§ 310.161, Fla. Stat. · Chapter 310. PILOTS, PILOTING, AND PILOTAGE
Piloting without a license; penalties.
Text — 2026 Florida Statutes
(1) Any individual who is not a licensed state pilot or a certificated deputy pilot, and who directs the movement of a vessel on which a licensed state pilot or certificated deputy pilot is required is guilty of piloting without a license. Any person piloting without a license is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
(2) In addition to, or in lieu of, the penalty provided in subsection (1), the department may seek the imposition of a civil penalty through the circuit court. The civil penalty shall be not less than $500 and not more than $5,000 for each offense. The court shall also award to the prevailing party court costs and reasonable attorney fees and, in the event the department prevails, may also award reasonable costs of investigation.
(3) The vessel and its owner shall be obligated to pay to the licensed state pilots at the port where the violation of subsection (1) occurred, the pilotage rate which would otherwise have been applicable, and, if the pilots in said port must resort to legal action to obtain a judgment therefor, the court shall also award to the prevailing party court costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
s. 2, ch. 75-201; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 1, ch. 77-457; s. 16, ch. 78-140; s. 2, ch. 81-318; ss. 2, 3, ch. 84-185; ss. 10, 11, ch. 86-280; s. 2, ch. 89-262; s. 8, ch. 90-54; s. 6, ch. 90-144; s. 4, ch. 91-429.
Source of truth
- Edition
- 2026 Florida Statutes
- Official file
- https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0310/0310.html
- Text hash
- sha256 befb44030e076877648d38d422db98b31bdab697b496c773a28c23f62fb7c5fb
- Composed by
- compose_v2.py 2026-10-04: the Legislature's structured HTML read in document order; verify_v2.py's independent reading agrees character for character
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This section cites
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