How to Claim

First and foremost, sign your ticket! You should always sign the back of your Lottery ticket as soon as you purchase it. This will help prevent someone else from claiming a prize on your Florida Lottery ticket if it is lost or stolen, or if someone tries to scratch out, white out or change your signature.

General questions about claiming prizes may be answered by speaking with someone at one of our Florida Lottery district offices, calling the Player Information Line at (850) 487-7787, visiting the Florida Lottery Website and navigating to our Frequently Asked Questions page, or by contacting the Florida Lottery Customer Service Office.

Ticket Expiration/Extended Claiming Deadlines

The deadlines for claiming prizes for Draw, Fast Play, and Scratch-Off games have been extended as follows:

• Winning Draw game tickets for drawings occurring on or after September 24, 2019, and on or before June 20, 2020, must be claimed on or before the 360th day after the winning drawing.


• Claimants of winning Draw game tickets for drawings occurring on or after June 21, 2020, and on or before December 17, 2020, will have up to 360 days to claim prizes depending on the draw dates. For each day after June 20, 2020, the 360-day claim period will decrease by one day until the claim period reaches the statutorily required 180 days. For a complete listing of applicable draw dates with associated extended claiming deadlines, please click here.


• Winning Fast Play and Scratch-Off tickets must be claimed on or before the 240th day after the announced end of game for games ending on or after January 22, 2020, and on or before August 1, 2020.

Players also have the option to hold on to winning tickets and wait to claim any prizes until Lottery offices reopen to the public. For more information on the documents needed to claim a prize, click here.

For faster payment, Florida Lottery winners should complete the information on the back of their winning ticket and take it to any retailer for validation. The ticket issued is the only valid receipt for claiming a prize.

Claim Your Prize

If you have a winning ticket, please follow the information below to claim your prize:

Prizes of less than $600

should be claimed at any authorized Florida Lottery retailer.

Prizes of $600 – $250,000

can be mailed or submitted via secured drop box at your
nearest Florida Lottery District Office.

Prizes above $250,000

can be mailed or submitted via secured drop box at
Florida Lottery Headquarters.

How to Claim by Mail- Extended Claiming Deadlines

To claim your prize by mail, simply mail the ticket(s) along with a Winner Claim Form and the documentation below listed under "Required Documentation".

If a Draw game ticket has been validated by a retailer and the prize was not paid, the envelope and its contents including the winning ticket must be postmarked on or before the 30th day after the claim deadline. If the ticket has not been validated by a retailer, the envelope and its contents must be postmarked on or before the claim deadline as detailed under Ticket Expiration. If all required documentation is not received by the Lottery by the applicable extended claim date, the prize will be forfeited.

For Scratch-Off or Fast Play tickets that have been validated by a retailer, the envelope and its contents including the winning ticket must be postmarked on or before the 270th day after the official end of the game. If the Scratch-Off or Fast Play ticket has not been validated by a retailer, the envelope and its contents must be postmarked on or before the 240th day after the official game close. If all required documentation is not received by the Lottery by the applicable extended claim date, the prize will be forfeited.

NOTE: U.S. Postal Service regulations include various restrictions on mailing Lottery tickets. The risk of mailing tickets remains with the player and will not be assumed by the Lottery.

Tickets mailed to the Florida Lottery Headquarters will be processed in the order in which they are received by the claims processing departments. Damaged, state owed debt and disputed tickets may take longer.

Required Documentation

To claim a prize of $600 or more, the player must:

1. Complete a Florida Lottery Winner Claim Form. You may download a Winner Claim Form in PDF format, also available in Spanish; however, you will need Acrobat Reader to view the PDF file. To obtain a Florida Lottery Winner Claim Form, visit any retailer, district office or write to: Florida Lottery Customer Service Division, 250 Marriott Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-9939.
2. Present one form of identification that is current or was issued within the past five years and bears a serial number or other identifying number. Acceptable forms of identification include:
   • An identification card or driver's license issued by a public agency authorized to issue driver's licenses in Florida, a state other than Florida, a territory of the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.
   • A passport issued by the U.S. Department of State.
   • A passport issued by a foreign government for non-annual payment option prizes & prizes that do not require a notarized affidavit.
   • A passport issued by a foreign government stamped by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services for annual payment option prizes or for prizes that require a notarized affidavit.
   • An identification card issued by any branch of the U.S. armed forces.
   • An identification card issued by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Privacy Act Notice:

Under the Federal Privacy Act, disclosure of a person's Social Security number is voluntary unless a Federal statute specifically requires such disclosure or allows states to collect the number. For claimants of Florida Lottery prizes valued at $600 or more, disclosure is required by 26 U.S.C. s. 3402 and 26 U.S.C. s. 6109 for tax withholding and reporting purposes. Social Security numbers will also be used to determine whether a claimant owes an outstanding debt to a state agency or child support collected through a court, pursuant to Section 24.115, Florida Statutes..

Prize Options

Annual Payments:

FLORIDA LOTTO^®, MEGA MILLIONS^® and POWERBALL^® jackpot prizes may be paid in 30 annual installments, and JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY™ jackpot prizes may be paid in 25 annual installments. CASH4LIFE™ Grand Prize and second prize may be paid for the natural life of the winner. Certain Scratch-Off games that offer an annual payment option may be paid in annual installments in accordance with the rule for that game.

Cash Option:

FLORIDA LOTTO, MEGA MILLIONS, POWERBALL, JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY, CASH4LIFE and certain Scratch-Off games also offer a Cash Option method of payment – a one-time, lump-sum payment that jackpot winners may choose to receive instead of receiving their winnings in annual payments. Payment may be made by check or by ACH transfer to a bank or brokerage account in the winner's name; however, the Lottery strongly recommends the ACH transfer method of payment. A winner electing the ACH transfer method of payment must provide the Lottery with a voided check or ACH transfer instructions to a financial institution. FLORIDA LOTTO, MEGA MILLIONS, POWERBALL, JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY and CASH4LIFE winners who wish to elect the Cash Option method of payment must claim their prizes and make their payment election within 60 days after the winning draw date. If the winner does not elect the Cash Option within 60 days after the winning draw date, the prize will be paid in annual payments.

Free Quick Pick Tickets:

FLORIDA LOTTO with XTRA players who match 2-of-6 winning numbers will win a free FLORIDA LOTTO Quick Pick ticket for the next available drawing. JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY with Combo players with 4 winning number matches will win a free JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY with Combo Quick Pick ticket for the next available drawing., FANTASY 5™ players who match 2-of-5 winning numbers will win a free FANTASY 5 Quick Pick ticket for the next available drawing. Players may claim their free Quick Pick tickets at any Florida Lottery retailer. Once a free Quick Pick ticket has printed, it cannot be canceled. Out-of-state players who mail in FLORIDA LOTTO with XTRA tickets that match 2-of-6 winning numbers, JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY with Combo tickets with 4 winning number matches, or FANTASY 5 tickets that match 2-of-5 winning numbers will receive a check for the value of the free Quick Pick ticket(s), in lieu of the free Quick Pick ticket(s) due to U.S. Postal regulations, which prohibit the mailing of Lottery tickets across state lines.

Federal Withholding Taxes:

Winnings and any taxes withheld are reported in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code and Code of Federal Regulations on all Florida Lottery winnings with a value of $600 or more. If a Florida Lottery prizewinner is a U.S. citizen or resident alien, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires the Florida Lottery to withhold 24 percent federal withholding tax from prizes greater than $5,000. For non-resident aliens, the Florida Lottery is required to withhold 30 percent federal withholding tax from all prize amounts. For information on Lottery prizes and your Federal tax obligations visit: www.irs.gov.

All Florida MEGA MILLIONS, POWERBALL, CASH4LIFE, and Fast Play prizes must be claimed in Florida.

How To Care For Your Ticket

• Store your ticket in a safe place until you are ready to redeem it.
• DO NOT expose your ticket to extreme sunlight or heat including from microwaves, irons, dryers or windowpanes.
• DO NOT laminate Lottery tickets.
• DO NOT expose your ticket to fatty substances such as oil, butter or milk.
• DO NOT submerge your ticket underwater. Water will affect a ticket if it is submerged for a prolonged period of time.

If your ticket is damaged, a Florida Lottery retailer or Florida Lottery office may be able to redeem your ticket if the barcode or ticket number is legible.

"Remember, players are responsible for the safekeeping of tickets."