What if the official used a personal phone?

A personal phone does not make a work text private. A Florida court held that work texts on a private phone can be public records.

Are an official's personal texts public?

No. A court held that a city board member's texts to her husband during a meeting were personal. They were not public records.

How long must an agency keep texts?

The content of the text sets how long it stays on file, not the app. The state retention schedule for electronic messages says so.

Can board members text each other about board business?

Not to discuss it in private. The Sunshine Law bars board members from talking over board business by text outside a public meeting.

Home / Foundations

Are Text Messages from Florida Elected Officials Public Records?

Written by Adam Bair.Published June 15, 2026Updated October 20, 2026

TL;DR: Often, yes. Text messages from Florida elected officials are public records when they deal with the job. That holds on a personal phone or app too, but a text to a spouse about dinner is not.

This guide covers the test Florida courts use for texts and how long texts must stay on file. It also shows how to ask for them.

Are text messages from Florida elected officials public records?

Yes, when they deal with the work of the office. Florida law asks what a record says and why someone made it. It does not ask what device or app carried it.

A Florida court put it this way. An elected official who uses a private cell phone to text about public work can create a written public record. O'Boyle v. Town of Gulf Stream, 257 So. 3d 1036, 1040 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018).

The court also gave its reason. If an official could hide public work on a private phone, the right to see records would mean little.

That right comes from the Florida Constitution. Article I, Section 24, the Public Records and Meetings Amendment, opens the records of state and local government officers.

When does a text count as official business?

The O'Boyle court set a simple test. A text counts when the official made, used, or kept it as part of the job.

That happens in one of three ways:

The job calls for the text.
The agency tells the official to send it.
The text helps the agency do its work.

So a mayor who texts a builder about a city contract has made a public record. The same mayor texting a friend about a ball game has not.

Are personal texts from an official ever public?

No. A text with no tie to the job stays private, even if an official sends it during a meeting.

In one case, a city commissioner texted her husband during a city commission meeting. The court found the texts were personal, so they were not public records. City of Sunny Isles Beach v. Gatto, 338 So. 3d 1045 (Fla. 3d DCA 2022).

The court said she was not acting as an official when she texted him. Her husband was not acting as a citizen doing city business either.

Florida public records and text messages on a personal phone

A personal phone does not change the test. A work text on a private phone is a public record, just like a work text on a city phone.

The agency must handle texts the way it handles emails. It reviews each one, checks if a law makes any part exempt (closed), and gives you the rest. O'Boyle, 257 So. 3d at 1041.

It also has to look for them. When officials do public work on their own phones, the agency must act fast to pull those records back. Raydient LLC v. Nassau County (Fla. 4th Cir. Ct. 2021).

Some fights over texts on a private phone end up in a public records lawsuit. A judge may then read the texts to sort public from private. O'Boyle, 257 So. 3d at 1042.

The court said an official keeps privacy rights in truly private texts. A judge's review can protect those rights and still allow disclosure of the public ones.

How long must an agency keep text messages?

The content decides, not the app. A retention schedule is the state list of how long records must stay on file. The one for electronic messages, GS1-SL, sets each limit by what a message says and does.

The Attorney General has said the rules for e-mail also reach texts, picture texts, and instant messages. That came in a March 17, 2010 opinion letter to Browning.

Wiping texts as a habit can break the law. In Raydient, a county board and staff purged texts as a routine, without regard to what each one said. The judge held that this did violate s. 119.021, Fla. Stat.

Can board members discuss board business by text?

Not in private. Florida's Sunshine Law makes boards meet in public. Members may not act on board business by text, email, or letter, or discuss it that way among themselves.

So a group text among commission members raises two issues. The texts may be public records, and the private discussion may be a Sunshine Law violation.

For the full test, see the “in connection with official business” test.

How do I request texts from an elected official?

A vague public records request for “all texts” invites a fight. A tight one is hard to stall. Put these in your request:

The name of the official or office.
A clear date range, such as March 1 to June 30.
The topic, such as the vote on the park land deal.
Every kind of phone: city phones and personal phones.
Every app you know of, such as plain text, iMessage, WhatsApp, or Signal.

Here is a sample line you can adapt:

All text messages sent or received by [name] about [topic], from [start date] to [end date], on any city or personal phone, in any app.

For the basic steps, see how to request public records in Florida. The same rule covers email, so you can ask for both at once.

What if the agency stalls on a text message request?

If they say they lack the phone: the duty to comply does not turn on who holds it. Ask in writing what steps the agency took to get the texts from the official.
If they refuse: the agency must name the exemption and the statute (s. 119.07(1)(e), Fla. Stat.). If you ask, it must give its reasons in writing (s. 119.07(1)(f), Fla. Stat.).
If they say there are none: ask what phones, apps, and dates they checked, and who checked. Good faith means a real effort to learn from staff whether a record exists. Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Lee, 189 So. 3d 120, 128 (Fla. 2016).

If you sue and win, the court can make the agency pay your attorney fees in some cases. You must first give the agency written notice at least five business days before you file (s. 119.12, Fla. Stat.).

See attorney fees in a public records case and when records do not exist.

Frequently asked questions

Are text messages from Florida elected officials public records?: Yes, when the texts deal with the job. What the text says decides it, not the phone or the app.
What if the official used a personal phone?: A personal phone does not make a work text private. A Florida court held that work texts on a private phone can be public records.
Are an official's personal texts public?: No. A court held that a city board member's texts to her husband during a meeting were personal. They were not public records.
How long must an agency keep texts?: The content of the text sets how long it stays on file, not the app. The state retention schedule for electronic messages says so.
Can board members text each other about board business?: Not to discuss it in private. The Sunshine Law bars board members from talking over board business by text outside a public meeting.
Is the rule for texts the same as for emails?: Yes. The Attorney General has said the rules for e-mail also reach texts and instant messages.

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.