If you live in Florida or spend real time here, a handful of state laws are worth knowing before they catch you off guard. The Florida laws you should know cover driving and insurance, firearms, alcohol, housing and homestead protection, and a set of consumer rules that can save you money when a purchase or a rental goes wrong.
Driving Rules That Catch People Off Guard
Florida’s default speed limits are 30 mph in business and residential areas and 55 mph everywhere else, unless a sign says otherwise. Interstates and limited-access highways are typically posted at 70 mph based on traffic studies, so follow the signs rather than a single statewide number. School zones drop to 20 mph when children are present, and you can also be ticketed for driving too slowly if you impede traffic.1FindLaw. Florida Code 316.183 – Unlawful Speed
Every driver and front-seat passenger must wear a seatbelt, and any passenger under 18 must be belted no matter where they sit.2Florida Department of Transportation. Occupant Protection Frequently Asked Questions Children through age three need a separate carrier or integrated car seat; kids four and five can use a booster.3Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.613 – Child Restraint Requirements The driver carries the responsibility for every underage passenger.
Texting while driving is a primary offense. An officer can pull you over for it alone. A first ticket is a nonmoving violation; a second within five years of a prior conviction becomes a moving violation with points on your license.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 316.305 – Wireless Communications Devices
The Move Over Law requires you to change lanes away from any emergency vehicle, sanitation truck, utility service vehicle, tow truck, or disabled car stopped on the roadside with its lights on. If you cannot safely move over, slow to at least 20 mph below the posted speed limit.5Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.126 – Operation of Vehicles and Actions of Pedestrians on Approach of Authorized Emergency Vehicle
Before registering a vehicle here you must carry at least $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability.6Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements PIP pays your own medical costs after a crash regardless of fault; PDL covers damage you cause to someone else’s property. Lenders and lease companies often demand more.
DUI
You commit a DUI in Florida with a blood- or breath-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher, or when alcohol or drugs impair your normal faculties. A first conviction brings a $500 to $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail, at least 50 hours of community service, and a 10-day vehicle impoundment. Penalties climb sharply if your BAC was 0.15 or higher or a minor was in the car: $1,000 to $2,000 in fines, up to nine months in jail, and a mandatory ignition interlock for at least six months.7Justia Law. Florida Code 316.193 – Driving Under the Influence; Penalties
Firearms
Since July 1, 2023, Florida has allowed permitless concealed carry. You no longer need a state license to carry a concealed handgun, electronic weapon, or knife, provided you meet the same eligibility rules a license would require: at least 21, no felony convictions, not subject to a domestic violence injunction, and not an unlawful user of controlled substances. Active-duty military members may qualify younger.8Justia Law. Florida Code 790.01 – Carrying Concealed Weapons or Concealed Firearms
Carrying while ineligible is still a serious crime. A concealed firearm carried by someone ineligible is a third-degree felony; a concealed weapon other than a firearm is a first-degree misdemeanor.8Justia Law. Florida Code 790.01 – Carrying Concealed Weapons or Concealed Firearms Many people still get the license because it offers reciprocity with other states and speeds up purchase background checks.
Open carry of a firearm remains illegal in most situations. The exceptions are narrow: while actively hunting, fishing, or camping (or traveling directly to and from those activities), at a gun range, or in your home or place of business. Self-defense sprays and nonlethal stun guns may be openly carried.9FindLaw. Florida Code 790.053 – Open Carrying of Weapons
Stand Your Ground
Florida imposes no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense. Non-deadly force is allowed when you reasonably believe it necessary to defend against imminent unlawful force. Deadly force is justified when you reasonably believe it necessary to prevent imminent death, serious bodily harm, or a forcible felony, as long as you are somewhere you have a right to be and are not engaged in criminal activity.10Justia Law. Florida Code 776.012 – Use or Threatened Use of Force in Defense of Person Inside your home, residence, or vehicle, the law presumes you had a reasonable fear of death or serious harm when an intruder unlawfully entered or tried to enter by force.11Florida Senate. Florida Code Chapter 776 – Justifiable Use of Force That presumption makes self-defense claims in a dwelling significantly stronger than claims in public.
