5.6 Failure to Return Collateral: F.S. 648.571 Penalties

5.6 Failure to Return Collateral — F.S. 648.571

F.S. 648.571 creates a specific return timeline and severe criminal and administrative consequences. Read it together with the custody and liability rules in F.S. 648.442.

Twenty-one-day return rule

When a bond discharge is provided to the surety or the surety's agent, the collateral must be returned to the indemnitor within 21 days.

The trigger is the discharge being provided—not merely the defendant's sentencing date, a phone call, or the agent learning informally that the case ended.

Seven-day court-silence mechanism

If the surety or agent:

1. makes a written request to the court for a written discharge;
2. conducts diligent inquiry; and
3. the court fails to provide the discharge within 7 days,

the bond is automatically canceled and the collateral must be returned within 21 days after the written request.

Do not collapse the 7-day and 21-day periods. Seven days concerns court inaction; 21 days is the return deadline.

Criminal punishment thresholds

F.S. 648.571(3) escalates punishment according to the value of the collateral that is not returned. The statute cross-references F.S. 775.082:

• less than $100 — subsection (4)(a);
• at least $100 — subsection (3)(e);
• at least $1,500 — subsection (3)(d); and
• at least $10,000 — subsection (3)(b).

These brackets correspond to increasingly serious punishment classifications. Apply the highest threshold reached; do not treat the listed dollar amounts as administrative-fine amounts.

Administrative fine

For a violation, DFS must impose an administrative fine equal to five times the amount of the collateral, in addition to any criminal penalties. This is not a flat $100/$500 threshold table and is not discretionary wording.

Example: if the unreturned collateral amount is $8,000, the statutory administrative fine calculation is $40,000, apart from any other consequence.

Related F.S. 648.442 rules

• Collateral must be reasonable in relation to the bond.
• The agent issues a written, numbered, detailed receipt.
• Before forfeiture, collateral is held in the insurer's name in fiduciary custody and separate from agent assets.
• More than $5,000 cash or equivalent is immediately forwarded in its entirety to the insurer.
• The surety is liable if the agent or MGA fails to return collateral after final termination of bond liability.
• A violation of F.S. 648.442 is a third-degree felony under subsection (11).

Workflow

1. Obtain or request the written discharge.
2. Date-stamp the discharge or written request because it starts the applicable clock.
3. Confirm the rightful owner named on the collateral receipt or a valid legal assignment.
4. Return the actual collateral in the condition required by F.S. 648.442.
5. Preserve proof of delivery and update the file.

Exam distinctions