Verify the required age threshold
Covered entities must verify that a person attempting to access the covered material is 18 years of age or older and prevent access by people younger than 18.
Florida Age Verification
Prove you’re old enough. Keep your identity private.
If your website or digital service needs to verify that a user is 18 or older in Florida, Age App provides privacy-first, session-based age verification without requiring your platform to receive the user's underlying identity information.
01
Verify 18+ eligibility
02
Reduce identity exposure
03
Session-based verification
04
Built for digital integration
Florida age verification requirements
Verify age without turning your platform into an identity database.
Florida requires certain commercial entities that knowingly and intentionally publish or distribute material harmful to minors on a website or application to verify the age of people attempting to access that material.
Under Florida Statutes § 501.1737, the requirement applies when more than 33.3 percent of the total material on the website or application is material harmful to minors.
A covered entity must verify that the person attempting to access the material is 18 years of age or older and prevent access by a person younger than 18.
Florida is notable because covered entities must offer both anonymous age verification and standard age verification, and the person attempting to access the material may choose which method is used.
The practical question for businesses is not only how to verify age, but how to implement the required verification while minimizing unnecessary exposure of identity information.
Florida Statutes §§ 501.1737–501.1738
What Florida businesses need to understand
Florida Statutes § 501.1737 establishes age-verification requirements for certain commercial entities that publish or distribute material harmful to minors online.
If more than 33.3 percent of the total material on a website or application is material harmful to minors, a covered commercial entity must verify that a person attempting to access the material is 18 or older and prevent access by people younger than 18.
Florida requires the commercial entity to offer both anonymous age verification and standard age verification. The person attempting to access the material may select which method is used.
Section 501.1738 imposes additional privacy and security requirements on a third party performing anonymous age verification, including restrictions on retention, use, and disclosure of personal identifying information.
The exact applicability of the statute depends on the business, website or application, content, statutory definitions, and applicable exceptions.
Requirements
What does Florida require?
The law establishes specific requirements for covered businesses. Your verification architecture should reflect both the applicable legal requirement and the privacy expectations of your users.
Offer anonymous and standard verification
Florida requires a covered commercial entity to offer both anonymous age verification and standard age verification. The user may choose which method will be used.
Do not retain anonymous-verification identity data
A third party conducting anonymous age verification may not retain personal identifying information used to verify age once the person's age has been verified.
Protect and keep identifying information anonymous
Anonymous-verification providers must keep identifying information anonymous, may not use it for another purpose or share it, and must protect it using reasonable security procedures and practices.
Privacy-first age verification
Age verification shouldn’t mean giving up your privacy.
A person can be willing to prove they are old enough without being comfortable with every website storing a copy of their driver's license, date of birth, face, or other identifying information.
Why do you need my ID?
Are you storing my face?
Can this be traced back to me?
Why should I trust you?
How Age App works
Age App separates identity verification from the relying platform. The user completes verification through Age App, while the platform receives a verification result that can be used to make an access decision.
01 / VERIFY
Complete verification
The user completes setup using an authenticated government-issued ID and a live check.
02 / SESSION
Start a verification session
When a participating website needs to confirm age, the user starts an Age App verification session.
03 / RESULT
Receive the result
The platform receives a verification result indicating whether the required age threshold was met, together with its expiry and cryptographic signature.
04 / ACCESS
Make the access decision
The business uses the verification result to determine whether the user can continue to the protected experience.
Data minimization
What does the website receive?
The goal is simple: answer the age question without giving the relying platform an unnecessary copy of the user's identity.
The platform receives
- Age eligibility
- Pass / fail result
- Verification expiry
- Cryptographic signature
The platform does not receive
- Government-ID images
- Date of birth
- Biometric data
- The user's full identity
Adult websites
Florida age verification for adult websites
For a covered website or application where more than 33.3 percent of the total material is material harmful to minors, Florida law requires age verification before access. The business must verify that the user is 18 or older, prevent access by people younger than 18, and offer both anonymous and standard verification methods.
Verification strength
Use a verification approach that provides meaningful assurance that the person attempting to access the protected content meets the applicable threshold.
User experience
Verification should work across modern devices and should avoid unnecessary steps for users who have already established eligibility.
Data minimization
For anonymous age verification, Florida law restricts retention, use, and disclosure of personal identifying information used to verify age.
Security
Understand where identity documents and biometric signals are processed and which systems have access to sensitive information.
Verification expiry
Define how long a verification result remains valid and how expired results are handled.
Auditability
Maintain structured verification records that support internal review without embedding identity documents in your business infrastructure.
Age Verification API
Add Florida age verification without rebuilding your product.
