Florida Criminal Records

Per Florida Statutes § 943.045, Florida criminal records, also known as criminal history records, are official documents that contain criminal history information that Florida criminal justice agencies maintain on state residents. According to the statute, "criminal history information" refers to identifiable descriptions and notes of arrests, detentions, indictments, or other formal criminal charges and the outcome of those actions.

Are Criminal Records Public in Florida?

Under F.S. § 943.053 and Florida's Sunshine Law, adult criminal records are considered public records provided the record has not been sealed or expunged. However, Florida juvenile criminal records are considered confidential records. Juvenile criminal records are only made public under § 943.053(3b) if the juvenile has been arrested, accused, or found guilty of a crime that, if committed by an adult, would constitute a felony.

Florida's Sunshine Law (F.S. § 119.07) establishes the general public's right to access public records maintained by government agencies, including criminal justice agencies.

Florida Crime Records by County

Annually, law enforcement agencies in Florida, such as county sheriff's offices and local police departments, report crime data they generate to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The FDLE compiles these crime data annually and makes them publicly available through its Uniform Crime Report (UCR) system.

According to the FDLE 2021 Uniform Crime Report, from a statewide population of 21,898,945 people, Florida had a crime rate of 1,952.3 per 100,000 population. Florida's most populous county, Miami-Dade County, was reported to have a crime rate of 2,740.1 per 100,000 population from a total county population of 2,731,939 in 2021. Meanwhile, other populous Florida counties, such as Palm Beach County, Orange County, and Pinellas County, had crime rates of 1,826.8, 2,542.4, and 2,246.5, respectively, per 100,000 population in 2021.

Florida Criminal Record Check

The central repository for criminal history records in Florida is the Division of Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) of the Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The division makes these records available to the public upon request. Hence, interested persons can conduct Florida criminal record checks through the division. Note that according to F.S § 943.053, the FDLE charges record seekers a $24 public record request fee for criminal record checks they request.

Unfortunately, criminal record check requests sent by mail using the Florida Criminal History Information Request form are no longer accepted by the FDLE. However, the FDLE provides alternative options for requesting criminal history checks. These include instant search, certified/non-certified search, and Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) search. These search options are conducted online through dedicated websites the FDLE maintains.

Instant search

Interested persons can conduct Florida Criminal Record Checks using the instant search option through the FDLE's CCHInet site.

Certified/Non-Certified Search

This search option is conducted through the FDLE's SHIELD certified/non-certified search page. To facilitate a criminal record check through this method, requesters must provide certain information about themselves and the subject of the record. These include the requester's mailing address and the subject of the record's full name, date of birth, SSN, alias, and other requested information. The record's subject information serves as the search criteria for the query. Meanwhile, the search result would be forwarded to the requester's mailing address once found.

Note that requesters are charged a $24 public record request fee for each request they make using this search option. This search option also allows requesters to choose if they want their search results certified and translated into Spanish for an additional fee. Fees are payable via a credit or debit card, and once the required payments have been made, the requester will receive their payment receipt.

The search results are mailed through the United States Postal Service (USPS) regular mail service as soon as the FDLE processes and approves a record seeker request. The FDLE processes requests within five (5) business days (for non-certified search) and six (6) to seven (7) business days (for certified search). A requester can purchase a pre-paid shipping label from the USPS and email it to ApplicantChecks@fdle.state.fl.us in PDF format along with their request's FDLE Control Number for expedited mailing. Requesters can find their request's FDLE Control Number on their aforementioned payment receipt.

ORI Search

Interested persons can conduct Florida criminal record checks using an ORI number through the FDLE's SHIELD ORI search page. ORI is an acronym for On-Record Identification Number. It is a unique ID number the FDLE assigns to a subject's fingerprint that interested persons can use to conduct criminal record checks, among other things. The FDLE does not supply inquirers' ORI numbers when requesting criminal record checks. Interested persons must contact the agency where a subject was fingerprinted to obtain the subject ORI number.

Find Criminal Records Online in Florida

Interested persons can find criminal records online in Florida by conducting an instant Criminal History Record Check through the FDLE's CCHInet site. Users can click on the "public search" button on the site to begin the search process.

As stated earlier, the FDLE charges record seekers a $24 public record request fee for criminal records checks requests they process per Florida Statute § 943.053. For online requests, the FDLE accepts fee payments using credit or debit cards. Note that there is an additional $1 surcharge for credit card payments. F.S. § 943.053 also requires the FDLE to collect personal identifying information about a requester when a criminal record check is requested.

Hence, a record seeker's credit or debit card and personal identifying information are requested by the FDLE when conducting an instant Criminal History Record Check through the FDLE's CCHInet site. Record seekers must also supply specific information about the subject of their query on the site. This information, which includes the subject's full name, SSN, and other search parameters, will be used as search criteria for their query. The search result would show a list of potential matches to the entered search criteria.

Free Criminal Record Search in Florida

Criminal record searches are generally conducted through The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). Unfortunately, the FDLE charges requesters a $24 public request fee for each criminal record check they request per Florida Statute § 943.053. As a result, there is no free way to conduct a criminal record search in Florida through the FDLE.

What Does it Mean if You Have a Criminal Record in Florida?

A criminal record in Florida can affect different facets of an individual's life, most notably one's ability to find jobs in specific fields. This is particularly true in fields where trust and reliability are essential, such as law enforcement, finance, and healthcare. Furthermore, a criminal record can also hinder an individual's ability to get a professional driver's license.

For already licensed professionals and driver's license holders, being convicted of certain offenses can lead to the revocation of licenses. For example, a DUI, homicide, or drug possession conviction on an individual's criminal record might result in the loss of driving privileges. Meanwhile, licensed professionals in law, engineering, nursing, pharmacy, accounting, and other relevant fields may lose their licenses when convicted of certain crimes.

Does Your Criminal Record Clear After 7 Years in Florida?

Florida criminal records are maintained indefinitely. As a result, a conviction, indictment, arrest, charges, and other pertinent information recorded in an individual's criminal record remains there for life, even if seven (7) years have passed. In Florida, the only means to limit public access to or remove a criminal record is to petition the appropriate court to seal or expunge the record.

Not all criminal records can be expunged or sealed in Florida. For instance, criminal offenses listed in F.S. § 943.059 can neither be sealed nor expunged under Florida law. Meanwhile, certain criminal records are eligible for automatic sealing under F.S. § 943.0595.

Arrest Record Vs Criminal Record

Arrest records are official documents generated by a law enforcement agency after an arrest, which provide specifics about the arrest and the arrestee. Meanwhile, criminal records are official documents that provide information about an individual's criminal history in a specific region. In Florida, an individual's criminal records typically contain all notes of arrests, detentions, indictments, other formal criminal charges, and the outcome of relevant actions recorded against the individual in the state.

Florida Police Records

Florida police records are files and records that provide information about the official functions of law enforcement agencies in the state. Different records generated and maintained by law enforcement agencies, such as arrest records, police reports, incident reports, body-worn camera footage, and traffic crash reports, make up police records.

Criminal records are composed of many subsets of records, including police records, correctional records, and court records. Like criminal records, police records are accessible to the general public.