Cocoa, FL

Cocoa's noise ordinance makes it a violation to keep an animal or bird that frequently or continuously howls, barks, meows or squawks loudly enough to create a noise disturbance across…

Cocoa caps sound at the property line of the receiving land use in Table 1 of its noise ordinance: 60 dBA daytime and 55 dBA nighttime in residential areas, 65/60 dBA in commercial…

Cocoa bars mechanically powered construction, drilling and demolition tools between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Even inside allowed daytime hours, the work still cannot create a noise…

Cocoa bars car and boat stereos from creating a noise disturbance measured twenty-five feet from the vehicle, whether parked or moving on a public right-of-way, street or waterway…

Cocoa bans yelling, shouting, whistling or singing loudly enough to create a noise disturbance anywhere in the city between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The same nighttime window also…

Brevard County exempts landscape maintenance equipment, including leaf blowers, from noise limits only between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.; running gas blowers outside that window loses the…

Brevard County caps outdoor amplified music at special events near homes to 8 a.m.–10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m.–midnight Friday and Saturday, per the special event noise…

Cocoa bans burning trash or debris outdoors in any zoning district and requires an open burn permit from the fire department for a bonfire or any burn the fire official decides needs…

Cocoa's property-maintenance code requires hard-wired smoke alarms with battery backup in every dwelling, under Sec. 6-1403(b)-(c). Alarms must sit outside each sleeping area, inside…

Cocoa allows recreational backyard fires for cooking, warmth or ceremony in residential districts, but only in a portable, non-combustible fire pit or fireplace three feet or less…

Brevard County bans the use, sale and storage of fireworks except as Florida Statutes 791.02, 791.04 and 791.07 allow or under a county permit. Sellers need a permit from the county…

The Florida Forest Service has statewide jurisdiction over wildfire prevention and suppression on non-municipal land under Chapter 590, Florida Statutes.

The Cocoa traffic engineer can ban all-night parking on any street once signs go up, and violators face civil parking penalties. Like the city's other traffic-engineer rules, the ban…

Cocoa bans parking a semitrailer, truck or bus over one ton in any residential area for more than 15 minutes unless actively loading or unloading, or unless the city issues a one-year…

Cocoa lets residents park major recreational equipment, RVs, trailers and boats, in front, side or rear yards, but equipment stored ahead of the front building line is capped at 22…

Cutting a curb or building a driveway across a city sidewalk in Cocoa requires a permit from the city manager before any work begins. City Code Section 17-4 requires a written…

Cocoa bans stopping, standing or parking in a long list of specific spots: on sidewalks, in intersections, on crosswalks, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, within 20 feet of a…

Cocoa designates six specific downtown blocks as on-street loading zones and bans regular parking there from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, reserving the space for loading…

Cocoa bans storing or leaving any abandoned or inoperable motor vehicle on private property, with a narrow exception letting an inoperable vehicle sit for up to seventy-two hours. The…

Florida law protects condominium unit owners' rights to install electric vehicle charging stations in their designated parking areas under Fla. Stat. 718.113(8), while commercial…

Florida caps the drop fee a tower can charge at half the posted rate if the owner shows up mid-tow, requires a signed itemized receipt, and forces storage lots within 10 to 15 highway…

Cocoa requires a tree removal permit before cutting most trees on vacant land, open-space areas of developed non-residential property, or public rights-of-way. Single-family and duplex…

Cocoa property owners, agents, lessees and occupants must cut weeds, grass and underbrush to no more than twelve inches on any lot inside city limits, per City Code Sec. 6-901. Owners…

New development in unincorporated Brevard must plant at least 50% native trees and 50% native or Waterwise-listed shrubs, with invasive species barred from credit.

Unincorporated Brevard limits landscape irrigation to set days by address parity and bars watering between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. year-round under Sec. 46-424.

