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FL
237123
5-Hour Law and Ethics Update - Bail Bonds - CE5-237
Section
1
REGULATORY AWARENESS
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Licensing Requirements
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The Division of Insurance Agents and Agency Services is responsible for the licensing and compliance of insurance agents and insurance adjusters. There are two types of licenses for bail agents: 2-34 – Limited Surety (Bail Bond) Agent and 2-37 – Professional Bail Bond. [<p />] [<b>]Limited Surety Agent[</b>][<font face = "Times New Roman" size = "3">] [<i>] [<b>]§648.27 Licenses and appointments; general.—[</b>] (1) A license may not be issued except in compliance with this chapter, and may not be issued except to an individual. A firm, partnership, association, or corporation, as such, may not be licensed. [<p />] (2) For the protection of the people of this state, the department may not issue, renew, or permit to exist any license or appointment except in compliance with this chapter. The department may not issue, renew, or permit to exist a license or appointment for any individual found to be untrustworthy or incompetent who has had his or her eligibility to hold a license or appointment revoked, or who has not established to the satisfaction of the department that he or she is qualified therefor in accordance with this chapter. [<p />] (3) The department may propound any reasonable interrogatories to an applicant for a license or appointment under this chapter or on any renewal thereof, relating to his or her qualifications, residence, prospective place of business, and any other matters which are deemed necessary or expedient in order to protect the public and ascertain the qualifications of the applicant. The department may also conduct any reasonable inquiry or investigation it sees fit, relative to the determination of the applicant’s fitness to be licensed or appointed or to continue to be licensed or appointed. Upon the request of the department, a law enforcement agency shall inform the department of any specific criminal charge filed against any applicant and the final disposition of such charge. [<p />] (4) If upon the basis of the completed application for a license or appointment and such further inquiry or investigation the department deems the applicant to be unfit as to character and background or lacking in one or more of the required qualifications for the license or appointment, the department shall disapprove the application. [<p />] (5)(a) The license of a bail bond agent shall continue in force, without further examination unless deemed necessary by the department, until suspended, revoked, or otherwise terminated. [<p />] (b) The license of a temporary bail bond agent shall continue in force until suspended, revoked, or otherwise terminated. [<p />] (6) The original license issued to a licensee under this chapter shall remain outstanding and in effect for so long as the license represented thereby continues in force as provided in this section. The department may at any time require the licensee to produce his or her department-issued photo identification. [<p />] (7) Any person who represents a surety company, whose duties are restricted to bail bonds, and who comes under the definition of “service representative” as provided in s. 626.015 shall be licensed and appointed as a bail bond agent. [<p />] (8) An individual who is appointed as a managing general agent to supervise or manage bail bond business written in this state must also be licensed as a bail bond agent. In the case of an entity, at least one owner, officer, or director at each office location must be licensed as a bail bond agent. [<p />] (9) If, upon application for an appointment and such investigation as the department may make, it appears to the department that an individual has been actively engaged or is currently actively engaged in bail bond activities without being appointed as required, the department may, if it finds that such failure to be appointed is an error on the part of the insurer or employer so represented, issue or authorize the issuance of the appointment as applied for, but subject to the condition that, before the appointment is issued, all fees and taxes which would have been due had the applicant been so appointed during such current and prior periods, together with a continuation fee for such current and prior terms of appointment, shall be paid to the department. Failure to notify the department within the required time period shall result in the appointing entity being assessed a delinquent fee of $250. Delinquent fees shall be paid by the appointing entity and shall not be charged to the appointee. [<p />] [<b>]§648.30 Licensure and appointment required.—[</b>] (1) A person may not act in the capacity of a bail bond agent or temporary bail bond agent or perform any of the functions, duties, or powers prescribed for bail bond agents or temporary bail bond agents under this chapter unless that person is qualified, licensed, and appointed as provided in this chapter. [<p />] (2) A person may not represent himself or herself to be a bail enforcement agent, bounty hunter, or other similar title in this state. [<p />] (3) A person, other than a certified law enforcement officer, may not apprehend, detain, or arrest a principal on a bond, wherever issued, unless that person is qualified, licensed, and appointed as provided in this chapter or licensed as a bail bond agent or bail bond enforcement agent, or holds an equivalent license by the state where the bond was written. [<p />] (4) Any person who violates this section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. [<p />] [<b>]§648.315 Number of applications for licensure required.