Columbia County, FL Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)

Columbia County runs its supplemental code enforcement procedure through Division 3 of Chapter 2, adopted under F.S. ch. 162, part II. Code § 2-373 defines a code enforcement officer as any designated county employee or agent, or, with the sheriff's consent, any Columbia County deputy sheriff, whose duty is to enforce county codes and ordinances. Code § 2-374 puts the county coordinator or a designee in charge of designating which employees or agents hold that role, and separately designates the sheriff and consenting deputies as county code enforcement officers; the training and qualification standards for the designation are set by the county coordinator, and the designation does not carry arrest power.

Under Code § 2-375(a), an officer may issue a citation to any person, including individuals, firms, partnerships, trusts, corporations and other legal entities, once a personal investigation gives the officer reasonable cause to believe a code or ordinance violation occurred. Citations and any prior written warning must be hand-delivered by the officer; if the violator cannot be reached, the officer may leave the notice with a resident 15 or older, mail it by certified or registered mail, or, for a vehicle-related citation, post it on the vehicle and mail a copy to the registered owner.

A business citation may be left with any employee during regular hours. Refusing to sign an issued citation is itself a second-degree misdemeanor under F.S. § 162.21(6), reported to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.