Cocoa's city code makes it unlawful to keep, maintain, breed or possess any non-domestic animal anywhere within city limits, and even domestic livestock species may only be kept where…

Cocoa doesn't cap pets at a fixed household number, but its zoning-based kennel rule does the same job: keeping five or more dogs or cats six months or older on residential property…

Cocoa allows up to four permitted hens, no roosters, on single-family lots in the RU-1-7, RU-1-7a and RU-1-10 zoning districts under its Backyard Chicken Pilot Program, with a $50…

Brevard County treats every animal grooming establishment as an 'animal care facility' that must register with Animal Control and pass a site inspection before it can open, county-wide…

Every cat or dog adopted, sold, or released from a Brevard County animal shelter must be sterilized first, or the new owner must post a refundable deposit and sterilize it within 30…

Brevard County requires every cat to carry a rabies vaccination and county registration tag, but sterilized, vaccinated, ear-tipped community cats are exempt from licensing and…

Brevard County does not regulate dogs by breed. Florida law bars that statewide. Instead, county code classifies individual dogs as "dangerous" based on documented bites, attacks, or…

Brevard County requires veterinary hospitals, clinics, and pet kennels in unincorporated areas to sit at least 300 feet from the nearest residence on a minimum two and one-half acre…

Brevard County's own code has no blanket ban on feeding wildlife. Section 14-57(f) makes it unlawful to feed any animal, wild or domesticated, in a way that creates a nuisance…

Brevard County bans pet stores from selling commercially bred dogs and cats, requiring animals instead come from shelters, rescues, hobby breeders, or USDA-licensed breeders under an…

Brevard County requires owners to keep dogs under leash, fence, or tether at all times; letting a dog run at large in unincorporated areas draws civil fines starting at $55.

Section 62-2108 makes it unlawful to keep bees on premises not zoned for agricultural use. Beekeeping is listed as a permitted use in the county's productive agricultural and…

In Cocoa's RU-2-15 Multiple-Family Dwelling District, a child care center, day nursery or kindergarten cannot open by right; it needs a special exception approved by the board of…

Cocoa's zoning code permits home-based businesses in residential districts in accordance with Florida's home-based business statute, Fla. Stat. § 559.955, per Appendix A, Article XIII…

The Brevard County code has no cottage food ordinance. A food business run from a house is treated as a home occupation under section 62-1155, and section 54-126 requires a county…

Brevard County caps client traffic from an unincorporated-area home occupation at what two off-street parking spaces can handle, and bars doctors, therapists, and other treatment-based…

Brevard County caps home occupation signage in unincorporated areas at one square foot: a single nonilluminated window or wall sign, with no freestanding, lit, or portable signs…

Cocoa bars sheds and other accessory structures from any required front or side yard, limits them to 24 feet in height, and keeps them at least 5 feet off the rear lot line. Appendix…

Unincorporated Brevard requires a permit, engineered anchoring, and utility hookups before a tiny house on wheels can be used as a permanent home.

Brevard County allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot in unincorporated areas, but only with an approved conditional use permit, density compliance, and a cap of 50 percent of the…

Cocoa's fence code bans broken glass, razor wire, chicken wire, corrugated or sheet metal, plastic slats, scrap metal, signs and similar materials from any residential, commercial or…

Cocoa's zoning code caps residential fences at 4 feet in front yards and 6 feet along side and rear lot lines, dropping to just 3 feet inside the site-visibility triangle near any…

Cocoa doesn't set a citywide retaining-wall height or permit rule outside flood-hazard land, but inside a regulated floodway a retaining wall that involves placing fill must pass a…

Cocoa requires a building permit before any fence or wall is erected, constructed, installed or replaced anywhere in the city. Appendix A, Article XIII, Section 5(c) requires the…

Unincorporated Brevard County requires every fence owner to keep their fence from becoming dilapidated or structurally unsound, and pre-existing fences must meet full code standards…

A city permit approved by the building official is required before constructing or installing a residential swimming pool in Cocoa, and the pool must meet a 7½-foot rear-yard setback…

Brevard County requires private pools, spas and hot tubs holding more than 24 inches of water to be fully enclosed by a barrier at least 48 inches high, with self-closing and…

Brevard County calls short-term rentals resort dwellings, meaning homes rented for under 90 days. Where they are allowed, the number of people occupying one at any given time cannot…

Brevard County caps noise from short-term "resort dwellings" in unincorporated areas at the residential decibel limit in Sec. 62-2271, and bars audible music, TVs or stereos at the…

Brevard County requires one off-street parking space per bedroom for resort dwellings (short-term rentals) in unincorporated areas, and occupants may not park on the street.