Alcohol and Public Conduct
The legal drinking age is 21. Selling, giving, or serving alcohol to anyone under 21 is a second-degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a first-degree misdemeanor for a repeat offense within a year.12Florida Senate. Florida Code 562.11 – Selling, Giving, or Serving Alcoholic Beverages to Person Under Age 21
Open containers of alcohol are prohibited inside vehicles, and both drivers and passengers can be cited. An open container in the driver’s area is presumed to belong to the driver unless a passenger physically has it. Drivers get a moving citation; passengers get a nonmoving one.13Online Sunshine. Florida Code 316.1936 – Possession of Open Containers of Alcoholic Beverages in Vehicles Passengers in paid-transport vehicles and people in motor homes are exempt.
Being drunk in public is not, by itself, a crime here. The line is disorderly intoxication: your intoxication has to endanger another person or property, or you have to cause a public disturbance while intoxicated in a public place.14Florida Senate. Florida Code 856.011 – Disorderly Intoxication Quietly heading home is legal; stumbling into traffic or picking a fight is not.
Homestead, Rentals, and Trespass
Florida’s homestead protection is among the strongest in the country and works two ways. First, Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution shields your primary residence from forced sale by most judgment creditors. Credit card debt, medical bills, and lawsuit judgments generally cannot force you out. The protection covers up to half an acre inside a city or 160 acres in unincorporated areas, with exceptions for property taxes, mortgages, and debts tied to work done on the home.15FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art. X, 4 – Homestead; Exemptions
Second, the homestead exemption cuts your property tax bill by up to $50,000. The first $25,000 of assessed value is exempt from all property taxes, including school district taxes. An additional exemption of up to $25,000 applies to assessed value between $50,000 and $75,000, but only for non-school taxes.16Florida Department of Revenue. Property Tax Information for Homestead Exemption You have to apply with your county property appraiser and establish the property as your permanent residence.
Security Deposits
Residential rentals are governed by Chapter 83.17Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 83 – Landlord and Tenant The deadlines around security deposits are what every renter should memorize. After you move out, your landlord has 15 days to return the full deposit if there’s no damage claim. If the landlord intends to keep any of it, they have to send you written notice by certified mail within 30 days explaining the specific claim. Miss that 30-day window, and the landlord forfeits the right to withhold anything. You then have 15 days from receiving that notice to object in writing.18Florida Senate. Florida Code 83.49 – Deposit Money or Advance Rent; Duty of Landlord and Tenant
Trespassing
Entering or remaining on someone’s property without permission after being warned, or when “No Trespassing” signs are posted, is a first-degree misdemeanor. The charge becomes a third-degree felony if you’re armed with a firearm or dangerous weapon, or if the property is a posted construction site, commercial agricultural operation, or domestic violence center.19Justia Law. Florida Code 810.09 – Trespass on Property Other Than Structure or Conveyance
Taxes, Wages, and Consumer Protections
Florida does not tax personal income. Article VII, Section 5 of the Florida Constitution bars any income tax on natural persons who are residents and citizens of the state, so wages, investment gains, and retirement distributions are all off-limits at the state level.20Online Sunshine. Florida Code Title XIV, Chapter 220 – Income Tax Code Federal income tax still applies.
The state minimum wage reaches $15.00 per hour in 2026, with tipped employees paid at least $11.98 per hour before tips. After 2026, annual adjustments track inflation rather than fixed dollar increases.
Deceptive Trade Practices
The Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act protects you from false advertising, misleading sales tactics, and misrepresentation of goods and services.21Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.201 – Short Title If a business’s deceptive conduct causes a financial loss, you can sue for actual damages plus attorney’s fees and court costs.22Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.211 – Other Individual Remedies The fee-shifting provision is what makes smaller claims worth bringing.
Lemon Law
Florida’s Lemon Law applies to new motor vehicles used mainly for personal or household purposes. If a defect substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle and the manufacturer cannot fix it after a reasonable number of attempts, you’re entitled to a full refund or a replacement, and you have an unconditional right to choose the refund.23Florida Senate. Florida Code 681.104 – Nonconformity of Motor Vehicles
A “reasonable number of attempts” is presumed when the same problem has been taken in at least three times and the manufacturer has been given a final chance, or when the vehicle has been out of service for repairs 30 or more cumulative days during the Lemon Law rights period. After three failed repairs, send the manufacturer written notice by registered or express mail before the final attempt triggers your refund or replacement rights.23Florida Senate. Florida Code 681.104 – Nonconformity of Motor Vehicles
Door-to-Door Sales
One federal rule matters here too. If a salesperson comes to your home and you buy something worth more than $25, you have three business days to cancel for any reason, and the seller must give you written notice of that cancellation right at the time of sale.24Federal Trade Commission. Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Home or Other Locations The rule does not cover purchases you make at a store, online, or by phone.