When is body cam footage exempt under section 119.071(2)(l)?

When the footage is taken inside a private residence, inside a healthcare, mental health, or social services facility, or at any location where a reasonable person would expect to be private.

Can I get body cam footage of my own arrest?

Often yes. Section 119.071(2)(l)4. requires disclosure to certain individuals, including the person recorded, even when public access is restricted by the privacy carveout. If you are facing charges, talk to your defense lawyer first; criminal discovery may be the faster route.

How much can the agency charge for body cam footage?

For copies, the actual cost of duplication for the medium. If the request requires extensive review and redaction, the agency may add a special service charge under section 119.07(4)(d). Excessive charges can be challenged.

What happens to the active criminal investigation exemption when the case ends?

Once the investigation is no longer active (no longer continuing with reasonable, good faith anticipation of arrest or prosecution, and no longer related to a pending prosecution or direct appeal), the active criminal investigative information exemption no longer applies. The body cam footage may then become accessible, subject to any remaining §119.071(2)(l) or other exemptions.

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Are Body Cam Recordings Public Records in Florida?

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

After reading this, you will know when Florida body-worn camera footage is a public record, when an exemption keeps it sealed, and how to ask for it without getting a five-figure invoice or a flat denial.

The short answer

Body cam footage is presumptively a public record

Body cam footage made or received by a Florida law enforcement agency in the course of official business is a public record under Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution and Chapter 119. Audio-visual format does not change the analysis. Public-record status is the default. The agency carries the burden of proving an exemption applies.

Specific exemptions narrow that

Two exemptions do most of the work in body-cam practice. Section 119.071(2)(l), the body-worn camera privacy exemption, exempts footage taken in three categories of locations. The active criminal investigative information exemption under section 119.071(2)(c)1. can stack on top of section 119.071(2)(l) when the recording captures an ongoing investigation.

Why it counts as a public record at all

A public record is anything made or received by a Florida agency in connection with the transaction of official business. Body cam recordings made by an officer on duty are squarely within that definition. The medium does not matter. Audio, video, and audio-video recordings are public records on the same footing as paper documents and emails.

The §119.071(2)(l) exemption (the body-camera privacy carveouts)

Section 119.071(2)(l)2., Florida Statutes, carves out three categories of body-worn camera footage from public disclosure. The statute defines a body camera as a portable electronic recording device worn on a law enforcement officer's body that records audio and video data in the course of the officer performing official duties. §119.071(2)(l)1.a., F.S.

Footage taken inside a private residence

A recording made inside someone's home is exempt from public release. The exemption protects the privacy of the people who live there.

Footage taken inside a healthcare, mental health, or social services facility

Recordings made inside hospitals, clinics, mental health facilities, and social services facilities are exempt. The setting itself triggers the protection.

Footage taken in a place where a reasonable person would expect privacy

The third category is a catch-all. Footage taken at any location where a reasonable person would expect to be private is exempt. This is fact-specific and often the contested ground when an agency is overclaiming.

Who can still see exempt footage

Section 119.071(2)(l) is not absolute. The agency may disclose the recording in furtherance of its official duties or to another governmental agency in furtherance of that agency's duties. §119.071(2)(l)3., F.S. The recording must be disclosed to certain individuals as set forth in the statute, including the person recorded, or pursuant to court order. §119.071(2)(l)4., F.S. That mandatory-disclosure channel is the route most subjects use to get body cam of their own arrest without going through general public records.

90-day mandatory retention

A law enforcement agency must retain a body camera recording for at least 90 days. §119.071(2)(l)5., F.S. The exemption applies retroactively. §119.071(2)(l)6., F.S. The exemption also does not supersede other public-records exemptions; portions protected by another exemption stay exempt. §119.071(2)(l)7., F.S.

Court access by court order or in camera inspection

Section 119.071(2)(l)4. authorizes release pursuant to court order. A judge can also conduct an in camera inspection under section 119.07(1)(g) (a private review by the judge) to determine whether the exemption actually applies and whether release is appropriate.

What §943.1718 actually does (policies, training, officer pre-report review)

Section 943.1718 is a separate statute. It is not the source of the privacy carveouts. §943.1718 requires every Florida law enforcement agency that permits its officers to wear body cameras to adopt written policies and procedures governing the cameras' use, maintenance, storage, retention of recordings, training, and release. The statute also confirms that Chapter 934, the Florida wiretap law, does not apply to body-camera recordings.

Officer's right to review their own footage before writing a report

Section 943.1718(2)(d) permits the officer who recorded the footage to review their own body-camera recording before writing a report or providing a statement about the recorded event. That access right is built into the policies-and-procedures statute, not the privacy exemption.

The active criminal investigation overlay

When body cam footage captures an ongoing investigation, the active criminal investigative information exemption under section 119.071(2)(c)1. can apply on top of section 119.071(2)(l). The Fourth District in Christy v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 698 So. 2d 1365 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), confirmed that the agency carries the burden of proving the active criminal investigative exemption applies and that the exemption is not intended to keep records sealed forever.