Anyone who rents out living quarters or operates a vacation rental in unincorporated Brevard County must first obtain a tourist development tax account from the county before renting…

Brevard County's code enforcement special magistrate can suspend a resort dwelling's business tax receipt for up to 30 days on a first violation, then revoke it entirely on a repeat…

Brevard County levies a 5% tourist development tax, 2% plus three added 1% increments, on vacation rentals leased for six months or less, collected from the guest and remitted through…

Cocoa bars loitering or prowling in a way that creates justifiable alarm for safety, and separately bars blocking sidewalks or building entrances after a police warning or a posted…

Cocoa's traffic engineer can post signs banning skateboards, roller skates and bicycles on any street or sidewalk in the city, and once a sign goes up, riding there becomes a…

Cocoa outlaws aggressive panhandling anywhere in the city, defined as approaching or speaking to someone in a way that would make a reasonable person fear imminent bodily harm…

Cocoa lets police issue a civil citation instead of a criminal charge to anyone 18 or older caught with 20 grams or less of cannabis or with drug paraphernalia, so long as no felony…

Cocoa bans drinking or holding an open container of alcohol on any street, sidewalk or public parking area under City Code § 4-5, and separately bans open containers in or on a motor…

Brevard County bans smoking and tobacco use in youth athletic areas, playgrounds, indoor facilities, and any posted no-smoking area within county parks and recreational lands, plus…

Cocoa allows digital billboards to replace lawfully existing off-site signs in non-residential districts under City Code § 3-21.5(j), but only with static messages held at least 8…

In unincorporated Brevard County, window signs need no permit but cannot cover more than 50 percent of any individual window: special event, open/closed, and hours-of-operation signs…

Nonilluminated political campaign signs need no permit in unincorporated Brevard County, but they follow the same size, setback and duration limits as other temporary signs and must…

Unincorporated Brevard has barred new off-premises billboards since October 16, 2003, so freeway-facing advertising signs cannot be newly erected anywhere in the county.

Brevard County exempts garage sale signs from sign permits, but directional signs in the road right-of-way are capped at 4 square feet, 4 feet tall, and must come down when the sale…

Cocoa requires every new development to install a reclaimed water distribution system for irrigating landscaping, medians, parks and golf courses, and can force existing properties…

Cocoa lets a special event gate a park or charge admission at the city manager's sole discretion, while gating or closing an actual street for the event needs city council approval…

Cocoa defines a block party in City Code § 2-401(d) as a non-commercial gathering closed to the general public, under 200 people, that closes a local residential street, and then…

Cocoa only allows sidewalk cafes, tables and chairs placed on the public sidewalk by a restaurant, bar, lounge, ice cream shop or coffee shop, inside city council-designated cafe…

Cocoa requires a parade permit from the city manager for any march, procession or similar display on city streets or parks under City Code § 2-403. Applications go in at least 20 days…

Any permitted special event or street fair in Cocoa must scale its dumpsters and toilets to the crowd. City Code § 2-402(i)-(j) requires one eight-cubic-yard dumpster per 2,000…

A Brevard County production permit for motion and still photography replaces every other required county permit: once the film commissioner issues it, no separate special-event…

Cocoa's building official can declare a structurally unsafe, decayed or nuisance building unfit for use, order repair or demolition through the code enforcement board, and place a lien…

Brevard County bans excessive overgrowth on vacant unimproved lots in unincorporated areas, capping grass and weeds at 10 inches and treating taller growth within 25 feet of…

Cocoa confines adult entertainment establishments to the M-I Light Industrial and Warehouse zoning district and bars them within 500 feet of churches, schools, residential zones, parks…

Cocoa lets police impound illegally parked, abandoned or hazardous vehicles using the next available towing company, and private property owners must post specific signage, including…

Unincorporated Brevard requires a county license before any massage or leisure spa business opens, with an annual $250 fee and inspections: separate from state massage therapist…

Brevard County requires pawnbrokers to hold a business tax receipt, but won't issue one until the applicant proves current state registration as a secondhand dealer under Florida's…

Pawnbrokers, precious metals dealers, and secondhand dealers in unincorporated Brevard County operate under Florida Statutes chapter 538, part I, which County Code section 26-3 adopts…

Florida Statute 569.315 expressly preempts the regulation of the marketing, sale, and delivery of nicotine products and dispensing devices to the state, voiding most municipal…

No one may start erecting, constructing, altering or repairing a building, structure, sign or canopy in Cocoa until a permit application is filed and a permit is issued, and repairs…

Unincorporated Brevard requires a permit before any electrical system is installed, altered, or replaced, under the county's adopted Florida Building Code administrative chapter.

