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Can a Florida Agency Refuse to Produce Public Records in the Format I Want?

Written by Adam Bair.

TL;DR: Florida law makes an agency hand you a copy of a record in the format you asked for, but only if the agency already keeps the record in that format. If the agency keeps the file as an Excel spreadsheet, you can ask for the spreadsheet. If the agency keeps it only as a paper file, the agency does not have to scan it for you. The agency cannot dodge by pointing you to its website when you asked for paper. Extra-cost format requests trigger the special service charge.

The one Florida rule that decides format: Section 119.01(2)(f)

Florida Constitution Article I, Section 24 guarantees the right to inspect or copy public records. Section 119.01(2)(a) through (e) anchors the format duty in policy: automation must not erode access, agencies should consider common formats like ASCII, contracts must not impair public access, proprietary software must not diminish the right, and remote electronic access should be cost-effective.

The operative rule is Section 119.01(2)(f): the agency must provide a copy of the record “in the medium requested if the agency maintains the record in that medium.” That conditional clause does all the work. The duty exists only when the agency already keeps the record in your requested format.

What “in the medium requested” actually means

Native file vs. PDF

If the agency maintains a file as a native Excel spreadsheet or a Word document, the agency cannot substitute a PDF on grounds that it is easier to send. The format duty turns on what the agency maintains, not on what is convenient. A PDF is a different medium from a spreadsheet. If you want the spreadsheet, you can ask for it under Section 119.01(2)(f).

The Third District in Miami-Dade County v. Professional Law Enforcement Association, 997 So. 2d 1289 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009), held that the fact that the same information may exist in more than one format is not a basis for exemption or denial. The agency does not get to pick its favorite copy and hide the other.

Paper vs. website link

An agency that tells you to look at records on its website has not satisfied a request for paper copies. The First District in Lake Shore Hospital Authority v. Lilker, 168 So. 3d 332 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015), held that pointing the requester to the agency's website instead of providing paper copies violated the Public Records Act. Section 119.07(2) says remote electronic access is “an additional means” of access, not a substitute for the format you chose.

One file vs. a database extract

Attorney General Opinion 13-07 confirms the Section 119.01(2)(f) duty: an agency must provide a copy in the medium requested if it maintains the record in that medium. Attorney General Opinion 91-61 drew the line clearly: a typed transcript does not satisfy a native- format request for a computer disk when the original is on disk. Attorney General Opinion 97-39 drew the other line: a school district was not required to furnish electronic records in a format other than the standard format it routinely maintained. The duty runs to the format the agency already has, not to any format the requester wants.

When the agency does not have to give you the format you want

The agency does not keep the record in that format

Section 119.01(2)(f) is conditional. If the agency keeps a record only as a paper file, the requester does not get to demand a searchable PDF, an Excel spreadsheet, or any electronic format. The agency has to produce a paper copy if paper is what it has. The duty stops at the format the agency maintains. Asking for more requires the agency to create a record it does not have, which is a different question.

The format would expose exempt information that cannot be redacted

The Fourth District in Seigle v. Barry, 422 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982), framed the general rule: Chapter 119 makes information available in some meaningful form, not necessarily the form the requester prefers. One recognized limit is a format that would expose exempt information that cannot be redacted without special programming. In that situation, the agency may produce in a different format that allows the required redactions.

The request asks the agency to create a new record

Chapter 119 does not require an agency to create a record that does not exist. If your request asks the agency to compile, sort, or analyze information it does not already keep in the requested form, you are asking for a new record, not access to an existing one. The agency can decline. Attorney General Opinion 08-29 addresses this limit. Seigle noted one narrow exception: an agency may be required to provide access through a specially designed program, prepared by or at the requester's expense, where exceptional circumstances justify it. That lane applies to specific database situations and is not the default.

