Is a public employee's salary public?

Yes. Pay and other facts about what a public worker earns are open to the public.

Can I get a police officer's discipline file?

Yes, once the case is over. A complaint stays closed while the agency looks into it. The officer's home address, phone, birth date, and photo stay closed.

Is a public employee's home address public?

For most workers, yes. The law closes home addresses only for the jobs it lists, such as police officers, judges, and firefighters.

Can the agency wait to tell the worker before it shows me the file?

It can tell the worker, but it cannot hold up your request to do so. Public school files have one twist for some bad marks.

Are teacher evaluations public in Florida?

Not right away. A public school worker's job review stays closed until the end of the next school year. Then it opens.

Do I have to say why I want the file?

No. You do not have to give a reason for a public records request.

Home / Exemptions

Are Public Employee Personnel Records Public in Florida?

Written by Adam Bair.Published June 15, 2026Updated October 25, 2026

TL;DR: Yes, personnel records are public in Florida unless a statute closes a part of them. Pay, job reviews, and discipline are open for most public workers. The law does close a few facts, such as Social Security numbers, health records, and home details for some jobs.

This guide covers what a public worker's file shows and what the law keeps closed. It explains the rules for school staff files. It also shows how to ask so no one blacks out more than the law allows.

Are personnel records public in Florida?

Yes, as a rule. The default is public access, so the file is open unless a law closes a part of it. Michel v. Douglas, 464 So. 2d 545 (Fla. 1985).

A privacy claim will not close the file. The state's high court held that our state Constitution gives no right of privacy in public records.

The court later said public workers, as a rule, have no privacy rights in these records without a statute. Only the custodian, not the worker, can raise an applicable exemption. Alterra Healthcare Corporation v. Estate of Shelley, 827 So. 2d 936, 940 n.4 (Fla. 2002).

An exemption is a law that lets an agency keep a record, or part of it, closed. A custodian is the staff member in charge of the records.

What is in a Florida public employee personnel file?

A personnel file tracks a worker's time on the job, from the first day of employment to the last. Most of these public employee records are open:

The job application and resume, once the agency blacks out exempt facts such as a Social Security number. AGO 15-10.
A written employment contract. AGO 13-14.
Letters about the worker from people outside the agency.
Pay and other facts about what the worker earns. AGO 80-92 and AGO 73-30. To look up pay, see State of Florida employee salaries.
Job reviews, also called evaluations, in most cases.
Notes of discipline, once any open case on the worker is over.

Shame is not a reason to close a file. The high court has also said no state policy shields public workers from the shame of poor work coming out. News-Press Publishing Co. v. Wisher, 345 So. 2d 646, 648 (Fla. 1977).

Can an agency hide discipline records?

No. An agency may not “seal” discipline notes or toss them before the retention schedule allows. AGO 94-75.

It also may not move a written warning to a side file to keep it out of view. AGO 94-54.

One school chief skipped a required talk with a worker about a job review. That did not let the district pull the review from public view. AGO 11-19.

A union agreement cannot close these records either. A court said that letting a private deal close public records would end the law's force. Mills v. Doyle, 407 So. 2d 348, 350 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981).

What does the law keep closed for every public worker?

Some facts stay closed no matter the job. Each one is a statutory exemption, so the office blacks out that part and must disclose the rest.

Social Security numbers of past and current workers (s. 119.071(4)(a), Fla. Stat.).
Medical information that would name the worker (s. 119.071(4)(b)1., Fla. Stat.). It can come out if the worker agrees in writing or a court orders it.
Drug test results from a drug test plan set up under state law (s. 112.0455(11), Fla. Stat.).
Facts that name a worker in an employee help program (s. 110.1091, Fla. Stat., for state staff).
Bank and account numbers for direct deposit (s. 17.076(5), Fla. Stat.).
Test questions and answers for a job or license test (s. 119.071(1)(a), Fla. Stat.).

Home addresses are a different story. For most public workers, the home address, telephone numbers, photographs, and birth date are open. AGO 96-88.

Which jobs get more protection under section 119.071(4)(d) in Florida?

Section 119.071(4)(d), Florida Statutes, lists jobs that put workers at risk. For those jobs, the law closes home and family facts, but not the rest of the personnel file.

Here are some of the jobs on the list and what it closes:

Sworn law enforcement officers and jail staff, and civilian police staff: home address, phone numbers, birth date, and photo.
Judges and justices, past or current: home address, birth date, and phone numbers.
State attorneys, public defenders, and their assistants: home address, phone numbers, birth date, and photo.
Certified firefighters and code enforcement officers: home address, phone numbers, birth date, and photo.
Department of Health staff who help look into child abuse: home address, phone numbers, birth date, and photo.

For most of these jobs, the law also closes facts about spouses and children. That can include their names, places of employment, and the schools and day care the children attend.

The list is long and it changes. Check the current text of the statute before you rely on it.

One more rule matters when another office, such as a county clerk, holds these facts. It keeps them closed only if the worker or boss asks in writing (s. 119.071(4)(d)3., Fla. Stat.).

Are complaints and internal affairs files public?