Brevard County requires seven staged building inspections plus separate electrical, plumbing, mechanical and gas checks before a Certificate of Occupancy issues in unincorporated areas.

Unincorporated Brevard adopts Florida's child care statutes by reference and layers on local staffing, transportation, and playground rules enforced with fines up to $500 a day.

Unincorporated Brevard requires a permit before any plumbing system is installed, altered, or replaced, under the county's adopted Florida Building Code administrative chapter.

Brevard County requires automatic sprinklers and alarms in new buildings three stories or taller, over 35 feet, or exceeding 15,000 square feet per floor in unincorporated areas, not…

Cocoa's solid waste franchise agreement, codified at City Code § 9-22, defines what counts as recyclable material and requires the city's contractor to collect it from every…

Cocoa requires commercial mechanical and roll-off containers to sit on a paved or concrete pad inside the property line, screened from public view by buildings, fencing or landscaping…

Cocoa's Code sets exact windows for putting garbage carts at the curb: no earlier than 5 p.m. the day before collection, and in place by 6 a.m. on collection day to guarantee pickup…

Cocoa treats dumping or littering solid waste on public or private property as a public nuisance and a Code violation. Public littering under City Code § 9-34 is a Class II civil…

Cocoa declares its solid waste collection service a direct benefit to every parcel in the city under Sec. 9-24, and Sec. 9-27 sets the practical timing: garbage carts cannot go to the…

Cocoa requires yard waste to go out in a separate autocart from household garbage, with loose leaves, clippings and trimmings under three inches in diameter. Bulk vegetative debris…

Cocoa's solid waste contractor must collect bulky, non-vegetative items like appliances and furniture from every residential customer whether or not they're containerized, under the…

In unincorporated Brevard County the code fixes set-out timing, not the calendar. Carts go within five feet of the curbline, out by 6:00 a.m. on your collection day and no earlier than…

Unincorporated Brevard requires curbside recycling carts for single-family homes, caps cart weight to manufacturer limits, and lets haulers refuse twice-tagged bad bins.

Every owner of a residential rental building or unit in Cocoa must register a local agent on a city-provided form, giving current phone numbers, street address and email, under Sec…

Cocoa's residential rental standards article requires every rental dwelling unit and property in the city to be maintained in compliance with all applicable building, housing, health…

Brevard County follows FL Chapter 83 (Residential Landlord-Tenant Act). No just-cause eviction requirement in Florida. 15-day notice for month-to-month non-renewal; 3-day for…

Fla. Stat. § 83.56 requires a 3-day notice to pay rent or vacate for nonpayment, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays from the count. For lease violations, the landlord…

Under Fla. Stat. § 83.53, a Florida landlord must give at least 24 hours' notice to enter for repairs and may enter only at reasonable times, defined as between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m…

For a month-to-month tenancy, Fla. Stat. § 83.57 now requires 30 days' written notice (raised from 15 days by 2023's HB 1417). Breaking a fixed-term lease triggers landlord remedies…

Florida effectively bans local rent control. State law bars any city or county from imposing controls on rents, and the 2023 Live Local Act removed the old narrow exception that had…

Florida has no rent control and no statute setting a maximum rent increase or a dedicated advance-notice period. On a month-to-month tenancy, a new rent takes effect only through the…

Florida places no dollar limit on residential security deposits, but it enforces tight deadlines. If the landlord makes no claim, the deposit must be returned within 15 days of…

Adverse possession in Florida requires 7 years of actual, continued, exclusive possession plus paying all taxes within a year and filing a return with the property appraiser (Fla…

Cocoa runs a citywide residential rental inspection program under Sec. 6-2007: inspections are either complaint-driven or city-initiated, owners get at least seven days' written…

Cocoa requires a site development permit before clearing an acre or more of land, and no permit issues until the city engineer or building official approves an erosion and sediment…

Cocoa runs its drainage system as a stormwater utility created under Ord. No. 2-92, billing every developed and undisturbed property a monthly or annual fee based on impervious area…

Any development, alteration, or land-disturbing work wholly or partly inside a mapped flood hazard area in Cocoa needs a floodplain development permit before work starts, under the…

