Chapter 496, Florida Statutes: Solicitation of Contributions Act

Florida’s Solicitation of Contributions Act, Chapter 496 of the Florida Statutes, requires almost anyone who asks for charitable donations in or from Florida to register with the state, disclose how the money is used, and follow strict rules against misleading donors.¹ The Act reaches charities, paid fundraisers, and for-profit businesses that tie promotions to a charitable cause. If your pitch tells donors the money will do good, you are almost certainly covered.

Who and What the Act Covers

Chapter 496 defines a “charitable organization” broadly. Any person or entity that presents itself as existing for a charitable, educational, scientific, public health, environmental, civic, or similar purpose, or that uses a charitable appeal to raise money, falls within the definition, regardless of formal structure.²

“Solicitation” is just as broad. It covers any request for money, property, or anything of value when the ask implies the contribution serves a charitable purpose: direct mail, phone calls, television and radio ads, website donation pages, ticket sales, and merchandise sold with a portion supposedly going to a cause. A solicitation counts the moment the request goes out, whether or not anyone actually gives.²

The law applies to Florida-based organizations and to out-of-state groups that solicit Florida residents. A local chapter fundraising on behalf of an out-of-state parent organization is covered too.¹

Registering With FDACS

Before asking for a single dollar in Florida, a charitable organization must file an initial registration statement with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), unless an exemption applies. The registration must then be renewed every year.³

The initial filing requires:

A copy of the organization’s IRS Form 990, Form 990-EZ (with all attached schedules), or an equivalent financial statement for the preceding fiscal year. A brand-new organization files a current-year budget instead.
The organization’s name, the name it will use to solicit, the purposes contributions will fund, and the individuals in charge of solicitation activities.
For an initial registration only, a statement of when and where the organization was formed, plus a copy of its federal tax-exemption determination letter.
The names and addresses of any professional solicitor, fundraising consultant, or commercial co-venturer working with the organization, and the compensation terms.

Registration fees are tiered against the organization’s financial report from the prior year. FDACS publishes the schedule, and newly formed organizations with no financial history pay the lowest tier.³

Who Is Exempt From Registration

Section 496.406 lists four exemptions, and only four:⁴

Solicitation for a specific named individual, provided every dollar collected goes to that person with no deductions and the solicitor follows the Act’s disclosure rules.
Solicitation limited to an organization’s existing members. Someone who became a “member” only by responding to a solicitation does not count; the membership has to predate the ask.
Any division, post, or chapter of a veterans’ service organization that holds a federal charter under Title 36 of the United States Code.
Small charities that receive less than $50,000 in total contributions during a fiscal year, but only if every fundraiser is an uncompensated volunteer, member, or officer and no portion of the organization’s income benefits any officer, member, or paid fundraiser. Once contributions reach $50,000, the organization has 30 days to register.

Religious institutions, educational institutions, state agencies, and other governmental entities are not listed among the exemptions in the current text of Section 496.406. Any organization relying on an exemption outside the four above should check the statute or consult counsel before deciding not to register.

Rules for Paid Fundraisers

Chapter 496 draws a line between professional solicitors, who directly ask donors for money on behalf of a charity, and professional fundraising consultants, who advise on strategy without personally asking. Both must register with FDACS before performing any services.⁵

A professional solicitor must also file a $50,000 surety bond with FDACS at the time of initial application or renewal. The bond runs for the full registration period and is payable to the state and to any person harmed by a violation. It can be structured as a rider on a larger blanket liability bond, but the surety’s aggregate liability can never exceed $50,000.⁵

Every agreement between a professional solicitor and a charity must be in writing. The contract must be signed by two authorized officials of the charity, at least one of whom sits on the governing body, along with the solicitor’s authorized contracting officer. It must state the campaign’s charitable purpose, the guaranteed minimum percentage of gross receipts going to the charity (if any), and the percentage of gross revenue paid to the solicitor.⁵

At least 15 days before a solicitation campaign begins, the professional solicitor must file a solicitation notice with FDACS, with a copy of the contract attached.⁵

Rules for Commercial Co-Venturers

A commercial co-venturer is a for-profit business that ties a sales promotion to a charitable cause, such as a retailer advertising that a portion of each purchase benefits a named charity. Co-venturers do not register the way professional solicitors do, but they still have obligations.⁶

