Shopping Cart Laws

All retail sales establishments with shopping carts must affix a notice in English, Spanish and Creole to all shopping carts and at all entrances and exits of parking areas.

  • Any person who removes a shopping cart from the premises of the owner, or is in the possession of any shopping cart, shall be presumed to be in possession of stolen property and is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to one year as provided by Sections 506.509 and 506.513 of the Florida Statutes.
  • Se presume que toda persona que retire un carrito de compras del establecimiento del propietario del mismo, o esté en posesión de un carrito de compras, está en posesión de un bien robado y comete un delito menor en primer grado, punible con una pena de hasta un año de prisión conforme a lo dispuesto en las secciones 506.509 y 506.513 de los Estatutos de la Florida.
  • Nenpòt moun ki retire yon charyo magazen sou pwopriyete mèt li, oswa ki genyen charyo magazen an nan men l, yo va prezime moun sa a genyen nan men li yon pwopriyete yo vòlè epi li koupab de yon krim premye degre, ki genyen kòm pinisyon jiska yon (1) ane prizon dapre Seksyon 506.509 ak 506.513 Kòd Lwa Florid yo.
As an alternative, universal language signs designed to convey the warning required may be used.

Businesses with shopping carts must also affix an identification sign with the name, address and phone number of the retail establishment on each shopping cart.

Violations of these laws carry a civil fine of $100 for each violation and may accrue daily penalties. Report a stolen shopping cart on 311direct under the "property" category.

Shopping carts found on public property will be collected by the Miami-Dade County Department of Solid Waste Management, which will notify the owner of the shopping cart as designated on the shopping cart’s identification sign.

The owner of the shopping cart will have 10 days from receipt of notice to retrieve the cart. If the owner does not retrieve the cart within those 10 days or if the cart has no identification, the cart will be disposed.

Consumer Mediation Center

Miami-Dade County's Mediation Center receives, processes and investigates consumer complaints, mediates disputes between consumers and businesses, identifies violations of the law by business operators, and issues civil citations.

601 NW 1st Court, 18th floor
Miami, FL 33136
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 786-469-2333
Fax: 786-469-2303
Hours: 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Walkins are accepted.