Does the agency have to have acted in bad faith for me to win attorney fees?

No. The Florida Supreme Court in Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Lee held that 'unlawful refusal' under Section 119.12 does not require bad faith.

What if the agency says it was just a mistake?

Mistake or ineptitude is not a defense. The Second District held in Office of the State Attorney v. Gonzalez that attorney fees can be awarded even where the failure to produce records was due to a mistake.

Can I collect money damages from the agency for the delay?

No. Section 119.12(4) says the section does not create a private right of action for damages. You can recover reasonable fees and costs of enforcement tied to the suit.

Can I recover the time I spent litigating the amount of my fees?

No. The Fourth District in O'Boyle v. Town of Gulf Stream held that Section 119.12 does not authorize fees for litigating the amount of the fees, or fees for non-testifying associates of a fee expert.

Can a pro se requester recover anything under Section 119.12?

Yes. The First District in Weeks v. Golden recognized that a successful pro se litigant may recover reasonable costs under the section. A pro se requester who used a lawyer to prepare the complaint can recover those fees only if the complaint asked for fees and disclosed the assistance.

Home / Agency stalls and denials

Can I Get Attorney Fees If I Win a Florida Public Records Case?

Written by Adam Bair.Published June 22, 2026Updated June 22, 2026

TL;DR: Yes. Florida law makes a court shift attorney fees onto an agency that wrongly refused public records, but only if four things line up: the agency unlawfully refused the records, you sent the right 5-business-day notice before filing, you did not bring the case for an improper purpose, and the court finds the costs were tied to the suit itself. The shift is for fees and costs only. Florida public records law does not let you collect money damages.

What Section 119.12 actually says about attorney fees

Florida Constitution Article I, Section 24 gives every person the right to inspect and copy public records. Section 119.12(1), Florida Statutes, backs that right with a fee- shifting mechanism: when a court finds that an agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be inspected or copied, and that the complainant gave the required pre-suit notice, the court shallassess and award reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, against the responsible agency. The word “shall” is mandatory. When both predicates are met, the court has no discretion to deny fees.

The Florida Supreme Court explained the purpose plainly in New York Times Company v. PHH Mental Health Services, Inc., 616 So. 2d 27, 29 (Fla. 1993): “If public agencies are required to pay attorney's fees and costs to parties who are wrongfully denied access to the records of such agencies, then the agencies are less likely to deny proper requests for documents.” Fee-shifting is the deterrent.

The four things a court looks at before shifting fees

The agency unlawfully refused a public record

The first predicate is an unlawful refusal. The Florida Supreme Court in Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Lee, 189 So. 3d 120 (Fla. 2016), held that unlawful refusal does not require bad faith. An objectively unlawful refusal is enough. The court tied unlawful refusal to objectively unlawful conditions on access, including excessive special service charges. If the agency charged you an inflated estimate to bury the request, that can satisfy the predicate.

Mistake or ineptitude is not a defense. The Second District in Office of the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida v. Gonzalez, 953 So. 2d 759 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007), held that attorney fees are authorized even where the agency's failure to produce the records was due to a mistake. The agency cannot tell the court “we tried” or “our staff was confused” and walk away without a fee award.

You sent the 5-business-day notice (or qualified for the exception)

The second predicate is the pre-suit notice. Section 119.12(1)(b) requires a separate written document sent to the agency's custodian of public records that identifies the underlying records request. The clock starts when the custodian receives the notice and runs for 5 business days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays.

Section 119.12(2) excuses the notice if the agency failed to post its custodian's contact information both in its primary administrative building and on its website. Both posting locations must be absent for the exception to apply. The mechanics of the notice get their own article. For the full detail, see the 5-business-day notice mechanics.

The request and the lawsuit were not for an improper purpose

Section 119.12(3) gives the court an exit. If it finds the request or the litigation was brought primarily to cause a violation of Chapter 119 or for a frivolous purpose, the court may not award fees to the requester and must shift the agency's fees and costs onto the requester. The improper-purpose finding flips the case entirely. This is addressed in more detail below.

The fees and costs were tied to the public records suit

Section 119.12 reaches reasonable costs of enforcement directly attributable to the civil action. Fees for work unrelated to the public records claim, or fees for litigating the amount of the fees themselves, fall outside the statute.

What “unlawful refusal” means in Florida courts

A flat refusal or denial counts

If the agency told you the records are exempt when they are not, or simply refused to produce them without a stated basis, that is an unlawful refusal. Section 119.07(1)(f) requires the agency to state the basis for any denial in writing, by statute or case law, when the requester asks. An unexplained refusal is both unlawful and gives the requester easy evidence for the fee hearing.

Excessive special service charges can count

The Lee court confirmed that unlawful refusal includes conditions that frustrate access. An inflated special service charge that makes the request cost-prohibitive can satisfy the predicate. The charge article explains the limits on what an agency can bill. For more, see the special service charge trap.

A mistake or staff error is no excuse

Gonzalez controls on this point. The Second District was direct: fees are authorized even where the failure to produce records was due to a mistake. The requester does not have to prove intent, deliberate stonewalling, or a pattern of non-compliance. The test is whether the refusal was objectively unlawful, not whether the agency meant to violate the law.

What the improper-purpose rule can do to your fee award

Section 119.12(3) was added in 2017 in response to a pattern of requesters sending broad records requests, not expecting production, and then suing to generate fee awards. The Fifth District addressed this directly in Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc. v. Wantman Group, Inc., 195 So. 3d 396 (Fla. 5th DCA 2016). If the court finds the request or the lawsuit was primarily for an improper purpose, the requester loses all fee entitlement and must pay the agency's fees and costs.

