Florida’s Right to Know: Public Records and Sunshine Law

Florida’s public records law and Sunshine Law give any person the right to inspect government records and attend meetings of public boards, without having to explain why or even give a name. The rights come from Article I, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution and are spelled out in Chapter 119 (records) and Chapter 286 (meetings) of the Florida Statutes. Agencies that refuse access can be sued, fined, and ordered to pay your attorney’s fees.

What Records and Meetings the Law Covers

The definition of a public record is deliberately wide. It includes all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of physical form, made or received in connection with official agency business.¹ Emails, text messages, and database entries all qualify. The law reaches state agencies, counties, municipalities, special districts, and private entities acting on behalf of a public agency.²

For meetings, Section 286.011 declares that all meetings of any board or commission of a state agency, county, municipality, or political subdivision are open to the public whenever official acts are to be taken. No resolution, rule, or formal action is binding unless it happens at a properly noticed public meeting.³

How to Request a Public Record

You do not have to identify yourself, put the request in writing, or explain your purpose. The custodian of records must let any person inspect and copy records at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions.⁴ Writing it down is still smart, because it creates a record of what you asked for and when.

The custodian must acknowledge the request promptly and respond in good faith, which includes checking with other officers or employees to determine whether the record exists and where it is kept.⁴ The statute sets no fixed deadline like ten business days. It requires production within a reasonable time without unjustified delay.

If some material in a record is exempt, the agency must redact only that portion and release the rest. The custodian has to identify the specific statutory exemption being claimed and, if you ask, provide a written explanation of why it applies.⁴ A blanket refusal that cites no statute is itself a violation.

What You Can Be Charged

Looking at records in person is free. If you want copies, an agency can charge up to 15 cents per one-sided page for standard sizes (up to 14 by 8½ inches), with an additional 5 cents for each two-sided copy. Certified copies may cost up to $1 each. For nonstandard sizes, the charge is the actual cost of duplication.⁴

When a request requires extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory labor, the agency may add a reasonable special service charge based on its actual labor costs.⁴ The statute does not define a specific time threshold for what counts as “extensive.” If you are quoted a special service charge, ask for a written breakdown of how it was calculated.

When an Agency Can Withhold Records

Florida’s default is disclosure, but the legislature has enacted hundreds of specific exemptions. Each has to be narrowly drawn and justified by a stated public necessity, and each has to pass by a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers to survive the constitutional test.⁵

Personal identifying information is a common redaction target. Social security numbers, bank account numbers, and certain personnel information for public employees and their families, including home addresses, are among the most frequently withheld items. Records tied to active criminal investigations, intelligence information, and security plans for public buildings are routinely exempt as well.

Attorney work product gets temporary protection. Records prepared by an agency attorney, or at the attorney’s direction, that reflect legal strategy, mental impressions, or litigation theories are exempt only until the litigation or adversarial administrative proceeding ends.⁶ Once the case closes, the records become accessible.

Two things to remember when an agency invokes an exemption. The burden is on the agency to point to the specific statutory provision. And an exemption that covers a piece of a document does not justify withholding the whole file. The exempt material gets redacted, and the rest must be released.⁴

What “Open Meetings” Actually Requires

The Sunshine Law reaches further than formal roll-call votes. Florida courts have consistently read Section 286.011 to apply whenever two or more members of the same board discuss any matter that will foreseeably come before the board for action. That covers phone calls, emails, texts, and lunch conversations. A quorum is not required; two members is enough. Even a person who has been elected but has not yet taken office is bound by the law.³

The board has to give reasonable notice of every meeting, and minutes have to be promptly recorded and made available for public inspection. “Reasonable notice” is not defined by a specific number of days. The expectation is that the public gets enough information to know when and where the meeting will occur and what will be discussed, which agencies usually meet by posting the date, time, location, and an agenda.

Any formal action taken at a meeting held in violation of the Sunshine Law can be invalidated by a court. That means you can not only punish the violation but undo whatever the board decided out of public view.

What to Do When Access Is Denied

Before filing a public records lawsuit, you generally have to give the agency’s records custodian written notice identifying your request and then wait at least five business days.⁷ That five-day window gives the agency a last chance to comply. The notice requirement is waived if the agency has not prominently posted its records custodian’s contact information in its main administrative building and on its website.

If you file suit and the court finds the agency unlawfully refused access, the court must award you reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. One caveat: if the court finds you filed the lawsuit for an improper purpose, primarily to manufacture a violation or for a frivolous reason, the fee-shifting flips, and you pay the agency’s costs.⁷

For Sunshine Law violations, circuit courts have jurisdiction to issue injunctions, and any citizen can apply. When the court finds a violation, it must assess reasonable attorney’s fees against the agency, and it may assess them against individual board members personally unless they sought and followed their attorney’s advice.³ A court may also assess fees against a citizen who brings a bad-faith or frivolous Sunshine action.

Penalties Officials Face

A public officer who violates any provision of Chapter 119 commits a noncriminal infraction with a fine of up to $500. Intentional misconduct escalates fast. A public officer who knowingly violates the right to inspect or copy records under Section 119.07(1) commits a first-degree misdemeanor and is also subject to suspension, removal, or impeachment. Any person, not just an officer, who willfully and knowingly violates the public records chapter faces the same first-degree misdemeanor charge.⁸

Sunshine Law violations carry parallel consequences. A public officer who violates Section 286.011 is guilty of a noncriminal infraction with a fine of up to $500, and knowing violations can be prosecuted as misdemeanors under the general penalty statutes.³⁹¹⁰ Knowing that these penalties exist gives you something concrete to point to when an agency stalls or refuses.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 119.011 – Definitions
2
Florida House of Representatives. Florida Code Chapter 0119 – Public Records
3
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 286.011 – Public Meetings and Records; Public Inspection; Criminal and Civil Penalties
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 119.07 – Inspection and Copying of Records; Photographing Public Records; Fees; Exemptions
5
FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art. I Sec. 24 – Access to Public Records and Meetings
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 119.071 – General Exemptions From Inspection or Copying of Public Records
7
Florida Senate. Florida Code 119.12 – Attorney Fees
8
Florida Senate. Florida Code 119.10 – Violation of Chapter; Penalties
9
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Certain Reoffenders Previously Released From Prison
10
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines