Selling firewood in Florida: cords, delivery tickets and labels

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) answer on selling firewood and the sections of the Florida Statutes that apply to any commodity sold by quantity, as published by the Florida Legislature.

What the department says

The FDACS answer for someone who wants to sell firewood is short and has three points.

Firewood must be sold by the cord, or a fraction of a cord.
A cord is defined as 128 cubic feet of wood stacked in a compact manner, for example 4 by 4 by 8 feet.
Firewood cannot be sold by truckload, face cord, rack, pile or any other unofficial unit of measure.

The answer does not cite a statute or rule number. The sections below are the ones in the weights and measures chapter, chapter 531, that apply to a commodity sold by quantity.

Method of sale in the statute

In the Florida Statutes, section 531.45 says that, except as the department provides by rule, commodities not in liquid form are sold only by weight, by area or volume measure, or by count, so long as the method of sale gives accurate quantity information. The section does not name wood or the cord. Section 531.41 gives the department the job of enforcing the chapter and of adopting rules for it, and lets it prescribe by rule the unit used for a specific commodity where an existing practice offers an opportunity for consumer confusion.

In the Florida Statutes, section 531.43, on misrepresentation of quantity, says no person may sell or offer or expose for sale less than the quantity the person represents.

Bulk sales and the delivery ticket

In the Florida Statutes, section 531.46 says bulk sales in excess of US$20 are accompanied by a delivery ticket. The ticket carries these items.

The name and address of the vendor and the purchaser.
The date delivered.
The net quantity delivered, and the net quantity the price is based on if that differs.
The identity of the commodity in the most descriptive terms commercially practicable, including any quality statement made in the sale.
The count of individually wrapped packages, if there is more than one.

The section does not name firewood. The FDACS answer does not link firewood to it either, so this page reports the statute as written and no more.

Penalties

In the Florida Statutes, section 531.50 lets the department issue a warning letter or notice, or impose an administrative fine in the Class II category for each violation of the chapter or a rule under it. The department weighs the degree and extent of potential harm, the money the violator gained, whether the violation was willful and the violator's compliance record. The same section says a person who willfully and knowingly violates the chapter commits a second-degree misdemeanor, and a first-degree misdemeanor on a later conviction.

In the Florida Statutes, section 570.971 sets the fine for each class. A Class II violation carries a fine not to exceed US$5,000. The section says a person who violates a chapter or rule is subject to an administrative or civil fine in the Class II category in addition to any other penalty.

For the model rule and other places, see the firewood sale rules overview. Florida movement rules for wood are on the Florida moving firewood page.