PUBLIC FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS ARE REQUIRED TO NOTIFY CUSTOMERS OF OPERATION CHARGES.
Have you ever looked at your restaurant tab and noticed a “service fee” or something similar and wondered what that was? It’s become more commonplace to see these added charges, many times not until after you have paid the bill. To address this issue, the Legislature amended Section 509.214, Florida Statutes and it becomes effective on July 1, 2026.
Public fool service establishments that charge an operation charge must include notice of this charge on the food menu, written contract, website and mobile application where food and beverage orders are placed. An operation charge is defined as an automatic fee or charge that a customer is required to pay in addition to the costs of the food and beverage purchased and any applicable taxes. Examples of an operation charge are service charges, automatic gratuities, credit card surcharges and delivery fees. The required disclosure includes the amount or percentage and purpose of such charge. The notice is required to be in a font that is equal to or greater than the font used for menu item descriptions or the general provision of the written contract.
If no menus, table service or written contracts are provided by the public food service establishment, then the operations charge notice must appear in an obvious and clearly readable manner on the menu board or a sign by the register where the customer pays. In addition, there must be a notice on the face of the bill provided to the customer that an operations charge is included. Any receipt provided to a customer must contain separate lines for the gratuity, the operations charge, and the sales tax so that it is clear what is being charged. If the operations charge includes an automatic gratuity, the receipt must state this separately.
This amendment is clear to state that it does not give anyone a right to a private cause of action against the public food establishment for any violations of this provision. Other provisions in Chapter 509, Florida Statutes, set forth actions that can be taken by state agencies against a public food service establishment’s license.