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 release to some individuals, including the person recorded, even when the public is locked out by the privacy carve-out. 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Once the case is no longer active, the active criminal investigative information exemption no longer applies. No longer active means: no real, good-faith hope of arrest or charges, and no longer tied to a pending case or direct appeal. The body cam footage may then become accessible. Any remaining §119.071(2)(l) or other exemptions still control.

Home / Police and court records

Are Body Cam Recordings Public Records in Florida?

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

By the end of this article, 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 a five-figure invoice or a flat denial.

The short answer

Body cam footage is presumptively a public record

Body cam footage is a public record by default. That is true under Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution and Chapter 119. The rule covers any footage a Florida law enforcement agency makes or receives on official business. Audio-visual format does not change the rule. The agency has to prove an exemption applies.

Specific exemptions narrow that

Two exemptions do most of the work in body-cam practice. The first is section 119.071(2)(l), the body-worn camera privacy exemption. It shields footage taken in three kinds of places. The second is the active criminal investigative information exemption under section 119.071(2)(c)1. It can stack on top of section 119.071(2)(l) when the footage shows an ongoing case.

Why it counts as a public record at all

A public record is anything a Florida agency makes or receives on official business. Body cam recordings made by an officer on duty fit that rule. The medium does not matter. Audio, video, and audio-video are public records, just like paper documents and emails.

The §119.071(2)(l) exemption: body-camera privacy carve-outs

Three location-based shields and a few hard limits. Here is the rule.

Section 119.071(2)(l)2., Florida Statutes, carves out three kinds of body-worn camera footage from public release. The statute defines a body camera as a portable recording device worn on an officer's body. It records audio and video while the officer is on duty. See §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 release the footage to do its job. Or to another agency to help that agency do its job. See §119.071(2)(l)3., F.S. The agency MUST release the footage to a few people listed in the statute. The person recorded is one of them. Release also happens by court order. See §119.071(2)(l)4., F.S. That mandatory channel is the route most subjects use to get body cam of their own arrest without going through the general public-records path.

90-day mandatory retention

A law enforcement agency must keep a body camera recording for at least 90 days. See §119.071(2)(l)5., F.S. The exemption applies to footage from before the law passed too. See §119.071(2)(l)6., F.S. The exemption does not override other exemptions. Parts shielded by another exemption stay shielded. See §119.071(2)(l)7., F.S.

Court access by court order or in camera inspection

Section 119.071(2)(l)4. lets a court order release. A judge can also do an in camera inspection under section 119.07(1)(g). That is a private review by the judge. The judge decides whether the exemption applies and whether release is right.

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

A separate statute. Here is what it covers.

Section 943.1718 is a separate statute. It is not the source of the privacy carve-outs. §943.1718 makes every Florida law enforcement agency that lets its officers wear body cameras adopt written policies. The policies have to cover use, upkeep, storage, retention of recordings, training, and release. The statute also makes clear 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) lets the officer who recorded the footage watch their own recording. They can do this before writing a report or giving a statement about the event. That right sits in the policies-and-procedures statute. Not the privacy exemption.

The active criminal investigation overlay

A second shield can stack on top of the first one. Here is how.

When body cam footage shows an ongoing case, 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 ruled on this in Christy v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 698 So. 2d 1365 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). The agency has to prove the active investigative exemption applies. The exemption is not meant 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 handed to the defendant in discovery: usually no longer shielded

Section 119.011(3)(c)5. takes any document given to the arrested person out of the criminal investigative information box. 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, the active-investigation question drops out for that record. Defense receipt is the most common doorway to public release. One caveat. This is separate from section 119.071(2)(l). Under the non-override rule at §119.071(2)(l)7., the privacy body-cam exemption can still apply. For example, footage from inside a private home stays shielded. Defense receipt by itself does not unlock public release in that case.

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

A few items get blurred or bleeped. The rest still gets out.

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 the statute sets. See §119.071(2)(m).
Confidential informant ID.
Confessions, until final disposition. See §119.071(2)(e).

These call for redaction. Faces blurred. Audio bleeped. Not sealing the whole file. Section 119.07(1)(d) makes the agency redact exempt parts and hand over the rest. A blanket withholding because part of the recording is exempt is not allowed.

How to ask for body cam footage (request strategy)

Pin the footage down: date, time, location, officer, incident or case number

A good body-cam request lists the date and time window. The location or address. The officer name and badge number, if you have them. The incident or case number. And a clear scope line. Try: "the entire response to incident XXXX, from when the body-worn camera was turned on through the end of the encounter."

Cap your costs in the request

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

Ask for inspection in lieu of copies

Inspection is mostly free. If you do not need a copy, ask to view the footage at the agency. The screening labor 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) makes the agency state the basis for any redaction or withholding in writing if you ask. Make the agency name the statute. Then read it. The agency may be citing a section that does not cover what was redacted. Section 119.07(1)(g) lets a court do an in camera inspection if the dispute heads to court.

Re-request after charging and after discovery

The same footage changes status as the case moves. If the active investigation exemption is the only reason 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 long review-and-redaction labor under section 119.07(4)(d). Some bills are valid. Many are not. Tactics: narrow the request to one officer or window. Ask to inspect first and copy only what you need. Propose batched (rolling) production. For the full playbook, see the special service charge trap.

A note for charged defendants

Are you facing charges and weighing a public records request for body cam of your own arrest? Pause. 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 duties. 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 release to some individuals, including the person recorded, even when the public is locked out by the privacy carve-out. 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 case is no longer active, the active criminal investigative information exemption no longer applies. No longer active means: no real, good-faith hope of arrest or charges, and no longer tied to a pending case or direct appeal. The body cam footage may then become accessible. Any remaining §119.071(2)(l) or other exemptions still control.

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.