How to Get a Florida Telemarketing License

A number of businesses engaged in telephone sales need to get a Florida telemarketing license to legally conduct their operations in the state. Depending on your exact activities, you may need to undergo the licensing procedure. In the general case, you need a license to conduct telephone sales in Florida.

Some types of activities are exempt from licensing. They are noted in the Florida Telemarketing Act. In case you are not exempt, you will have to meet a list of requirements before you are granted the right to operate. Posting a Florida telemarketing bond is one of the typical criteria you will have to fulfill.

Let’s take a look at the cases in which you are exempt from licensing, the procedure itself, and how you can get a bond if you need one.

The license exemption cases

Before you set on to arrange your business paperwork for conducting telemarketing in Florida, it’s a good idea to review the license exemption cases. You can find them in Section 501.604 Exemptions of the Telemarketing Act.

There are 28 different conditions under which you will not be required to get licensed. For example, if you are soliciting for charitable or educational purposes, you are exempt. The same goes for licensed insurance brokers and financial institutions. You can consult the list in the Act to get the complete picture.

You may need to provide an Affidavit of Exemption to prove your right to exemption. This means you will need to submit additional paperwork.   

The Florida telemarketing license requirements

Most telemarketers in Florida need to get a license from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. If you have to undergo the licensing, you will need to get a business license, as well as a license for each salesperson.

To obtain a Commercial Telephone Seller Business License, you need to complete the Florida telemarketing license application. It has detailed instructions on how to fill it in.

You will have to provide full personal and business information and to procure the following paperwork:

• Business entity documents
• The scripts you will use for telemarketing
• Sales information that is available to your salespeople
• Your company’s terms and conditions
• Proof of license fee payment ($1,500 per year)
• A $50,000 telemarketing surety bond

Besides the business license, you also have to get separate licenses for each salesperson. To do that, you have to complete the Commercial Telephone Seller Salesperson License Application. The licensing requirements are fewer for this type of license. You need to pay $50 licensing fee and provide information about the person and the telemarketing business.  

The Florida telemarketing bond

One of the major licensing criteria that you have to satisfy in order to get a Florida telemarketing license is to post a surety bond. The bond is required in order to protect the general public from any unlawful activities you might engage in as a telemarketer. It also guarantees your legal compliance to the licensing bodies. If you transgress from your obligations, the bonding can provide a compensation to any affected parties if their claims are proven.

The surety bond price you will need to pay to get bonded is different from the $50,000 bond amount, which you have to post. For license bonds, the bonding rates are usually between 1% and 3%. This means a bond premium of about $500-$1,500. The exact percentage you need to cover depends on the strength of your finances.

If you need to get bonded, you can start the process today. You can complete our online bond application to get a free bond quote. For any questions, you can always call us at (877)-514-5146 and get assistance from our bonding experts.