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State guide

How to Sell a House by Owner in Florida

In Florida you can sell your own house without a license, but before the buyer signs you must give them the flood disclosure form in section 689.302 and disclose known defects that are not readily observable. A licensed title agent or a Florida attorney can run the closing (an attorney is not required), and the deed carries documentary stamp tax of 70 cents per $100 of the price, or 60 cents for a single-family home in Miami-Dade.

  1. Set your price from recent sales of similar homes nearby, then list the home yourself. Florida's real estate license law does not apply to an owner selling their own property (section 475.011). Section 475.011, Florida Statutes
  2. At or before contract signing, give the buyer the flood disclosure form written into section 689.302, required for residential sales since October 1, 2024, and the homeowners' association disclosure summary in section 720.401 if the home is in a homeowners' association (condominiums follow section 718.503 instead). Also disclose any known fact that materially affects value and is not readily observable, the duty the Florida Supreme Court set in Johnson v. Davis. Section 689.302, Florida Statutes
  3. Put the sale in a written purchase contract signed by you and the buyer, which you or a Florida attorney can draft; Florida enforces a contract to sell land only if it is in writing and signed (section 725.01). Include or attach the property tax disclosure summary from section 689.261, and put the radon gas notice from section 404.056(5) in the contract or another document signed by then. Section 689.261, Florida Statutes
  4. Choose a closing agent: a licensed title insurance agent or agency, or a Florida Bar attorney. Florida law defines their closing services as preparing the closing documents, conducting the closing and paying out the funds in a sale where a title policy is issued. Section 627.7711, Florida Statutes
  5. Sign the deed in front of two witnesses, as section 689.01 requires, and acknowledge it before a notary so it can be recorded (section 695.03). Section 689.01, Florida Statutes
  6. Pay documentary stamp tax on the deed: 70 cents per $100 of the price in every county except Miami-Dade, which charges 60 cents plus a 45-cent surtax unless the deed transfers only a single-family dwelling. All parties to the deed are liable for the tax, so the contract should say who pays. Florida Department of Revenue, Documentary Stamp Tax
  7. Record the deed in the county where the home is. The clerk of the circuit court is the county recorder (section 28.222), though in some counties another county office does the recording, and the documentary stamp tax and recording fees are paid to that office when the deed is recorded. Section 28.222, Florida Statutes
Closing handled by
Title company or attorney
Attorney customary
Not required
Transfer tax
Documentary stamp tax on the deed is 70 cents per $100 of the price in every county except Miami-Dade, where it is 60 cents per $100 plus a 45-cent surtax unless the deed transfers only a single-family dwelling. Every party to the deed is liable for it, so the contract should say who pays.
Seller disclosure
Sellers of residential property must give the flood disclosure in section 689.302 at or before the contract. There is no general state condition form, but under Johnson v. Davis a seller must disclose known facts that materially affect value and are not readily observable.

Who runs the closing in Florida?

A Florida closing is run by a licensed title insurance agent or agency, or by a Florida Bar attorney, who is exempt from the title agent license. State law does not require an attorney. Florida’s title insurance law describes closing services as preparing the closing documents, conducting the closing and paying out the funds, and the same agent searches title and arranges the title policy. The deed must be signed in front of two witnesses and acknowledged before a notary, and the clerk will only record it if the printed name and post office address of each signer and each witness, and of the person who prepared it, appear on it.

What must you disclose when selling a house in Florida?

Since October 1, 2024, a seller of residential property must complete the flood disclosure set out in section 689.302 and give it to the buyer at or before the signing of the contract. It asks whether you know of flooding that damaged the property while you owned it, whether you filed a flood insurance claim, and whether you received flood aid, for example from FEMA.

Beyond that form there is no general state disclosure form, but Florida does impose a clear duty. Under the Florida Supreme Court’s 1985 ruling in Johnson v. Davis, a seller who knows of facts that materially affect the value of the home and are not readily observable to the buyer must disclose them. Specific notices apply where they fit: the radon gas notice, the property tax disclosure summary, the homeowners’ association or condominium disclosures, a coastal statement for property seaward of the coastal construction control line, and the federal lead paint disclosure for homes built before 1978. Florida law does not treat a death on the property as a fact you must disclose. When in doubt about a defect, disclose it in writing.

What transfer taxes do you pay in Florida?

Florida charges documentary stamp tax on the deed at 70 cents per $100 of the price, or portion of $100, in every county except Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade charges 60 cents per $100, plus a 45-cent surtax unless the deed transfers only a single-family dwelling. On a $400,000 sale that is $2,800 outside Miami-Dade and $2,400 for a single-family home in Miami-Dade. The tax is paid to the county clerk, or in some counties another recording office, when the deed is recorded. Florida law makes every party to the deed liable for it, whichever side agreed to pay, so state in the contract who pays.

Can you sell without an agent in Florida? The bottom line

Florida law lets an owner sell their own home without a real estate license. The parts to get right are the flood disclosure and the other required notices before the contract is signed, a deed signed before two witnesses and a notary, and the documentary stamp tax. Budget for the stamp tax up front and choose your title agent or attorney early.

Every state's disclosure rule sits side by side, with a CSV, in seller disclosure requirements by state.

What is your home in Florida worth? Get a free estimate from your ZIP code, with the agent fee on that price. No email, no account.

Where can you list a home for sale by owner in Florida? See how the US for-sale-by-owner sites compare on cost and MLS access.

City guides in Florida: Miami.

Selling by owner in a neighbouring state: Alabama, Georgia.

Sources used on this page

Every legal, tax, and process claim on this page traces to one of these. We re-check them on a schedule and date the page when anything changes.

  1. Documentary Stamp TaxFlorida Department of Revenue · floridarevenue.com
  2. Section 201.02, Florida Statutes: tax on deedsThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  3. Section 689.302, Florida Statutes: flood disclosureThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  4. Chapter 2024-215, Laws of Florida (flood disclosure, effective October 1, 2024)Florida Department of State · laws.flrules.org
  5. House Judiciary Committee staff analysis of HB 1049 (2024), seller disclosure dutiesFlorida House of Representatives · flsenate.gov
  6. Section 689.261, Florida Statutes: property tax disclosure summaryThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  7. Section 404.056, Florida Statutes: radon gas noticeThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  8. Section 720.401, Florida Statutes: homeowners' association disclosure summaryThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  9. Section 689.25, Florida Statutes: facts that need not be disclosedThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  10. Section 475.011, Florida Statutes: license law exemptionsThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  11. Section 627.7711, Florida Statutes: closing services definedThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  12. Section 626.8417, Florida Statutes: title agent licensure and attorney exemptionThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  13. Section 725.01, Florida Statutes: land sale contracts must be in writingThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  14. Section 689.01, Florida Statutes: two witnesses on a deedThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  15. Section 695.03, Florida Statutes: acknowledgment before recordingThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  16. Section 695.26, Florida Statutes: requirements for recordingThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  17. Section 28.222, Florida Statutes: clerk as county recorderThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  18. Florida Constitution, Article VIII, section 1(d): clerk as recorder unless otherwise providedThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov
  19. Section 718.503, Florida Statutes: condominium resale disclosureThe Florida Senate · flsenate.gov

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