Public records by state · Florida
Florida Public Records Law: fees, staff time charges, the missing deadline
The Public Records Law is chapter 119, Florida Statutes: what an agency may charge, the duty to redact and cite instead of withholding, and a response clock with no day count.
Request volume keeps climbing. AI-generated requests, social media, and reporters add to the queue, and records staff does not grow with it. In most offices review still happens one page at a time in Adobe, by one or two people. And the requests now pull in texts, photos, and whole email exports. Florida adds a money question: staff time can be billed here, but only through a charge the agency must be ready to defend.
Fees
What an agency may charge. Copies, and staff time when a request turns extensive.
Start with the base rates. If no other law prescribes a fee, the custodian furnishes copies at up to 15 cents per one-sided copy on paper no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches, no more than an additional 5 cents for each two-sided copy, and up to $1 for a certified copy. s. 119.07(4). Every other copy runs at the actual cost of duplication, defined as the material and supplies used to duplicate the record, with labor and overhead excluded. s. 119.011(1).
THE CHARGE EVERY BIG REQUEST TURNS ON
Florida is one of the states where staff time can be charged. When a request requires extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance, the agency may add a special service charge on top of the duplication cost. It must be reasonable, and it must be based on the cost the agency actually incurs. The statute never defines extensive. So every large request opens with an estimate conversation, and every estimate is open to dispute. An agency that cannot itemize the hours ends up absorbing them.
| Charge | Amount | Where |
|---|---|---|
| One-sided paper copy, up to 8.5 by 14 inches | Up to 15 cents | s. 119.07(4)(a) |
| Two-sided copy | No more than an additional 5 cents | s. 119.07(4)(a) |
| Certified copy | Up to $1 per copy | s. 119.07(4)(c) |
| All other copies | Actual cost of duplication: material and supplies, no labor, no overhead | s. 119.011(1) |
| Special service charge, extensive requests | Reasonable, based on cost actually incurred | s. 119.07(4)(d) |
The money story is short. Track the hours a request consumes and itemize them defensibly, or leave the charge off and absorb the time.
When a refusal is challenged
What an unlawful refusal costs.
How enforcement works
A requester files a civil action, and the court sets an immediate hearing, giving the case priority over other pending cases. s. 119.11(1). If the court orders the records opened, the agency complies within 48 hours unless the order says otherwise or an appellate court stays it within that window. s. 119.11(2).
COSTS + ATTORNEY FEES
The court shall assess the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, against the agency when it unlawfully refused access and the requester gave written notice identifying the request to the agency's custodian at least 5 business days before filing. s. 119.12(1).
THE NOTICE HAS A CATCH
That warning is owed only to an agency that prominently posts its custodian's contact information in its primary administrative building and on its website. No posting means no notice requirement. s. 119.12(2).
PERSONAL EXPOSURE
A violation of the chapter is a noncriminal infraction with a fine up to $500. A public officer who knowingly violates s. 119.07(1) faces suspension and removal or impeachment and commits a first degree misdemeanor. s. 119.10.
The clock
No day count. The absence is the Florida rule.
Search chapter 119 for a response deadline and you will not find one. The duty instead: acknowledge requests promptly and respond in good faith. A good faith response includes making reasonable efforts to determine from other officers or employees within the agency whether the record exists and, if so, where it can be accessed. s. 119.07(1)(c).
The hard numbers that do exist sit at the edges:
- 48 hours to comply after a court orders records opened, absent a contrary order or an appellate stay. s. 119.11(2).
- 30 days of mandatory preservation. Even a record the custodian says is not public cannot be disposed of for 30 days after a written request, and a suit filed inside that window freezes it until a court rules. s. 119.07(1)(h).
- 5 business days of written notice a requester gives the custodian before filing, when attorney fees are in play. s. 119.12(1)(b).
Exemptions
The redaction duty comes with a citation duty.
The chapter's general exemptions live in s. 119.071, grouped under five headings:
- (1) Agency administration.
- (2) Agency investigations, including active criminal investigative information.
- (3) Security and firesafety, including security system plans.
- (4) Agency personnel information, including employee Social Security numbers.
- (5) Other personal information.