Yes, once the case ends. A misconduct complaint against a public worker stays confidential while the case is active (s. 119.071(2)(k), Fla. Stat.).

It opens when the case goes dead, or when the agency tells the worker in writing how it ended. That is true whether it chose to act or not.

Police and jail officers

Officers have their own rule with the same shape (s. 112.533(5), Fla. Stat.). It covers a law enforcement officer, but not a chief of police, and the complaint must be in writing. City of Delray Beach v. Barfield, 579 So. 2d 315 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991).

The law treats a complaint as inactive if the agency makes no finding within 45 days. If the officer quits before the case ends, the complaint opens up. AGO 91-73.

Facts from an open criminal case stay closed until that case ends. For more, see active criminal case records.

Outside those limits, an officer's personnel records are as open as any other public worker's.

Public school staff have their own rules for complaints. See the next section.

Are public school employee personnel files public?

Yes, with a few set limits. A school district's staff files are open like other public records (s. 1012.31(3), Fla. Stat.). The limits below reach any public school worker, from teachers to the administrator who runs the school.

What stays closed in a school worker's file?

A complaint and its probe, until the first round ends or goes dead (s. 1012.31(3)(a)1., Fla. Stat.).
The job review, until the end of the next school year (s. 1012.31(3)(a)2., Fla. Stat.). Reviews from before July 1, 1983 stay closed.
Records of payroll deductions, such as tax taken out of pay (s. 1012.31(3)(a)4., Fla. Stat.). AGO 09-11.
Medical records, including mental health records (s. 1012.31(3)(a)5., Fla. Stat.).

What stays open?

The complaint rule covers a complaint against one worker. It does not close a broad look at how school offices run. AGO 91-75.

The review rule closes only the review itself. The data used to write it is open. Morris Publishing Group, LLC v. Department of Education, 133 So. 3d 957, 960 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).

Notes that board members write about their superintendent's work are open. AGO 97-23.

So are union review forms sent to the superintendent unasked. AGO 94-94.

Does the worker find out?

Some bad marks wait 10 days after the worker gets notice (s. 1012.31(3)(a)3., Fla. Stat.). The notice goes by certified mail or by hand. The school also logs each person who looks at the file (s. 1012.31(2)(f), Fla. Stat.).

What about the state's own case on a teacher?

The state Department of Education can look into a teacher or school administrator too. Its complaint and case file stay closed until its first round ends (s. 1012.796(4), Fla. Stat.).

State college and university staff have their own rules for some files (ss. 1012.81 and 1012.91, Fla. Stat.). For student records, see are school records public in Florida.

How do I ask for a public employee's personnel file?

Name the worker and the agency, and ask for the full personnel file. List the parts you want, such as the application, reviews, discipline, and pay history.

You do not have to give a reason. The office may tell the worker about your request, but it may not hold up the file to do so. Tribune Co. v. Cannella, 458 So. 2d 1075 (Fla. 1984).

Public school staff files have one twist. Some bad marks must wait 10 days after the worker gets notice, as the school section above explains.

What does it cost?

Inspection of public records is free unless a law sets a fee. State ex rel. Davis v. McMillan, 38 So. 666 (Fla. 1905).

Copies cost money, and a large job can carry a special service charge (s. 119.07(4)(d), Fla. Stat.). That is a fee for extra staff or computer time. See how much a Florida agency can charge.

What if the agency blacks out too much?

The office may black out only the closed part. It must give you the rest of the record (s. 119.07(1)(d), Fla. Stat.).

For each record it holds back, it must name the exemption and the statute (s. 119.07(1)(e), Fla. Stat.). Upon request, it must also put its reasons in writing (s. 119.07(1)(f), Fla. Stat.).

A bare “no” is not enough. A federal court faulted a fire chief who turned down a request for a personnel file with no statute named. Langlois v. City of Deerfield Beach, 370 F. Supp. 2d 1233 (S.D. Fla. 2005).

Then compare each claim to the law. If the office cites section 119.071(4)(d) to black out a discipline finding, push back. That law is about home and family facts.

If it still says no, see what to do after a denial. If it goes silent, see what to do when an agency ignores you.

Frequently asked questions

Are personnel records public in Florida?: Yes, as a rule. A public worker's file is open unless a statute closes a part of it. The agency must name that statute.
Is a public employee's salary public?: Yes. Pay and other facts about what a public worker earns are open to the public.
Can I get a police officer's discipline file?: Yes, once the case is over. A complaint stays closed while the agency looks into it. The officer's home address, phone, birth date, and photo stay closed.
Is a public employee's home address public?: For most workers, yes. The law closes home addresses only for the jobs it lists, such as police officers, judges, and firefighters.
Can the agency wait to tell the worker before it shows me the file?: It can tell the worker, but it cannot hold up your request to do so. Public school files have one twist for some bad marks.
Are teacher evaluations public in Florida?: Not right away. A public school worker's job review stays closed until the end of the next school year. Then it opens.
Do I have to say why I want the file?: No. You do not have to give a reason for a public records request.

Not legal advice. Educational and informational content only. Reading this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice on a specific matter, consult a licensed Florida attorney.