Selling a catalytic converter in Florida

Who may sell a detached converter

A person may not knowingly purchase a detached converter unless he or she is a registered secondary metals recycler, meaning a recycler as defined in § 538.18 that is registered with the Department of Revenue under § 538.25 (§ 860.142(2)(c), (3)(a)). A registered recycler buying one has to comply with the record requirements of § 538.19 and the restricted-property rules of § 538.26(5), and a recycler that does not is exposed to the penalties in § 538.23 (§ 860.142(3)(b), (c)). A detached converter is simply an emission control device designed to convert toxic gases and pollutants in a vehicle's exhaust into less toxic substances that has been removed from a motor vehicle (§ 860.142(2)(a), (b)).

On the selling side, Florida works through proof of ownership rather than licensing. No person may knowingly possess, purchase, sell, or install a stolen converter, one removed from a stolen vehicle, one whose manufacturer part identification number, aftermarket identification number, or owner-applied number has been removed, altered, or defaced, or a detached converter without proof of ownership, unless that person is a registered secondary metals recycler, a salvage motor vehicle dealer, or meets the exemption criteria in § 538.22 (§ 860.142(4)(a)). So an ordinary seller can sell, but has to be able to show the unit is theirs.

The recycler's own purchase rules narrow things further. It is unlawful for a recycler to buy regulated metals property before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., to buy from a seller who presents property at the registered location that was not transported in a motor vehicle, or to buy from any location other than a fixed location, meaning a site the recycler owns or leases for at least 364 days (§ 538.26(1) to (3), § 538.18(4)). Nor may it buy from a seller using a name other than their own or their registered business name, from anyone under eighteen, or from anyone visibly or apparently under the influence of drugs or alcohol (§ 538.26(4)). For a converter, the recycler also has to obtain reasonable proof that the seller owns the property, such as a receipt or bill of sale, or is an employee, agent, or contractor authorized to sell it, for which a signed letter on the owner's letterhead dated no more than ninety days before the sale is enough (§ 538.26(5)(a), (b)13.).

What the buyer must record

A secondary metals recycler keeps a legible paper record of every purchase transaction and also a legible electronic record in English, and transmits the electronic record to the appropriate law enforcement official, the county sheriff or the municipal police chief, no later than 10 a.m. on the business day after the purchase (§ 538.19(1), § 538.18(1)). The transmitted record leaves out the price paid, but the official may request the original transaction form, which does include the price, for a criminal investigation, and the recycler makes it available within twenty-four hours of the request (§ 538.19(1)).

Each transaction goes on the form the Department of Law Enforcement approves and carries the recycler's name and address, the name or initials of whoever entered the information, the date and time, the weight, quantity, or volume with a description of the type of metal, and the consideration given (§ 538.19(2)(a) to (e)). It carries a signed statement from the person delivering the property that they are the rightful owner or are entitled to sell it, the distinctive number from that person's personal identification card, and a description of them covering full name, current residential address, workplace, home and work phone numbers, height, weight, date of birth, race, gender, hair and eye color, other identifying marks, a right thumbprint free of smudges and smears, and the make, model, and tag number of the vehicle and trailer used (§ 538.19(2)(f) to (h)). A personal identification card is a valid Florida driver license, a Florida identification card, an equivalent from another state, a passport, or a federal employment authorization carrying a photograph and current address (§ 538.18(7)).

Two images complete the record: a photograph, videotape, or digital image of the metal being sold, and a photograph, videotape, or similar likeness of the person receiving the money in which their facial features are clearly visible (§ 538.19(2)(i), (j)). An electronic database satisfies the section provided everything in subsection (2), plus an electronic oath of ownership with the seller's electronic signature and an electronic image of a clean right thumbprint, can be downloaded onto a paper form in the image of the approved form (§ 538.19(3)). Records are kept for not less than three years from the date of the purchase transaction (§ 538.19(4)). During usual business hours a law enforcement officer who properly identifies themselves may inspect all purchased regulated metals property in the recycler's possession and all records § 538.19 requires (§ 538.20). Where an officer has reasonable cause to believe items in the recycler's possession were stolen, the officer may issue a written hold notice identifying them, and the recycler may not process or remove them for fifteen calendar days unless released sooner (§ 538.21(1)). An extended hold notice issued before that period runs out adds forty-five calendar days, after which the hold is automatically released unless a court has ordered otherwise (§ 538.21(2), (3)).