Before launching a charitable sales promotion, the co-venturer must have written consent from the charity whose name will be used. After the promotion ends, it must prepare a final accounting and keep it on file for three years. The charity can request the accounting at any time, and FDACS can demand a copy within 10 working days of asking. Failing to pay the charity its share of the proceeds on time is itself a prohibited act under the statute.⁶

The Required Disclosure Statement

Every registered charitable organization must include a specific statement on its solicitation materials. The statute sets the exact language:

“A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.”¹

The statement must also carry the Division of Consumer Services’ toll-free number and website. In multi-piece mailings it must appear prominently. Online, it must be displayed on any page that lists a mailing address for contributions, shows a phone number for processing donations, or accepts online donations.¹

Donors can also ask any registered charity for a written financial statement, which the charity must provide within 14 days. The statement must cover the most recent fiscal year and show total contributions raised, the costs of raising them, and the amount actually spent on the stated charitable purpose.

What the Act Prohibits

Section 496.415 catalogs the conduct that gets a charity, solicitor, or co-venturer in trouble. The core prohibitions:⁷

Filing misleading or inaccurate information with FDACS, the public, or an investigator.
Claiming that another person or organization sponsors or endorses a solicitation without their written consent.
Falsely presenting yourself as a member of a charity, a branch of the U.S. military, or a law enforcement or emergency services organization.
Leading donors to believe proceeds will go to charity when they will not.
Telling donors the charity will receive a larger share of contributions than what was filed with FDACS.
Using the fact that an organization is registered with the state to suggest government endorsement or approval.
Telling donors their contribution is tax-deductible when it is not.

Several of these, particularly unauthorized endorsements, impersonation, and use of confusingly similar names, are treated as immediate threats to public welfare and can trigger an emergency cease-and-desist order that stops all solicitation activity at once.⁸

Penalties for Violating the Act

FDACS has broad enforcement authority. On finding a violation, the department can impose any combination of the following:⁸

Administrative fines of up to $5,000 per violation. For a 501(c)(3) that simply failed to register or file for an exemption, the cap drops to $500 per violation. These are per-violation amounts, not daily penalties.
Fines of up to $10,000 per violation when fraud or deception is involved.
A cease-and-desist order halting all fundraising activity.
Denial, suspension, or cancellation of a registration.
Probation for a set period, on conditions the department specifies.
Cancellation of an exemption previously granted under Section 496.406.

Beyond administrative sanctions, FDACS is required to refer any substantiated criminal violation to the appropriate prosecutor. Charitable fraud carried out through the mail or by electronic communication can also be charged as federal mail fraud or wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1341, which carries up to 20 years in federal prison, and up to 30 years if the scheme involves a presidentially declared disaster or affects a financial institution.⁹

Federal Telemarketing Rules on Top of Chapter 496

If a charity uses a paid telemarketer to call across state lines, the Federal Trade Commission’s Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) applies in addition to Florida law. The TSR reaches for-profit telemarketers making interstate calls on behalf of charities. It does not apply to volunteer callers or to the charities themselves.¹⁰

Under the TSR, the caller must immediately identify the charity and state that the purpose of the call is to ask for a donation. The caller cannot misrepresent the charity’s purpose, overstate how much of the money reaches the charity, falsely claim donations are tax-deductible, or misdescribe their affiliation. Robocalls and prerecorded messages are barred unless the consumer is a current member or past donor, and even then the call must offer an opt-out. Calls cannot be placed before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., and telemarketers must keep scripts and promotional materials for at least two years.¹⁰

The national Do Not Call Registry does not cover calls made on behalf of charities. But if a consumer tells a telemarketer to stop calling on behalf of a specific charity, the telemarketer must keep a charity-specific do-not-call list and honor that request from that point forward.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 496 – Solicitation of Contributions Act
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 496.404 – Definitions
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 496.405 – Registration of Charitable Organizations or Sponsors
4
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 496.406 – Exemption From Registration
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 496.410 – Professional Solicitors
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 496 – Solicitation of Contributions Act
7
Florida Senate. Florida Code 496.415 – Prohibited Acts
8
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 496.419 – Administrative Proceedings and Penalties
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1341 – Frauds and Swindles
10
Federal Trade Commission. Telemarketing Sales Rule Requires Clarity on Charity