Hundreds more sit in statutes outside the chapter, created one law at a time. The constitution lets the Legislature exempt records only by a general law stating with specificity the public necessity. Fla. Const. art. I, s. 24(c). The Open Government Sunset Review Act puts each new exemption on a timer: repeal on October 2nd of the fifth year unless reenacted, and an exemption may be created or maintained only if it serves an identifiable public purpose. s. 119.15(3) and (6)(b).
Redact and release. A custodian asserting an exemption over part of a record redacts the portion the exemption validly applies to and produces the remainder for inspection and copying. s. 119.07(1)(d). The custodian must state the basis of the exemption, including the statutory citation. s. 119.07(1)(e). If the requester asks, the reasons go in writing, with particularity. s. 119.07(1)(f). In Florida, citing the exemption is part of the job. Every mark on a page carries a statute number with it.
The act
Chapter 119, with the constitution behind it.
It is the policy of this state that all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person, and providing access is a duty of each agency. s. 119.01(1). The right also sits in the state constitution, where every person may inspect or copy any public record made or received in connection with official business. Fla. Const. art. I, s. 24.
A public record is any material made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business, regardless of physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission. s. 119.011(12).
Agency reaches wide. Every state, county, district, authority, or municipal unit of government, and any public or private entity acting on behalf of a public agency. A contractor doing the public's business can hold public records. s. 119.011(2).
Practical notes
For the person actually answering requests.
- Post the custodian's contact information prominently in the primary administrative building and on the website. That posting is what earns the agency 5 business days of warning before a fee suit. s. 119.12(2).
- A designee may handle inspection and copying, and the designee's identity must be disclosed to the requester. s. 119.07(1)(b).
- Keep whatever was asked for. A requested record cannot be disposed of for 30 days after a written request. s. 119.07(1)(h).
- Deliver in the medium requested when the agency maintains the record in that medium. s. 119.01(2)(f).
- Automation must not erode access. Moving records into a new system does not shrink the public's right to see them. s. 119.01(2)(a).
Florida Public Records Law questions, answered from the statute
How long does a Florida agency have to respond to a public records request?
Chapter 119 sets no fixed number of days. The custodian must acknowledge the request promptly and respond in good faith, and a good faith response includes reasonable efforts to determine from other officers or employees within the agency whether the record exists and, if so, where it can be accessed. s. 119.07(1)(c).
Can a Florida agency charge for staff time on a public records request?
Yes, when the request requires extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance. The agency may then add a special service charge, which must be reasonable and based on the cost actually incurred. The statute does not define extensive. s. 119.07(4)(d).
What are Florida's standard copy fees?
Up to 15 cents per one-sided copy on paper no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches, no more than an additional 5 cents for each two-sided copy, and up to $1 for a certified copy. Other copies run at the actual cost of duplication: material and supplies, with labor and overhead excluded. s. 119.07(4), 119.011(1).
What must a Florida agency do when part of a record is exempt?
Redact the portion the exemption validly applies to and produce the remainder for inspection and copying. The custodian must state the basis of the exemption, including the statutory citation, and on request must state the reasons in writing and with particularity. s. 119.07(1)(d), (e), (f).
What does an unlawful refusal cost a Florida agency?
The court shall award the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, if the agency unlawfully refused access and the requester gave the custodian written notice at least 5 business days before filing suit. Once a court orders records opened, the agency has 48 hours to comply. A knowing violation of s. 119.07(1) is also a first degree misdemeanor. s. 119.12, 119.11(2), 119.10.
How should a Florida agency handle a request for a whole email export?
Email made or received in connection with official business is a public record regardless of physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission. s. 119.011(12). Redact the exempt parts rather than withhold whole threads, and cite the exemption for each redaction. s. 119.07(1)(d), (e).
This page is general information, not legal advice. The statute is the authority: read it at leg.state.fl.us and check anything that matters before it goes out.
Staff time is billable only when you can show it.
Florida lets an agency charge for extensive staff time and makes every charge stand on actual cost. RecordBeacon reads a records set, including whole email exports, flags content that may be exempt, and holds every mark for a named reviewer. The release records who decided what, which is the record you want when a withholding is challenged. The first fifteen documents are free with no card.
Or read how it works on the public records software page.