Cocoa's local amendment to the Florida Building Code, Residential requires new homes in flood hazard areas to elevate their lowest floor to at least one foot above base flood…

Residential boat docks in unincorporated Brevard need a county building permit and public works site plan approval, plus they must meet strict size, height, projection and setback…

Brevard County sets its own coastal setback line 25 feet west of the 1981 FDEP control line. No new major habitable structure may be built seaward of it, and Chapter 46 restricts…

Cocoa caps building height at thirty-five feet in the RA Residential Agricultural District, the same ceiling the city's bulk regulations table applies across its large-lot…

In Cocoa's RE Residential Estate zoning district, houses must sit back fifty feet from the front property line (or the neighborhood average, never less than twenty-five feet), fifteen…

In Cocoa's RE Residential Estate District, a home and its accessory structures cannot cover more than twenty percent of the 20,000-square-foot minimum lot, one of the lowest coverage…

Cocoa closes eleven named city parks, including Anderson, Cocoa Manor, Fern Street, Joe Lee Smith, McFarland, Pineda, Provost, Rosetine, Taylor, Travis and Lee Wenner Parks, from…

The Brevard County code contains no general juvenile curfew for unincorporated areas. The only age-based hours rule is section 74-57, which limits when a juvenile rave club may…

Cocoa requires every door-to-door solicitor, including magazine and periodical sellers, to register with the police chief before working the city. Registration costs $10 and produces…

Cocoa bars a medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility from locating within five hundred feet of any public or private elementary, middle or secondary school, unless the…

Brevard County permits Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs) in commercial zones under FL §381.986 preemption. State-set 500-foot buffer from schools applies. County cannot ban…

Florida prohibits home cultivation of cannabis for both recreational and medical use; only state-licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers may grow cannabis.

Cocoa's RA Residential Agricultural district is set aside for large-lot single-family homes combined with real farming activity, letting an owner raise crops, run a nursery, or graze…

Bona fide farm operations on Brevard County agricultural land are exempt from the county noise ordinance under Florida's Right to Farm Act, so routine farm sounds cannot draw a…

Cocoa requires every structure and exterior property to stay free of rodent harborage under Sec. 6-1001(e); once rodents are found, the owner must exterminate them promptly with…

Brevard County bans household disposal of hypodermic needles and lancets in trash containers or waste facilities; residents must use county-designated home-user sharps collection sites…

Mobile food dispensing vehicles operating on private property in Cocoa need the property owner's city-approved site plan authorizing mobile vending before they can set up. A single…

Cocoa limits accessory mobile vending on private property to commercial districts (C-N, C-G, C-W, C-P), industrial districts (M-1, M-2), institutional land (INST) and core commercial…

Cocoa bans mobile vending, including food trucks and pushcarts, on municipally owned property, sidewalks, rights-of-way, easements and in alleys. The only exceptions are city-organized…

Cocoa places sidewalk repair on the abutting property owner once the city council orders it. Under City Code § 2-367, if a sidewalk, curb or gutter next to a parcel is damaged by…

Cocoa bans using any street, sidewalk or public right-of-way to display or sell goods, merchandise or services. The only exceptions are newspaper racks, public telephone and mail…

Building a driveway, sidewalk crossing, or utility line into a county right-of-way in unincorporated Brevard requires a right-of-way/easement permit from Public Works before work…

Cocoa's zoning code singles out 'specimen trees' (hardwoods 24 inches or more in trunk diameter) and public oak trees for extra protection. An oak on city-owned land or right-of-way…

Brevard County protects hardwoods 10+ inches dbh, pines 14+ inches dbh, and specimen trees 24+ inches dbh from removal during development in unincorporated areas; a land clearing…

Brevard bans standing, sitting, or occupying medians, crosswalks, bike lanes, and arterial or collector roadsides where it interferes with traffic, under the county's 2022 Pedestrian…

Brevard County bans sleeping or camping on any beach, dune, or beach access from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. unless the county has specifically authorized overnight camping there.

Brevard County caps digital billboard brightness at 0.3 foot-candles above ambient light and requires an automatic dimming sensor. All illuminated off-premises signs must be shielded…

Unincorporated Brevard requires cut-off, shielded fixtures on any site plan and caps light spilling onto neighboring residential land at 0.2 footcandles.

