Florida · Hurricane Isaias
Thinking about working in Florida? Read this first.
Florida is under a declared state of emergency in 30 counties, from Escambia and Santa Rosa east through the Big Bend and down to Pinellas.[source] During an emergency, several of Florida’s contractor and insurance laws carry heavier penalties. If you can’t show you meet every rule below today, our advice is plain: don’t go.
You need a local business tax receipt to offer services
Once the Governor declares a state of emergency, anyone who offers goods or services to the public without a business tax receipt under § 205.032 or § 205.042 commits a crime. If someone also alleges price gouging, not having the receipt is reasonable cause to detain you while police look into it.
Second-degree misdemeanor.
Licensed work without a Florida license is a felony during the emergency
Florida DBPR lists removing a fallen tree and hauling debris as storm services that don’t need a DBPR license, but roof repair, new roofs, windows, plumbing and electrical work do, and an out-of-state license doesn’t count. Unlicensed contracting is normally a first-degree misdemeanor. During a declared state of emergency it becomes a felony. DBPR may stop the job and says its teams may run door-to-door sweeps with law enforcement.
Third-degree felony during a declared emergency, plus possible stop-work orders and fines.
Unlicensed work means you may not get paid
If the scope of a job needs a Florida contractor license and you didn’t hold one when the contract was signed, the contract can’t be enforced by you, in law or in equity. You also have no lien or bond claim for the labor and materials you put in. Work that needs no state license, like plain fallen-tree removal, isn’t “unlicensed” under this rule, but a roof tarp or repair added to the same ticket can be.
Unenforceable contract and no lien rights for the unlicensed contractor.
Out-of-state crews need workers’ comp that reaches Florida
Florida exempts an out-of-state employer only if its home-state policy covers the crew while in Florida, the home state recognizes Florida’s rules in return, and the work is temporary: no more than 10 consecutive days or 25 total days in a calendar year. An employer who must carry Florida coverage and doesn’t faces a stop-work order covering all of its Florida worksites.
Stop-work order, plus a penalty of 2x the premium you should have paid (at least $1,000) and $1,000 a day for working under the order.
Don’t prepare, file or negotiate a homeowner’s claim
Florida defines a public adjuster as anyone who, for pay, prepares, completes or files a claim for an insured, or helps them negotiate its settlement, however they describe the service. Only licensed public adjusters and attorneys may do it. A contractor may explain its own bid for the work to the homeowner or the insurer. Contractors also may not interpret policy provisions or advise a homeowner about their coverage (§ 489.147(2)(d)).
Third-degree felony; each act is a separate offense. Up to $10,000 per act (or $20,000 per act during an emergency) for certain roof-claim inducements.
No assignment of benefits on newer policies
A homeowner may not assign any post-loss benefit under a residential or commercial property policy issued on or after January 1, 2023. Any attempt is void and unenforceable. This came out of the December 2022 special session (SB 2-A). In practice: you bill the homeowner, they deal with their own insurer, and you wait on them to pay.
An AOB on a covered policy is void, so you may have no right to collect from the insurer.
No deductible waivers, gifts or referral fees
Contractors may not offer rebates, gifts, cash or a waiver of the insurance deductible in exchange for a roof inspection or a roof claim, and may not pay or take referral fees for work paid by insurance. Florida law describes paying, waiving or rebating a deductible to defraud as insurance fraud.
Up to $10,000 per violation; deductible fraud is a third-degree felony.
Door-to-door work needs permits
Florida requires a home solicitation sale permit from the county clerk, with fingerprints sent to FDLE and a sheriff’s background check, for door-to-door sales of goods or services over $25. Counties add their own rules: unincorporated Santa Rosa County requires a county solicitation permit and an ID badge before you canvass, and the sheriff enforces it.
Soliciting without the permit is unlawful under state law and county ordinance.
Price gouging rules apply to services
In the emergency area, a price is presumed unconscionable if it grossly exceeds the average price in the 30 days before the declaration, unless added costs or market trends explain it. That covers services and equipment needed because of the storm. The Attorney General and state attorneys enforce it.
Civil penalties up to $10,000 per willful violation.
What this means for a tree crew
Cutting and hauling a fallen tree generally doesn’t need a Florida DBPR license. Almost everything around it can still get you in trouble: offering work without a business tax receipt, knocking doors without a permit, tarping or repairing a roof, telling a homeowner what their policy covers, or “helping” with their claim for a fee.
Florida residential policies issued since 2023 don’t allow assignment of benefits, so your customer is the homeowner. Give them a complete, itemized invoice package for their own claim, collect the deductible like you always do, and never offer to waive it.
If you’re already licensed and registered in Florida, keep copies of your license, business tax receipt, insurance and permits in the truck.
General information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules vary. Before you take storm work in Florida, talk to a licensed Florida attorney.
Sources
- Florida Executive Order 26-212 (Hurricane Isaias state of emergency, Oct. 10, 2026)
- Fla. Stat. § 501.160 (unconscionable prices during a declared emergency; business tax receipt required to offer services)
- Fla. Stat. § 489.127 (unlicensed contracting; felony during a declared state of emergency)
- Florida DBPR Hurricane Guide (which storm services need a state license; unlicensed-activity sweeps)
- Florida DBPR emergency orders and unlicensed-activity reporting
- Fla. Stat. § 489.128 (contracts by an unlicensed contractor are unenforceable by that contractor; no lien or bond claim) Applies only where the scope of work needs a state contractor license; work that needs no state license (like plain tree removal) is not “unlicensed” under this section.
- Fla. Stat. § 713.02(7) (no construction lien for a contractor who is unlicensed under § 489.128)
- Fla. Stat. § 440.094 (out-of-state workers’ comp: “temporarily” means no more than 10 consecutive days or 25 total days in a calendar year)
- Fla. Stat. § 440.107(7) (stop-work order; penalty of 2x the premium owed, minimum $1,000; $1,000 a day for working under a stop-work order)
- Fla. Stat. § 626.854 (“public adjuster” defined; what non-licensees may not do for pay)
- Fla. Stat. § 626.8738 (unlicensed public adjusting is a third-degree felony; each act a separate offense)
- Fla. Stat. § 489.147 (prohibited property-insurance practices by contractors)
- Fla. Stat. § 627.7152 (assignment agreements; subsection 13 voids assignments under policies issued on or after Jan. 1, 2023) Enacted in the December 2022 special session (SB 2-A, ch. 2022-271).
- Fla. Stat. § 501.022 (home solicitation sale permit, fingerprints and background check)
- Santa Rosa County solicitation permit application (Clerk of Court)
- Santa Rosa County Code of Ordinances (solicitation and canvassing; itinerant vendors)
- Fla. Stat. § 501.2075 (civil penalty up to $10,000 per willful violation)
- Florida Attorney General (price gouging reports)
- Florida Department of Financial Services (public adjuster licensing, insurance consumer help)