Florida Department of Revenue Power of Attorney: Form DR-835

Florida Form DR-835, the Department of Revenue’s Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, is the two-page form you file to let an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent talk to the Florida Department of Revenue about your taxes, look at your records, and act on your behalf in audits, protests, refund claims, and collection matters.¹ Florida tax return data is confidential, so until a valid DR-835 is on file the department will not engage with anyone but you.²

Who You Can Appoint

The Declaration of Representative on page two is limited to three professional categories, and each person you name has to sign it personally:¹

An attorney in good standing with the bar of the highest court in their jurisdiction.
A certified public accountant licensed in their jurisdiction.
An enrolled agent authorized to practice before the IRS.

A friend, bookkeeper, or family member who does not fit one of these categories cannot sign the declaration, and the department will not deal with them.

Section 1: Your Information

Have these ready before you start:

Your full legal name and address. For a business, use the name registered with the state.
Your federal ID number: SSN for an individual, FEIN for a business.
Your Florida tax registration number: sales tax number, reemployment tax account number, or business partner number. Leaving this blank can stop the department from processing the form.¹

If you have multiple Florida tax accounts, make sure the numbers you list match the tax types you authorize in Section 3.

Section 2: Representative Information

List each representative separately with full name, firm name if any, mailing address, phone, fax, and email. Every person you appoint has to appear in Section 2 and sign page two individually.¹

Section 3: Defining the Tax Matters

This is where most DR-835s go wrong. Section 3 has three columns, and all three need real detail:

Type of tax, listed one by one: Sales Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Fuel Tax, and so on.
Years or periods covered, written as specific years or quarters.
Tax matters authorized: audit, protest, refund claim, or collection matter.

Vague entries can get the form returned, or leave your representative turned away at the point they try to act.¹

Within the scope you define, the authority is broad. Unless you limit it in writing on the form, the representative can sign agreements, execute waivers of assessment restrictions, consent to extensions of the statutory period for assessment or refund claims, and enter into closing agreements under section 213.21, Florida Statutes.¹ A closing agreement binds you once signed, so treat Section 3 as a real grant of power and write only what you actually want the representative to handle.

Section 4: Continuing Reemployment Tax Agent

Section 4 is for one situation only: appointing someone to handle your reemployment tax account on an ongoing basis. If that is what you want, complete Section 4 and skip Section 3 for that purpose. Do not fill in both for the same appointment.¹

You also choose what type of mail the agent receives:

Primary mail: everything on the reemployment tax account, including rate notices, quarterly reports, benefit information, and claims correspondence.
Reporting mail: the Employer’s Quarterly Report (Form RT-6), certification documents, and reporting-related correspondence only.
Rate mail: tax rate notices and rate correspondence only.
Claims mail: notices of benefits paid and benefit-related discussions with the department.

For a one-time reemployment tax matter such as contesting a rate or handling an audit, skip Section 4 and use Section 3 to describe the specific matter. If the same person needs both a continuing role and a one-off protest, file a separate DR-835 for the one-off.¹

Signing the Form

Both the taxpayer side and the representative side must sign. An unsigned or undated form is returned unprocessed.¹

Individuals sign and date Section 8 on page one. For a business, the signer has to be someone with legal authority to bind the entity: a corporate officer, partner, managing member, or trustee. That person is declaring under penalties of perjury that they have that authority.¹

If the taxpayer is deceased or incapacitated, a court-appointed fiduciary (executor, administrator, or guardian) can sign. Keep your court appointment documents available in case the department asks for proof of authority.

Where and How to Submit It

The department accepts mailed originals, photocopies, and faxes. It does not accept emailed submissions, and it does not accept other types of powers of attorney in place of the DR-835.¹ There is no online filing option.

Where you send it depends on the appointment:

For a specific matter like an audit or protest, mail or fax the form directly to the FDOR office or employee handling your case. You can send it with any related correspondence.
For a continuing reemployment tax agent under Section 4, mail to Florida Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 6510, Tallahassee, FL 32314-6510, or fax to 850-488-5997.

Processing can take several weeks, so send the form well ahead of any deadline. If your representative needs to act on a matter already in motion, getting the DR-835 to the employee handling the case is faster than routing it through a central address.

Replacing or Canceling a Prior Power of Attorney

Filing a new DR-835 does not automatically cancel an earlier one, even when the new form covers the same taxes and periods. Both will stay active unless you take an extra step.¹

To revoke a prior POA when you file a new one, check the revocation box in Section 7 of the new DR-835 and attach a copy of the old power of attorney you are canceling. Miss either step and the prior representative keeps access to your confidential tax information.¹

You can also revoke without filing a replacement. Send the department a signed, dated written statement revoking the representative’s authority. Direct it to the FDOR office handling your matter, or to Central Records if no specific matter is pending. The revocation takes effect when the department receives it.

1
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Department of Revenue DR-835 – Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 213.053 – Confidentiality and Information Sharing