Florida financial disclosure requirements apply to most public officers, candidates, and certain government employees, who must file an annual statement of their income, assets, and liabilities under Chapter 112, Part III of the Florida Statutes. The form you file, what you report, and when you report it depend on the office you hold. Missing the July 1 deadline triggers an automatic fine of $25 per day, and more serious violations can carry civil penalties up to $20,000 or removal from office.
Who Has to File
Florida uses two disclosure forms, and the one that applies to you depends on the authority of your position.
Form 1 Filers
Form 1, the Statement of Financial Interests, is the more common form. You file Form 1 if you are a local officer elected in a county, school district, or special district, an appointed member of a local planning, zoning, code enforcement, or pension board, or a person holding a position with operational authority such as a county or city manager, chief of police, fire chief, school superintendent, or purchasing agent with authority above a statutory spending threshold.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.3145 – Disclosure of Financial Interests and Clients Represented Before Agencies Some state-level employees also file Form 1, including assistant state attorneys, assistant public defenders, administrative law judges, and senior staff in the Governor’s office and state agencies.
Form 6 Filers
Form 6, the Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests, is reserved for higher-level officials whose positions are covered by Article II, Section 8 of the Florida Constitution. That group includes the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, members of the Cabinet, state legislators, state attorneys, public defenders, and members of statewide boards with governing (not merely advisory) authority. Starting January 1, 2024, mayors and elected members of municipal governing bodies must also file Form 6 rather than Form 1. Members of the Commission on Ethics itself are now subject to Form 6 as well.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.3144 – Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests
What Each Form Requires You to Disclose
Form 1 asks for a focused snapshot. You report the name and address of every income source that paid you more than $2,500 during the year, along with any secondary sources of income from businesses in which you hold more than a 5% interest and received more than $5,000. You also list all Florida real property in which you hold more than a 5% interest, any intangible personal property worth more than $10,000, and every creditor to whom you owed more than $10,000. Interests in certain regulated businesses (banks, utilities, state-regulated entities) are disclosed separately.3Florida Commission on Ethics. 2025 Form 1 Instructions
Form 6 goes deeper. It requires your full net worth as of a specific date, a description and value of every asset worth more than $1,000 (household goods can be lumped together), every liability exceeding $1,000, and every income source that paid you more than $1,000. The lower thresholds mean Form 6 captures significantly more financial activity than Form 1.4Florida Commission on Ethics. 2025 Form 6 Instructions
Elected constitutional officers and elected municipal officers who file either form must also certify that they completed four hours of ethics training during the year.3Florida Commission on Ethics. 2025 Form 1 Instructions
When and How to File
Everyone required to file must do so by July 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year.5Florida Commission on Ethics. Financial Disclosure Information Candidates for local office file at the same time they submit their qualifying papers. New officers and employees must file within 30 days of starting in their position.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.3145 – Disclosure of Financial Interests and Clients Represented Before Agencies
Filing is entirely electronic. Since January 1, 2024, all disclosures must go through the Commission on Ethics’ Electronic Financial Disclosure Management System (EFDMS), and paper forms are no longer accepted. You register at the EFDMS portal using the email address your agency coordinator has on file, create a username and password, and then complete and submit your disclosure online.6Florida Commission on Ethics. Forms – Financial Disclosure
What Happens If You File Late
Miss July 1, and the Commission on Ethics sends a notice giving you until September 1 to file. If the form is still not filed or postmarked by September 1, an automatic fine of $25 per day begins running.5Florida Commission on Ethics. Financial Disclosure Information The fine accumulates daily and can climb to a substantial total before most filers realize the clock is running.
Collection has teeth. If you are still a public officer or employee and you owe an unpaid fine, the Commission can notify the Chief Financial Officer or your local governing body, which must then begin withholding up to 10 percent of each paycheck until the balance is paid. If you have already left public service, the Commission can seek wage garnishment through circuit court six months after the order becomes final, or refer the debt to a collection agency. The state has 20 years to collect an unpaid fine.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 112.31455 – Collection Methods for Unpaid Automatic Fines
Penalties for Substantive Violations
Automatic late-filing fines are separate from the penalties for actual violations of the ethics code, which are far more serious. Section 112.317 sets out consequences that vary by the type of person involved.
For public officers, the available penalties include removal or suspension from office, impeachment, public censure and reprimand, forfeiture of up to one-third of monthly salary for up to 12 months, a civil penalty up to $20,000, and restitution of any financial benefit gained through the violation.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.317 – Penalties
Employees face a parallel set of consequences: dismissal, suspension without pay for up to 90 days, demotion, salary reduction, and the same $20,000 civil penalty cap. Candidates can be disqualified from appearing on the ballot. Former officers and employees remain subject to public censure, civil penalties, and restitution for violations that occurred while they were in office.8Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.317 – Penalties
The Commission on Ethics does not impose these penalties directly in most cases. For impeachable officers other than the Governor, the Commission reports its findings and recommended discipline to the Governor, who has the power to invoke the penalties. If the subject is the Governor, the report goes to the Attorney General instead. For other public officers and employees, the Commission’s recommendation goes to the appropriate disciplinary authority.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.324 – Procedures on Complaints of Violations and Referrals
Who Is Exempt
Not everyone in government files a disclosure. The requirement targets people with meaningful authority over public resources or policy. The statute defines “local officer” and “state officer” with specific lists of covered positions, and if your role is not on those lists, you have no obligation to file.
One notable carve-out applies to advisory body members at the state level. The statute explicitly excludes members of advisory bodies from the definition of “state officer,” so if you sit on a statewide board that only makes recommendations without binding decision-making power, you do not file.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.3145 – Disclosure of Financial Interests and Clients Represented Before Agencies At the local level, the statute covers members of governing bodies, zoning boards, code enforcement boards, pension boards, and similar entities with real authority. A volunteer on a local committee with no regulatory or spending power generally falls outside the requirement.
Filing When You Leave Office
Your obligation does not end on your last day. Form 6 filers must submit a final disclosure within 60 days of leaving, covering January 1 of that year through their last day. Filing the final form does not excuse you from also filing the regular annual disclosure if you were still in your position on December 31 of the previous year.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 112.3144 – Full and Public Disclosure of Financial Interests Form 1 filers face the same 60-day final filing requirement.3Florida Commission on Ethics. 2025 Form 1 Instructions People who skip this step sometimes discover years later that fines have been accruing against them. When an elected municipal officer leaves before the end of a term, the person appointed to fill the vacancy inherits the Form 6 filing requirement for the remainder of that term.