To preserve the integrity of the voting process, the following contest rules must be observed in order to cast a ballot and ensure it is included in the voting tabulation process:

• Voting for the 2025 Best of Tallahassee honors will take place online starting May 1, 2025.
• All votes must be cast for locally owned businesses in and around Tallahassee. Votes for any business located outside of a 30-mile radius of the city limits will not be counted.
• Locally owned and operated companies are defined as the owner or a managing partner living in Tallahassee or within a 30-mile radius of the Tallahassee city limits.
• Categories marked with this asterisk (*) are not required to meet the “locally owned” rule due to the number of businesses that provide this service in our community.
• No incentives, prizes, goods or services may be offered in exchange for votes.
• Ballots must be submitted by May 31, 2025, at 11:59 P.M. ET
• Each vote must be submitted by one verified email address. (The spirit of voting is one vote per person.)
• The business must offer the product or service the category states as “best”, otherwise that business will be disqualified from winning that category.
• A business can win the “Best of” award in no more than two categories. If a business is the leading vote-getter in more than two categories, that business will win only the “Best of” award for the two categories in which it received the most votes.
• Obvious attempts at ballot stuffing or cheating will be disqualified.
• Any winning business must be in good standing with Palm Beach Media Group and still in operation by the date of the results printed in the magazine in order to be promoted as a “Best” winner.

Once ballots are counted, all tabulations are final.

2025 Best of Tallahassee FAQs

Each year, Tallahassee Magazine celebrates over a hundred businesses throughout our community that have been singled out by our readers as the best of the best. We have always been transparent about this yearly survey and how it works, but for those who might be new to the process, here are the answers to some of the more commonly asked questions about “Best of.”

How are Tallahassee Magazine’s “Best” winners selected?

The readers of Tallahassee Magazine choose the winners.

Readers will be asked to visit TallahasseeMagazine.com/best-of-tallahassee-25ballot to complete the ballot by May 31, 2025 ET. Votes arriving after the deadline are not counted. Refer to the rules listed above.

Who counts the votes and decides the winner?

Tallahassee Magazine contracts with a third party to count the votes and determine the winner.

To win, must businesses buy an ad in the magazine?

Absolutely not. Our winners include advertisers as well as non-advertisers.

Can someone “stuff” the ballot box?

No. Only ballots submitted via one verified email address are accepted. The software rejects faux email addresses and has a multi-layered authentication security approach to ensure legitimacy.

Who is eligible?

The readers decide whom they want to honor. Locally owned and operated companies are defined as such: the owner or managing partner living in Tallahassee or within a 30 mile radius of Tallahassee less the categories marked with this asterisk (*) are not required to meet the “locally owned” rule due to the number of businesses that provide this service in our community.

How are the categories decided?

The categories are revisited each year, and we welcome reader suggestions.

What do “Best” winners receive?

Winners earn the prestige of being selected by a majority of our readers. They also get a listing in the magazine, usage of the “Best” logo for a year, discounted advertising rates, an award to showcase in their establishment, an invitation to the exclusive Best of Tallahassee event.

Results are published annually on this website and in the November/December issue of Tallahassee Magazine. Have questions about the Best of Tallahassee or interested in sponsorship opportunities? Contact McKenzie Burleigh for more information.

If you have questions about Best of Tallahassee or are interested in sponsorship opportunities, contact McKenzie Burleigh at mburleigh@tallahasseemagazine.com for more information.