Foreign Principal Owners of Ag Land May Register Online
Under SB 264, property owned by foreign principals used for “bona fide agricultural purposes” must be registered, and it can now be done online.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – According to Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Public Relations Manager Christopher E. Green, the agricultural registration component of SB 264 now has an online registration option.
“This department is tasked with administering only those portions of SB 264 (Section 692.202, Florida Statutes) that apply to property designated as agricultural land as defined in Section 193.461, Florida Statutes,” he explained in an email. “Subject to the restrictions specified in this section, only lands … used primarily for bona fide agricultural purposes shall be classified agricultural.
“The term ‘bona fide agricultural purposes’ means good faith commercial agricultural use of the land. The agricultural land classification is reviewed and determined annually by the County Property Appraiser.”
FDACS only accepts registrations for agricultural land. The Florida Department of Commerce, a separate Florida agency, is required to create a registration process for foreign principles that own property in proximity to military installations or critical infrastructure. In the meantime, Florida residents can email the Department of Commerce at Leg@commerce.fl.gov to request more information.
Foreign Principal Registration Portal
The site for registering ownership can be accessed by clicking here: Foreign Principal Registration Portal, which also includes more details about the process. The first step is to then click the “Sign in” in the upper right and register, which is done following step-by-step instructions.
A PDF document of the process can also be downloaded by clicking here.
For information on the rule proposed by FDACS, see "Dept. of Agriculture Publishes Proposed Foreign-Buyer Rule."
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