This page is current through the 2026 regular session and states the law as of July 1, 2026. Two sessions did the work here. HB 1021 in 2024 rewrote director education and eligibility and moved the subparagraph numbering in the process. HB 913 in 2025 opened up electronic and e-mail voting. The 2026 session produced nothing on elections, and the election machinery itself, the 60, 40, 35 and 14 to 34 day sequence, has not changed.
The 2026 session: no change to elections or director rules
No 2026 bill amended the condominium election or director qualification provisions. CS/SB 1498, which addressed records violations and electronic voting, died in Senate Appropriations on March 13, 2026. The omnibus, HB 657, passed the House 108 to 2 on March 5, 2026 and died in Senate Rules on March 13, 2026. Its governing-document and conflict-disclosure provisions are not law.
The reviser's bill, Ch. 2026-14, touched § 718.112 for technical reasons. The Chapter 617 rewrite in Ch. 2026-168 is more interesting in the background, because your association is a not for profit corporation and Chapter 617 supplies default corporate rules where Chapter 718 is silent. It did not change how you run an election.
Mandatory director education, and the subparagraph that moved
Before 2024, a newly elected condominium director could satisfy the education requirement by signing a written certification that he or she had read the governing documents and would uphold them, or by completing an approved course. HB 1021, Ch. 2024-244, removed the choice. Under § 718.112(2)(d)5.b. a director must now do both: certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the declaration, articles, bylaws and current written policies, will work to uphold them, and will faithfully discharge the fiduciary duty owed to the members; and submit a certificate of having satisfactorily completed the educational curriculum administered by the Division or a Division-approved condominium education provider.
The mechanics, as the section now stands:
- The certification and the course certificate are due within one year before election or appointment, or within 90 days after the date of election or appointment.
- The curriculum is at least four hours.
- The educational certificate is valid for seven years.
- A director must complete at least one hour of continuing education annually.
In the same act the Legislature inserted a new subparagraph into § 718.112(2)(d), which pushed director education down from (2)(d)4.b. to (2)(d)5.b. The rule did not move; the address did. Any orientation packet, certification form or management company template still citing 4.b. was written against the 2024 edition or earlier. Our page on director certification tracks the current requirement.
Eligibility, term limits and removal on a criminal charge
Three separate rules sit close together and are routinely confused.
- Felony conviction. A person convicted of a felony in Florida or in a United States court is not eligible for board membership unless the person's civil rights have been restored for at least five years.
- Delinquency. A person who is delinquent in the payment of any monetary obligation due to the association is not eligible to be a candidate for board membership.
- Term limits. A director may not serve more than eight consecutive years, unless approved by an affirmative vote of unit owners representing two-thirds of all votes cast, or unless there are not enough eligible candidates to fill the vacancies.
Separately, § 718.112(2)(q) requires that a director or officer charged by information or indictment with a listed crime be removed from office. The list includes forgery of a ballot envelope or voting certificate, theft or embezzlement involving association funds or property, destruction of or refusal to allow inspection or copying of official records in furtherance of a crime, obstruction of justice, and a criminal violation of Chapter 718. While removed, the person may not be appointed or elected to a position as an officer or director and may not access the association's official records. If the charges are resolved without a finding of guilt, the director or officer is reinstated for the remainder of the term of office, if any.
That is a charge-based standard, not a conviction-based one, and it operates automatically. A board that learns a sitting director has been charged should get counsel involved the same week, both to confirm the offense is on the statutory list and to handle the vacancy correctly. Our page on candidate eligibility covers the screening side.
The election machinery has not changed
For all the amendment activity, the sequence a board actually runs is the same one it ran in 2021, and it lives at § 718.112(2)(d)5.a., the same subparagraph as director education.
| Step | Timing before the election |
|---|---|
| First notice of election mailed, delivered or electronically transmitted | At least 60 days |
| Candidate's written notice of intent to be a candidate | At least 40 days |
| Candidate information sheet furnished by the candidate | At least 35 days |
| Second notice, agenda and ballot | Not less than 14 and not more than 34 days |
One point boards should know: the inner and outer envelope procedure is not in the statute. It comes from Fla. Admin. Code R. 61B-23.0021. A board that wants to understand why the outer envelope must carry the signature and the unit identification, and why opening it early spoils the ballot, is reading a rule, not the Act. Our election calendar lays out the whole sequence with dates.
What HB 913 (2025) did to voting
The 2025 act, Ch. 2025-175, worked on § 718.128, the electronic voting section, and on meeting format.
- Electronic votes count toward a quorum. That settles a question boards used to argue about at the annual meeting.
- The 25 percent petition. A petition signed by 25 percent of the voting interests obliges the board to meet within 21 days to consider adopting online voting. The board still decides, but it must take up the question.
- The e-mail ballot. An owner may e-mail a ballot to an address the association designates. The ballot must include the unit number and the owner's typed name, together with a capitalized waiver of ballot secrecy.
The e-mail ballot is the change that most alters practice, and it carries a trap. The waiver of secrecy is the price of the convenience: an owner who e-mails a ballot has given up ballot secrecy, and the association must handle that ballot in a way that does not compromise the secrecy of everyone else's. Do not mix e-mailed ballots into the sealed-envelope pile without a written procedure, and do not designate a manager's personal address as the receiving address.
