How do I check for sinkhole activity near a Florida home?
Search the Florida Geological Survey's subsidence incident reports around the property to see what has been reported nearby, when, and how it was described, and read the region's geology for whether it is an area where cover-collapse sinkholes form at all. The reports record what people have reported; they are not a verified list of sinkholes, and they are not a prediction for any one lot. Whether the ground under a house is stable is a question for a geotechnical investigation.
Reviewed by Spatia's editor on 2026-09-30; sources checked 2026-09-30.
The mistake almost everyone makes
Reading a map with no nearby reports as stable ground, or a cluster of reports as a doomed house. The state's database records subsidence incidents reported to it, and the Florida Geological Survey says plainly that many are never verified by a licensed geologist or engineer to be true sinkholes; the cause is often unknown. Reporting is voluntary and uneven, so a county with alert insurers shows more dots than a rural county on the same geology. What the reports are good for is context, whether this is an area where collapse happens and how often it has been reported, never a verdict on one parcel.
How to check it
Search by distance and read the dates
Read each nearby report's date, its described size and whether it was verified. The database reaches back decades, and an unverified depression reported in 1985 is a different fact from a verified collapse last spring.
Understand what kind of sinkhole the area produces
Florida's karst produces slow cover-subsidence in some regions and sudden cover-collapse in others, depending on the thickness and type of the sediments over the limestone. The Florida Geological Survey describes which regions produce which, and that is the context a cluster of reports needs.
Check the insurance position before the contingency ends
Florida law requires every property insurer to cover catastrophic ground cover collapse, and to make sinkhole loss coverage available for an additional premium. Those are two different coverages with different triggers. Ask what the policy you are quoted includes, and whether the insurer requires an inspection before it will write sinkhole coverage.
Look at the house and the lot, and ask the seller
Cracks that step through masonry, doors that stick, depressions in the yard, leaning fence posts and ponding are the things an inspector looks for. A Florida seller who has made and been paid a sinkhole claim must disclose it before closing, and whether the money was spent on the repair. Ask directly, and ask for the engineering report if a repair was done.
Escalate to a geotechnical investigation when it matters
Ground-penetrating radar and borings by a licensed engineer or professional geologist are what settle the question for one lot. If the reports, the geology or the house give you a reason, that is the work to commission, and it is not what a map search does.
What this still does not tell you
- The reports are subsidence incidents as reported, not verified sinkholes, and reporting is uneven across the state.
- It does not predict whether the ground under a particular house will subside.
- It does not price sinkhole coverage or say whether an insurer will offer it.
- It is not a substitute for a geotechnical investigation or a home inspection, and it is not legal or insurance advice.
Who actually decides
- Florida DEP, Florida Geological Survey — sinkholes and the subsidence incident reports
- Florida Statutes s. 627.706 — catastrophic ground cover collapse and sinkhole coverage
- Florida Statutes s. 627.7073 — the seller's sinkhole claim disclosure
- A Florida-licensed professional geologist or geotechnical engineer — the person whose investigation settles the question for one lot