Agricultural License and Bond

Mission and Goals

Any person who is engaged within the state in the business of buying, receiving, soliciting, handling, or negotiating agricultural products from or for Florida producers, or their agents, must be licensed and bonded. The Bureau of Agricultural Dealer's Licenses is responsible for the licensing of dealers in agricultural products. The Florida License and Bond Law is intended to facilitate the marketing of Florida agricultural products by encouraging a better understanding between buyers and sellers and by providing a marketplace that is relatively free of unfair trading practices and defaults. The purpose of the law is to help assure that the producers of products covered by the law receive proper accounting and payment for their products.

Who Must Comply With the Law?

Any person, unless specifically exempt, who is engaged within the state in the business of buying, receiving, soliciting, handling, or negotiating agricultural products from or for Florida producers, or their agents, must be licensed and bonded. Producers who buy or handle agricultural products from other producers or their agents for resale must also comply.

License Requirements

In order to secure a license, one must:
-- File a properly completed application
-- Pay the required license fee
-- Post an adequate surety bond or certificate of deposit

Complaints

Any producer or producer's agent who feels he has been damaged by a dealer's failure to make proper accounting or payment for agricultural products may file a complaint. Complaints must be filed within six months of the sale or delivery of the agricultural product. There is a minimum claim of $500 for complaints filed under the License and Bond Law.

The Complainant must provide a $50 filing fee for each complaint filed with the Department. The filing fee will be added to the total complaint amount. In the event that the Complainant is successful, the Respondent will be responsible for reimbursing the filing fee as part of the settlement.

Online Database Search

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Agricultural Dealer's Licenses, provides an online listing of those licensed to conduct business as Dealer in Agricultural Products in Florida. Every effort has been made to present the appropriate information as accurately as possible. The status of a license can change at any time. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services makes no warranty concerning the use of the online list and recommends that contact be made with the Tallahassee office for current information. The date shown in the extreme right hand column of the online listing is the inception date of the license and bond of the dealer and continues in effect for one year thereafter, unless canceled. Search for Licensed Dealers.