Unincorporated Brevard requires site-planned properties to shield outdoor lighting: cut-off fixtures with house-side shields near property lines, no glare crossing the boundary, and…

Homes built in unincorporated Brevard County must sit above the street or, in FEMA flood zones, at least 12 inches above the base flood elevation before the county issues a certificate…

After a declared disaster, unincorporated Brevard residents must stack storm debris neatly at the road's edge, sorted by type, for county pickup: misplaced debris becomes the owner's…

Brevard County requires a mandatory roofing inspection before a certificate of occupancy issues, with two separate inspections, dry-in and final, for tile, slate, and similar roof…

Brevard County's property maintenance code lets owners install storm shutters or panels on occupied homes only temporarily, during an actual storm threat, and requires one exterior…

Brevard County requires anyone reporting a suspected code violation to give their name and address: anonymous complaints cannot trigger an investigation except for imminent health…

Filming on any Brevard County-owned street, park, courthouse, or government center requires a production permit from the film commissioner before shooting begins; permits also apply to…

Filmmakers who want to close a public street or sidewalk in unincorporated Brevard must state the closure and its duration in their county production permit application, filed with the…

Unincorporated Brevard County developers can get a 25 percent density bonus when at least 30 percent of a project's units are affordable housing, under Code Section 62-6305.

Bars and nightclubs in unincorporated Brevard County can't blast music outward to attract customers, and their sound systems don't get the county's usual equipment noise exemption…

Residential air conditioning and pool pump equipment is exempt from Brevard County's noise ordinance as long as it operates in reasonable mechanical condition with standard…

Brevard County bans loading and unloading boxes, crates, containers, or building materials during nighttime hours (10:01 p.m.–6:59 a.m.) if it creates a noise disturbance across a…

Brevard County treats amplified bass that shakes walls as regulated noise, capping it at 65 dBC by day and 60 dBC by night on residential property, with a separate 300-foot…

Brevard County exempts building-mounted business generators from its noise-article decibel limits if properly maintained and screened, but portable or residential generators still must…

Brevard County's Historical Commission can mark forts, Indian mounds, and other historic sites with monuments, tablets, or markers anywhere in the county, acting on its own initiative…

Brevard County's code has no drone-specific ordinance. What does apply to commercial work is section 26-25, which requires a film-commission production permit for commercial…

Brevard County's code has no ordinance that names drones or unmanned aircraft. The closest local rule is section 78-106: you may not take off in or land any aircraft in a county park…

Unincorporated Brevard caps garage sales at 48 hours per sale, with only two sales allowed per lot in any 12-month period.

Brevard County levies a five percent tourist development tax, 2% plus three added 1% increments, on hotel, motel, and vacation rental stays of six months or less, countywide including…

Brevard County requires removal of IFAS-listed nonnative invasive plants before any certificate of occupancy is issued, plus permanent control of regrowth afterward, under…

Installing solar panels in unincorporated Brevard County requires a permit pulled by a contractor holding the county's own Solar Contractor certificate of competency, issued separately…

Florida Statute §163.04 prohibits HOAs from preventing solar panel installation. HOAs may determine placement but cannot effectively ban solar or impose requirements that reduce…

Every business in unincorporated Brevard must hold a local business tax receipt classified by activity type, with each classification capped at a flat $37.00 tax.

Florida Statute 218.077 prohibits local governments from establishing a minimum wage other than the state or federal rate, preempting city and county living-wage ordinances except for…

Florida Statute 509.032(7) and broader employment preemption framework prevent local governments from requiring private employers to follow predictive or fair-scheduling rules beyond…

Florida allows permitless concealed carry of firearms by law-abiding adults under FS 790.01 and continues to issue concealed weapon licenses through FS 790.06, with both regimes…

Florida Statute 790.33 expressly preempts the entire field of firearm and ammunition regulation to the state, voiding all local ordinances and imposing personal civil penalties on…

Florida's open carry ban (FS 790.053) was struck down by the First District Court of Appeal in McDaniels v. State on September 10, 2025. The Florida Attorney General issued guidance on…

Florida Statute 790.25(5) allows any law-abiding person 18 or older to possess a concealed firearm in a private vehicle for self-defense, provided the firearm is securely encased or…

Florida cardrooms operate only inside licensed pari-mutuel facilities, dog tracks, horse tracks, and jai alai frontons, under a license from the Florida Gaming Control Commission. Fla…

