Florida runs two open government laws side by side, and the Attorney General's open government pages cover both: the Government in the Sunshine law, which governs meetings, and the Public Records Act, which governs records. The office frames access as a constitutional matter, noting that the Florida Constitution provides that the public has the right to know how government officials spend taxpayer dollars and make the decisions affecting their lives, and it says Florida leads the nation in providing public access to government meetings and records. What counts as a record comes from the Florida Supreme Court rather than a statutory list: public records are all materials made or received by an agency in connection with official business which are used to perpetuate, communicate or formalise knowledge, and they are not limited to traditional written documents, since tapes, photographs, films and sound recordings are public records too unless a statutory exemption exists.
Two rules make Florida easier to use than most states. A document becomes a public record as soon as a public agency receives it, unless the legislature has created an exemption making it confidential. And the person who wrote or sent a document cannot control what happens to it: the Attorney General's questions page says an agency may not refuse inspection or copying at the request of the maker or sender, because allowing that would let private parties rather than the legislature decide which public records are public. For Florida records held locally, see the Florida county pages.
- No form, no reason: a request can be made in person, by telephone or in writing, and the law does not require the requester to say why.
- Copy cap: where no fee is prescribed, up to 15 cents for a one sided copy and up to $1 for a certified copy, with a service charge only for extensive work.
- Denials must cite the statute: a custodian claiming an exemption must state the basis including the citation, and must give written reasons when asked.
- Enforcement: the local state attorney can prosecute criminal violations, civil remedies exist, and the Attorney General runs a mediation programme for access disputes.
Written by SearchSystems.net from Florida's own systems: the Florida Attorney General open government page, the Attorney General's open government frequently asked questions, the Attorney General's Sunshine Manual page, the Attorney General's 2025 public records guide for law enforcement agencies, the Attorney General's legal opinions page, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Making the request, and what it costs
Nothing in the public records law requires a request to be in writing or in person, although the Attorney General suggests writing as a way of keeping an accurate record of what was asked for. A custodian must honour a request whether it comes in person, over the telephone or in writing, provided the required fees are paid, and nothing in the law requires the requester to disclose the reason for the request. On price, the law says the custodian furnishes a copy on payment of the fee prescribed by law, and where no fee is prescribed an agency is normally allowed to charge up to 15 cents for a one sided copy of a page 14 inches by 8 and a half or smaller, with up to $1 for a certified copy.
The exception is work rather than paper: where the nature and volume of the records to be copied requires extensive use of information technology resources, or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance, or both, the agency may charge a reasonable service charge based on the actual cost incurred. A requester who wants to keep the bill down should therefore narrow the request rather than argue about the per page rate.
What a denial has to say
Florida does not allow a bare refusal. A custodian who contends that a record, or part of a record, is exempt from inspection must state the basis for that exemption, including the statutory citation, and when asked must state in writing the reasons for concluding that the record is exempt. That gives a requester two things: a specific provision to check, and a written document to take to a state attorney or a court if the claim does not hold.
The same questions page sets out where the limits of the law lie. The right is to inspect and copy existing public records, so a custodian is not obliged to give out information from the records, to create new records to answer a question, or to produce records in a particular form because the requester would prefer it that way.
Personnel files and arrest reports
Two categories come up constantly and the Attorney General answers both directly. Personnel records follow the same rule as everything else: unless the legislature has specifically exempted an agency's personnel records, or authorised the agency to adopt rules limiting access, they are open to public inspection, although in practice numerous statutory exemptions apply to parts of them. Arrest reports prepared by a law enforcement agency after an arrest are generally open for public inspection, with specific information exempt, such as the identity of a victim of sexual battery.
The Attorney General publishes a separate public records guide for law enforcement agencies, now in its 2025 edition, which incorporates legislative changes through the 2024 session together with key court decisions and legal opinions affecting criminal justice agencies, and which is the place to look when a police department refuses part of a report.
The Sunshine law on meetings
The meetings half of Florida's open government regime is broader than most states'. The law requires that meetings of boards or commissions be open to the public, that reasonable notice be given and that minutes be taken, and it applies to any board or commission of any state agency or authority, or of any county, municipal corporation or political subdivision, elected or appointed alike, with the judiciary and the Legislature outside it, the Legislature having its own constitutional provision.
A meeting is not limited to a formal sitting: the law applies to all discussions and deliberations as well as formal action, reaching any gathering, formal or casual, of two or more members of the same board to discuss a matter on which the board may foreseeably act, and no quorum is needed for the law to apply. Members elect are covered immediately on election. Closed meetings are possible only in limited cases, which include certain discussions with the board's attorney about pending litigation and parts of collective bargaining sessions, with some state agency meetings closed when probable cause is being determined or confidential records considered.
Recording is not required, but any recording made becomes a public record. A citizen may videotape a meeting with nondisruptive equipment, and a board may not vote by secret ballot or by preassigned numbers or codes. Agencies may adopt reasonable rules for orderly conduct, including time limits on speakers and asking a representative of each side to speak where many people attend.
Enforcement, mediation and the manual
Where an agency gets it wrong, the local state attorney has the statutory authority to prosecute alleged criminal violations of the open meetings and public records laws, and certain civil remedies are also available. Short of that, the Attorney General runs a mediation programme that assists in resolving public access disputes, which is the quickest route for a requester who does not want to litigate. For anyone who needs the detail, the office publishes the Government in the Sunshine Manual, with the 2025 edition reflecting the statutory and case law changes that occurred before October 2024, alongside the law enforcement guide and a searchable database of Attorney General legal opinions, which includes historical collections and indexes going back to 1895.
One distinction worth keeping straight: the Sunshine Amendment, added to the Florida Constitution in 1976, is about full and public disclosure of the financial interests of public officers, candidates and employees, while the Sunshine law is about open meetings.
Reading a Florida response
A Florida custodian who takes the law seriously will either produce the records, or cite the exemption with its statutory reference and, if asked, confirm it in writing. Anything less is a departure from what the Attorney General says the law requires. Three answers are not valid: that the request must be in writing, that the requester must explain why, or that the sender of a document has asked for it to be kept private. Two answers are valid and often misunderstood: that the agency will not answer questions or compile information, since the right is to inspect and copy existing records, and that a service charge applies where the work is genuinely extensive.
Questions about public records requests in Florida
Related Florida records
Florida's other public records guides on this site are the Florida background check guide for the Department of Law Enforcement criminal history service, the Florida court records guide for the clerks of court, the Florida arrest records guide for what a booking makes public, and the Florida county pages for every county office.