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Florida Public Records Law Is Not FOIA: What That Means for Your Request

Written by Adam Bair.

TL;DR: FOIA is a federal law. It reaches federal agencies. It does not reach Florida state, county, or city agencies. Florida runs on its own law: Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, backed by the Florida Constitution. If you want records from a Florida sheriff, city hall, school board, or clerk, you file under Chapter 119, not FOIA. If you want records from the FBI or a federal agency, you file under FOIA. Two systems. Two sets of rules. Two sets of exemptions. Pick by the agency you are asking.

Do I file a FOIA request for records from a Florida agency?

No. If the agency is a Florida state, county, or city body, you file under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. FOIA is a federal law. It reaches federal agencies only. It does not reach Florida sheriffs, city halls, school boards, clerks of court, or state agencies. Florida runs on its own public records law.

This is the single most common mistake first-time requesters make. They type “FOIA” because that is the word they know. But the Florida law that gives you the right to see government records is not FOIA. It is Chapter 119. Once you know which law applies, the rest of the process follows.

What is FOIA, exactly?

The Freedom of Information Act is a federal law. Congress codified it at 5 U.S.C. Section 552. The law gives the public the right to ask for records held by federal executive-branch agencies.

FOIA defines “agency” at 5 U.S.C. Section 552(f)(1). That definition covers federal executive departments, military departments, government corporations, and independent regulatory agencies. It does not cover Congress, the federal courts, state governments, or private companies except in narrow circumstances.

When you send a FOIA request, you send it to a federal body: the FBI, the DEA, the IRS, the EPA, the Social Security Administration, or another federal executive-branch agency. You do not send it to a Florida sheriff, a school board, or a city council. Those are Florida agencies. A different law covers them.

What is Florida's public records law?

Florida has its own access framework. Two sources control it.

First, Article I, Section 24, of the Florida Constitution. This is the constitutional foundation. It gives every person the right to inspect or copy public records made or received in connection with official business by any public body or officer.

Second, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes. This is the statute that puts the right into practice. Section 119.011(2), F.S., defines “agency” broadly to include any state, county, district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law.

Section 119.011(12), F.S., defines “public record” as any document, paper, letter, map, book, tape, photograph, film, or recording made or received by an agency in connection with official business. That definition is intentionally wide.

The Florida Attorney General publishes the Sunshine Manual each year. It is a plain-English guide to Chapter 119. If you want to understand the Florida law in detail, the Sunshine Manual is the right place to start.

Which law covers which agency?

The rule is simple: pick by the agency.

Florida state, county, city, and district agencies

If you are asking a Florida agency, Chapter 119 is your law. That covers:

For any of these, file under Chapter 119. Not FOIA. See our article on which governmental entities are covered by Florida's public records law for the full picture.

Federal agencies operating in Florida

If you are asking a federal body, FOIA is your law. That covers:

If a federal agency has a field office in Florida, that office is still a federal agency. Filing a Chapter 119 request to an FBI field office will not work. File under FOIA.

Private companies doing government work

Here the line is less clear. Chapter 119's definition of “agency” reaches private entities acting on behalf of a public agency. Section 119.011(2), F.S. A private company running a service for a city may be covered by Chapter 119 for records related to that government work. See our article on when private contractors must produce records under Chapter 119 for the functional test Florida courts apply.

What is different about the two systems in practice?

Response time

FOIA requires a federal agency to make a determination within 20 working days. 5 U.S.C. Section 552(a)(6)(A)(i). Working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays.

Chapter 119 has no fixed deadline. The Florida standard is “reasonable time under the circumstances.” What is reasonable depends on the size of the request, the agency's resources, and the nature of the records. See our article on how long a Florida agency has to respond for the doctrine and common timelines.

Fees

FOIA has a federal fee structure that sorts requesters into categories: commercial, media, educational, and “other.” Different categories pay different amounts for search time, duplication, and review.

Chapter 119 charges duplication cost and permits a special service charge only when a request requires extensive use of agency resources. Section 119.07(4), F.S. The frameworks differ in structure and in what an agency can charge. See our articles on what a Florida agency can charge for public records and the special service charge trap.

Exemptions

FOIA has nine statutory exemptions. A record that FOIA would shield at the federal level is not automatically shielded from a Florida Chapter 119 request.

