The law that separates mold assessors from mold remediators.
Florida Statute §468.8419 draws a hard line between the person who diagnoses a mold problem and the person who profits from fixing it. Here is the statute, quoted exactly, and what each paragraph means when you hire.
Short answer
Florida Statute §468.8419 prohibits a mold assessor from remediating a structure they assessed within the last 12 months, from inspecting property they hold a financial interest in, and from paying or accepting referral fees to or from remediators. Violations are criminal: a second-degree misdemeanor for a first violation, a first-degree misdemeanor for a second, and a third-degree felony for a third or subsequent violation.
Since July 1, 2011, Florida has licensed mold assessment and mold remediation as separate regulated activities under Chapter 468, Part XVI of the Florida Statutes, with implementing rules in Chapter 61-31 of the Florida Administrative Code. Licenses are issued to individuals by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) — assessor licenses carry the prefix MRSA, remediator licenses MRSR.
The teeth of the framework are in §468.8419, titled “Prohibitions; penalties.” Subsection (1) restricts assessors, subsection (2) mirrors the same restrictions for remediators, and subsection (3) sets the criminal penalties. The paragraphs below quote the assessor provisions exactly as published in the 2025 Florida Statutes and then translate each into plain language.
§468.8419(1)(d) — a person may not:
“Perform or offer to perform any mold remediation to a structure on which the mold assessor or the mold assessor’s company provided a mold assessment within the last 12 months. This paragraph does not apply to a certified contractor who is classified in s. 489.105(3) as a Division I contractor. However, the department may adopt rules requiring that, if such contractor performs the mold assessment and offers to perform the mold remediation, the contract for mold remediation provided to the homeowner discloses that he or she has the right to request competitive bids.”
In plain language: This is the 12-month rule. The company that assessed your property cannot turn around and sell you the remediation for a year. The narrow exception is for certain Division I contractors (general, building, residential), and even then the state contemplates a disclosure telling you that you can request competitive bids. When the same phone call produces both the diagnosis and the repair quote, this is the paragraph to ask about.
§468.8419(1)(e) — a person may not:
“Inspect for a fee any property in which the assessor or the assessor’s company has any financial or transfer interest.”
In plain language: An assessor cannot charge to inspect a property they have a financial stake in. The inspection is supposed to be evidence, and evidence is worthless when the person producing it profits from the outcome.
§468.8419(1)(f) — a person may not:
“Accept any compensation, inducement, or reward from a mold remediator or mold remediator’s company for the referral of any business to the mold remediator or the mold remediator’s company.”
In plain language: Assessors cannot take referral fees from remediators. If your inspector gets paid when a remediation company gets your job, the recommendation you paid for was never independent.
§468.8419(1)(g) — a person may not:
“Offer any compensation, inducement, or reward to a mold remediator or mold remediator’s company for the referral of any business from the mold remediator or the mold remediator’s company.”
In plain language: The kickback ban runs both directions: an assessor also cannot pay a remediator for sending work their way. Paragraphs (f) and (g) together are Florida closing the referral loop from both ends.
§468.8419(1)(h) — a person may not:
“Accept an engagement to make an omission of the assessment or conduct an assessment in which the assessment itself, or the fee payable for the assessment, is contingent upon the conclusions of the assessment.”
In plain language: No contingent-fee inspections. An assessor cannot take a job where getting paid — or what they get paid — depends on what the report concludes. A finding you can buy is not a finding.
The penalties are criminal, and they escalate.
Violating any provision of the section is a crime. The statute's own words:
First violation
Misdemeanor of the second degree
“punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083”
Second violation
Misdemeanor of the first degree
“punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083”
Third or subsequent violation
Felony of the third degree
“punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084”
Quoted from §468.8419(3)(a)–(c), 2025 Florida Statutes. Some websites describe these penalties incorrectly — the ladder above is the statute's exact language, and you can confirm it yourself at flsenate.gov.
How to verify any Florida mold license
Four steps, using Sterling's own license as the worked example.
- 1
Open the DBPR license portal
Go to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's license search (myfloridalicense.com) and choose "Verify a License."
- 2
Search by license number
Select the licensee search and enter the license number. Worked example: entering MRSA5798 returns Sterling's assessor — every legitimate Florida mold assessor license starts with MRSA.
- 3
Check the status line
The record shows the licensee's name, license type (Mold Assessor), status (should read Current, Active), and expiration date. "Null and void" or "Delinquent" means the person cannot legally perform mold assessments today.
- 4
Match the name to the person
Florida licenses individuals under Chapter 468, Part XVI — confirm the name on the record is the person actually inspecting your property, not just a name on the company's website.
What this law means when you hire
Every paragraph of §468.8419(1) exists because the conflict it prohibits actually happens: the free inspection that always finds mold, the assessor whose remediation crew is already in the driveway, the referral fee that quietly decides what the report says. Florida's answer was to make the diagnosis and the cure separate licensed activities and to criminalize the shortcuts between them.
Practically, that gives you a three-question screen for anyone you hire: Are you licensed as an assessor, and what is the MRSA number? Will you or your company be paid anything if remediation happens? Can I have the finding in writing, with the evidence? A licensed, independent assessor answers all three without flinching.
This page is general education about a public statute, not legal advice. For how the law applies to a specific dispute or claim, talk to a Florida-licensed attorney; for the current statute text, flsenate.gov is the authoritative source. See also our plain-language guide to Florida's mold licensing framework.
Hire the independence the law intended.
Licensed Florida mold assessor MRSA5798. Assessment-only, no remediation, no referral fees — in writing, with evidence.