What a Florida agency can charge if it has to produce the record in a different format

The special service charge for “extensive use”

If producing the record in your requested format requires the agency to step outside routine duplication and extensively use information technology resources or labor, Section 119.07(4) lets the agency add a special service charge. The charge is limited to the labor cost of the lowest-paid qualified employee who can do the work. For more on how the charge works and how to challenge it, see our article on the special service charge under Section 119.07(4).

The lowest-paid-qualified-employee floor

When the agency does invoke the special service charge, ask for a written breakdown of the labor cost and the lowest-paid-qualified-employee calculation. The agency must use the lowest-paid employee who can actually do the work, not a senior IT administrator. If the estimate looks inflated, see our article on how to push back on an inflated cost estimate.

Metadata and the right to ask for it

Metadata embedded in a native electronic record, such as the document creation date, the author field, tracked changes, and revision history, generally travels with the file when the agency produces it in the native format it keeps. Asking for a PDF strips the metadata because PDF is a different medium that does not carry the underlying native-file data.

If you want metadata, ask for the file in the native electronic format the agency keeps. When the agency maintains emails in Outlook, asking for a native export in .pst or .eml format is in bounds. Asking the agency to produce emails only as PDF gives the agency the opportunity to strip the metadata. Specify what you want in the request.

When an agency tells you to “look on the website”

This is a common agency stall. Lake Shore Hospital Authority v. Lilker settled it: pointing a requester to the website does not satisfy a request for paper copies or any other specific format the requester chose. If the agency directs you to a URL instead of producing the records in the format you asked for, you have a valid complaint and the potential for a fee award if you follow the pre-suit notice steps.

How to ask for a specific format in your request

Add one sentence to your request to lock in the Section 119.01(2)(f) duty: “Please produce the records in their native electronic format. If the records are kept only in paper form, please produce paper copies.” This gives the agency clear direction, preserves your rights to the native format if the agency has it, and does not limit you to electronic only when the agency keeps paper.

If you want a specific format, say so explicitly: the Excel spreadsheet, the .eml export, the native database table. Do not let the agency decide. For a full template with this language included, see our article on how to write a Florida public records request letter.

Checklist for a format dispute

  1. Did you specify the format in your request? If not, the agency has more flexibility. Specify in the original request or in a follow-up.
  2. Did the agency tell you in writing it does not maintain the record in your requested format? If so, that is a written representation you can use if the claim turns out to be false.
  3. Did the agency invoke the special service charge? Ask for the written breakdown and the lowest-paid-qualified-employee calculation.
  4. Did the agency tell you to look on the website? Cite Lake Shore Hospital Authority v. Lilker and send a follow-up demanding the format you asked for.
  5. Do you want metadata? Ask for the native file. PDF strips it.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Florida agency refuse to give me public records in the format I asked for?
Only if the agency does not already keep the record in that format. Section 119.01(2)(f) requires the agency to provide a copy in the medium requested if it maintains the record in that medium.
Can a Florida agency hand me a PDF when I asked for the Excel file?
Not if the agency keeps the record as an Excel file. The format duty turns on what the agency maintains, not what is easier to send.
Can a Florida agency point me to its website instead of giving me paper copies?
No. The First District in Lake Shore Hospital Authority v. Lilker held that pointing a requester to the agency's website did not satisfy a request for paper copies.
Does the agency have to create a custom report or database extract for me?
No. Chapter 119 gives a right of access to existing records, not a duty to create new ones. The Fourth District in Seigle v. Barry framed the rule; one narrow exception exists for specially designed programs at the requester's expense in specific situations.
Can I ask for the metadata in an electronic record?
Yes, by asking for the file in the native electronic format the agency keeps. Native files generally carry their embedded metadata. PDFs generally do not.
Does asking for a different format cost extra?
Sometimes. If producing the record in your requested format requires the agency to step outside routine duplication and extensively use information technology resources or labor, Section 119.07(4) lets the agency add a special service charge. Ask for a written breakdown.
Can I inspect an electronic record on an agency terminal instead of buying a copy?
Yes. Inspection rights are independent of format rights. You can inspect an electronic record on an agency terminal without triggering the format duty or a copying fee.

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