None of this reached the other chapters. Section 719.129 got the electronic-vote-counts-toward-quorum rule from HB 1021 in 2024, but no 25 percent petition and no e-mail ballot. Section 720.317 has no counterpart to any of it. See our overview of electronic meetings, notices and voting for the comparison.
Recall, and where it lives now
Recall of condominium board members is § 718.112(2)(l) in the 2026 edition. That matters because the paragraph lettering in § 718.112(2) has shifted over the years, and older recall forms and demand letters cite a different letter. The substantive recall procedure, the written agreement or the recall meeting, the board's obligation to act within five full business days, and the Division arbitration route if it does not, is not what changed. The citation is.
A board served with a recall should not respond from a form. The five business day window is short, the board's options are limited, and a procedural misstep converts a recall the board could have defeated into one the arbitrator certifies. Our page on condominium recall procedures sets out the steps.
2021, 2022 and 2023: what did not happen
It is as useful to say what stayed still. 2022, the SB 4-D session, was entirely about structural safety and reserves and did nothing to elections. 2023, SB 154, was the same story on the condominium side, though Chapter 720 was busy that year with Ch. 2023-228 and the creation of § 720.3045.
2021 was a broad revision year. SB 630, Ch. 2021-99, revised Chapters 718, 719 and 720 across 26 sections, and SB 56, Ch. 2021-91, rewrote assessment notice practice. A board that wants to know whether a given election rule dates from 2021 or from 2024 should read the history line at the end of § 718.112 rather than rely on a summary.
The practical upshot for a board preparing for its next annual meeting: the calendar is old law, the education requirement is 2024 law, the ballot options are 2025 law, and nothing on the page is 2026 law.
Frequently Asked Questions About Condominium Election and Director Law Changes
Can a new director still just sign the certification form instead of taking the course?
Not in a condominium. Since HB 1021 in 2024, § 718.112(2)(d)5.b. requires both the written certification to the secretary and a certificate of completion of an approved course of at least four hours. Cooperative directors still have the either-or option under § 719.106(1)(d)1.b., which is why a manager who serves both forms may remember the rule differently.
Why do some forms cite § 718.112(2)(d)5.b. for director education?
Because HB 1021 inserted a new subparagraph into § 718.112(2)(d) in 2024 and pushed everything below it down by one. Director education was at (2)(d)4.b. in the 2024 edition and is at (2)(d)5.b. in the 2025 and 2026 editions. The rule did not move, the citation did. Update the form.
How long is the education certificate good for?
Seven years, and the director must also complete at least one hour of continuing education annually. The initial certification and certificate are due within one year before election or appointment or within 90 days after, so a director elected in March has until roughly late June to produce them.
A director has been arrested. Does he come off the board automatically?
If the charge is by information or indictment and the offense is on the list in § 718.112(2)(q), which includes theft or embezzlement involving association funds, the director or officer must be removed from office and may not access official records while removed. If the charges are later resolved without a finding of guilt, the person is reinstated for the remainder of the term. Get counsel involved before the board acts.
Can owners vote by e-mail now?
In a condominium, yes, within limits. Under § 718.128 an owner may e-mail a ballot to an address the association designates, including the unit number and the owner's typed name and a capitalized waiver of ballot secrecy. Electronic votes also count toward a quorum. The association should designate the address formally and adopt a written handling procedure before the first meeting where it is used.
Did the 60, 40, 35 and 14 to 34 day election calendar change?
No. The sequence in § 718.112(2)(d)5.a. is unchanged: first notice at least 60 days before the election, candidate notice at least 40 days, candidate information sheet at least 35 days, and the second notice with the agenda and ballot not less than 14 and not more than 34 days before. The inner and outer envelope procedure is in Fla. Admin. Code R. 61B-23.0021, not in the statute.
Contact Hamilton Mikes
Hamilton Mikes runs condominium elections with boards and managers across Southwest Florida, from the first notice through the count, and advises on candidate eligibility, director certification, removal questions and recall demands. Call 239-594-7227 or visit our Corporate Governance page.
Statutes and authorities referenced
- § 718.112(2)(d)5.a., Fla. Stat. (election procedure; 60, 40, 35 and 14 to 34 day sequence)
- § 718.112(2)(d)5.b., Fla. Stat. (director written certification and educational certificate; 4 hour curriculum; 7 year validity; 1 hour annual continuing education)
- § 718.112(2)(d)3., Fla. Stat. (eligibility: felony conviction and delinquency; term limits)
- § 718.112(2)(q), Fla. Stat. (removal of a director or officer charged by information or indictment; reinstatement if resolved without a finding of guilt)
- § 718.112(2)(l), Fla. Stat. (recall of board members, 2026 edition numbering)
- § 718.128, Fla. Stat. (electronic voting; quorum; 25 percent petition and 21 day board meeting; e-mail ballot)
- § 719.106(1)(d)1.b., Fla. Stat. (cooperative director certification alternative, for contrast)
- § 719.129, § 720.317, Fla. Stat. (cooperative and HOA electronic voting, for contrast)
- Fla. Admin. Code R. 61B-23.0021 (inner and outer envelope election procedure)
- Session laws: Ch. 2021-91 (SB 56); Ch. 2021-99 (SB 630); Ch. 2024-244 (HB 1021); Ch. 2025-175 (CS/CS/HB 913); Ch. 2026-14 (SB 104, reviser's bill); Ch. 2026-168 (CS/CS/HB 797, Ch. 617 revision)