrity, security, confidentiality, and auditability for each electronic signature. In practical terms, carriers need to show how a signature was captured, verified, stored, protected, and made available for audit.
The bill also sets a technical benchmark. Electronic signature systems must meet the Identity Assurance Level, Authenticator Assurance Level, and Federation Assurance Level standards described in National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-63-3, dated December 1, 2017.
Each assurance category must reach Level 2 or higher. The requirement applies to signatures used for both certificates of destruction and salvage certificates of title.
According to Beinsure analysts, the rule moves Florida’s auto salvage paperwork closer to a regulated digital identity standard.
For insurers, the issue isn’t only signing software. It’s vendor oversight, audit trails, data retention, and proof that an authorised person completed the transaction.
Insurers operating in Florida will need to confirm that their e-signature platforms meet the NIST assurance levels.
Agents handling salvage and destruction paperwork on their behalf will need the same controls, with documentation ready for department review.
The bill has been enrolled by the Florida Legislature and takes effect July 1, 2026. From that date, the upgraded standards apply to any insurer or authorised agent processing salvage certificates of title or certificates of destruction in Florida.
