Business loans in Florida: what the disclosure law gives you, and what it does not

Florida's law is in Chapter 559, sections 559.961 through 559.9615, and its own name for itself is the "Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law" [1]. It covers commercial loans, accounts receivable purchases and commercial open-end credit plans used for a business purpose [2]. An accounts receivable purchase includes a merchant cash advance, and the statute says that when a provider calls it a purchase, that label is conclusive that it is not a loan [2].

The law applies to deals signed on or after Jan 1, 2024 [3]. It covers a "provider", which the statute defines as anyone who completes more than five commercial financing deals with Florida businesses in a calendar year [2].

A covered provider must give you one written disclosure at or before signing [4]. It must list:

1. The total amount of funds provided under the agreement [4].
2. The amount actually disbursed to you, if fees, a payoff of a prior balance or payments to third parties reduce it [4].
3. The total amount you will pay the provider [4].
4. The total dollar cost, which is the amount you repay minus the amount provided [4].
5. How, how often and how much you pay; or, if payments vary, the method, the estimated first payment and when payments can change [4].
6. Any cost or discount for paying early, with a pointer to the contract clause [4].

Two details in section 559.9613 change how you read the paper. First, only one disclosure is required per deal, and none is required when a signed deal is later modified, put in forbearance or otherwise changed [4]. If a funder offers to restructure your payments after you sign, there may be no new disclosure, so ask for the new total repayment and new dollar cost in writing before you agree.

Second, when payments float with your sales, as with a split of card receipts, the funder only has to describe the method, give an estimated first payment and say when payments can change [4]. It does not have to estimate how long collection will take. Ask for that estimate, and check it against your slowest months, not your best ones. A shorter real term means a higher yearly cost for the same dollars.

For a facility where a factor buys invoices over time, the provider may disclose using an example based on a $10,000 invoice [4]. So read a factoring disclosure as a sample, and ask what your own invoice mix would cost.

Florida has no broker registration, but section 559.9614 sets four bans. A broker may not [5]:

• Assess, collect or ask for an advance fee for its services. The narrow exception is a real cost of applying, like a credit check or appraisal, paid by check or money order to a separate party.
• Make false or misleading statements or leave out a material fact when selling its services.
• Use any false or deceptive representation in its dealings.
• Advertise without showing the broker's actual business address and phone number, and those of any forwarding service it uses.

If anyone asks you to pay before a Florida deal closes, that is the first red flag under this law. Batch Capital, the funding team behind Business Funders, arranges offers from funders and does not lend.

The Florida Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce the law. The office can take complaints, seek voluntary compliance and bring administrative or court actions [6].

Two limits matter. A violation "does not affect the enforceability or validity" of your contract, and the law creates no private right of action [6]. In plain terms, a missing disclosure does not cancel what you signed. Read the disclosure before you sign, because afterward it is mostly a complaint to the Attorney General.

FloridaCommerce runs the state's share of the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative with the Florida Opportunity Fund and Florida First Capital Finance Corporation. The U.S. Treasury approved $488 million for Florida in September 2022, released in three tranches, across five programs [7]. Ask a lender whether its loan uses SSBCI support.

The Florida SBDC Network offers no-cost consulting through more than 220 business consultants, with the University of West Florida as its lead host [8]. A consultant can help you build the cash flow figures lenders ask for before you apply anywhere.

The SBA 7(a) loan reaches up to $5 million through private lenders [9]. Florida has two SBA district offices: North Florida covers 43 counties from Jacksonville and Orlando [10], and South Florida covers 24 counties from Miami, Ft. Pierce and Tampa [11]. Our SBA loan guide covers terms and rate caps.

1. Confirm the funder is covered: not a bank, deal of $500,000 or less. If covered, ask for the 559.9613 disclosure.
2. Check the amount disbursed against the amount funded. The gap is fees and payoffs.
3. Divide the total dollar cost by the months to repay, then get an estimated APR in the offer comparer.
4. Read the prepayment line. Many cash advances keep the full cost if you pay early.
5. Refuse any request for an advance fee from a broker.

Compare Florida with other states in our disclosure law table, see New York for a state that does require an APR, and read how an MCA works. Our home market is New Jersey.

This is general information, not legal advice, as of Oct 20, 2026.