Agricultural Dealer's Licenses FAQ

If your supplier is a Florida producer or acts as an agent for a Florida producer and you purchase agricultural products for resale and pay for such purchases with other than U.S. cash currency or a cash equivalent (money order, cashier's check, wire transfer, electronic funds transfer or debit or credit card), you must be licensed and bonded as a dealer in agricultural products.

Every agricultural product grown in Florida is covered, except citrus (other than limes), tobacco and sugarcane.

The purpose of the Florida License and Bond Law is 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.

You must complete an Application for an Agricultural Products Dealer License[ ]. The applicant must pay a license fee and provide a surety bond or certificate of deposit. The minimum bond or certificate of deposit requirement is $5,000 and maximum requirement is $100,000 depending on the volume of purchases covered under the law. Specifics for determining bond requirements and license fees required are found on the application form.

Yes, there are four specific exemptions to the law:

• Farmers or groups of farmers in the sale of agricultural products grown by themselves.
• A dealer in agricultural products who pays at the time of purchase with United States cash currency or a cash equivalent, such as a money order, cashier's check, wire transfer, electronic funds transfer, or debit or credit card.
• A dealer in agricultural products who operates as a bonded licensee under the federal Packers and Stockyards Act.
• Dealers who purchase less than $1,000 worth of agricultural products from Florida producers or their agents or representatives during the peak month of such purchases within the calendar year.

You may request that we assist you in the audit of your records to verify/confirm your exemption.

Under the Florida Agricultural License and Bond Law, any person, partnership or corporation doing business in Florida by buying, receiving, soliciting, handling or negotiating agricultural products from Florida producers or their agents for resale or processing for sale must be licensed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) unless exempt.

No, FDACS does not write agricultural bonds. Below is a list of surety bond brokers who have assisted agricultural dealers in obtaining bonds. FDACS does not recommend any one of these brokers over another, and there may be other brokers in Florida that you would like to contact. This is simply a list of brokers that we know have dealt in the area of agricultural bonds.

Please send notification of your new address on your company letterhead to the address listed below. Please include your file number in the subject line of your letter.

Division of Consumer Services 
Bureau of Compliance
Agricultural Dealer's Licenses
The Rhodes Building
2005 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800

For a list of Florida agricultural dealers that currently have at least one outstanding claim for non-payment filed against them use our online searchable database.

You can file a claim against an unlicensed dealer; however, since there is no bond against which FDACS may proceed on your behalf, the chances are very slim that we would be able to assist you in recovering the costs for your agricultural products. We recommend that you do business only with dealers that are licensed and bonded.