Florida Statutes and Board Rules Governing Auctioneers
The statutory frame
Florida regulates auctioneers under Chapter 468, Part VI, Florida Statutes, administered by the Board of Auctioneers within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Board rules appear in Chapter 61G2, Florida Administrative Code. Know the two licenses: the individual auctioneer license and the auction business license. A business must be operated by or employ a licensed auctioneer.
Licensure
Typical requirements: age 18, good moral character, high school diploma or equivalent, completion of a board-approved auction school course (commonly tested as 80 hours), and passing the examination. Licenses must be renewed and displayed; practicing on an expired or inactive license is a violation.
Prohibited conduct
Grounds for discipline include fraud, misrepresentation, false advertising, calling auctions without a license, commingling trust funds, and failing to account. The board may fine, suspend, revoke, or place a licensee on probation.
Traps
Questions love the “someone else's license covers me” trap-it doesn't. An out-of-state license does not automatically authorize Florida auctions; a local occupational license is not a state auctioneer license; and “I wasn't paid” is not a safe defense if compensation was expected.
Worked example
A dealer wants an unlicensed employee to call the auction “just this once.” Refuse. The employee may clerk or ring, but calling bids for the business requires a licensed auctioneer.
Rule of thumb: the license follows the person; the business license follows the entity.