No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to nominate, vote, be nominated, become a finalist, or win. A purchase will not increase any business's chances of winning.
1. The Program
The Tampa Bay Choice Awards (the "Program") is an annual recognition program honoring outstanding local businesses in the Tampa Bay region. The Program is organized and presented by the Tampa Bay Observer ("Sponsor," "we," "us"). The Program consists of a public nomination phase, a finalist selection phase, a public voting phase, and final winner selection.
2. Program Period
- Nomination Period: July 21, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. ET through August 31, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET
- Finalists Announced: on or about September 8, 2026
- Voting Period: September 8, 2026 through October 4, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET
- Winners Announced: October 15, 2026
Sponsor's servers are the official timekeeping device for the Program. Sponsor may adjust these dates at its discretion with notice posted on the Program website.
3. Business Eligibility
To be eligible for recognition, a business must: (a) maintain a physical location in, or primarily serve customers within, the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Hernando counties; (b) be actively operating and in good standing at the time of finalist selection; and (c) not be engaged in unlawful activity.
The following are not eligible for recognition: businesses owned or controlled by Sponsor or its parent, subsidiaries, or affiliates; and businesses owned by employees or immediate family members of employees of Sponsor. A category sponsor (see Section 10) is not eligible to win the category it sponsors.
Sponsor reserves the right to determine eligibility in its sole discretion and to remove any business from consideration at any stage, including for reputational, legal, or ethical concerns.
4. How to Nominate
During the Nomination Period, any individual aged 18 or older may nominate a business free of charge at tampabayobserver.com/choice-awards/nominate. Nominators must select the business via the search tool (or the manual-entry option where the business cannot be found), provide a brief statement of support, and submit a valid name and email address. Each nomination must be confirmed via the email link sent to the nominator; unconfirmed nominations are not counted.
Limit one (1) nomination per person per business. Individuals may nominate multiple different businesses. Business owners may nominate their own business. Automated, scripted, duplicate, or bulk nominations are prohibited and will be void.
Submitting a nomination constitutes consent to receive communications from the Tampa Bay Observer in accordance with our Privacy Policy; recipients may unsubscribe at any time.
5. Categories and Classification
Award categories are established and maintained by Sponsor. Nominators do not select categories. Following nomination, Sponsor assigns each nominated business to the category or categories Sponsor determines most appropriate, using business information and editorial review. Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, add, remove, merge, rename, or split categories; assign a business to more than one category; reassign a business between categories; or decline to place a business in any category, including where a category receives insufficient eligible nominations.
6. Finalist Selection
At the close of the Nomination Period, Sponsor will select finalists in each category based on a combination of the volume and substance of confirmed nominations and editorial review. The number of finalists per category is at Sponsor's discretion and may vary. Sponsor's finalist selections are final.
7. Voting
During the Voting Period, individuals aged 18 or older may vote for finalists at tampabayobserver.com/choice-awards. Limit one (1) vote per person per category per day. A valid email address is required to vote.
The following are prohibited and may result in the voiding of votes and/or disqualification of a business: votes generated by bots, scripts, macros, or automated means; votes purchased or exchanged for payment or anything of material value; votes obtained through misleading practices; and any attempt to circumvent voting limits, including through disposable email addresses. Businesses may lawfully encourage their genuine customers and community to vote. Sponsor may use technical and manual review to detect irregular voting activity, and Sponsor's determinations regarding vote validity are final.
8. Winner Selection
Winners are determined by Sponsor through a combination of public voting results and evaluation by Sponsor's editorial team and/or an invited judging panel. Public voting is a significant factor but is not solely determinative. Judging criteria may include quality and reputation, customer experience, community involvement, and the substance of nomination statements. In marquee categories (e.g., Entrepreneur of the Year), selection is primarily editorial. All winner determinations are final and not subject to appeal.
9. Recognition; No Fee to Win
Recognition as a nominee, finalist, or winner is free. Winners and finalists will never be required to pay any fee to receive or retain their recognition, to be announced, or to be included in the published results.
Sponsor may offer winners and finalists optional promotional products and services (such as trophies, plaques, expanded editorial features, or marketing packages) for purchase. Purchase of any such offering is entirely voluntary, is not a condition of recognition, and has no bearing on selection in the current or any future Program year.
10. Sponsorships
Categories and the Program may be supported by paid sponsors. Sponsorship confers promotional placement only. Sponsors have no role in nominations, finalist selection, judging, or winner determination, and a sponsor is not eligible to win any category it sponsors.
11. Badges, Marks, and Publicity
"Tampa Bay Choice Awards," the Program logos, seals, and badges are the property of Sponsor. Recognized businesses are granted a limited, non-exclusive, revocable license to display the official badge corresponding to their recognition (e.g., Nominee, Finalist, Winner, with the applicable year) in their marketing, in accordance with brand guidelines published by Sponsor. Badges may not be altered, and no business may state or imply a recognition it did not receive. Sponsor may revoke this license for misuse.
By participating (as a nominator, voter, or recognized business), participants agree that Sponsor may publish and promote the names, trade names, logos, photographs, and locations of nominated, finalist, and winning businesses, and use event photographs and recordings, in connection with the Program and its promotion in any media, without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law.
12. Privacy
Information collected through the Program is handled in accordance with the Tampa Bay Observer Privacy Policy at tampabayobserver.com/privacy. Nominator and voter contact details are used to administer the Program and to send Tampa Bay Observer communications, from which recipients may unsubscribe at any time.
13. General Conditions
Sponsor reserves the right to modify, suspend, or cancel the Program or any phase of it if fraud, technical failure, or any other factor impairs its integrity, and to disqualify any individual or business that tampers with the operation of the Program or acts in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike manner. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, or undeliverable submissions or emails, or for technical malfunctions of any kind.
The Program is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Meta, Google, or any other third-party platform.
14. Release and Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, by participating, each participant releases and holds harmless Sponsor and its owners, officers, employees, contractors, and agents from any claims arising out of participation in the Program or the use or misuse of any recognition, badge, or Program materials. Recognition reflects the opinions generated through the Program's process and is not a warranty, endorsement, or guarantee of any business's products or services.
15. Disputes
These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Florida without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any dispute arising from the Program shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Hillsborough County, Florida, and participants waive any objection to venue there.
16. Contact
Questions about the Program or these Official Rules may be submitted via the Tampa Bay Observer contact page.