Columbia County, FL Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

Code § 2-375 sets the timeline county code enforcement officers must follow before escalating to a citation. Under subsection (b), except where subsection (c) applies, an officer who finds a violation must give the person notice of the violation and set a reasonable correction period, but that period cannot exceed 30 days regardless of the offense. If the property is not brought into compliance within the time given, subsection (f) lets the officer then issue a citation for a civil infraction. Subsection (c) removes the correction-period requirement entirely, letting the officer issue a citation immediately, in three situations: the violation is a repeat violation; the officer has reason to believe the condition presents a serious threat to public health, safety or welfare; or the violation is irreparable or irreversible in nature.

Once a citation is issued, Code § 2-375(h) treats each violation as a separate civil infraction, and each day the violation continues counts as its own separate infraction, which keeps daily pressure on an owner who does not correct the problem. A related deadline runs the other direction for the accused: under Code § 2-377, a person who neither pays the civil penalty nor requests a hearing within 30 days of the citation's issuance risks a court judgment of up to $500.00 per infraction plus costs.