Florida Private Parking Enforcement Laws: Citations, Signs, Booting, and Towing

Florida is one of the few states that writes private parking charges directly into statute. Under Florida Statutes §715.075, the owner or operator of a private lot may set rules and rates and bill drivers who break them. Since July 1, 2024, the statute attaches conditions: specific entrance signage, a 15-minute grace period, an invoice placed on the car or mailed within 5 business days, a two-step dispute and appeal process, limits on late fees, and a ban on selling parkers' personal information. Towing is governed separately by §715.07, and booting is left to counties and cities.

Summary

Section 715.075 authorizes private parking invoices and sets requirements for the lot's signs and for the invoice itself. The law was first added in 2022 and rewritten by CS/CS/HB 271, which the Governor approved on April 5, 2024 as chapter 2024-64. Under §715.075(2), local governments may not prohibit the practice but may regulate the signs. Towing has its own detailed sign and release rules in §715.07, and booting is regulated by county and city ordinance.

Private parking citations and invoices

The statute does not use the word "citation." It speaks of rules, rates, and "parking charges for violating the property owner's or operator's rules," billed by invoice. That framing matters: the statute describes a bill for breaking posted rules, not a city ticket. The general contract logic behind private tickets is covered in can private companies issue parking tickets; Florida simply puts the conditions in writing.

Section 715.075 sets these requirements for every invoice:

• It carries this statement in uppercase type: THIS INVOICE IS PRIVATELY ISSUED, IS NOT ISSUED BY A GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY, AND IS NOT SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
• It is placed on the vehicle in a prominent location or mailed within 5 business days of the violation.
• It includes a method to dispute and appeal the invoice.

The statute's dispute process has fixed clocks. The driver files a dispute with the owner or operator within 15 days after the invoice was placed or postmarked. The operator has 5 business days to decide. The driver can then appeal within 10 days of that decision, and the appeal must be decided by a neutral third-party adjudicator with authority to approve or deny it. If the appeal is approved, the invoice is dismissed. If it is denied, the driver has 15 days to pay the original amount.

The third-party step is separate from the operator's own review. How internal reviews commonly work before that point is covered in our guide to parking citation appeals.

Two carve-outs apply. The invoice timing and appeal rules in paragraphs (1)(c) and (1)(d) do not apply to theme parks or entertainment complexes as defined in §509.013(9). And the whole section does not apply to lodging parks, mobile home parks, or RV parks where parking is governed by park rules or a rental agreement.

One more rule sits at the end of the section and is easy to miss: under §715.075(5), an owner or operator may not sell, offer to sell, or transfer for sale any personal information obtained from a person using the lot, which covers data gathered for invoicing.

What signs must say

Florida sets content, not dimensions, for the parking-charge sign. The statute requires the sign to be legible and clearly visible to people entering the parking area, and to:

• state that the property is not operated by a governmental entity;
• list the rates for parking charges for violating the rules;
• give a working phone number and an email address for inquiries and complaints; and
• give notice of the grace period and the appeal process.

The statute adds that this signage "may be regulated by the county or municipality in which the property is located," so size, height, and placement can come from local code. Towing is covered by the separate tow-away sign rules in §715.07, described below, and the two sets of requirements are different. General practice on wording and placement is covered in parking lot signage for enforcement.

The grace period deserves a careful read. Section 715.075(3) requires at least 15 minutes "upon entrance to such property before any parking charges may be incurred, provided that the motor vehicle does not park during that time." The plain text protects a driver who pulls in, looks for a space or a pay station, and leaves. It does not spell out what happens to a driver who parks within the first 15 minutes, and we found no published Florida decision on the point. Some operators do not issue invoices in the first 15 minutes at all, which avoids the question.

Towing from private property

Section 715.07 lets an owner or lessee have an unauthorized vehicle towed without liability for the tow, but only in substantial compliance with a long list of conditions. The sign rules are specific:

• A notice at each driveway access or curb cut, within 10 feet of the road; with no curbs or barriers, at least one sign per 25 feet of lot frontage.
• Light-reflective letters at least 2 inches high on a contrasting background stating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed away at the owner's expense.
• The words "tow-away zone" in letters at least 4 inches high, mounted between 3 and 6 feet above the ground.
• The name and current phone number of the towing company.
• Permanently installed and in place for at least 24 hours before any tow.