—[</b>] After a license as a bail bond agent has been issued to an individual, the same individual is not required to file another application for a similar license unless: [<p />] (1) Specifically ordered by the department to complete a new application; or[<br/>] (2) A period of 48 months transpires between the time the licensee’s last limited surety agent or professional bail bond agent’s appointment is terminated and the date an application for a similar appointment is received by the department. [<p />] [<b>]§648.34 Bail bond agents; qualifications.—[</b>] (1) An application for licensure as a bail bond agent must be submitted on forms prescribed by the department. The application must include the applicant’s full name; date of birth; social security number; residence, business, and mailing addresses; contact telephone numbers, including a business telephone number; and e-mail address. [<p />] (2) To qualify as a bail bond agent, it must affirmatively appear at the time of application and throughout the period of licensure that the applicant has complied with the provisions of s. 648.355 and has obtained a temporary license pursuant to such section and: [<p id="21" />] (a) The applicant is a natural person who has reached the age of 18 years and holds a high school diploma or its equivalent. [<p />] (b) The applicant is a United States citizen or legal alien who possesses work authorization from the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and is a resident of this state. An individual who is a resident of this state shall be deemed to meet the residence requirement of this paragraph, notwithstanding the existence, at the time of application for license, of a license in the applicant’s name on the records of another state as a resident licensee of such other state, if the applicant furnishes a letter of clearance satisfactory to the department that his or her resident licenses have been canceled or changed to a nonresident basis and that he or she is in good standing. [<p />] (c) The place of business of the applicant will be located in this state and in the county where the applicant will maintain his or her records and be actively engaged in the bail bond business and maintain an agency accessible to the public which is open for reasonable business hours. [<p />] (d) The applicant is vouched for and recommended upon sworn statements filed with the department by at least three reputable citizens who are residents of the same counties in which the applicant proposes to engage in the bail bond business. [<p />] (e) The applicant is a person of high character and approved integrity and has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty or no contest to a felony, a crime involving moral turpitude, or a crime punishable by imprisonment of 1 year or more under the law of any state, territory, or country, whether or not a judgment or conviction has been entered. [<p />] (f) The applicant has passed any required examination. [<p />] (3) The department may collect a fee necessary to cover the cost of a character and credit report made by an established and reputable independent reporting service. The fee shall be deposited to the credit of the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund. Any information so furnished is confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). [<p />] (4) The applicant shall furnish, with his or her application, a complete set of his or her fingerprints and a recent credential-sized, fullface photograph of the applicant. The applicant’s fingerprints shall be certified by an authorized law enforcement officer. The department shall not authorize an applicant to take the required examination until the department has received a report from the Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation relative to the existence or nonexistence of a criminal history report based on the applicant’s fingerprints. [<p />] (5) The department shall conduct a comprehensive investigation of each applicant, including a background check. The investigation of the applicant’s qualifications, character, experience, background, and fitness shall include submission of the applicant’s fingerprints to the Department of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and consideration of any state criminal records, federal criminal records, or local criminal records obtained from these agencies or from local law enforcement agencies. [<p />] (6) The requirements for completion and submission of fingerprints under this chapter are deemed to be met when an individual currently licensed under this chapter seeks additional licensure and has previously submitted fingerprints to the department in support of an application for licensure under this chapter within the past 48 months. However, the department may require the individual to file fingerprints if it has reason to believe that an applicant or licensee has been found guilty of, or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, a felony or a crime related to the business of insurance in this or any other state or jurisdiction. [<p />] (7) The provisions of s. 112.011 do not apply to bail bond agents or to applicants for licensure as bail bond agents.