Florida Credit Card Surcharge Law: Is It Legal Now?

Learn where Florida credit card surcharge law stands after Dana's Railroad Supply, which card rules still apply, and how to set up a compliant program.

MannyPay Editorial TeamBeyond the Swipe editorial desk

October 22, 2026 · 8 min read

Close-up of a black card payment terminal keypad with green OK and red cancel keys beside a gold credit card

Photo: Pixabay

On this page 7 sections

Florida Credit Card Surcharge Law: What Statute §501.0117 Says
Dana's Railroad Supply and Later Court Rulings
Is Surcharging Legal in Florida? What Merchants Can Do Today
Card Network Rules That Still Apply
Disclosure Language for Florida Storefronts
When a Florida Cash Discount Program Is the Safer Choice
Next Steps for Florida Merchants

Key takeaways

Florida Statute §501.0117 still bans credit card surcharges on paper, but the Eleventh Circuit struck it down in 2015 in Dana's Railroad Supply v. Attorney General.
The Florida Attorney General's consumer page says merchants in Florida may add a surcharge to credit card purchases.
Card network rules still apply: there's a cap on the amount, you can't charge more than your cost, you can't surcharge debit or prepaid cards, you must give advance notice, and you must disclose the fee clearly.
A genuine cash discount program is the only structure the statute expressly allows, so it's the most conservative option.

If you run a business in Florida, you've probably heard two things that don't fit together. One is that adding a fee for credit cards is a crime here. The other is that plenty of local merchants do it anyway. Both are partly true. This guide covers what the Florida credit card surcharge law says, what a federal appeals court did to it, which card network rules still apply and how to set up a surcharge or cash discount program that your customers and processor will accept. It's based on sources we reviewed in October 2026. It's general information, not legal advice.

Florida Credit Card Surcharge Law: What Statute §501.0117 Says

Florida Statute 501.0117 is short. According to the 2026 Florida Statutes, it says:

A seller or lessor that takes credit cards may not add a surcharge because a buyer chose a credit card over cash, check or similar payment.
A "surcharge" is any extra amount added at the time of sale that raises the price for the privilege of paying by credit card.
Charges under approved state or federal tariffs don't count as surcharges.
"Credit card" includes cards whose balances are due on demand (charge cards).
The law doesn't cover a discount offered to encourage payment by cash, check or another non-credit method, as long as every prospective customer is offered the discount.
Breaking the law is a second-degree misdemeanor.

The 2025 statute text on the Florida House site also makes an exception for some schools. Certain private schools and EASE grant-eligible institutions may charge a convenience fee on tuition and student account charges paid by card. The fee can't be more than the card company charges the school.

Notice what the statute never did. It didn't stop merchants from charging card users more than cash payers. It only stopped them from calling the difference a surcharge. That gap is why it lost in court.

Dana's Railroad Supply and Later Court Rulings

The 2015 Eleventh Circuit Decision

Dana's Railroad Supply v. Attorney General started when four Florida businesses got cease-and-desist letters from the Attorney General's office. One was Cook's Sportland, an outdoor-sporting-goods store in Venice that had told customers they'd pay a credit card surcharge. The Eleventh Circuit's opinion says all four wanted to call their price difference a surcharge, not a cash discount. They saw "surcharge" as the more transparent and accurate word.

On November 4, 2015, the court struck down the statute under the First Amendment, as JD Supra's case summary explains. The main points:

The law regulated speech, not conduct. It allowed dual pricing and only restricted what the price difference could be called.
A surcharge and a cash discount have the same economic result for the customer.
The law failed even intermediate scrutiny, the easier legal test, as LegalClarity notes.

The court also asked whether the statute was really aimed at surcharges that aren't disclosed before a sale. It found that conduct is already covered by another statute, according to Bushell Appellate Law's analysis. The practical takeaway: after Dana's, a surcharge disclosed before the sale is generally treated as allowed, as long as it follows card network rules. Fees that aren't disclosed can still create legal risk.

What Has Happened Since

The statute is still on the books. It appears in both the 2025 and 2026 Florida Statutes, misdemeanor penalty included.
The state acknowledges the ruling. The Florida Attorney General's consumer protection page on credit card surcharges says federal courts held the law unconstitutional. It also says "merchants in Florida may add a surcharge to credit card purchases."
Industry guides treat the question as settled in practice. Some also point to the U.S. Supreme Court's later Expressions Hair Design surcharge case as support for the free-speech reasoning (Intellipay's October 2025 state guide).
We did not find any later appeals court ruling that brought back enforcement of §501.0117.

Bottom line: A federal ruling doesn't remove a law's text from the statute books. Treat surcharging as allowed in practice, but set up your program so it would hold up if challenged anyway: disclose it up front, apply it to credit cards only and keep it at or below your actual cost.

Is Surcharging Legal in Florida? What Merchants Can Do Today

In practice, yes, as long as you follow card network rules. Florida merchants have three main ways to recover card costs:

Program	How It Works	Florida Status	Main Limits
Credit card surcharge	The posted price is the base price; a fee is added only to credit card payments	Allowed in practice since Dana's; the AG says merchants may add one	Credit only, network caps, cost limit, notice and disclosure
Cash discount	The posted price is the card price; cash payers get a discount	Expressly allowed by §501.0117 if every customer is offered it	Must be a real discount off the posted price
Dual pricing	Cash and card prices are both shown	The court noted the statute never banned dual pricing	Both prices must be clear before payment

Our explainer on cash discount vs. surcharge vs. dual pricing walks through how each one works. Here's how the choice plays out in four common Florida businesses.

