What a city or county may regulate
A county with a population of 1.5 million or more may regulate vessels anchored for 1 hour or more between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise on more than 30 days in any 6-month period.
The state keeps vessel regulation, with a short list of exceptions
Florida’s rule is that vessels are regulated by the state. 327.60 is where the exceptions live: the things a county or a municipality may still do. Most of them are about docks, speed and the shoreline. One of them is about anchoring, and it is narrower than it is usually quoted.
A county with a population of 1.5 million or more may regulate vessels anchored outside a marked mooring field — but only vessels anchored for 1 hour or more between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise, on more than 30 days in any 6-month period. Drop the night condition and the sentence reaches far more boats than the paragraph does.
No county is named
The section sets a threshold and leaves the counting to someone else. It also mentions a county designated as a rural area of opportunity, again without a name. Lists of five or six counties circulate with this rule; they are an inference from population figures, and this guide does not print them until a census source with a date is in the file.
Two kinds of time that do not count
Time inside a marked public mooring field is out, and so is time during permitted marine construction, installation or maintenance work. A boat that spends part of a season on a mooring and part at anchor is not counted the same way as one that never moves.
Who may enforce it since 1 July 2026
A county or a municipality may now adopt an ordinance letting its own code enforcement officers enforce the vessel provisions. The ordinance may not take effect until the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reviews and approves it, so the practical question in any one place is whether such an ordinance exists and has been approved — a question for that city or county, not for this page.
Worth knowing
- The statute names no county. It sets a population threshold — 1.5 million or more — and, separately, a county designated as a rural area of opportunity. Which counties pass that threshold is a census question, and this page does not answer it: a list of names would be our arithmetic, not the law's text.F.S. 327.60(2)(f)3.
- The night condition is part of the permission. The paragraph does not reach every vessel that lies outside a mooring field for a month. It reaches vessels anchored for 1 hour or more between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise, on more than 30 days in any 6-month period.F.S. 327.60(2)(f)3.
- Two kinds of time do not count. Time inside a marked public mooring field, and time during permitted marine construction, installation or maintenance work.F.S. 327.60(2)(f)3.
- An ordinance needs the commission's approval. Since 1 July 2026 a county or municipality may authorise its own code enforcement officers to enforce the vessel provisions, and such an ordinance may not take effect until the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reviews and approves it.ch. 2026-36
- The state's own night-time areas are a different section. Where this section lets a large county regulate, another section closes named water statewide through the night window and lets a county draw areas of its own.ch. 2025-39 Anchoring limitation areas at night
Where the rules differ by county
| County | What applies on top |
|---|---|
| Counties with 1.5 million or more inhabitants | The statute sets the threshold by population and names no county; it covers vessels anchored for 1 hour or more between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before sunrise on more than 30 days in any 6-month period. |
What changed on this rule
- 19 May 2025CS/CS/HB 481 · ch. 2025-39Anchoring distances and Biscayne Bayin force
Increases the prohibited anchoring and mooring distance near public mooring fields, designates specified sections of Biscayne Bay in Miami-Dade County as grandfathered-in anchoring limitation areas, and restricts local regulation of vessels outside the marked boundaries of mooring fields in certain counties. The bill page gives the effective date as 5/19/2025.
State law
Questions
Can a Florida city simply ban anchoring in its harbour?
327.60 reserves vessel regulation to the state and then lists what a local government may still do. Anchoring outside a marked mooring field is only on that list for a county with a population of 1.5 million or more, and only for vessels anchored 1 hour or more in the night window on more than 30 days in any 6-month period.
Which counties are big enough?
The section names none. It gives a population threshold of 1.5 million or more, and it also mentions a county designated as a rural area of opportunity. Working out which counties cross the line needs a census source, which this page does not carry.
Does time on a mooring count towards the 30 days?
No. Time inside a marked public mooring field does not count, and neither does time during permitted marine construction, installation or maintenance work.
Who writes the ticket now?
Since 1 July 2026 a county or municipality may let its own code enforcement officers enforce the vessel provisions — but its ordinance may not take effect until the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has reviewed and approved it.
Sources & checks
- Florida Statutes 327.60 (2026) – Local regulations; limitations · 21 Oct 2026
- Florida Senate – CS/CS/HB 481 (2025), Anchoring Limitation Areas, ch. 2025-39 · 21 Oct 2026
- Florida Senate – CS/CS/HB 1103 (2026), Local Administration of Vessel Restrictions, ch. 2026-36 · 21 Oct 2026