The Third District Court of Appeal made this clear in Wallace v. Guzman, 687 So. 2d 1351, 1353 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). FOIA exemptions apply to federal agencies. They do not bind Florida state agencies. If a Florida agency tells you a FOIA exemption applies to your request, that is a red flag. FOIA does not govern Florida agencies.

Florida has its own exemptions, found primarily at Section 119.071, F.S., and through other Florida statutes. Those are the exemptions that matter in a Chapter 119 dispute.

The right to sue

FOIA disputes go to federal district court.

Chapter 119 disputes go to Florida state court, typically filed as a petition for a writ of mandamus. Before you file in Florida state court, you must serve a five-business-day pre-suit notice in most cases under Section 119.12(1), F.S. That requirement does not exist in FOIA. See our articles on how to sue a Florida agency, the five-business-day pre-suit notice, and recovering attorney's fees in a Florida public records case.

When does federal law override Florida access?

There is one situation where federal law wins. When a federal confidentiality statute conflicts directly with Florida's public records law, and Florida is clearly subject to the federal statute, the federal rule controls. This is the Supremacy Clause, Article VI, U.S. Constitution.

The First District Court of Appeal applied this in Florida Department of Education v. NYT Management Services, Inc., 895 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005). The court held that a federal law prohibiting public disclosure of Social Security numbers blocked the state from releasing those numbers in a teacher certification database, even under Chapter 119.

The practical result: some fields in Florida agency records must be redacted because a federal statute requires it. Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers are the most common examples. The rest of the record may still be available under Chapter 119. A whole-record withholding on federal grounds is worth a follow-up. The federal preemption applies field by field, not record by record.

Common mistakes people make with the word FOIA in Florida

  1. “I need to file a FOIA request to the Florida sheriff.” You do not. The sheriff is a Florida agency. File under Chapter 119.
  2. “This Florida agency can use a FOIA exemption to withhold these records.” FOIA exemptions do not apply to Florida agencies. Wallace v. Guzman, 687 So. 2d 1351 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). Florida's own exemptions under Chapter 119 apply.
  3. “Florida has a 20-day deadline like FOIA.” It does not. Chapter 119 has no fixed deadline. The standard is reasonable time under the circumstances.
  4. “I take my Florida public records dispute to federal court.” Only if the dispute is about a federal agency under FOIA. Chapter 119 disputes are in Florida state court.
  5. “Because this record has federal information in it, I need FOIA.” Not necessarily. If the record is held by a Florida agency in connection with its official business, it is a Florida public record under Section 119.011(12), F.S. Some fields may need to be redacted under a federal confidentiality statute, but the rest of the record may be available under Chapter 119.
  6. “If I label my letter as a FOIA request, the Florida agency can reject it.” Most Florida custodians treat a mislabeled letter as a Chapter 119 request and process it. The wrong label is not fatal. But filing under Chapter 119 with the correct citation leaves no procedural hook for a stall.

Frequently asked questions

Do I file a FOIA request to a Florida sheriff or city hall?
No. FOIA is federal. Florida agencies fall under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, and Article I, Section 24, of the Florida Constitution.
Does the federal Freedom of Information Act apply to Florida state agencies?
No. FOIA reaches federal agencies. Wallace v. Guzman, 687 So. 2d 1351, 1353 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997).
If I mislabel my Florida request as a FOIA request, will the agency reject it?
Usually no. Most Florida custodians treat the letter as a Chapter 119 request. It is smarter to file under Chapter 119 with the correct citation so the label cannot be used as a stall.
Does Florida have the same 20-day deadline as FOIA?
No. Chapter 119 has no fixed deadline. The standard is reasonable time under the circumstances.
When can a Florida agency use a federal law to withhold records?
When there is an absolute conflict between a federal confidentiality statute and Florida's public records law and Florida is clearly subject to the federal statute. Example: Social Security numbers in a state teacher database. Florida Department of Education v. NYT Management Services, Inc., 895 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005).
The record I want is held by both a federal agency and a Florida agency. Which law do I use?
File both requests. The federal copy is reached through FOIA. The Florida copy is reached through Chapter 119. The two systems run in parallel.

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