Political mail rules in Florida: the disclaimer, the party label, and USPS Political Mail
Every Florida campaign mailer needs a disclaimer in the exact words the statute gives, and the party line has its own rules. USPS adds a tag and a checkbox of its own. Here is what each rule says, where it comes from, and what it changes about your mail.
A campaign mailer in Florida answers to two sets of rules. State law decides what the piece must say about who paid for it. The Postal Service has its own program for political mail, which changes how the mail is tracked and leaves the price alone. This guide covers both, with the source for each rule. For the basics of getting a mailer into mailboxes, start with Direct Mail 101.
The rules are your campaign's responsibility. We quote the statute and the state's own handbook here; for a question about your piece, ask the Division of Elections or your campaign's attorney.
Mailers count as political advertising
Florida defines a political advertisement as "a paid expression in a communications medium", including "campaign literature, direct mail, or display", that "expressly advocates the election or defeat of a candidate" (s. 106.011, Fla. Stat.). A mailer your campaign pays for falls inside that definition, so it needs a disclaimer.
The candidate's line, word for word
An ad paid for by a candidate must "prominently state" one of two lines (s. 106.143(1)(a)):
- "Political advertisement paid for and approved by (name of candidate), (party affiliation), for (office sought)"
- "Paid by (name of candidate), (party affiliation), for (office sought)"
The state's 2026 Candidate and Campaign Treasurer Handbook says these "must be verbatim as quoted in Section 106.143, Florida Statutes. Variations are prohibited by law." Fill in the parts in parentheses and leave every other word as written. The handbook adds that a district, group or seat number doesn't have to appear in the line.
A write-in candidate uses the same two forms with "write-in candidate" in place of the party (s. 106.143(1)(b)).
How big it has to be
The statute's only standard is "prominently". Neither the statute nor the 2026 handbook sets a font size or a position on the page. A Division of Elections advisory opinion holds that the ad must be "marked", so the disclaimer has to be written on the piece, and that it "must be 'prominent'" (DE 16-16). Our disclaimer basics guide covers how to design the space for it.
Everyone else who pays for mail
- Committees, groups and other payers: the piece must be marked "paid political advertisement" or "pd. pol. adv.", give the name and address of whoever paid, and say whether it was paid for or provided in kind by the publisher (s. 106.143(1)(c)).
- A party paying in kind for a candidate: "Paid political advertisement paid for in-kind by (name of political party). Approved by (name of person, party affiliation, and office sought in the political advertisement)." (s. 106.143(2))
- Someone else paying with the candidate's approval: the ad must be "approved in advance by the candidate", must "expressly state that the content of the advertisement was approved by the candidate", and must "state who paid" (s. 106.143(5)(a)).
- Independent expenditures: "Paid political advertisement paid for by (Name and address of person paying for advertisement) independently of any (candidate or committee)" (s. 106.071(2)), plus "a statement that no candidate has approved the advertisement" (s. 106.143(5)(b)).
- Electioneering communications: "Paid electioneering communication paid for by (Name and address of person paying for the communication)" (s. 106.1439(1)).
A political committee has no separate formula. It uses the "pd. pol. adv." line with its name and address, adds the candidate-approval statement when it works with a candidate, and uses the independent-expenditure line when it doesn't (handbook, Chapter 13).
The party label
The party line depends on the office (s. 106.143(3)):
- A candidate for a partisan office names their party.
- A candidate with no party affiliation "must state that the candidate has no party affiliation".
- A candidate for a nonpartisan office "may not state the candidate's political party affiliation" and "is prohibited from campaigning based on party affiliation". The handbook notes a 2022 federal court case next to this rule (Hetherington v. Madden). If party is part of your message in a nonpartisan race, ask the Division or your attorney first.
"Re-elect" and "for"
Only an incumbent may say "re-elect". A candidate who doesn't hold the office must put "for" between their name and the office (s. 106.143(6); handbook, Chapter 12). Bumper stickers and items designed to be worn are outside that rule.
What doesn't need a disclaimer
The statute exempts "novelty items having a retail value of $10 or less which support, but do not oppose" a candidate, and items "designed to be worn". It also exempts some short paid web links, unpaid social media where the source is "patently clear", and a few other formats (s. 106.143(8) and (10)). A mailer isn't on that list. An ad in another language may give its disclaimer in that language (subsection 9). Breaking these rules carries civil penalties under s. 106.265 (subsection 11).
USPS Political Mail
The Postal Service treats "any material mailed for campaign purposes by a registered political candidate, campaign committee, or committee of a political party" as Political Mail, along with mail from PACs and issue or voter-mobilization groups, for "any public election - partisan or nonpartisan" (Postal Bulletin 22694, 2026 election mail guide). Here is what that status does.
- Tag 57. A red container tag, "Political Campaign Mailing", placed "on trays, sacks, and pallets to provide added visibility" (Tag 57 sheet). USPS has called it optional and says it encourages mailers to use it (Postal Bulletin 22391, 2014).
- The checkbox. Mailers "must check the 'Political Campaign Mailing' box" on the postage statement when the mail is entered (Postal Bulletin 22701). USPS also asks campaigns to fill in its online reporting form at least 2 days before the drop-off.
- Speed. USPS tells its employees to "promptly and efficiently process and deliver Political Mail" and offers tracking through the Intelligent Mail barcode. Its documents promise no faster service standard. The benefit is visibility and tracking.
- Price. A candidate's campaign can't use Nonprofit Marketing Mail prices. Political mailings lose those prices when they are "paid for by the campaign committee or treasurer of an individual candidate" (DMM 703.1.6.10).
- What campaigns may not use. The Official Election Mail logo and the green Tag 191 are for election officials' ballot mail. Tag 191 "may not be used by organizations or individuals for Political Campaign Mail" (Tag 191 kit).
EDDM can carry political mail; USPS lists it under "Ways to Send Political Mail" (USPS Political Mail). The tag, the checkbox and the reporting form are written for permit mailings entered at a bulk mail entry unit. The EDDM Retail form has no political box (PS Form 3587).
Florida adds no envelope marking of its own. The state rule for a mailer is the disclaimer.
A worked example with our prices
Say a city candidate sends 5,000 of our 6.5" × 9" EDDM postcards. Print and mail prep are $1,395. Postage is 26¢ a piece (USPS EDDM Retail rate, effective July 12, 2026), about $1,300 if the routes hold 5,000 addresses, the same rate any business pays for EDDM. Political Mail status doesn't lower it, and nonprofit prices aren't open to a candidate.
On the card, the disclaimer goes in a space reserved before the design starts. A candidate who pays for it uses one of the two (1)(a) lines word for word. If the office is nonpartisan, the party can't appear anywhere on the card; check the handbook for how the line reads without it.
Before you send your file
If we design your piece, we size and place the disclaimer so it's legible at print size, and you approve the design before anything prints. If you send your own print-ready file, it goes into production as sent, so the wording and size are yours to check first. Copy the wording from the statute or the handbook.
Our free disclaimer line generator previews a line at three print sizes. Its Florida options build the exact s. 106.143 lines for a candidate's own ad and for a committee or other payer. See our artwork specs for the rest of what we need from your file.
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- "Paid for by": campaign disclaimer basics
- What is Every Door Direct Mail?
- EDDM vs. a voter list for a city race: a worked example
- When will it arrive? The order timeline for every election