Time, date, location of the incident: still public

Even when the active investigation exemption applies, the section 119.011(3)(c) always public list still controls. Time, date, location, and nature of the reported crime cannot be withheld. For a deeper walk-through, see the active criminal investigation exemption.

Once given to the defendant in discovery: generally no longer exempt as criminal investigative information

Section 119.011(3)(c)5. excludes from the criminal-investigative-information definition any document given to the person arrested. The Fourth District in Bludworth v. Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc., 476 So. 2d 775 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985), held that once material is given to the defendant in discovery, the active-investigation analysis becomes irrelevant for that material. Defense receipt is the most common doorway to public release. Note that this analysis is independent of section 119.071(2)(l); under the statute's non-supersession rule at §119.071(2)(l)7., if the privacy-based body-cam exemption still applies (for example, the footage is from inside a private residence), defense receipt does not by itself unlock public release.

Other overlays that can redact (not seal) parts of the footage

Identifying information of victims of sexual offenses, child abuse, and certain human trafficking offenses (§119.071(2)(h)).
Identifying information of homicide witnesses for the statutory period (§119.071(2)(m)).
Confidential informant identification.
Confessions, until final disposition (§119.071(2)(e)).

These call for redaction (faces blurred, audio bleeped) rather than wholesale sealing. Section 119.07(1)(d) requires the agency to redact exempt portions and produce the rest. A blanket withholding because part of the recording is exempt is not allowed.

How to ask for body cam footage (request strategy)

Identify the footage by date, time, location, officer, incident or case number

A good body-cam request specifies the date and time window, the location or address, the officer name and badge number when known, the incident or case number, and a clear scope statement: the entire response to incident XXXX, beginning with activation of the body-worn camera through the close of the encounter.

Cap your costs in the request

Tell the agency to provide a written cost estimate before producing anything that would cost more than a stated dollar amount. Body cam invoices are where five-figure surprises happen most often. A cost cap forces the agency to talk before billing.

Ask for inspection in lieu of copies

Inspection is generally free. If you do not need a duplicate file, ask to view the footage at the agency. The labor for screening is still in play, but the duplication cost drops out.

Demand the §119.07(1)(f) written basis for any redaction or denial

Section 119.07(1)(f) requires the agency to articulate the basis for any redaction or withholding in writing on request. Make the agency name the statute. Then read it. The agency may be claiming a section that does not actually cover what was redacted. Section 119.07(1)(g) authorizes a court to conduct an in camera inspection if the dispute reaches litigation.

Re-request after charging and after discovery

The same footage changes status as the case moves. If the active investigation exemption is the only basis for withholding, calendar a re-request after charging, after defense discovery, and after final disposition.

When the agency hands you a five-figure invoice

Inflated invoices for body cam are common. The agency cites extensive review-and-redaction labor under section 119.07(4)(d). Some of those bills are legitimate. Many are not. Tactics: narrow the request to a specific officer or window, ask to inspect first and copy selectively, propose batched (rolling) production. For the full playbook, see the special service charge trap.

A note for charged defendants

If you are facing charges and considering a public records request for body cam of your own arrest, pause and talk to defense counsel first. As a defendant, the fastest route is usually criminal discovery under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220, not a public records request. Section 119.07(8) makes a defendant's public records request trigger reciprocal discovery obligations. That can have consequences your defense lawyer needs to weigh before the request goes out.

Frequently asked questions

Are Florida body cam recordings public records?: Yes, by default. Body cam footage made by a Florida law enforcement agency in the course of official business is a public record. Specific statutory exemptions, especially under section 119.071(2)(l), can apply.
When is body cam footage exempt under section 119.071(2)(l)?: When the footage is taken inside a private residence, inside a healthcare, mental health, or social services facility, or at any location where a reasonable person would expect to be private.
Can I get body cam footage of my own arrest?: Often yes. Section 119.071(2)(l)4. requires disclosure to certain individuals, including the person recorded, even when public access is restricted by the privacy carveout. If you are facing charges, talk to your defense lawyer first; criminal discovery may be the faster route.
Does the agency have to give me the part of the video that is not exempt?: Yes. Section 119.07(1)(d) requires the agency to redact exempt portions and produce the rest. A blanket withholding because part of the recording is exempt is not allowed.
Can a judge order the release of exempt body cam footage?: Yes. Section 119.071(2)(l)4. authorizes release pursuant to court order. A judge can also conduct an in camera inspection under section 119.07(1)(g) to confirm the exemption applies.
How much can the agency charge for body cam footage?: For copies, the actual cost of duplication for the medium. If the request requires extensive review and redaction, the agency may add a special service charge under section 119.07(4)(d). Excessive charges can be challenged.
What happens to the active criminal investigation exemption when the case ends?: Once the investigation is no longer active (no longer continuing with reasonable, good faith anticipation of arrest or prosecution, and no longer related to a pending prosecution or direct appeal), the active criminal investigative information exemption no longer applies. The body cam footage may then become accessible, subject to any remaining §119.071(2)(l) or other exemptions.

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.