Retail Stores

Many customers at the counter pay with debit cards, and you can't surcharge debit. Your POS has to tell credit from debit automatically. Otherwise you'll overcharge debit users or miss fees you're allowed to collect. Decide ahead of time how refunds work: whether you return the surcharge on a full refund and how you handle partial returns. Post that policy next to your return policy. See our retail payment solutions for setup options.

Restaurants and Bars

Tourist-season rushes, pay-at-table and split checks make disclosure harder than at a single register. Put the notice on menus and table tents, not just at the host stand. Make sure the surcharge is calculated on the bill before the tip. Keep it separate from any automatic gratuity or service charge so guests don't feel charged twice. A 2026 guide from PayWavez mentions a new Florida law on menu and receipt disclosures for restaurants. We couldn't confirm the details for this article, so check with an attorney. Our restaurant and bar payment page covers handheld and pay-at-table hardware.

Moving Companies

Movers usually take a deposit at booking, often keyed in over the phone, then collect a bigger balance on moving day. Put your card policy in the written estimate, the contract and the final invoice. Say it out loud again before you key in any card. Customers are likely to dispute a surprise fee on a big moving-day charge. Our guide to how chargebacks work explains why paperwork matters, and our moving company payment options cover taking payments on the go.

Medical and Dental Offices

Patients often pay what insurance doesn't cover, sometimes with HSA or FSA cards. Those cards often run as debit or prepaid, and you can't surcharge them. Train front-desk staff to explain the policy in plain terms. Review your payer contracts too, since some may limit what you can charge patients beyond the agreed amount. Many practices find a cash discount or dual pricing easier to explain. See our medical payment processing page.

Card Network Rules That Still Apply

The court ruling removed a state barrier. It didn't change card brand rules. As of October 2026, published guidance points to these requirements:

A cap on the amount. Visa limits surcharges to 3%, according to Nickel's Florida guide and PayWavez. Guides give different figures for Mastercard's current cap, so confirm it with your processor.
No more than your cost. The Attorney General's page notes that card networks usually don't let you surcharge more than your actual cost of processing credit cards.
Credit cards only. You can't surcharge debit or prepaid cards, even when the customer picks "credit" on a debit card.
Advance notice. Flexpoint's Florida guide says Visa and Mastercard require at least 30 days' notice before you start. Your processor usually handles registration.
Disclosure and receipts. Customers must be told before they pay, and the surcharge should show as its own line on the receipt, per Stax's state-by-state guidance.
Other brands. American Express and Discover have their own rules. Check them separately.

Illustrative example: A customer makes a $200 credit card purchase. If that card type costs you 2.6%, the most you should add is $5.20, even though a 3% cap would allow $6.00.

Network rules are also changing. Our coverage of the swipe fee settlement and what's at stake explains changes that could affect surcharging. To see how another state handles it, read our New York credit card surcharge law guide.

Disclosure Language for Florida Storefronts

Disclose the fee everywhere you take cards: in person, keyed and online.

In person: Signs at the entrance and at the register or terminal.
Keyed (phone or mail): A script you read before entering the card number, plus the policy on the invoice.
Online: The fee shown before the customer submits payment, not added afterward.
Receipts: A separate surcharge line showing the dollar amount.

Sample wording (illustrative only; have your attorney and processor review it):

Entrance sign: "We add a [X]% surcharge to credit card purchases. This is not greater than our cost of acceptance. No surcharge on debit cards or cash."
Phone script: "Before I run your card, there's a [X]% surcharge on credit cards. There's no surcharge on debit. How would you like to pay?"
Receipt line: "Credit card surcharge ([X]%): $[amount]"
Cash discount sign: "Prices shown are card prices. Pay with cash and receive a [X]% discount."

When a Florida Cash Discount Program Is the Safer Choice

A Florida cash discount program is the only setup §501.0117 expressly allows. That makes it the most conservative choice if you'd rather not depend on a court ruling. It also avoids debit card problems and surcharge caps. It often works well for:

Businesses with many customers paying by debit, HSA or FSA card
Merchants in several states with different surcharge rules
Medical practices and service businesses that want simpler conversations with patients or customers

The program has to be real. The Florida Institute of CPAs warns that some programs called cash discounts are really surcharges with a different name. That means they can't be applied to debit cards. A compliant program lists the actual price and takes a discount off it for cash.

MannyPay offers cash discount programs, dual pricing, credit card surcharging where permitted and zero cost processing. Zero cost processing is a compliant program that helps eligible merchants offset most or all of their card-processing fees. How much any program offsets depends on your sales mix and the card types your customers use.

Next Steps for Florida Merchants

Choose your setup: surcharge, cash discount or dual pricing.
Pull a recent processing statement to confirm what card acceptance actually costs you.
Confirm current network caps, notice and registration with your processor.
Make sure your POS, terminals and online checkout tell credit from debit.
Post disclosures in every channel and show any surcharge as its own receipt line.
Have a Florida attorney review your signs and policies.

Want help choosing? Request a free quote, and a MannyPay specialist will get back to you within one business day.

Sources

About the author

MannyPay Editorial Team

Beyond the Swipe's editorial desk researches the publication's guides and news and cites its sources in every article. Articles reviewed by a named MannyPay editor carry that editor's byline.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.