Employee Leasing Companies – FAQs

Employee Leasing is an arrangement whereby a leasing company assigns its employees to a client and allocates the direction and control over those leased employees between the leasing companies and client. Examples of work provided by Employee Leasing Companies are Payroll Services, Insurance, Tax Services, and various Personnel Services.

For assistance in locating applicable laws and rules, you may call the Customer Contact Center at 850-487-1395.

You must submit a completed employee leasing company application, including all required exhibits. The employee leasing company cannot receive a license without at least one licensed controlling person. The application and various other forms relating to employee leasing are available on the main page, Apply For A License.

You must submit a completed controlling person application. An individual cannot be licensed as a controlling person unless there is also a licensed employee leasing company. The application and various other forms relating to employee leasing are available on the main page, Apply For A License.

You may be a controlling person by virtue of your position or ownership interest in the employee leasing company. Generally, one must be licensed if any one of the following applies:

• He or she directly or indirectly owns 50 percent or more of the voting securities in an employee leasing company;
• He or she directly or indirectly possesses the power to direct the management or policies of an employee leasing company;
• He or she has the general power to endorse any negotiable instrument payable to or on behalf of the employee leasing company; or
• He or she is employed, authorized or appointed to enter into a contractual relationship with a client company on behalf of the employee leasing company.

Yes. In order to do so, you must remit $5.00 in addition to two letters: one stating your desire to become a controlling person for another company and one from the company you wish to join stating they will add you as a controlling person. Please submit your request to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Central Intake Unit, 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0783.

No. The department does not regulate temporary agencies or staffing companies. Check with your local government for any licensing requirements it may have.

An employee leasing company group is two to five companies operating as one licensee. To qualify as a group, the companies must have common ownership.

Yes. However, you may obtain a De Minimis registration in lieu of full licensure if you meet all the qualification requirements.

A De Minimis registration is for employee leasing companies that are not domiciled in the State of Florida and who have a small number of leased employees working in Florida. De Minimis registrants are exempt from certain filing requirements such as quarterly and annual reports, assessment fees, etc. The De Minimis licensure/renewal fee is $250 annually for a single company and $500 for a group.

A company who submits a completed De Minimis application, is domiciled outside the State of Florida and is licensed or registered as an employee leasing company in its state of domicile or residence (if such state requires licensure), may qualify for De Minimis registration and Exemption only if the company:

• Does not provide leased employees to a client whose business is located or domiciled within Florida;
• Does not maintain an office in Florida; and
• Does not have more than 50 leased employees in Florida.

The company must meet all of the above requirements to qualify. The application and various other forms relating to employee leasing are on the main page, Apply For A License.

Employee leasing companies that meet the requirements of a registration as a De Minimis Operation are exempt from the licensing requirements specified in Section 468.525, Florida Statutes, which includes the licensure of a controlling person.

Employee leasing companies that meet the requirements of a registration as a De Minimis Operation are exempt from the licensing requirements specified in Section 468.525, Florida Statutes, which includes meeting the submission of quarterly and annual financial statements.

It usually takes two to three months once the application has been filed. However, it depends upon a number of factors, such as timing of the board meetings and when the application was submitted, as well as the number of deficiencies noted in the application and how quickly the company resolves them.

There is no set date by which one can be guaranteed a place on the board agenda. Once an application is received, board staff has 30 days to inform the applicant, in writing, of any application deficiencies. Upon receipt of the deficiency letter, the applicant has 90 days to resolve any deficiencies. Please be advised that submission of an application prior to a board meeting date does not mean that the application will be on the next agenda.

Yes, you may request an application by calling the department’s Customer Contact Center at 850.487.1395. The application and various other forms relating to employee leasing are also available on the main page, Apply For A License. Please note that if you print a controlling person application from the website, you will need to call the Customer Contact Center at 850.487.1395 to request fingerprint cards, which must be submitted as part of the application.

You must complete and return a Termination of Employee Leasing Company Operations form. The form may be found on the main page, Forms and Publications. The board will review the termination form and accept or reject it. The purpose of the board’s review is to try to ensure that all employee leasing company liabilities have been settled. Please be advised that you must continue to file all required reports (even if the employee leasing company is not operating) until such time that the board approves the termination.

Yes. You must submit all required filings as long as the employee leasing company holds a license.

No. There is no “inactive” status for employee leasing companies.

You can verify your license to another state by using DBPR’s Online Services. Create an online account or logon to your existing account at www.myfloridalicense.com. Select “Request License Certification” from the License Menu. Complete the online application and pay the $25 fee by credit card or electronic check. A copy of your license record will be created and mailed by U.S. mail directly to the address you provide during the transaction. Please allow 10 business days for the other state to receive the document. You will also receive an email copy of the certification for your records.
If you need to send certification of your license to multiple states you will repeat the instructions above and pay the required $25 application fee for each request.

Yes, at www.MyFloridaLicense.com, Online Services. You can also change your telephone number and email address here.

Three types of addresses have been established to support your needs: main, license mailing, and license location.
Main Address – This address is the primary address on file.
License Mailing Address – This is the address where the mail associated with a particular license will be sent (if different from the main or license location addresses).
License Location Address – This is the address where the place of business is physically located.
An example of the use of different addresses:
If Jane Doe is a contractor that works for ACME Builders, she may have 3 different addresses listed in her profile. Her main address would be the address of ACME Builders’ corporate headquarters. Her license mailing may be her home so she doesn’t have to visit the office to pick up her mail. Finally, her License Location would be the address of the ACME Builders’ local office where she works. If Jane Doe worked independently, she might have only one address on file (Main Address) as her office is the same place she wishes to receive her mail.

The main address and license mailing address can be changed online for all license types. License location addresses can also be changed online, except for Barbershops, Cosmetology Salons, Veterinary Establishments, and Talent Agencies. The location for these license types is tied to the license, so a location change will require submission of a new application.

You may submit Form DBPR ELC 8 by mail or by fax to:
Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Central Intake Unit – License Maintenance
2601 Blair Stone Road
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0783
Fax: 850.488.8040

You may submit Form DBPR ELC 8 by mail or by fax to:
Department of Business and Professional Regulation
Central Intake Unit – License Maintenance
2601 Blair Stone Road
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0783
Fax: 850.488.8040