2.5 Prohibited Acts, Unlawful Solicitations & Penalties
Key Takeaways
- F.S. 648.44 prohibits active bail solicitation in courthouses, county jails, police stations, sheriff offices, or adjacent court grounds.
- Bail bond agents are strictly forbidden from paying referral fees, rebates, or splitting commissions with attorneys, judges, police officers, jailers, or court clerks.
- Agents cannot suggest or recommend specific attorneys, execute bonds while under the influence of drugs/alcohol, or pre-sign blank bond forms and powers of attorney.
- Surrendering a defendant back into custody prior to forfeiture requires lawful 'just cause'; unjustified surrenders warrant premium refunds and administrative sanctions.
- Consequences depend on the cited provision: F.S. 648.52 allows up to $5,000 per violation or $20,000 for a willful violation, while F.S. 648.525 separately sets a $5,000 civil assessment for each improper-solicitation act.
2.5 Prohibited Conduct and Penalties
Chapter 648 separates prohibited acts, disciplinary grounds, administrative penalties, solicitation assessments, and criminal offenses. Avoid assigning an automatic sanction without matching the conduct to the exact subsection.
Selected prohibited acts — F.S. 648.44
High-yield restrictions include:
- no recommending or suggesting a particular attorney to a principal or indemnitor;
- no soliciting business in a police station, jail, prison, detention facility, or court;
- no paying a fee or rebate to a jailer, police or peace officer, committing magistrate, or another person with power to arrest or custody;
- no dividing premium or compensation except as permitted by law;
- no signing or countersigning a bond in blank; and
- every agent advertisement must contain the agent's address of record on file with DFS.
Use the exact paragraph when a question asks which payment or solicitation is prohibited. For example, the prohibited payment to jail or police personnel is in F.S. 648.44(1)(e).
Improper solicitation assessment — F.S. 648.525
DFS may impose a $5,000 civil assessment for each act of improper solicitation. This is distinct from the general administrative-penalty ceiling.
Disciplinary grounds — F.S. 648.45
F.S. 648.45 identifies conduct for which DFS must or may deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse renewal or appointment. Read the compulsory and discretionary provisions carefully; not every violation yields automatic permanent revocation.
Administrative penalty — F.S. 648.52
In addition to or instead of suspension, revocation, or refusal to renew, DFS may impose:
- up to $5,000 for a violation; or
- up to $20,000 when the violation was willful.
The section also addresses increasing the penalty in relation to pecuniary benefit in the stated circumstances. Administrative probation under F.S. 648.53 may not exceed 2 years.
Criminal classifications depend on the section
Some Chapter 648 provisions expressly classify violations. For example:
- violating F.S. 648.30 is a third-degree felony;
- knowingly aiding or abetting an unlicensed person in violating F.S. 648.30 is a third-degree felony; and
- violating F.S. 648.442 is a third-degree felony under subsection (11).
Do not assume that every administrative violation is automatically a felony or that the same jail term or fine applies across all conduct. Follow the penalty language in the provision actually cited.
Contact changes are not a general event-reporting rule
F.S. 648.421 requires 10-working-day notices for specified changes in principal business address, telephone number, agency/firm information, name, home address, email, or telephone number. It does not create the formerly asserted general 30-day rule for every arrest, conviction, or outside administrative action.
Exam method
- Identify the conduct: solicitation, referral, fee division, blank bond, advertising, unlicensed practice, or collateral.
- Locate the precise substantive section.
- Decide whether the question asks about licensing discipline, administrative penalty, civil assessment, or criminal classification.
- Apply the deadline and recipient list from that section only.
- Reject answers that combine F.S. 648.45, .52, .525, and .421 into one penalty rule.
Which of the following acts is explicitly prohibited for a licensed Florida bail bond agent under F.S. 648.44?
Under F.S. 648.525, what civil assessment may DFS impose for each act of improper solicitation?
Under Florida law, which of the following conditions constitutes lawful 'just cause' for a bail bond agent to surrender a defendant back into custody prior to a court date?