How you are paid

A converter is restricted regulated metals property, and cash is barred for it entirely. A secondary metals recycler may not enter into a cash transaction in excess of one thousand dollars for regulated metals property, and may not enter into a cash transaction in any amount for restricted regulated metals property (§ 538.235(1)). Payment for restricted property is made by check issued and payable to the seller, or by electronic payment to the seller's bank account or the seller's employer's bank account (§ 538.235(4)).

The route the money travels is fixed by statute. Each check is mailed by the recycler directly to the street address the recycler has on file for the seller, never to a post office box, and electronic payments go to an account on which the seller is listed as an account holder or as an employee or agent of the seller (§ 538.235(4)(a)). The check or transfer goes out within three days after the purchase transaction (§ 538.235(4)(b)). A check may instead be handed over at the time of the transaction where the seller is a registered charitable, philanthropic, religious, fraternal, civic, patriotic, social, or school-sponsored organization or a nonprofit, a law enforcement officer acting officially, a bankruptcy trustee, executor, administrator, or receiver who has shown proof of status, a public official acting under judicial process, a sheriff acting under a writ of execution, or a manufacturing, industrial, or other commercial vendor that generates regulated materials in the ordinary course of business (§ 538.235(4)(c)).

Florida imposes no standing waiting period on the metal itself in Part II; the three-day rule attaches to sending the money, not to holding the converter. What can freeze a unit is a law enforcement hold notice under § 538.21 or a petition for return, on receipt of which the recycler has to hold and not process or alter the property until the court determines the parties' interests (§ 538.24(3)). A recycler also may not dispose of property at any location until any holding period has expired (§ 538.25(2)).

Penalties

The converter offenses are felonies. Knowingly possessing, purchasing, selling, or installing a stolen converter, a converter from a stolen vehicle, a converter with an obliterated identification number, or a detached converter without proof of ownership outside the registered-recycler, salvage-dealer, and § 538.22 exemptions is a felony of the third degree (§ 860.142(4)(a), (b)). Proof that a person possessed two or more detached converters, unless satisfactorily explained, gives rise to an inference that the person knew or should have known they may have been stolen or fraudulently obtained (§ 860.142(4)(c)).

Chapter 538 penalties fall mainly on the recycler. A recycler that knowingly and intentionally violates the inspection or hold sections, engages in a pattern of failing to keep § 538.19 records, violates the no-vehicle-delivery rule in § 538.26(2), or violates the payment section commits a felony of the third degree, rising to a felony of the second degree on a third or later violation (§ 538.23(1)). A recycler that knowingly and intentionally fails to keep the required information is presumed to know that stolen property it received was stolen, and on conviction under § 812.015 is punished under § 812.014(2) or (3) (§ 538.23(2)). Acting as a secondary metals recycler without registering under § 538.25 is itself a felony of the third degree (§ 538.23(5)).

Sellers are reached directly too. Anyone who knowingly gives false verification of ownership, or gives false or altered identification, and receives money or other consideration from a recycler in return for regulated metals property commits a felony of the third degree below three hundred dollars and a felony of the second degree at three hundred dollars or more (§ 538.23(3)). Where a lawful owner recovers stolen property from a compliant recycler and the seller is convicted of theft, of violating the section, or of dealing in stolen property, the court orders full restitution to the recycler including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses (§ 538.23(4)).

What this means when you sell to us

Bring a Florida license, state identification card, or another accepted photo ID with your current address, and proof that each converter is yours: a receipt, bill of sale, or a letter on the owner's letterhead dated within ninety days authorizing you to sell (§ 538.26(5)(a)). You sign the ownership statement, give a right thumbprint, and we photograph both you and the units (§ 538.19(2)(f), (h)3., (i), (j)). Florida bans cash for converters in any amount. We pay by check mailed to your street address, or by electronic transfer to your or your employer's account, sent within three days of the sale (§ 538.235(1)(b), (4)).