Florida Residency Requirements

What Florida Residency Means

Being a Florida resident means that Florida is your primary home for legal purposes.

For taxes, it means Florida is the state you can credibly claim as your legal home if your former state challenges your move. Florida does not impose an income tax, so the real risk is a high-tax state arguing you never actually left. The practical test is not “six months and a day,” but whether your living pattern and records consistently show Florida as your primary home and your former state as secondary.

For asset protection, Florida residency means you have genuinely relocated your home to Florida and your records reflect that change. Florida does not require you to live here a minimum number of days to be a resident for asset protection.

Florida Residency Requirements

There is no single statewide checklist that guarantees residency for every purpose. Instead, Florida residency is proven by a combination of physical presence and objective steps showing you made Florida your primary home.

If you are moving from another state and want to be treated as a Florida resident, your goal is to create a consistent record that Florida is your main home and you have reduced ties to the prior state.

Fastest Way to Become a Florida Resident

If you do nothing else, handle the items that create the clearest government record:

Steps	Where it’s reflected
Get a Florida driver license	Florida DHSMV record
Title/register vehicles in Florida	Florida title/registration record
File a Declaration of Domicile	County clerk filing
Register to vote in Florida	Florida voter registration record
Apply for homestead (if eligible)	County property appraiser file

How to Establish Florida Residency Step by Step

Start with moving your day-to-day life: where you sleep most nights, where your family lives, where your important mail goes, and where your healthcare and community ties are. Then update your formal documents: driver license, vehicle registration, voter registration, and (if applicable) homestead.

If you have meaningful ties to another state (work, a home, business interests, family), reduce or document those ties carefully. Consistency matters: you want one clear story that Florida is your primary home.

Primary Steps

1. Move your primary home base to Florida.
   Where you actually live day-to-day matters more than any single form.
2. Get a Florida driver license.
   Florida expects new residents to obtain a Florida license within 30 days of establishing residency.
3. Title and register your vehicles in Florida.
   This is another high-weight signal that you changed your legal home base.
4. Register to vote in Florida (and vote there).
   Voter registration is a classic domicile indicator because it reflects where you claim civic membership.
5. File a Declaration of Domicile (if appropriate).
   This is a sworn statement filed with the county clerk that helps document intent.
6. Update your mailing address everywhere that matters.
   Banks, credit cards, brokerage accounts, employer HR, insurance carriers, professional licensing, and subscription services should all match Florida.
7. If you own a Florida home, apply for homestead (if eligible).
   Homestead is tied to permanent residence and can be strong evidence of domicile (and has major legal effects).
8. Move your “center of life” services to Florida.
   Florida primary care physician, dentist, kids’ school, local memberships, place of worship, and community ties are the kind of facts that hold up under scrutiny.
9. Clean up ties to the prior state.
   Common examples: end a prior homestead claim, change your prior state’s driver license, update voter registration, and reduce time spent living at the old home.
10. Keep a simple record of your days and travel for the first year.
    If another state later challenges your move (often for tax reasons), a basic travel log plus consistent Florida records is persuasive.

The 183-Day Question

People talk about “183 days” because many states use day-count tests when deciding whether they can tax someone as a resident. Florida itself does not impose an income tax, so Florida isn’t the state that “audits” you on day count.

The practical issue is the other state. If you are leaving a high-tax state, you should assume it may look at your day count, your housing, and your ties there. A simple travel log and clear Florida-based life records help if that question ever comes up.

Declaration of Domicile

Florida law allows a person who has established domicile to file a sworn statement (a “Declaration of Domicile”) with the clerk of court in the county where they reside. This filing does not create residency by itself, but it is a clean, official piece of evidence that supports your intent.

It is most useful when paired with other steps that show Florida is your primary home (license, voter registration, home base, etc.).

Driver’s License and Vehicle Registration Deadlines

Florida’s DHSMV states that a new Florida resident must obtain a Florida driver license within 30 days of establishing residency. The state also describes timeframes for titling and registering vehicles, commonly within 30 days of establishing residency (and sometimes tied to events like employment or enrolling children in school).

If your goal is residency proof, doing these early is helpful because they create dated records that are easy to verify.

Homestead and Permanent Residence

Florida’s homestead exemption is grounded in the concept of a property being your permanent residence and is tied to the Florida Constitution and Florida Statutes. If you apply for homestead, your county property appraiser can request supporting documentation and may review your ties to Florida versus another state.

Florida Residency and Asset Protection Planning

Residency matters because many Florida protections—especially homestead—are tied to making Florida your true home rather than a convenient address. If you are trying to build an asset-protection plan around Florida law, you want your residency facts to be clean: real presence, real-life ties, and consistent records.

If your facts look split between Florida and another state, creditors and courts have more room to argue that Florida protections should not apply (or should apply less favorably).

FAQs