Age App can operate as a verification layer for websites, applications, platforms, checkout flows, restricted content, and other age-gated experiences.
User
→
Age App
Verification
Verification
→
Age Eligibility
Result
Result
→
Platform
Access Decision
Access Decision
Why Age App
Stronger assurance. Controlled identity.
Age App is designed to provide age assurance while minimizing the amount of sensitive identity information exposed to the relying platform.
ID-backed age verification
Age App can use an authenticated government-issued ID together with a live check to establish age eligibility.
Privacy-first architecture
The relying platform receives the verification result rather than the user's underlying identity artifacts.
Session-based verification
Verification sessions produce time-limited results that can be used by the relying platform to make access decisions.
Reduced identity exposure
Businesses can avoid building their own repository of government-issued identity documents simply to answer an age question.
Cryptographically signed results
Verification results can include an expiry and signature so the platform can validate the integrity of the response.
Operationally efficient integration
Age verification can be integrated through structured APIs and verification flows without requiring a business to build its own identity-verification infrastructure.
Use cases
Age verification beyond adult content
Different businesses can have different age thresholds and legal obligations. Age App can provide a verification layer for multiple age-restricted experiences.
Adult websites
Establish 18+ eligibility before allowing access to covered age-restricted content.
Alcohol
Support age-verification workflows for applicable alcohol sales and delivery experiences.
Cannabis
Provide age-verification infrastructure for applicable cannabis businesses and digital transactions.
Dating platforms
Establish age eligibility while limiting unnecessary identity information exposed to the platform.
Digital media
Add age verification to restricted streaming and digital media experiences.
Events and venues
Extend verification into physical environments, entry points, and age-restricted transactions.
“I am 18” is not the same as verifying age.
Prepare your Florida verification flow
✓
Determine whether the website or application falls within § 501.1737.
✓
Determine whether more than 33.3 percent of the total material is material harmful to minors.
✓
Verify that users attempting to access covered material are 18 or older.
✓
Prevent access to the covered material by people younger than 18.
✓
Offer both anonymous age verification and standard age verification.
✓
Allow the user to select which verification method will be used.
✓
For anonymous verification, do not retain identifying information after age is verified.
✓
Do not use anonymous-verification identifying information for another purpose or disclose it to another person.
✓
Use reasonable security procedures and practices to protect identifying information.
✓
Review the implementation with qualified Florida counsel where appropriate.
Frequently asked questions
Florida age verification FAQ
Answers to common questions about Florida age verification, adult websites, privacy, APIs, and Age App.
What is the Florida age verification law?
Florida Statutes § 501.1737 requires certain commercial
entities publishing or distributing material harmful to
minors on a website or application to use age verification
when more than 33.3 percent of the total material is covered
material.
Does Florida require age verification for adult websites?
For covered websites or applications containing a substantial
portion of material harmful to minors, Florida requires the
entity to verify that a person attempting to access the
material is 18 or older and prevent access by a person younger
than 18.
What does Florida mean by a substantial portion?
Section 501.1737 defines a substantial portion as more than
33.3 percent of the total material on a website or application.
Does Florida require more than one age-verification option?
Yes. A covered commercial entity must offer anonymous age
verification and standard age verification, and the person
attempting to access the material may select which method is
used.
What is standard age verification in Florida?
Florida defines standard age verification as any commercially
reasonable method of age verification approved by the
commercial entity.
What is anonymous age verification in Florida?
Section 501.1738 describes anonymous age verification as a
commercially reasonable age-verification method conducted by
a qualifying independent third party, subject to specific
organizational, privacy, and security requirements.
Can an anonymous age-verification provider retain identifying information?
The third party may not retain personal identifying
information used to verify age once the person's age has
been verified. The information also may not be used for
another purpose or shared with another person.
What penalties can apply for violations?
Florida law authorizes enforcement by the Department of Legal
Affairs and civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation,
in addition to other remedies described by the statute.
Certain claims involving unauthorized access by a resident
minor may also support damages of up to $10,000.
Does Age App guarantee Florida legal compliance?
No. Age App provides age-verification technology. Whether a
particular implementation satisfies a business's legal
obligations depends on the business, content, users,
transaction, jurisdiction, and applicable law. Businesses
should obtain legal advice for their specific situation.
Florida resources
Research the requirements.
Legal disclaimer: This page is provided for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Laws, regulations, interpretations, and enforcement practices can change. Businesses should review the current Florida statutes and consult qualified legal counsel before relying on this information for compliance decisions.
Ask about age.
Not identity.
Setup once.
A new live session each time access is asked for.
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