Florida's Restaurant Fee-Disclosure Law (SB 606) Takes Effect July 1, 2026

Florida's Restaurant Fee Law (SB 606) Takes Effect July 1, 2026

A Florida law requiring restaurants to disclose automatic service charges and other mandatory fees took effect July 1, 2026. Senate Bill 606 amends Florida Statutes section 509.214, forcing food-service establishments to itemize any operations charge on menus, online orders, and receipts.

Information last verified on July 13, 2026. This is a developing story; we update it as the record changes.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses Florida's fee-disclosure requirements for food-service establishments under Fla. Stat. 509.214. It does not state the separate federal or other-state fee rules except for comparison. For a related state measure, see our coverage of Illinois's all-in pricing law.

What Happened

Florida's SB 606 took effect on July 1, 2026, changing how restaurants across the state present mandatory fees. The governor signed the bill on June 2, 2025, with a delayed effective date. It amends Section 509.214 of the Florida Statutes, which governs operations charges at public food-service establishments. Beginning July 1, any establishment that adds an automatic fee must conspicuously disclose the charge and its purpose wherever prices appear, itemize it separately on the customer's receipt, and show it before checkout on any online-ordering platform. Enforcement runs through the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Coverage across Florida the week of July 1 emphasized that diners would begin seeing itemized service charges and automatic gratuities on menus and bills.

Under the amended statute, an operations charge is an automatic fee or charge, other than a government-imposed tax, that a customer must pay in addition to the price of the food and beverage. The statute lists service charges, automatic gratuities, credit-card surcharges, and delivery fees as examples. The disclosure has to appear in a font no smaller than the menu-item descriptions, and each receipt must break out gratuity, any operations charge, and sales tax on separate lines.

What the Law Actually Says

Florida regulates restaurants through Chapter 509 of the Florida Statutes, administered by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. SB 606 adds fee-transparency duties to Section 509.214. The core requirement is disclosure, not prohibition. An establishment may still charge an operations fee, but it must tell customers the amount or percentage and the reason for the charge before they order, and itemize it on the receipt.

Two limits shape how the law works in practice. First, enforcement authority sits with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation rather than with private plaintiffs; the statute does not create a private right of action for a customer to sue over a notice violation. Second, the rules govern disclosure of fees a business chooses to impose, not the amount of those fees.

Florida's disclosure model sits alongside a national wave of fee-transparency measures. California's SB 478 took a broader all-in-pricing approach, and the Federal Trade Commission's rule on unfair or deceptive fees targets hidden charges in live-event ticketing and short-term lodging. We have covered several state actions, including Illinois's junk fee ban, the FTC's action against the travel app Hopper, and Connecticut's auto-renewal and right-to-repair package. Florida consumers weighing other protections can also review the state's data-privacy consumer rights and the Florida Lemon Law.

Analysis: Why This Matters

The following is analysis from the Recording Law Editorial Team.

SB 606 reflects a design choice that is becoming common in consumer-protection law: mandate transparency rather than ban the underlying charge. For diners, the practical change is that a service charge or automatic gratuity should now appear before the decision to order, not as a surprise at the bottom of the check. For operators, the compliance work is concrete. Menus, online-ordering flows, and receipt formatting all have to state each fee and its purpose in the required places and font size.

The enforcement structure is worth noting. Because the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, not private litigants, enforces the notice requirement, the law is unlikely to generate the class-action wave that some private-right-of-action statutes produce. That tends to make compliance an administrative matter between establishments and the regulator, and it places the burden on consumers to report noncompliance rather than sue over it.

How This Affects You

If you dine in Florida, you should expect any automatic fee to be disclosed on the menu or ordering screen and itemized on your receipt starting July 1, 2026. If a fee is not disclosed, the route under this statute is a complaint to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation rather than a private lawsuit. The law does not cap or prohibit service charges, so the fee itself can remain; what changed is your ability to see it clearly before you order. Rules differ in other states, so a fee practice that is lawful in Florida may be treated differently elsewhere.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. It covers Florida's food-service fee-disclosure law and reflects sources verified on July 13, 2026. Laws change and vary by state; consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction about your specific situation.

Related articles

• Illinois junk fee ban (HB 228)
• FTC fines Hopper over hidden fees
• Florida Lemon Law

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Last updated: 2026-07-13. This is a developing story; details verified as of 2026-07-13.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Florida SB 606 require restaurants to do?

Effective July 1, 2026, Florida food-service establishments must disclose any automatic operations charge and its purpose on menus, online-ordering platforms, and written contracts, and itemize gratuity, the operations charge, and sales tax on separate lines of the receipt, under Fla. Stat. 509.214.

What is an operations charge under the law?

It is an automatic fee or charge, other than a government-imposed tax, that a customer must pay in addition to the price of food and beverage. The statute lists service charges, automatic gratuities, credit-card surcharges, and delivery fees as examples.

Does SB 606 ban service charges or automatic gratuities?

No. The law does not prohibit these fees. It requires that they be clearly disclosed before a customer completes the purchase and itemized on the receipt.

Can I sue a restaurant that fails to disclose a fee?

The statute does not create a private right of action for a notice violation. Enforcement authority rests with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, so the route is a complaint to that agency.

When did SB 606 take effect?

The governor signed SB 606 on June 2, 2025, and it took effect July 1, 2026, after a delayed effective date.

How must the disclosure appear on a menu?

The notice must state the amount or percentage and the purpose of each operations charge and appear in a font no smaller than the menu-item descriptions, wherever prices are listed, including websites and apps where orders are placed.