Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site on September 23, 2026.
Hardee County, Florida, has about 26,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Hardee County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and six campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the State Attorney files charges, a case in the Hardee County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Hardee County public records, Florida arrest records, Florida inmate search and Florida criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Hardee County
The Hardee County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Hardee County.
The FBI lists two cities in Hardee County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population:
- Wauchula, 4,984 residents.
- Bowling Green, 2,456 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Hardee County: the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Hardee County, the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Hardee County, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Hardee, the Hardee County Florida Game Commission and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Hardee County (state police).
Arrest Counts on File for Hardee County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Hardee County the counts on file are partial: Wauchula, Bowling Green and Hardee County Sheriff's Office have sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Hardee County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hardee County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 150 people on an average day, up from about 130 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 215 beds, and it ran at 63 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Hardee County Sheriff's Office at hardeeso.com/bureaus/booking_questions.php (page title: Welcome to Hardee County Sheriff s Office), phone (863) 773-0304, 900 East Summit St. Wauchula, FL 33873, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Florida Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at fdc.myflorida.com.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Hardee County
For Hardee County the place to look is the case index of the Hardee County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at flcourts.gov/Courts-System/Court-Structure/Court-Locations/Sixth-Di...).
Florida is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24 a search, through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Hardee County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the agency must answer promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the copy fees set by statute, plus a special service charge for large requests.
- An arrest by the Hardee County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (863) 773-0304.
- An arrest in Wauchula or Bowling Green: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspector General in Hardee County, the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Hardee County or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Hardee: the records office of the agency involved.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Hardee County Circuit Court, through the court records page at flcourts.gov.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at hardeecountyfl.gov (page title: Public Records Request | Hardee County Board of County Commissioners).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Hardee County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the three cities in Hardee County: Wauchula and Bowling Green. Zolfo Springs has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Hardee County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Hardee County?
Ask the Hardee County Sheriff's Office at (863) 773-0304; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hardeeso.com/bureaus/booking_questions.php.
Where are people arrested in Hardee County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Hardee County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Hardee County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Hardee County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Hardee County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the answer is due promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at hardeecountyfl.gov.
Is this the official Hardee County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.