Start with the Florida record you actually need
A Florida criminal records search can mean several different things: a criminal court case, a statewide FDLE criminal-history record, a recent arrest, a county jail booking, an active warrant, a Florida prison record, or an appellate case. These records are kept by different agencies, and not every search that appears “free” covers the same information.
What can you search for free in Florida?
The phrase Florida criminal records search free can be misleading because Florida has several independent criminal-justice databases. Some official government searches are free, while the main statewide FDLE name-based criminal-history service has a statutory fee.
| Record | Official source | Search cost | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| County criminal court case | County Clerk of Circuit Court & Comptroller | Often free online | Charges, case number, docket, hearings, disposition and available documents. |
| Statewide public criminal history | Florida Department of Law Enforcement | $24 per search | Statewide Florida criminal-history information maintained by FDLE. |
| FDLE Instant Search payment processing | FDLE | $1 additional card-processing fee | Immediate online results; not certified. |
| Your own Personal Review | FDLE | No FDLE charge | Fingerprint-based review of your own Florida criminal history for accuracy. |
| Wanted persons / public warrants | FDLE FCIC Public Access System | Free | Florida warrant information selected for public release. |
| Florida state prison offender | Florida Department of Corrections | Free | State inmates and other FDC offender information. |
| Appellate court case | Florida ACIS | Free public search | Florida Supreme Court and six District Courts of Appeal. |
| County jail booking | County sheriff / corrections agency | Usually free online | Recent booking, custody, charge and bond information. |
Which Florida agency should you search?
Criminal court cases
Use the clerk of court in the county where charges were filed for felony, misdemeanor and criminal-traffic case information.
State criminal history
FDLE’s Criminal Justice Information Services division is Florida’s central repository for criminal-history information.
Arrest or incident record
Recent arrest reports, incident records, booking information and law-enforcement records often originate with the agency that handled the event.
Current local custody
Search the county sheriff or corrections department if the person was recently arrested or is awaiting trial in a county facility.
State prison records
Use the Florida Department of Corrections when the person was sentenced to Florida state prison or is included in an FDC offender database.
Appeals
ACIS provides public appellate dockets and available documents for the Florida Supreme Court and all six District Courts of Appeal.
How to search Florida criminal court records for free
Florida does not operate one simple statewide public website that replaces every county clerk’s criminal court system. Trial-court records are maintained locally by the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for the relevant county.
Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers provides an official statewide Find a Clerk directory. Once you identify the county, open that clerk’s official court-record search.
Identify the county
Start with the county where the alleged offense occurred or where the criminal case was filed. City names alone can be misleading because Florida trial records are generally maintained at county level.
Open the official county clerk website
Use the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers directory rather than a people-search site that merely redirects you elsewhere.
Choose Court Records, Criminal Cases or Case Search
Florida counties use different names for their systems. Examples include Criminal Justice Online, CORE, eCaseView and my eClerk.
Search using the strongest identifier
Case number is usually best. If unavailable, try first and last name, date range, citation number or another field offered by the clerk.
Read the docket and final disposition
Check how the case actually ended. A filed charge may later be dismissed, reduced, resolved by plea, acquitted or result in another disposition.
Request a copy if the document is not online
Remote public access can be more restrictive than in-person access. Contact the clerk if the docket exists but the document image is unavailable.
Felony vs misdemeanor: which Florida court has the case?
Florida Circuit Court
Florida has 20 judicial circuits. Circuit courts are courts of general jurisdiction and handle criminal felony cases, along with other matters assigned by law.
Florida County Court
Each of Florida’s 67 counties has a county court. County courts generally handle misdemeanor criminal cases and traffic matters within their jurisdiction.
If a case has both a felony and related misdemeanor charges, the case may be handled in circuit court. The local clerk’s search normally tells you the court division, case type and case number.
Florida’s 20 Judicial CircuitsFree criminal case searches in major Florida counties
Florida clerks do not all use the same software. These examples show why searching the correct county can save time.
