Florida
Florida enforces a kept deposit when 2 things are true: the loss from a missed appointment could not easily be worked out when the client booked, and the amount is not so grossly disproportionate that its only purpose could be to force the client to show up. A deposit sized to what a no-show really costs the shop is on firmer ground than one sized to deter. The deposit also has to be the whole remedy: in Lefemine v. Baron, the Florida Supreme Court held that a clause letting a seller keep the deposit or sue for actual damages instead was a penalty for that reason alone.
Does a non-refundable deposit hold up in Florida?
In Lefemine v. Baron, a case about a forfeited deposit, the Florida Supreme Court restated the state’s 2-part test: the damages from a breach must not be easy to work out when the contract is made, and the sum kept must not be so grossly disproportionate to the damages that might reasonably be expected that the only possible intent was to force performance. The 10 percent deposit in that case passed the amount test. The clause still failed, because it let the seller either keep the deposit or sue for actual damages, and that option alone made it a penalty.
“First, the damages ... must not be readily ascertainable. Second, the sum stipulated to be forfeited must not be so grossly disproportionate to any damages that might reasonably be expected to follow from a breach as to show that the parties could have intended only to induce full performance, rather than to liquidate their damages.” Lefemine v. Baron, 573 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 1991)
Showing your refund policy
Florida’s refund-sign statute, § 501.142, reaches goods only. A retail store that gives no cash refund, credit refund or exchange on merchandise must post a sign saying so at the point of sale; without the sign, a refund or exchange policy is taken to exist, and the store has to refund unused merchandise in its original carton, on request and with proof of purchase, within 7 days of purchase. It covers a piercing shop’s jewelry and aftercare sales, not a tattoo deposit.
“Every retail sales establishment offering goods for sale to the general public that offers no cash refund, credit refund, or exchange of merchandise must post a sign so stating at the point of sale.” Fla. Stat. § 501.142
Body-art rules and money
Nothing about deposits or refunds in Florida’s tattooing rules and statutes (Fla. Admin. Code ch. 64E-28 and §§ 381.00771 to 381.00791) or its body-piercing rules and statute (ch. 64E-19 and § 381.0075), all read in full. Their only money is license fees and state fines.
Read: Fla. Stat. § 381.00787 (one of the tattooing sections, §§ 381.00771 to 381.00791) · Fla. Stat. § 381.0075 (body piercing)
This page summarizes public law in plain language, with the source each point comes from, read at the source on 2026-09-23. It is not legal advice.