During Florida’s regular spiny lobster season, you can catch and keep six lobsters per person per day. That daily limit doubles to 12 per person during the two-day sport season at the end of July, with one big exception: in Monroe County (the Florida Keys) and Biscayne National Park, the mini-season limit stays at six. Every lobster you keep also has to meet a minimum size, and egg-bearing females can never be taken.
Regular Season Bag Limit
The regular recreational season runs from August 6 through March 31. Throughout that stretch, the daily bag limit is six spiny lobsters per person, statewide, with no geographic exceptions. Your possession limit on the water equals the daily bag limit, so six is also the most you can have with you while diving or on the boat.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Spiny Lobster
Sport Season (Mini-Season) Bag Limit
The sport season falls on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July. In 2026, those dates are July 29 and 30. For those two days, the daily bag limit depends on where you are:1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Spiny Lobster
- Monroe County and Biscayne National Park: 6 per person per day
- Rest of Florida: 12 per person per day
Possession works a little differently during mini-season. On day one, your total possession (on or off the water) matches the daily bag. On day two, on-the-water possession still matches the bag limit, but once you’re off the water you can possess double: up to 24 outside Monroe County, or up to 12 in Monroe County and Biscayne National Park.2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida Administrative Code Chapter 68B-24 – Spiny Lobster (Crawfish) and Slipper Lobster
During the two-day sport season, harvest is limited to diving or using a bully net or hoop net. No other methods count.2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida Administrative Code Chapter 68B-24 – Spiny Lobster (Crawfish) and Slipper Lobster
A Lobster Only Counts If It’s Legal
Not every lobster you catch counts toward your limit, because you can’t keep it in the first place unless it clears two tests.
The carapace, meaning the hard upper shell covering the head and body, must measure more than three inches. You measure from the front edge of the groove between the horns above the eyes, along the middle of the back, to the rear edge of the top of the carapace. You have to carry a measuring device in the water with you and check each lobster before removing it from the water. If it measures three inches or less, release it right there. The same three-inch rule applies in federal waters.3Legal Information Institute. Florida Admin Code 68B-24.003 – Minimum Size Limits4eCFR. 50 CFR 622.407 – Minimum Size Limits and Other Harvest Limitations
Egg-bearing females are off-limits regardless of size. Look for a bright orange to dark red egg mass under the tail. In federal waters, stripping eggs or possessing a lobster whose eggs or swimmerettes have been removed is also prohibited.4eCFR. 50 CFR 622.407 – Minimum Size Limits and Other Harvest Limitations
Lobsters must also be landed whole. Separating the tail from the body is illegal in state waters.2Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida Administrative Code Chapter 68B-24 – Spiny Lobster (Crawfish) and Slipper Lobster
Where You Can’t Take Any At All
The bag limit is zero in several places, year-round. Everglades National Park, Dry Tortugas National Park, no-take zones inside the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the Biscayne Bay/Card Sound Lobster Sanctuary, and the five Coral Reef Protection Areas in Biscayne National Park are all closed to lobster harvest at all times.1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Spiny Lobster
Additional closures apply during the two-day sport season. All of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is closed to lobster harvest, and night diving for lobster is banned throughout Monroe County. FWC defines diving broadly here as swimming at or below the surface.5Florida State Parks. Regulations for Recreational Harvest of Lobster in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park1Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Spiny Lobster
Federal Waters (Beyond the State Line)
Florida’s state waters end nine miles out in the Gulf of Mexico and three miles out in the Atlantic. Past that, you’re in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone, where NOAA rules apply. For most purposes, the federal bag limits track Florida’s. Regular season is six per person per day in the EEZ off Florida. Sport season keeps the same geographic split: 12 per person off most of Florida, six per person off Monroe County.6eCFR. 50 CFR 622.408 – Bag/Possession Limits
One added wrinkle offshore: if you’re diving for lobster at night (defined as between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise), you’re capped at the recreational bag limit of six, regardless of any permits your vessel carries.6eCFR. 50 CFR 622.408 – Bag/Possession Limits
License and Permit You Need First
Before any of the bag limits above matter, you need two things in hand: a Florida recreational saltwater fishing license and a separate spiny lobster permit. The annual spiny lobster permit is $5 for both residents and nonresidents. A five-year permit costs $25 and lines up with a five-year fishing license.7Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 379.354 – Recreational Licenses, Permits, and Authorization Numbers; Fees Established
The saltwater fishing license itself is $17 per year for Florida residents. Nonresidents pay $47 for a year, $30 for seven days, or $17 for three days.8Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Saltwater Recreational Licenses and Permits
Some people are exempt from both, including children under 16, Florida residents 65 or older with proof of age and residency, passengers on licensed charter or party boats, and anyone aboard a vessel that carries a recreational saltwater vessel license.9Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Do I Need a License or Permit?
Penalties for Going Over
FWC officers patrol lobster harvesting areas heavily, especially during the sport season. Undersized lobsters, exceeding the bag limit, and taking egg-bearing females each carry their own potential penalties in state and federal waters.
In federal waters, NOAA’s Office of General Counsel enforces the rules using civil monetary penalties adjusted for inflation each year, with fine amounts set by the Southeast Summary Settlement Schedule for Florida waters. Repeat violators or anyone trafficking in illegally harvested lobster face steeper consequences, including possible criminal prosecution under federal fishery laws.
Tampering with someone else’s commercial lobster trap is treated separately, as theft under Florida law, with fines up to $5,000 and possible loss of all saltwater fishing privileges.10Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 379.3671 – Spiny Lobster Trap Regulation
Carry a gauge, measure every lobster before it comes out of the water, count as you go, and check FWC’s website before the season for any updates.