Miami-Dade County
The Miami-Dade Clerk provides a Criminal Justice Online Case Search for felony and misdemeanor records.
Open Miami-Dade criminal case search Searches can include case number, state case number, citation/police number, defendant information and jail number.Broward County
Broward’s Clerk provides an online public case search covering felony, misdemeanor and other case types.
Search Broward court cases Broward advises users to refine broad name searches because public results can be limited to the first 200 records.Palm Beach County
eCaseView provides free public viewing of criminal, civil and traffic case information and many available documents.
Open Palm Beach eCaseView Public information can include charges, sentences, court dates and parties. Document-image availability generally extends from the late 2000s, with older cases varying.Orange County
Orange County’s my eClerk system searches court cases by name, case number, citation and date.
Search Orange County cases Orange currently states that online docket information is available for most cases from approximately 1990 forward, while document coverage varies.Duval County / Jacksonville
The Duval Clerk uses CORE for online viewing of non-confidential court records.
Open Duval court-record access Some documents unavailable to anonymous users may require another permitted access level or an in-person records request.Volusia County
Volusia provides free Case Inquiry access and also publishes recent arrest/booking information separately.
Open Volusia case search The clerk notes that online information is informational; the official court file remains the controlling record.Florida statewide criminal-history search through FDLE
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Division of Criminal Justice Information Services is the central repository for Florida criminal-history information.
For a general public name-based statewide search, use the official Florida Criminal History Record Check.
| FDLE option | Current fee | Result | Useful when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instant Search | $24 + $1 card-processing fee | Immediate, printable/email result; not certified | You need a normal public Florida criminal-history search. |
| Certified / Non-Certified Search | $24 | FDLE staff-conducted search returned by U.S. mail | You need a staff-processed or certified/notarized result. |
| ORI Search | Varies | Result goes to the authorized entity associated with the ORI | A licensing, employment or other authorized agency gives you an ORI number. |
What is inside an FDLE Florida criminal history?
FDLE describes Florida criminal histories as records of arrests and prosecutions reported within the state. A criminal-history record can include disposition information connected with an arrest, which is why a person should read the outcome rather than assuming an arrest became a conviction.
How to review your own Florida criminal record for free
Florida Statute 943.056 gives individuals a separate way to review their own Florida criminal history and challenge information they believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
FDLE calls this a Personal Review, and FDLE currently does not charge for the service.
Download the FDLE Personal Review application
Start from the official Personal Review page.
Complete the applicant information
Provide the identifying information requested on the official form.
Get fingerprinted
The Personal Review is fingerprint based. FDLE says fingerprints should be taken by a law-enforcement or criminal-justice agency. Local fingerprint rolling charges may still apply.
Mail the application and fingerprint card
Send the completed package to FDLE’s Criminal History Record Maintenance Section.
Review and challenge errors if necessary
The purpose of this service is to let you examine your own record and challenge inaccurate or incomplete information.
Personal Review mailing address
Florida Department of Law EnforcementPost Office Box 1489
Tallahassee, FL 32302-1489
Attn: Criminal History Record Maintenance Section
CHRM phone: 850-410-7898
Florida arrest reports and police records
A recent arrest may be easier to locate through the arresting agency or county jail than through a court or statewide criminal-history search.
Florida’s public-records law is broad. Florida’s Attorney General explains that arrest reports prepared by law-enforcement agencies after an arrest are generally open for public inspection, although confidential or exempt information must still be protected.
City arrest or incident
Search or request records from the municipal police department if that agency handled the arrest or investigation.
County arrest or jail booking
County sheriffs commonly operate jail-roster or arrest-search systems and maintain many law-enforcement records.
Filed criminal case
Once prosecutors file a case, use the county clerk to follow the court record rather than relying only on the initial arrest report.
How to make a Florida public-record request for police or agency records
Florida Chapter 119 establishes broad access to state, county and municipal public records. A public-record request is different from paying FDLE for a criminal-history database search.
