Florida gives you 10 days to cancel a public adjuster contract — not 3. Here's the statute

Florida law gives you 10 days to cancel a public adjuster contract without penalty. Not 3 days. If you've seen the 3-day figure on another site — and it's common — that number is wrong for Florida. The correct window comes directly from Fla. Stat. § 626.854(7), and knowing it before you sign matters.

Florida: days you can cancel a public adjuster contract

Day 1Day 14

10 days from signing (longer after a declared emergency)

Cancel window:

Day 1–10

Where the 3-day figure comes from

Three days is the federal cooling-off period that applies to certain door-to-door sales under FTC rules. It bleeds into consumer content about all kinds of contracts, and it's wrong here. Florida's public adjuster statute sets its own cancellation window, and it's longer.

What Florida's statute actually says

Under Fla. Stat. § 626.854(7), a policyholder who signs a public adjuster contract may cancel it within 10 days of execution — no penalty, no fee, no obligation.

The clock starts at the date you sign the contract, not the date of the loss or the date the adjuster first contacted you.

The emergency exception makes it longer, not shorter

If your loss occurred during a Governor-declared state of emergency, your cancellation window extends further. Under the same statute, you may cancel within 30 days of the loss event or within 10 days of contract execution, whichever is longer.

That distinction matters in hurricane season. If a storm is declared a state of emergency and you sign a public adjuster contract two weeks after the loss, you still have time left on the 30-day window from the loss date — which runs longer than the 10-day window from signing. You get whichever deadline is later.

When a public adjuster can first approach you

The cancellation window isn't the only timing rule in § 626.854(7). A public adjuster may not initiate contact with a policyholder — by phone, in person, or otherwise — until 48 hours after the loss event, unless you contact the adjuster first. Solicitation is limited to Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If someone knocked on your door within 24 hours of a storm, showed up on a Sunday night, or contacted you outside those hours without you reaching out first, that's a violation of Florida law.

What the fee cap looks like in Florida

Florida caps public adjuster fees at 20% of the claim payment for standard losses. For claims arising from a declared state of emergency where the contract is signed within one year of the declaration, the cap drops to 10% (Fla. Stat. § 626.854(11)).

Before signing, confirm in writing what percentage the adjuster is charging and make sure it matches the statutory cap that applies to your situation. If your loss is storm-related and a state of emergency was declared, you're likely in the 10% tier.

How referrals work

Florida bars public adjusters from paying anyone who isn't a licensed public adjuster for referring business (§ 626.854(12)). If a contractor or roofer steered you to a specific adjuster, ask whether money changed hands.

What to check before the 10 days run out

If you've signed a public adjuster contract in Florida and you're still within that window, use the time to:

• Verify the adjuster's license at the Florida Department of Financial Services license lookup or through our registry's verify-license tool
• Confirm the fee percentage in your contract matches the statutory cap (20% standard, 10% under emergency declaration)
• Check that the contract clearly states your 10-day cancellation right — Florida law requires it to appear in the contract
• Review whether the adjuster's claimed experience and specializations match your loss type. Those details are self-reported by the adjuster, not independently verified by the registry or the state

If you decide to cancel, do it in writing and keep a copy with the date. You don't need a reason — the statute gives you the right unconditionally.

If you're deciding whether to hire one at all

A public adjuster isn't the only option when a claim goes sideways. Public adjuster vs. attorney vs. doing it yourself breaks down what each path costs, when each makes sense, and where the lines are.

For storm-related losses specifically — which drive most public adjuster activity in Florida — hurricane and wind damage claims covers the documentation and dispute patterns that determine whether a claim settles or stalls.

Search Florida public adjusters on the registry. Searching by city and listed claim type gives you a faster starting point than calling around.

Sources

• Fla. Stat. § 626.854 — Florida Senate full text

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Ready to confirm whether your adjuster's license is current before the 10 days run out? → Verify a Florida public adjuster license