Florida lets charitable, nonprofit, and veterans' organizations run bingo without applying for any state gaming license: the statute itself sets the eligibility bar and the limits. A…

Florida law exempts small-stakes card and tile games from gambling crimes under Fla. Stat. § 849.085, but only under strict conditions: winnings per hand can't exceed $10, the game…

Sports wagering is legal in Florida only through the Seminole Tribe's Hard Rock Bet platform, authorized under the state's gaming compact codified at Fla. Stat. § 285.710(13)(b)7…

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.3085, unpaid assessments become a lien on a parcel, and the homeowners' association may foreclose like a mortgage. Before recording the lien the association must…

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.303(2), Florida HOA board meetings must be open to members with notice posted at least 48 hours ahead. Section 720.306 governs member meetings and elections, §…

Under Fla. Stat. §§ 720.303 and 720.3035, a Florida HOA enforces its recorded covenants and architectural standards, but only where authority is stated or reasonably inferred in the…

Florida Statute 163.04 bars homeowner association deed restrictions and local ordinances from prohibiting clotheslines, solar collectors, or other renewable-resource energy devices in…

Florida law bars HOA declarations, articles, and bylaws from prohibiting Florida-friendly landscaping, defined by statute as drought-tolerant, water-conserving design. Section…

Florida law bars homeowners associations from stopping owners from flying up to two flags, each no larger than 4 1/2 by 6 feet, including the U.S. flag, Florida's state flag, military…

Under Fla. Stat. § 720.305, a Florida HOA may fine up to $100 per violation and $1,000 in the aggregate unless the governing documents allow more. The association must give at least 14…

A Florida association can foreclose an assessment lien in the same manner a mortgage is foreclosed, but only after two separate 45-day notices, and fines are largely off limits: a…

Florida limits how homeowners' associations can restrict renting out a home, but only in communities governed by Chapter 720, not condos or co-ops. Under Fla. Stat. § 720.306(1)(h), a…

Florida allows sobriety checkpoints, and the discretion of the individual trooper is what gets constrained. Fla. Stat. § 321.05(1) gives Florida Highway Patrol officers the power to…

Florida is an all-party consent state, but that rule reaches less far than it sounds. Fla. Stat. § 934.03(2)(d) makes interception lawful only when every party consents, while §…

Florida has no general stop-and-identify statute. The Florida Stop and Frisk Law, Fla. Stat. § 901.151(2), lets an officer temporarily detain you to ascertain your identity when…

Florida wrote the automobile exception into its statutes in 1927. Fla. Stat. § 933.19 adopts the United States Supreme Court's decision of March 2, 1925 in the Carroll case, reported…

Florida flips the usual assumption: a golf cart is barred from public roads unless a county, a municipality, or a water control district has affirmatively designated that road for cart…

Florida Statute 403.7033 preempts the regulation of disposable plastic bags by local governments, prohibiting cities and counties from enacting bans or fees on retailers pending a…

Florida Statute 500.90 preempts the regulation of polystyrene products by local governments, blocking cities and counties from banning expanded polystyrene foam food containers, cups…

Florida Statute 569.101 prohibits the sale or delivery of tobacco and nicotine products to persons under 21, aligning with federal law and applying uniformly statewide under the…

Florida is one of the states that says yes to underbody lighting in so many words. Fla. Stat. § 316.235(3) provides that any motor vehicle may be equipped with one or more lamps or…

Florida does not give dash cameras a windshield carve-out. Fla. Stat. § 316.2952(2) is written as a closed list of exactly four things that may be attached to, or located in or upon, a…

Florida bans lane splitting in so many words. Fla. Stat. section 316.209(3) states that no person shall operate a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent lines or rows…

Florida treats an obscured plate as a crime, not a ticket. Fla. Stat. section 320.061(1) makes it unlawful to apply or attach any substance, reflective matter, illuminated device…

A driver of a private passenger vehicle may use a radar detector in Florida. No section of the Florida Statutes prohibits owning, carrying or operating one, and chapter 316, which…

Florida does not ban studded tires and does not restrict them to a winter season. The one wheel-surface provision in the traffic code, Fla. Stat. section 316.299, prohibits driving on…

Florida sets a separate light transmittance floor for each piece of glass rather than one statewide number. Side wings and side windows forward of or next to the driver must pass at…