Florida's Commercial Financing Disclosure Law: What You Must Be Shown Before You Sign

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By Jon Lynch — Commercial Finance Broker, Jon Lynch Financial Group · Veteran-owned · Updated July 20, 2026

Since January 1, 2024, Florida law has required a commercial financing provider — the funder itself, not the broker — to give you a specific set of written disclosures at or before the time it extends an offer, whenever the financing is $500,000 or less and your business is directed or managed from Florida. This is the Commercial Financing Disclosure Law, Fla. Stat. §§ 559.9611–559.9615. It reaches sales-based financing (the purchase-of-future-receivables structure behind merchant cash advances and revenue-based financing), closed-end and open-end commercial financing, and factoring.

The disclosure has to show seven things, every one in actual dollars: total funds provided, total amount disbursed to you, total amount you'll repay, total dollar cost, the manner and frequency of payments, prepayment terms, and any collateral requirement. What it will not show is an APR. Florida isn't California or New York — no APR or estimated APR figure is required here. That doesn't make offers harder to compare. It means you compare them differently, and that's what the rest of this page walks through.

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disclosure items a Florida provider must give you, in dollars, at or before the offer
Fla. Stat. §§ 559.9611–559.9615, effective January 1, 2024

General information about Florida law, not legal advice. Statutes get amended and this doesn't cover every fact pattern — for a specific transaction, talk to a Florida-licensed attorney before you sign.

What must a funder show me before I sign?

The obligation sits with the provider — the funder extending the offer — not the broker. Florida law requires the provider to give you these disclosures in writing at or before the time it extends its offer. Seven items have to appear, each in real dollars:

Florida's seven required commercial financing disclosure items, and what they mean for your bank account
Required disclosure itemWhat it means for your bank account
Total amount of funds providedThe gross amount committed, before fees or deductions.
Total amount disbursed to youWhat actually lands in your account — plan around this, not the headline number.
Total amount to be repaidEvery dollar you'll pay back, across the life of the financing.
Total dollar cost of the financingThe gap between what you receive and what you repay — the real price, in dollars.
Manner, frequency, and amount of each paymentHow often money leaves your account and how much — daily, weekly, or a percentage of sales.
Prepayment terms, including any chargesWhether paying early lowers your cost, or the total is fixed regardless of timing.
Description of any collateral requirementWhat's pledged against the financing, including any UCC lien.

Does Florida require APR or an estimated APR?

No. This trips up owners who've researched disclosure rules elsewhere and expect a rate. Florida's statute does not require a provider to disclose an APR or estimated APR on any product it covers, sales-based financing included.

California and New York went a different direction — both require an APR or estimated APR figure, even on sales-based products where no interest rate exists in the legal sense, so the figure can be used to compare across financing types. Florida left that requirement out. Your disclosure will be dense with dollar figures and no percentage rate anywhere.

Whether state commercial financing disclosure law requires an APR or estimated APR figure
StateAPR or estimated APR required on the disclosure?
FloridaNo. The disclosure must show total dollar cost and payment terms; no APR or estimated APR figure is required.
CaliforniaYes. State law requires an APR or estimated APR figure on the commercial financing disclosure.
New YorkYes. State law requires an APR or estimated APR figure alongside total repayment and finance charge.

If Florida doesn't require APR, how do I compare offers?

Skip the rate. Compare two numbers instead: total dollars repaid, and what the payment schedule does to your cash flow.

Total dollars repaid sits right on the disclosure — item four, added to the amount disbursed to you. That figure compares cleanly across same-size offers without needing to be estimated or annualized the way a rate would.

The second number is the payment-to-revenue ratio: what's remitted each day or week, divided by what your business brings in over that period. Illustrative example: a $50,000 total cost is a very different proposition at 8% of daily deposits than at 20%. The dollar figure tells you the price; the ratio tells you whether your business can carry it.

Who does this law cover, and who's exempt?

The law applies when both are true: the transaction is $500,000 or less, and the recipient's business is directed or managed from Florida. Four categories are covered: sales-based financing (the purchase-of-future-receivables structure behind merchant cash advances and revenue-based financing), closed-end and open-end commercial financing, and factoring.

Some transactions fall outside the law. In general terms, exemptions cover regulated financial institutions, transactions above $500,000, financing secured by real property, true leases, and certain lenders already licensed under other disclosure frameworks. Unsure whether a specific offer is covered? That's a question for Florida counsel, not a guess.

Can a broker charge me an upfront fee?

Not under Florida law. Section 559.9614 sets three specific rules for anyone acting as a commercial financing broker here. A broker may not:

Jon Lynch Financial Group complies with all three as a matter of course — nothing collected before a deal funds, and our business address and phone number appear in the footer below.

What happens if a provider or broker doesn't comply?

Florida's Office of Financial Regulation administers this law and can pursue civil penalties against a provider or broker that fails to disclose properly or violates the broker conduct rules. This page won't guess at specific figures — those depend on the facts of a given case. What matters to you: noncompliance is real regulatory exposure, which is exactly why the checklist below is worth running before you sign anything.

What should I demand to see before I sign?

Ask for each of these in writing:

If they can't answer all five clearly, that's an answer too.

How do I read the disclosure form, line by line?

The form uses the statute's own language, which doesn't always translate intuitively:

What are the signs a provider or broker isn't complying?

Pause if you see any of these:

Any one of these runs contrary to §§ 559.9611–559.9614.

Know what you're signing before you sign it. We'll walk the disclosure with you and tell you plainly what the numbers mean for your business.

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Frequently asked questions

What transactions does Florida's Commercial Financing Disclosure Law cover?
Transactions of $500,000 or less where the recipient's business is directed or managed from Florida — sales-based financing, closed-end and open-end financing, and factoring. Effective January 1, 2024.
Who has to give me the disclosure, the funder or the broker?
The provider — the funder extending the offer — must give it at or before the time it extends that offer, not the broker.
Does Florida require a funder to disclose an APR?
No. Florida requires total dollar cost, total repayment, and payment terms, but not an APR or estimated APR. California and New York both require it; Florida does not.
Can a commercial financing broker charge me a fee before my financing is completed?
No. Under § 559.9614, a Florida broker may not collect an advance fee before financing is completed, make false or misleading statements, or advertise without its address and phone number.
What must a Florida disclosure show about repayment?
Total funds provided, amount disbursed to you, total to be repaid, total dollar cost, payment manner and frequency, prepayment terms, and any collateral requirement — seven items total.
Are any transactions exempt from Florida's Commercial Financing Disclosure Law?
Yes. Generally: regulated financial institutions, transactions above $500,000, financing secured by real property, true leases, and certain licensed lenders.

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