How Many Days Does a Florida HOA Have to Send an Estoppel Certificate?
Use the free tool — Estoppel Clock
What the law requires
Florida Statute 720.30851 says a homeowners' association has to issue an estoppel certificate within 10 business days of a written or electronic request from a parcel owner, their designee, or a mortgagee. The same law requires the association to publish, on its website, who those requests should be sent to.
How to count the 10 business days
Count business days, not calendar days, starting from the date you sent your written or electronic request. If you have not yet sent that request, or you are not sure when you did, there is nothing to count yet. Send the request first, in writing or electronically, to whoever the association's website says should receive it.
What the statute does not tell you
- It does not set the fee the association may charge for the certificate. That depends on your community's own declaration and bylaws — read them, or ask the association directly.
- It does not spell out a specific penalty if the association misses the 10-business-day deadline. Nothing in the material this tool relies on describes one.
- It applies to Chapter 720 homeowners' associations only.
If you are in a condo, co-op, timeshare, or mobile home park
Stop here. Chapter 720 is not your statute. Condominium estoppel certificates are governed by Chapter 718 and follow different rules. Do not rely on anything above if you are dealing with a condominium, cooperative, timeshare, or mobile home park.
If you received a violation notice or a fine
This page only covers the estoppel certificate deadline for a sale. A violation notice or a fine is a different situation — use the HOA violation responder tool instead.
What to do next
The free Estoppel Clock tool reads the date you enter and counts the 10 business days set out in Fla. Stat. 720.30851, then tells you whether the deadline has already passed. It can also help draft a follow-up letter. It is not legal advice, and it cannot make an association act. For anything contested, or to check the fee and the required recipient for your specific community, read your declaration and bylaws or talk to a Florida community association attorney.
Estoppel Clock reads what you type and explains Florida Chapter 720 in plain language. It can be wrong, it is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading your community's own declaration and bylaws, and the fee an association may charge depends on rules outside this tool. For anything contested, talk to a Florida community association attorney.