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Rules · Florida

The long-term anchoring permit

F.S. 327.4111since 1 Jan 2026

Anchoring for 14 days or more within a 30-day period and within 1 linear nautical mile of a documented anchorage point needs a permit, issued at no cost and expiring 1 year from the date of issuance.

Last checked 21 Oct 2026Not legal advice.

What counts as long-term

The section draws a circle, not a calendar square. Long-term anchoring is anchoring a vessel within 1 linear nautical mile of a documented anchorage point for 14 days or more within a 30-day period. Two weeks in the same bight, with a night or two somewhere else in between, is still inside the circle; a move of a few hundred metres is not a new anchorage point.

If that is your plan, the permit is the paperwork, and it costs nothing.

What the permit is

The commission issues it at no cost to the applicant, and a permit expires 1 year from the date of issuance. The section does not ask for a reason, a boat survey or an insurance certificate — it asks for the permit to exist before the fourteenth day.

A vessel at a public or private dock does not need one, and neither does a vessel on a permitted mooring buoy. Governmental, construction and commercial fishing vessels are outside the section as well.

Since when, and on whose word

1 January 2026 — and that date is in the act itself. Section 3 of ch. 2025-147 created 327.4111 with its own effective date, while the rest of the act took effect on 1 July 2025. That is the only date this page carries: the statute page shows no effective date of its own, and a date from anywhere other than the law or the bill text does not go on a buoya page.

What it does not replace

The permit answers how long. It does not move the distances you may not anchor inside, and it does not switch off the anchoring limitation areas — in Monroe County a vessel still has to change place at intervals, whatever permit it holds. A breach of this section is a noncriminal infraction, punishable as provided in s. 327.73.

Worth knowing

  • The radius is measured from a documented anchorage point. Long-term anchoring is anchoring a vessel within 1 linear nautical mile of a documented anchorage point for 14 days or more within a 30-day period. Shifting a few hundred metres down the bay is still the same point.F.S. 327.4111
  • The commission issues it at no cost. The section says the commission shall issue the permit at no cost to the applicant, and that long-term anchoring permits expire 1 year from the date of issuance.F.S. 327.4111
  • Not needed at a dock or on a permitted buoy. The section leaves out a vessel at a public or private dock and a vessel on a permitted mooring buoy, along with governmental, construction and commercial fishing vessels.F.S. 327.4111
  • The date comes from the act, not from a notice. Section 3 of ch. 2025-147 carries its own effective date and creates 327.4111 as of 1 January 2026. The rest of that act took effect on 1 July 2025.ch. 2025-147
  • A breach is a noncriminal infraction. The section calls it one and makes it punishable as provided in s. 327.73, where the amounts stand.F.S. 327.73
  • The permit does not move the distances. A permit says you may stay. Where you may drop the anchor in the first place is a different section, and it measures from marinas, ramps, boatyards and mooring fields.F.S. 327.4111 Where you may not anchor
  • In Monroe County a second clock runs. The anchoring limitation areas section asks a vessel in the Keys to change place at intervals, whatever permit it holds.ch. 2025-147 Anchoring limitation areas at night

What changed on this rule

  1. 1 Jul 2026
    CS/CS/HB 1103 · ch. 2026-36
    Local enforcement of the vessel rulesin force

    Lets a county or municipality adopt an ordinance authorising code enforcement officers to enforce the at-risk vessel and long-term anchoring permit provisions. Such an ordinance may not take effect until the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reviews and approves it. Approved by the Governor on 20 April 2026, chapter number assigned 21 April 2026, effective date 7/1/2026.

    State law

  2. 1 Jan 2026
    CS/SB 164 · ch. 2025-147, s. 3
    Long-term anchoring permitin force

    Section 3 of the act carries its own date: "Effective January 1, 2026, section 327.4111, Florida Statutes, is created to read:". It is the only section of the act with a 2026 date; the rest took effect on 1 July 2025.

    State law

Questions

When exactly do I need the permit?

When a vessel is anchored within 1 linear nautical mile of a documented anchorage point for 14 days or more within a 30-day period. Below that the section does not apply.

What does it cost, and how long is it good for?

Nothing — the section says the commission issues it at no cost to the applicant. A permit expires 1 year from the date of issuance.

Do I need one on a mooring buoy or at a marina?

The section leaves out a vessel at a public or private dock and a vessel on a permitted mooring buoy. Governmental, construction and commercial fishing vessels are outside it as well.

Since when has this been the law?

Since 1 January 2026. That date is written into section 3 of ch. 2025-147 itself, which created 327.4111; the remainder of that act took effect on 1 July 2025.

Sources & checks

Written by buoya editorial from the sources above. Every figure was checked against its source on 21 Oct 2026. Found something wrong? Report a correction.