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Florida travel agents, referred to as Florida sellers of travel, must register with the state and purchase a surety bond in order to do business. Read on to find out how to get started as a Florida travel agent.
Registration for Florida Travel Agents
Florida travel agents must register every year with the�Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Sellers of travel must provide the FDACS with the following information when registering, among other information:
- Organization’s legal name
- Organization’s street address and phone number
- Designated contact person and their name, title, and address
- Federal employer identification number
- $300 registration fee
The registration application contains a full list of the required information for seller of travel applicants. Each advertisement, contract, certificate, and travel document issued by the seller of travel must include their registration number in a prescribed format and display their registration certificate prominently in the place of business.
Florida travel agents that offer vacation certificates (defined in Section 559.927 of the Florida Statutes) must also submit an additional $100 document fee along with the documents required under Florida Statutes Section 559.9295. Sellers of travel that employ independent sales agents must include a $50 fee per agent.
Florida Seller of Travel Surety Bond
Florida travel agents whose businesses do not offer vacation certificates typically need to include a $25,000 surety bond with their registration. If the agent has no unresolved complaints can request to have their surety bond amount reduced by submitting a Security Reduction Application along with the travel agent’s federal income tax return or audited financial statement for the previous year. If the reduction is granted, the surety bond amounts are as follows:
- $10,000 bond for a new business, business under new ownership, or a business under the same ownership for at least one year with less than $500,000 gross annual sales
- $15,000 bond for a business under the same ownership for at least one year with gross annual sales between $500,000 and $1,000,000
- $20,000 bond for a�business under the same ownership for at least one year with gross annual sales between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000
New businesses do not need to provide financial documents with their Security Reduction Application.�Florida travel agents offering vacation certificates will need to submit a $50,000 surety bond and are not eligible for a security reduction. All sellers of travel must submit an original surety bond and not a copy of the document.
Get in touch with the FDACS to verify your bond amount and the documents needed to become registered. If you’re ready to get a Florida travel agent surety bond, get in touch with Single Source Insurance today!