Pursuant to the Chapter 119 of the Florida Statute, all records of the government shall be made available to the public. This means that Florida public records are available for the public. These public records include papers, documents, books, audio, films, photographs and other media formats received or created by any government official in connection with the performance of their duties towards the public. Some public records information is exempted from the public access and will be redacted by the custodian before releasing the records to the person requesting the records. Confidential information is released only to the people who are nominated by the government; nevertheless, an agency is not restricted to disclose the records.
Anybody can access the records by making a request to Florida's "custodian of public records" either in writing or verbally. To make the request faster, one can opt for a verbal request by calling the Public Records division; however, a written request is favourable if the request is complex and details of the request are required. The Public Record Division is not compelled to answer the request within a timeframe. Nevertheless, the law states that the Office must respond within a reasonable time.
A copy of the record will cost $.15 for a one-sided copy and $.20 for a two-sided one. For a certified copy of the record, the person requesting the record will have to pay $1. The person requesting the information will incur additional cost if the records that they want will take the Office an extensive amount of time to look. Another is when the requested copy is in a different format other than paper such as cd, cassettes or DVD. Other instances where the agency can collect more than the said cost is when the request would include a search for county maps, crash reports, court records, homicide records and aerial images/photos. It is best to inquire whether the format that one needs is available from the agency.
There are requests that the Office will deny, usually with a written note on why the request was denied. For those who feel that the denial is rebuttable, they can try out several options to reverse the denial. One would be to contact the Attorney General's Office. Another is to talk with the local state attorney and lastly, is to file for a Writ of Mandamus.
For those who want to access the public records in Florida or any government public records, the internet makes it easier for one to seek the information they need. One can check out several commercial online search sites that offer public records searching free though some would require a nominal fee for complete reports. Many of these search sites have the records arranged so it is quite easy and convenient to look for the records that one may want to view. Public records include vital records such as birth, death, marriage and divorce as well as some criminal records with convictions, abandoned properties and social securities.
Anybody can access the records by making a request to Florida's "custodian of public records" either in writing or verbally. To make the request faster, one can opt for a verbal request by calling the Public Records division; however, a written request is favourable if the request is complex and details of the request are required. The Public Record Division is not compelled to answer the request within a timeframe. Nevertheless, the law states that the Office must respond within a reasonable time.
A copy of the record will cost $.15 for a one-sided copy and $.20 for a two-sided one. For a certified copy of the record, the person requesting the record will have to pay $1. The person requesting the information will incur additional cost if the records that they want will take the Office an extensive amount of time to look. Another is when the requested copy is in a different format other than paper such as cd, cassettes or DVD. Other instances where the agency can collect more than the said cost is when the request would include a search for county maps, crash reports, court records, homicide records and aerial images/photos. It is best to inquire whether the format that one needs is available from the agency.
There are requests that the Office will deny, usually with a written note on why the request was denied. For those who feel that the denial is rebuttable, they can try out several options to reverse the denial. One would be to contact the Attorney General's Office. Another is to talk with the local state attorney and lastly, is to file for a Writ of Mandamus.
For those who want to access the public records in Florida or any government public records, the internet makes it easier for one to seek the information they need. One can check out several commercial online search sites that offer public records searching free though some would require a nominal fee for complete reports. Many of these search sites have the records arranged so it is quite easy and convenient to look for the records that one may want to view. Public records include vital records such as birth, death, marriage and divorce as well as some criminal records with convictions, abandoned properties and social securities.
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