Florida Livery License: FWC Permit, Insurance, and Penalties

In Florida, a livery license is the free annual permit issued by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that lets a business rent or lease vessels to the public. That is the only place “livery” appears as a defined term in Florida statutes, under Florida Statute 327.54.¹ If you searched for a livery license because you want to run a taxi, limousine, or car service, the state does not issue a single “livery” license for that; those operations sit under a different framework covered near the end of this article.

Who Needs the FWC Vessel Livery Permit

Any person or business that advertises a vessel for rent or lease in exchange for payment needs a livery permit before putting a boat on the water. The definition covers motorized boats, personal watercraft, pontoons, kayaks, and paddleboards. “Advertise” is read broadly and includes any medium used to promote availability.²

Two groups are excluded by statute. A person who loans a boat to someone they personally know, without advertising it publicly, is not a livery even if money is exchanged. Florida public and private schools and postsecondary institutions are also excluded.¹

How to Apply for the Livery Permit

The permit itself has no fee. It must be renewed every year, and it expires on the birthday of the livery’s official agent.³ The application is built around two forms: the Livery Permit Checklist (FWC 311) and the Livery Permit Certification Form (FWC 312).²

Alongside those forms, the application package requires:

A complete inventory of every vessel you offer for rent or lease.
Proof of insurance meeting the statutory minimums. Human-powered-only liveries are exempt from the insurance requirement.
Business creation records and a local business tax receipt, where applicable. Individual operators submit a government-issued photo ID instead.
Enough U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices on site to cover the total passenger capacity of every vessel in the fleet, plus all safety equipment required by Florida Statute 327.50.
Boating safety information signs, at least 187 square inches, displayed in a public-facing area of the business and matching the type of vessels rented.

Insurance the Livery Must Carry

The insurance bar is high. Every livery must carry a policy that covers at least $500,000 per person and $1 million per event for accidents, injuries, property damage, or other casualties arising from vessel operation. Proof of coverage has to be available for inspection at the rental location, and every renter must receive the insurance carrier’s name, address, and policy number.¹

You also have to address the renter’s own coverage. Florida gives you two paths. You can maintain a separate policy that insures the renter at the same $500,000 per person and $1 million per event level, or you can offer the renter the chance to purchase that coverage at a stated price. If the renter declines to buy, they must sign a detailed acknowledgment stating they understand they may have no insurance covering damages they cause during the rental.¹

Pre-Rental Safety Instruction

Before any vessel leaves the dock, every renter and every potential operator has to receive pre-rental and pre-ride instruction. This is not a formality. The instruction has to cover the specific vessel’s operating characteristics, safe operation and right-of-way rules, operator legal responsibilities, local waterway hazards and restricted areas, and emergency procedures for capsizing, falls overboard, and accidents.⁴

The person delivering that instruction must have completed a boating safety education course recognized by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and the State of Florida. Proof of completion has to be kept at the rental location. After the instruction, both the renter and the instructor sign an attestation form (FWC 313A for motorized vessels, FWC 313B for human-powered vessels). The livery keeps the signed attestation for at least 90 days and must produce it for law enforcement on request.²

There is one more requirement worth posting at your rental counter. Anyone born after January 1, 1988, who wants to operate a motorized vessel of 10 horsepower or more must already hold a Boating Safety Education ID Card from the FWC. That rule applies to renters, not just staff.

Penalties for Operating Without a Permit or Breaking the Rules

Operating a vessel livery without an FWC permit is a first-degree misdemeanor. Penalties for other livery safety violations escalate with repeat offenses:

First offense, with no prior conviction within three years: second-degree misdemeanor.
Second offense within three years: first-degree misdemeanor with a $500 minimum mandatory fine.
Third offense within five years: first-degree misdemeanor with a $1,000 minimum mandatory fine.

A livery that commits more than one violation within three years can also be barred from operating for 90 days, and the FWC can revoke or refuse to reissue the permit based on repeated violations.⁴

If You Meant a For-Hire Vehicle Business

People in the ground transportation industry sometimes use “livery” informally to describe taxi, limousine, and car service work. Florida does not license that activity as a “livery.” It regulates those vehicles under Chapter 320 as “for-hire” vehicles, which the statute defines broadly to include any motor vehicle used to transport people or goods for compensation, rented to another for a fee, or advertised as available for hire.⁵ Three pieces come together: a state registration tax, higher liability insurance, and a local operating permit.

State Registration Fees

Under Florida Statute 320.08, the annual registration tax runs:

For-hire vehicles carrying fewer than nine passengers: $17 flat fee plus $1.50 per hundred pounds of vehicle weight.
For-hire vehicles carrying nine or more passengers: $17 flat fee plus $2.00 per hundred pounds.
Locally operated for-hire vehicles, meaning those operating entirely within a city or within 25 miles of it: $17 flat fee plus $2.00 per hundred pounds, regardless of passenger count.

These taxes are paid through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.⁶

Insurance Minimums

Florida Statute 324.032 requires operators of taxis, limousines, jitneys, and other for-hire passenger vehicles to carry minimum liability coverage of $125,000 per person for bodily injury, $250,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage. Proof must be maintained continuously through the registration period.⁷ Before submitting your application, check the declarations page to confirm the policy actually lists the correct limits.

Local Permits

State registration and insurance make your vehicle road-legal as commercial. They do not authorize you to pick up passengers. That permission comes from the city or county where you operate, and the rules vary by jurisdiction. Common elements include a local chauffeur’s registration or driver identification badge (usually requiring fingerprint-based background checks through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI), a valid Florida driver’s license, a medical examination, and an annual mechanical safety inspection of the vehicle. Metered taxis often need a taximeter calibration check as part of that inspection. Once everything clears, the local authority issues a decal or placard that has to be visibly displayed on the vehicle.

Rideshare Drivers Sit Outside This Framework

If you plan to drive for Uber, Lyft, or a similar platform rather than operate a taxi or limousine business, none of the for-hire vehicle requirements above apply. Florida Statute 627.748 classifies these platforms as Transportation Network Companies and states explicitly that a TNC or TNC driver is not a common carrier, contract carrier, or motor carrier and does not provide taxicab service. TNC drivers do not register their vehicles as commercial motor vehicles, and the statute preempts cities and counties from imposing additional taxes, licenses, or operational requirements on TNC drivers providing prearranged rides.⁸

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 327.54 – Liveries; Safety Regulations; Penalty
2
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Livery Regulations and Safety Information
3
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. FWC Approves Rules Establishing Livery Permit Requirements
4
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 327.54 – Liveries; Safety Regulations; Penalty
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 320.01 – Definitions
6
Justia Law. Florida Statutes 320.08 – License Taxes
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 324.032 – Manner of Proving Financial Responsibility; For-Hire Passenger Transportation Vehicles
8
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 627.748 – Transportation Network Companies