Florida Special Districts Explained

A Florida special district is a unit of local government created for a special purpose, as opposed to a general purpose, that operates within a limited geographic boundary (section 189.012).

Section 189.012 of the Florida Statutes defines a special district as a unit of local government created for a special purpose, as opposed to a general purpose, with jurisdiction within a limited geographic boundary, and created by general law, special act, local ordinance or rule of the Governor and Cabinet (Florida Statutes).

Several Florida bodies that look like districts are excluded from that definition: school districts, community college districts, special improvement districts under section 285.17, municipal service taxing or benefit units under section 125.01, and electric service boards that are part of a municipality (section 189.012). Florida's regional water management districts are special taxing districts under chapter 373 and appear in chapter 189 under their own definition (Florida Statutes).

The FloridaCommerce Special District Accountability Program describes its site, as read on October 15, 2026, as a centralized source of information about Florida's 2,080-plus special districts (FloridaCommerce).

A Florida special district is dependent if a single county or city controls its board or its budget, and independent if no single county or city does (section 189.012).

Section 189.012 gives four tests, and meeting any one of them makes a Florida district dependent (Florida Statutes):

A Florida special district that meets none of those tests is independent, and a district that includes more than one county is independent unless it lies wholly within the boundaries of a single municipality (section 189.012). The state's official list records the status of every district, and community development districts are always listed as independent (section 189.061).

The status also sets the Florida website rule: under section 189.069 each independent district must keep a separate website, while each dependent district must be displayed prominently on the home page of the county or city it depends on (Florida Statutes).

A Florida dependent district created since 1989 is set up by county or city ordinance, while a law creating an independent district must meet minimum charter requirements in chapter 189 (section 189.031).

Since September 30, 1989, a charter for a new dependent special district may be adopted only by ordinance of the county or municipal governing body that has jurisdiction over the area (section 189.02). A Florida county may create one within its boundaries only with the approval of the governing body of any incorporated area affected, and the ordinance must state the district's purpose, powers, boundaries, authority and why it is the best alternative (Florida Statutes).

For independent districts created after September 30, 1989, section 189.031 sets minimum requirements, and the Florida Legislature has barred special acts that exempt such a district from the election rules in section 189.04, the bond referendum rules in section 189.042, or the reporting, notice and public meeting requirements of chapter 189 (Florida Statutes). A statement documenting the district's purpose, its authority and why it is the best alternative must reach the Legislature before it acts (section 189.031).

The Sebastian Inlet District predates those rules: it was created by the Florida Legislature in 1919 to maintain the inlet and navigational channel, an inlet the district describes as connecting the Indian River Lagoon and Atlantic Ocean, and in June 2025 it completed Phase 1 of its North Jetty Revetment Improvement Project, rebuilding and improving 210 feet of the jetty (Sebastian Inlet District).

Florida special districts may levy property taxes only when authorized by law, within millage limits set in Article VII, section 9 of the Florida Constitution (Florida Constitution).

Article VII, section 9 of the Florida Constitution says counties, school districts and municipalities shall, and special districts may, be authorized by law to levy ad valorem taxes (Florida Constitution). The same section caps water management millage at 0.05 mill in the northwest portion of the state lying west of the line between ranges two and three east and 1.0 mill for the rest of the state, and limits all other special districts to a millage authorized by law and approved by vote of the electors who own freeholds there (Art. VII, s. 9).

Every Florida district must post on its website a list of all taxes, fees, assessments or charges it imposes, with the rates for the fiscal year and the statutory authority for each levy (section 189.069).

Board selection varies by charter. Community development districts, the Florida districts governed by chapter 190, have a five-member board of supervisors first elected at a landowners meeting held within 90 days of the rule or ordinance creating the district (section 190.006). At that meeting each landowner casts one vote per acre of land owned in the district (Florida Statutes).

Seats on a Florida community development district board shift to resident voters over time: after the 6th year, or the 10th year for districts over 5,000 acres or compact urban mixed-use districts, seats move to qualified electors once the district has at least 250 qualified electors, or 500 for those larger districts (section 190.006).

A Florida resident can look up any special district on the FloridaCommerce Official List of Special Districts and then on the district's own website, which state law requires (FloridaCommerce).

FloridaCommerce describes the Official List of Special Districts as an online database with quick summary reports, customized reports and Excel downloads; it shows each district's official name, registered agent and office, independent or dependent status, special purpose, the counties where it has territory and its official web address (FloridaCommerce). The Florida Department of Commerce must keep that list for all special districts, sorted by county, and must leave off districts declared inactive (section 189.061).

Since October 1, 2015, or by the end of its first full fiscal year for a newer district, every Florida special district has had to keep an official website; an independent district needs its own site, while a dependent district must be displayed prominently on the home page of the county or city it depends on (section 189.069). The website must show the district's legal name and purpose, each board member's name, official address, e-mail, term and appointing authority, its fiscal year, the full text of its charter and its boundaries and services (Florida Statutes).

Florida sets the state fee by rule to pay one-half of the cost of administering the act, and the fee may not exceed $175 per district per year, with fines of up to $25, and no more than $50 in total, for districts that fail to pay (section 189.018). The program page also links to the Florida Special District Handbook, which explains how districts are created and dissolved (FloridaCommerce).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, against the FloridaCommerce program page, the Florida Statutes and Florida Constitution on the Florida Legislature websites, and the Sebastian Inlet District website.