Find the agency that actually has the record
For a police report, identify the police department or sheriff involved. For FDLE records, use FDLE’s Records Custodian process.
Describe the existing record clearly
Give enough information to locate it: incident number, name, date, location, arrest date or other known details.
Ask to inspect first if you only need to read it
Inspection can avoid unnecessary copy charges when the record is available for public inspection.
Ask for an estimate before a large request is processed
Broad requests can trigger duplication costs and, where extensive technology or staff time is required, a reasonable special service charge.
If access is denied, ask for the legal basis
Florida law requires the custodian to identify the statutory basis for an asserted exemption. On request, the reason for withholding can be provided in writing with particularity.
Florida Chapter 119 default copy fees
When another law does not prescribe a different charge, Florida Statute 119.07 currently authorizes:
- up to 15¢ per one-sided standard copy
- up to an additional 5¢ for a two-sided copy
- actual duplication cost for other formats
- up to $1 for a certified public-record copy
- reasonable special service costs for qualifying extensive requests
Florida county jail and booking searches
The Florida Department of Corrections is not the right first search for someone who was just arrested and is sitting in a county jail awaiting trial.
Florida’s Department of State maintains a useful County Jails and Inmate Searches directory listing county facilities, phone numbers and available inmate-search links.
Use county jail search when
The arrest was recent, the person is awaiting trial, bail/bond information is needed, or the person has not been sentenced to state prison.
Use Florida DOC when
The person has been sentenced to Florida state prison or appears in another Florida Department of Corrections offender category.
Use the court clerk when
You need the official filed charges, case docket, court dates, motions, disposition or certified court documents.
Free Florida wanted-person and warrant search
FDLE operates the Florida Crime Information Center Public Access System Wanted Persons Search.
The search can use fields including:
- last name
- first name
- middle name or initial
- nickname
- date of birth or age
- race and sex
Results can display information such as the reporting agency, offense, warrant date, warrant number, agency case number, aliases and other identifiers supplied to FDLE.
Florida Department of Corrections offender search
For Florida state-prison custody and other Department of Corrections offender data, use the official Florida Department of Corrections network.
Search Florida state inmatesThe FDC offender network is useful for people sentenced to Florida state prison. It should not be confused with a county jail booking system.
Inmate Population
Use when you believe the person is currently incarcerated in a Florida Department of Corrections institution.
Release information
FDC provides separate public information for qualifying people released from state correctional custody.
Community supervision
Florida’s offender network includes public information for certain people under Department of Corrections supervision.
Florida public offender registries
Some specialized Florida registries are public but should not be confused with a normal statewide criminal-history search.
Sexual Offender and Predator Registry
FDLE provides name, location and neighborhood searches for qualifying registered sexual offenders and predators.
Open official FDLE registryFlorida Career Offender Registry
FDLE also maintains a separate Career Offender Registry for people who meet statutory career-offender registration requirements.
Open Career Offender RegistrySearch Florida criminal appeals with ACIS
If a criminal case was appealed, use the Florida Appellate Case Information System (ACIS).
ACIS provides public access to dockets and available case documents from the Florida Supreme Court and all six District Courts of Appeal. Public users do not need to register simply to search public records.
Case Search
Search by court, case number, case title, category or filed date.
Party Search
Look for appellate cases involving a named party.
Document Search
Search available appellate documents and document criteria.
Oral Argument
Search appellate oral-argument calendar information.
How to get copies or certified Florida criminal court records
Viewing a court case online and obtaining an official certified document are different tasks. Copy procedures and charges are handled by the county clerk that maintains the file.
Plain copy
Useful when you simply need a readable copy of a public document and no formal certification is required.
Certified copy
Contains the clerk’s certification and is commonly requested when another court, agency or organization requires an official copy.
Disposition / criminal history letter
Some counties offer a local certified disposition or criminal-history search letter for cases maintained by that clerk.
