When does an investigation stop being active?

When the agency no longer has a real, good-faith hope of an arrest or prosecution in the foreseeable future. Or when the case is no longer tied to a pending prosecution or direct appeal. Cases barred by the statute of limitations are not active.

Are records that the prosecutor gave to the defense lawyer in discovery public?

Mostly yes. Once a record is given or has to be given to the arrested person, Florida law pulls it out of the criminal investigative information box. A few narrow exceptions stay shielded. Victim and witness ID info. Confessions. A few court-ordered shields.

Are postconviction proceedings pending appeals that keep records sealed?

No. Florida courts have held postconviction proceedings are not pending appeals for this exemption.

What happens to the records after a final conviction?

Once the conviction and sentence become final, the records are no longer active. They lose their shield under this exemption. Other exemptions may still apply to specific items.

Can a closed cold case become active again?

Yes. If the agency really reopens the case, the records can return to active status and pull back out of public view.

What if the agency says everything in the file is exempt?

Demand the written basis for the exemption, with the statute cite. Section 119.07(1)(f) requires it. Then check whether the records you want are in the always-public categories under section 119.011(3)(c). If the agency is overclaiming, the next steps are AG mediation or a mandamus action.

Home / Exemptions

Are Records of an Active Criminal Investigation Public in Florida?

Written by Adam Bair.Published April 28, 2026Updated April 28, 2026

By the end of this article, you will know which parts of an active Florida criminal investigation are exempt. Which parts are always public. And what unlocks access at each stage of a case.

The short answer

The exemption is narrow; the access right is broad

Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution gives every person the right to inspect or copy any public record. The active criminal investigative information exemption is a carve-out from that right. Florida courts read access broadly. They read the exemption narrowly. The agency has to prove the exemption applies. The Fourth District put it plainly in Christy v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 698 So. 2d 1365 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). The exemption is not meant to keep criminal files closed forever.

The two-part test under §119.071(2)(c)1.

Read on for what each part means in practice.

Section 119.071(2)(c)1. exempts two kinds of records. Active criminal investigative information. And active criminal intelligence information. Both parts must hold. The matter must be active. AND the record must be criminal-investigative or criminal-intelligence in kind. If either part fails, the exemption does not apply.

Active

Section 119.011(3)(d) defines active. For an investigation, the case must still be going. The agency must have a real, good-faith hope of an arrest or charges in the near future. For intel work, the gathering must be underway. The agency must have a real, good-faith belief it will lead to finding ongoing or planned crime. Records also stay active while tied to a pending case or direct appeal.

Criminal investigative or criminal intelligence

Even if the matter is active, the record must fit one of two boxes. Section 119.011(3)(b) defines criminal investigative information. Section 119.011(3)(a) defines criminal intelligence information. A record that fits neither box is not exempt under this rule. It does not matter how active the matter is.

What criminal investigative information means

The statute uses a defined term. Here is what it covers.

Section 119.011(3)(b) defines criminal investigative information. It means records about a known person or group. A criminal justice agency must compile them. They must be made while the agency is looking into a specific act or omission. Examples include investigator narratives, witness statements, lab and forensic test results, informant reports, and surveillance.

What criminal intelligence information means

The other defined term. Here is what it covers.

Section 119.011(3)(a) defines criminal intelligence information. It means records about a known person or group. A criminal justice agency must collect them to predict, prevent, or watch for possible criminal activity. Gang files are the textbook example. So are surveillance products aimed at prevention rather than a specific charged act.

What active means in practice

Real, good-faith hope of arrest or charges

The Fourth District ruled on this in Barfield v. City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department, 639 So. 2d 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). The agency must show, in each case, that an arrest or charges are reasonably expected. There is no fixed time limit on naming suspects or making arrests. The only outer limit is the statute of limitations. Cases can stay active without a near-term plan to arrest. They just have to proceed in good faith. Once a case has ended with no charges filed, the records are no longer active.

Pending prosecutions and direct appeals

Records stay active while a prosecution or direct appeal is pending. That keeps the shield over the file during the live phase of the case.

Cases barred by the statute of limitations are not active

Section 119.011(3)(d)2. is plain. Records in cases barred by the statute of limitations are not active. The clock running out also runs out the exemption.

Postconviction proceedings are not pending appeals

The Second District ruled on this in Tribune Company v. Public Records, 493 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986). Postconviction proceedings are not pending appeals for this exemption. Once conviction and sentence become final, criminal investigative information loses its active status under this rule. Other exemptions may still apply to specific items.

What is NEVER criminal investigative information (§119.011(3)(c))

Section 119.011(3)(c) lists six categories that are never criminal investigative information. The agency cannot withhold them under this exemption, no matter how active the case is. A different exemption could still apply to specific items. This one does not.

The time, date, location, and nature of a reported crime.
The name, sex, age, and address of a person arrested. Same for the victim of a crime, unless another statute shields them.
The time, date, and location of the incident and of the arrest.
The crime charged.
Documents given to the arrested person. Or documents that law or agency rule says must be given.
Informations and indictments. Section 905.26 sets a few narrow exceptions.