A business with 20 or fewer spaces can instead post a single sign reading "Reserved Parking for Customers Only Unauthorized Vehicles or Vessels Will be Towed Away At the Owner's Expense" in light-reflective letters at least 4 inches high. Property that is part of a single-family residence is exempt from the posting rule, and so is a tow where the driver was personally told the space was reserved.

The statute also sets duties for the tow company: notifying the municipal police or sheriff within 30 minutes of the tow, storing the vehicle within 10 miles of the lot in counties of 500,000 or more people (15 miles in smaller counties), and releasing the vehicle within 1 hour of a request. If the owner shows up while the car is being hooked, the statute requires the tow driver to stop and release it for no more than half the posted towing rate. It bars paying or accepting money for the right to tow from a particular lot. Some violations are first-degree misdemeanors and others are third-degree felonies, and a person who causes an improper tow is liable for the costs, damages, attorney's fees, and court costs.

Booting

Florida has no statute written specifically for vehicle immobilization on private property. The state does acknowledge it: §125.0103 allows local governments to set rates for "immobilization of vehicles or vessels on private property" and requires counties to set maximum rates for it. The operating rules come from local code. Miami-Dade regulates booting in section 30-479 of its code and Broward in section 20-176.19, each with its own posted-notice requirements, according to a 2022 community association guide.

Because booting is regulated locally, the rules for a given lot are in its county and city code. How operators weigh the two tools is covered in booting vs. towing; in Florida, booting rules live entirely at the local level.

Fees, caps, and driver remedies

Section 715.075 does not cap the amount of a parking charge. It does three things that work like caps. It ties the charge to the posted rate. It bars any late fee until 15 days after an appeal is denied, or until at least 30 days after the invoice was placed or postmarked, whichever is later. And it lets a local government regulate the signs that disclose the rates. How operators approach amounts is covered in how to set parking fine amounts.

Towing and booting fees are capped locally. Section 125.0103(1)(c) requires every county to set maximum rates for towing from and immobilization on private property. A city that adopts its own maximum rates displaces the county's rates inside city limits. The statute requires counties and cities that set rates to publish them online and run a complaint process. Where no local maximum exists, the rates set by the Florida Highway Patrol under §321.051(2) apply.

The statutes also give drivers remedies. On invoices, the appeal process ends with a neutral adjudicator. On tows, §715.07(4) makes the person who caused an improper tow liable for removal, storage, damages, attorney's fees, and court costs, and the owner can inspect the vehicle before accepting it without signing any waiver of damage claims.

Local ordinances to check

Florida pushes several decisions down to counties and cities, so local code adds to the state rules in these areas:

• Sign regulations for parking-charge signage, which §715.075 expressly allows.
• Permitting and inspection of tow-away signs before towing begins, which §715.07 allows.
• Maximum towing and booting rates under §125.0103, and any city rates that override the county's.
• Booting ordinances, which set notice, licensing, and release rules county by county.

What a local government cannot do is restrict or prohibit the right to set rules and parking charges itself. Section 715.075(2) declares any such ordinance null and void.

Questions to raise with your attorney

Florida's rules sit in §715.075 and §715.07, with county and city codes layered on top. An attorney licensed in Florida can work through questions like these for a specific lot:

• Do our entrance signs include every item §715.075 lists, and has our county or city adopted its own rules for that signage?
• How does the 15-minute grace period in §715.075(3) apply to a vehicle that parks within the first 15 minutes?
• Do our invoices carry the uppercase statement and dispute instructions, and reach the vehicle or the mail within 5 business days?
• Who can serve as the neutral third-party adjudicator the statute describes, and how should the appeal process be documented?
• When does §715.075 permit a late fee on our invoices, given its 15-day and 30-day windows?
• Do our tow-away signs meet §715.07, and does our county or city require a sign permit or inspection before towing?
• Does the county or city where each lot sits regulate booting, and what maximum rates has it set under §125.0103?

In Lotably, every citation carries photo evidence and a timestamp, and drivers contest online. Booting and towing records start switched off in Lotably and are turned on when the operator asks. Lotably does not check whether booting or towing is allowed where an operator enforces; the operator is responsible for following the law and assumes all risk of using them. For other states, see our private parking enforcement laws by state hub.