Miami-Dade, for example, currently offers certified criminal history disposition letters and lists a $7 certified-copy charge, with an additional search fee when the requester does not know the case year or number. Other counties use different fee schedules.
What if an old Florida criminal case is missing online?
Online court coverage dates differ by county, and remote access can be more restrictive than access available through the clerk.
Try this order:
Search the clerk by exact case number
A case-number search can work even when a name search produces too many results.
Try name variations
Search full legal name, middle initial, former name and reasonable spelling variations.
Check the county’s archive or record-request procedure
Broward, Duval and other clerks specifically direct users to archives or records staff when older documents are not remotely available.
Use in-person public access if available
Some records that cannot be displayed remotely may still be publicly accessible at a clerk’s office.
Florida sealed and expunged criminal records
Florida adult criminal-history records are generally public unless a law, court order, sealing, expungement or other restriction limits public access.
FDLE explains that a person seeking court-ordered sealing or expungement under Florida Statutes 943.0585 or 943.059 generally begins by applying to FDLE for a Certificate of Eligibility.
| Item | Current FDLE guidance |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Eligibility application fee | $75, nonrefundable |
| Typical FDLE eligibility processing time | About 12 weeks after receipt of a complete application packet |
| Certified disposition | Required for the relevant case/charges |
| Fingerprint card | Required as directed by FDLE |
| Notarized/deputy-clerk signature | Application signature requirements apply |
| Expungement applications | Additional prosecutor-certified statement requirements apply |
FDLE recommends obtaining and keeping copies of important records—such as the arrest report, certified disposition and resulting order—before the record is sealed or expunged.
Official Florida seal & expunge guideAre Florida juvenile criminal records public?
Juvenile records require extra caution. FDLE states that juvenile criminal-history records are generally confidential and exempt from public release, but Florida law contains specific exceptions that permit public release of certain felony-level juvenile information.
FDLE identifies circumstances involving conduct that would constitute a felony if committed by an adult, including specified custody, charging, adjudication and adult-court transfer situations.
What to do if a Florida criminal record is wrong
If the record concerns you personally, FDLE’s Personal Review process is the best starting point for checking whether FDLE’s criminal-history information is accurate and complete.
Incorrect FDLE criminal history
Contact FDLE’s Criminal History Record Maintenance Section and follow the Personal Review/challenge procedure.
Phone: 850-410-7898
Incorrect county court record
Contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county that maintains the case. Keep the case number and the specific docket entry or document at issue.
Federal criminal records in Florida are searched separately
A federal prosecution filed in Florida is not a Florida state criminal case. Florida county clerks and FDLE do not replace federal court systems.
PACER federal court cases
PACER provides public electronic access to federal court cases and documents. Federal charges filed in Florida’s federal district courts should be researched there.
Search federal cases with PACERFBI Identity History Summary
A person seeking their own nationwide fingerprint-based FBI Identity History Summary should use the FBI’s official Identity History Summary Check service.
FBI Identity History SummaryFlorida Department of Law Enforcement criminal-history contact
FDLE Applicant Services Unit
Florida Department of Law Enforcement2331 Phillips Road
Tallahassee, FL 32308
Phone:
850-410-8161
Email:
ApplicantChecks@fdle.state.fl.us
Published hours:
Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Eastern
Mailing address
Florida Department of Law EnforcementAttention: Applicant Services Unit
P.O. Box 1489
Tallahassee, FL 32302
Different FDLE programs can use different attention lines and submission instructions. Follow the address shown on the specific FDLE form or service you are using.
Florida criminal-record search tips that save time
Start with the county
For a criminal court case, identifying the correct Florida county is usually more important than searching a broad people-search site.
Case number beats a common name
A case number avoids many false matches and result limits in county court systems.
Search jail first for a fresh arrest
A very recent booking may appear at the county jail before the related court case becomes easy to locate.
Do not confuse “Official Records” with court cases
Florida clerk websites often have an “Official Records” database for recorded documents such as deeds and liens. For criminal cases, choose Court Records or Criminal Cases.