This is the most under-used set of categories in Florida public records practice. Frame your request to call out section 119.011(3)(c) directly. That gives the agency less room to lump everything as exempt.

What unlocks at each stage

Reported crime: basic incident data is public from day one

From the moment a crime is reported, the section 119.011(3)(c) categories are public. Time. Date. Location. Nature of the report. The investigative file is shielded. The incident-level facts are not.

Arrest: arrest data is public; the underlying file usually still exempt

At arrest, several items become public. The name, sex, age, and address of the arrested person. The time and location of the arrest. And the crime charged. The investigator's narrative, the witness statements, and the lab results stay shielded as long as the matter is active.

Charging and discovery: anything handed to the defendant usually loses the shield

Section 119.011(3)(c)5. takes any document given to the arrested person out of the criminal investigative information definition. The Fourth District ruled on this in Bludworth v. Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc., 476 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985). Once a record is handed to the defendant in discovery, it does not matter if the case is active. Defense receipt is the most common doorway to public release. A few narrow carve-outs apply. They are listed below.

Final disposition: the case is no longer active

Once the prosecution and any direct appeal end, and the conviction and sentence become final, the exemption no longer applies. Postconviction proceedings do not keep the file active under Tribune Co. v. Public Records.

Cases that reactivate

A cold case that the agency really reopens can return to active status. News-Press Publishing Co. v. McDougall (Fla. 20th Cir. Ct. 1992) recognized this. Reactivation pulls the records back out of public view. The agency has to show the reactivation is real, not a pretext.

When the agency selectively releases something

An agency that puts out a press release, or otherwise releases facts from an active investigation, waives the exemption for what it disclosed. It does not waive the exemption for the rest of the file. Selective disclosure does not open the floodgates. It only opens the doors the agency itself has unlocked.

Special carve-outs that survive defense disclosure

A few items stay exempt even after defense receipt or final disposition. Separate exemptions cover them:

ID info of victims of sex offenses, child abuse, and some human trafficking offenses. See §119.071(2)(h).
ID info of homicide witnesses, for the time set by statute. See §119.071(2)(m).
Mass-violence victim addresses. See §119.071(2)(o).
Confessions, until final disposition. See §119.071(2)(e).
Court-ordered shields. The court has to find that pretrial release would defame or endanger a victim or witness AND would hurt the state's ability to find or prosecute a codefendant.

Practical request strategy

Call out section 119.011(3)(c) in the request. Try a line like "all public records under §119.011(3)(c)1.-6. relating to incident number ____." That gives the agency less room to over-claim.
Demand the written basis for any exemption claim. Cite section 119.07(1)(f). Make the agency name a statute.
Calendar a re-request after charging. After defense discovery. And after final disposition. The same file changes status as the case moves.
If the agency claims a shield over reported-crime basics or arrest data, push back. Those items are never criminal investigative information.
Federal involvement does not reset the analysis. A Florida agency cannot turn records into active criminal investigative information by handing them to FDLE or a federal agency. The records' original status under Florida law controls. See Woolling v. Lamar, 764 So. 2d 765 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). Florida AGO 88-25 says the same thing.

Are you a defendant weighing a public records request instead of criminal discovery? Note one thing. Section 119.07(8) makes a defendant's public records request trigger reciprocal discovery duties. Defense counsel should weigh that before going through the public records channel.

Frequently asked questions

Are records of an active criminal investigation public in Florida?: Mostly no. Section 119.071(2)(c)1. exempts active criminal investigative information and active criminal intelligence information. But the exemption is narrow. Some items are always public. The time, date, location, and nature of a reported crime. The name and basic info of the person arrested. The crime charged. And any document given to the defendant.
When does an investigation stop being active?: When the agency no longer has a real, good-faith hope of an arrest or prosecution in the foreseeable future. Or when the case is no longer tied to a pending prosecution or direct appeal. Cases barred by the statute of limitations are not active.
Are records that the prosecutor gave to the defense lawyer in discovery public?: Mostly yes. Once a record is given or has to be given to the arrested person, Florida law pulls it out of the criminal investigative information box. A few narrow exceptions stay shielded. Victim and witness ID info. Confessions. A few court-ordered shields.
Are postconviction proceedings pending appeals that keep records sealed?: No. Florida courts have held postconviction proceedings are not pending appeals for this exemption.
What happens to the records after a final conviction?: Once the conviction and sentence become final, the records are no longer active. They lose their shield under this exemption. Other exemptions may still apply to specific items.
Can a closed cold case become active again?: Yes. If the agency really reopens the case, the records can return to active status and pull back out of public view.
What if the agency says everything in the file is exempt?: Demand the written basis for the exemption, with the statute cite. Section 119.07(1)(f) requires it. Then check whether the records you want are in the always-public categories under section 119.011(3)(c). If the agency is overclaiming, the next steps are AG mediation or a mandamus action.

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.