The improper-purpose risk is real but limited. Requesters who genuinely want records for a legitimate purpose, even a critical or adversarial one, do not face this outcome. The risk is highest for plaintiffs with many similar suits against the same agency, particularly where the request pattern appears designed to trigger a refusal rather than obtain information.

What you can and cannot recover

Reasonable attorney fees and costs of enforcement

The statute covers reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, directly attributable to the civil action. The trial court values the lodestar and appellate review is for abuse of discretion. If you have a flat-fee contract with your attorney, the recovery is capped at the contracted amount.

No money damages

Section 119.12(4) states that Chapter 119 does not create a private right of action for monetary damages. The records themselves are the primary relief. The financial element is the fee shift. You cannot collect a judgment representing what the delay cost you.

Fees for litigating the amount of the fees are not recoverable

The Fourth District in O'Boyle v. Town of Gulf Stream, 341 So. 3d 335 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022), held that Section 119.12 does not provide for an award of attorney fees for litigating the amount of the fees, or for fees attributable to non-testifying associates of an attorney fee expert. Budget accordingly and do not expect fee-on-fee recovery.

Can a pro se requester collect fees?

Pro se with no lawyer at all

A pro se requester cannot recover attorney fees because there are none, but can recover reasonable costs. The First District in Weeks v. Golden, 764 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000), recognized that a successful pro se litigant may recover reasonable costs under Section 119.12, including filing fees, postage, copying, and service of process.

Pro se with hidden lawyer help

A pro se requester who quietly used a lawyer to prepare the complaint can recover fees for that lawyer's work, but only if the complaint requested attorney fees and disclosed that it was prepared with the assistance of counsel. The Fourth District laid this rule out in O'Boyle v. Town of Gulf Stream, 341 So. 3d 343 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022). If the assistance is not disclosed, the fees for that work are forfeited.

When the court can deny fees even after a win

The agency was reasonably unsure it was an agency

The First District in Lee v. Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund, 113 So. 3d 1010 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013), held that fees are not warranted when the private entity in charge of the public records at issue was reasonably and understandably unsure of its status as an agency. This is a narrow safe harbor for borderline contractors that operate under the “acting on behalf of” test. It does not apply to line agencies.

The record was exempt when you asked for it

A court correctly denied attorney fees where the requested record was exempt at the time the request was made and only became public after a later investigation concluded, as noted in the Florida AG's Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual. If the agency's refusal was lawful at the moment of the request, even if the record later became public, the fee predicate is not met.

Pre-filing checklist

Before filing a Section 119.12 civil action, run through these four items:

Is the refusal unlawful? Confirm the records are not exempt. If the agency cited an exemption, identify the specific statute and check whether it actually applies.
Is the 5-business-day notice in hand, or is the posting exception preserved? If you sent the notice, confirm you have proof of delivery to the custodian. If you are relying on the posting exception, confirm you have timestamped evidence of the absent posting in both required locations.
Is the request and the litigation purpose clean? If you or your client sent multiple requests to the same agency, consider how a court would read the request pattern. Section 119.12(3) is the risk.
Is the budget realistic? No fees-on-fees recovery under O'Boyle. Flat-fee contracts cap the recovery. Do not build a fee projection on contested fee litigation.

One additional note on private contractors: Section 119.0701(4) sets up a separate fee track against a contractor as defined in that section. If the records are held by a private company performing agency functions, verify whether Section 119.12 or Section 119.0701(4) is the right path.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get attorney fees if I win a Florida public records case?: Yes, in most cases. Section 119.12(1) makes the court award the reasonable costs of enforcement, including reasonable attorney fees, if the agency unlawfully refused the record and you sent the required 5-business-day pre-suit notice. The court can deny fees if you brought the case for an improper purpose.
Does the agency have to have acted in bad faith for me to win attorney fees?: No. The Florida Supreme Court in Board of Trustees, Jacksonville Police & Fire Pension Fund v. Lee held that 'unlawful refusal' under Section 119.12 does not require bad faith.
What if the agency says it was just a mistake?: Mistake or ineptitude is not a defense. The Second District held in Office of the State Attorney v. Gonzalez that attorney fees can be awarded even where the failure to produce records was due to a mistake.
Can I collect money damages from the agency for the delay?: No. Section 119.12(4) says the section does not create a private right of action for damages. You can recover reasonable fees and costs of enforcement tied to the suit.
Can I recover the time I spent litigating the amount of my fees?: No. The Fourth District in O'Boyle v. Town of Gulf Stream held that Section 119.12 does not authorize fees for litigating the amount of the fees, or fees for non-testifying associates of a fee expert.
Can a pro se requester recover anything under Section 119.12?: Yes. The First District in Weeks v. Golden recognized that a successful pro se litigant may recover reasonable costs under the section. A pro se requester who used a lawyer to prepare the complaint can recover those fees only if the complaint asked for fees and disclosed the assistance.
What is the 'improper purpose' rule?: Section 119.12(3) tells the court to deny your fees and shift the agency's fees onto you if it finds the request or the lawsuit was brought primarily to cause a violation of Chapter 119 or for a frivolous purpose. The Fifth District addressed this fee-trap pattern in Citizens Awareness Foundation, Inc. v. Wantman Group.
Are private contractors covered by Section 119.12?: Sometimes. Section 119.0701(4) sets up a separate fee track against a contractor as defined in that section.

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.