Read the disposition
An arrest or filed charge tells you what was alleged, not necessarily how the case ended.
Try former names
Where the government search allows it, try maiden names, previous surnames and reasonable spelling variations.
Use FDLE only when statewide history is the goal
Paying FDLE $24 may be unnecessary if you only need one known county court case.
Confirm a warrant locally
FDLE’s wanted-person search is helpful, but FDLE specifically tells users to verify warrant status with the reporting agency.
Older documents may require a clerk request
Online coverage varies sharply between Florida counties and case-management systems.
Using Florida criminal records for employment, housing or other decisions
A public court search or free jail lookup is not automatically the same thing as a legally compliant consumer background report.
Employment, tenant screening, credit, insurance and other eligibility decisions can be subject to federal and state laws, including rules governing consumer reports. If a government agency, employer, licensing authority or other organization gave you an ORI or fingerprinting instruction, follow that authorized process rather than substituting an ordinary public-record search.
Florida criminal records search FAQs
1. Is a Florida criminal records search free?
Some searches are free, including many county court-case searches, FDLE’s Wanted Persons Search, Florida Department of Corrections offender searches and Florida appellate searches. FDLE’s general public statewide criminal-history search is not free and currently costs $24 per search.
2. What is the best free way to search a Florida criminal court case?
Identify the county where the case was filed and use that county’s official Clerk of the Circuit Court case-search system. Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers provides a statewide Find a Clerk directory.
3. How much does an FDLE Florida criminal-history check cost?
FDLE currently charges $24 for a general public Florida criminal-history search. Instant Search also carries a $1 credit-card processing fee. Authorized ORI-based checks can have different fees.
4. Can I get my own Florida criminal record for free?
Yes. FDLE’s fingerprint-based Personal Review allows an individual to review their own Florida criminal history for accuracy without an FDLE fee. Local fingerprinting charges can still apply, and the result cannot be used for employment, licensing, immigration or certification.
5. Are Florida arrest reports public records?
Arrest reports prepared after an arrest are generally open to public inspection under Florida public-record principles, but confidential or statutorily exempt information can be redacted or withheld.
6. How do I search for an active Florida warrant?
FDLE provides a free Wanted Persons Search through the Florida Crime Information Center Public Access System. Because FDLE warns that the data may not confirm that a warrant is still active, verify the result with the reporting law-enforcement agency.
7. Where can I search Florida jail inmates?
Search the sheriff or corrections agency for the county where the person is being held. The Florida Department of State also maintains a directory of county jails and available inmate-search links.
8. Where can I find someone in a Florida state prison?
Use the official Florida Department of Corrections Offender Search. County-jail detainees are generally not found through the state-prison inmate search simply because they were arrested in Florida.
9. Can a sealed or expunged Florida record disappear from public searches?
Yes. Sealing or expungement can restrict ordinary public access. FDLE explains that certain authorized entities may still have access depending on the type of relief and applicable Florida law.
10. Does a Florida criminal records search include federal cases?
Not automatically. Federal criminal cases use the federal court system and are generally searched through PACER. A fingerprint-based nationwide personal history can be requested through the FBI’s Identity History Summary process.
Official Florida sources used to verify this guide
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement — State Criminal History Record Check
- FDLE — Personal Review of Florida Criminal History
- FDLE Florida Crime Information Center Public Access System
- FDLE — Public Records / Records Custodian
- Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers — Find a Clerk
- Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers — Public Records Directory
- Florida Courts — Court Structure
- Florida Appellate Case Information System
- Florida Department of State — County Jails and Inmate Searches
- Florida Department of Corrections — Inmate Population Search
- Florida Attorney General — Citizen Guide to Public Records
- Florida Statute 119.07 — Inspection, Copying and Fees
- Florida Statute 943.053 — Criminal History Dissemination
- FDLE — Seal and Expunge Process