Does the exemption end once the state files charges?

Not for the whole file. But the charging paper is always open to the public. And what the state gives the defense in discovery loses the shield in most cases.

When can I get files on a case that closed with no charges?

Soon after the case closes, in most cases. Barfield v. City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department says the files stop being active when work ends with no charges. Some other law may still close a few parts.

Is active case work confidential and exempt?

No. It is just exempt, so the police do not have to release it. But no law bars them from sharing it if they choose to.

Does the exemption end if the statute of limitations has run?

Yes. Under Section 119.011(3)(d), a file can never be active once the time to charge the crime runs out.

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When Does the Active Criminal Investigation Exemption End in Florida?

Written by Adam Bair.Published May 26, 2026Updated October 20, 2026

TL;DR: When does the active criminal investigation exemption end in Florida? It ends once the police lose a good faith hope of an arrest or charges in the near future. A file tied to an open trial or direct appeal stays shut until that case is final.

What does Section 119.011(3), Florida Statutes, say makes a case active?

Two laws work as a pair. Section 119.071(2)(c)1., Florida Statutes, makes active case files exempt from the public's right to see records. Section 119.011(3) then says what counts as a case file and when it is active.

Criminal investigative information means facts about a known person or group. A police force, a sheriff, or a state attorney gathers those facts while it looks into a set crime. Lab tests, reports from officers or tipsters, and any kind of watch on a suspect all count.

The file stays active while the work goes on in good faith. The police must have a reasonable, good faith anticipation of an arrest or charges in the near future. A file is also active while it ties to a trial or direct appeal that is still open.

The statute of limitations is the time limit to charge a crime. Once it runs out, the file can never be active.

And when a file stops being active, your full right of access comes back. That right sits in Article I, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution and in Section 119.07(1).

What is never covered, even in an active case?

Subsection (3)(c) of Section 119.011 lists facts that are not case work at all. The police must give them out unless some other law keeps them private.

The time, date, place, and kind of crime stay open. The manual reports Barfield v. City of Tallahassee, 171 So. 3d 239 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015).

The time, date, place, and kind of crime that someone reported.
The name, sex, age, and home address of the person under arrest, and of the victim, with some limits.
The time, date, and place of the event and of the arrest.
The crime charged.
Papers the police give to the person under arrest, or must give by law, with a few limits.
The charging paper, called an information or an indictment. One limit: an indictment of a person not yet in custody stays private for now under Section 905.26.

Is it exempt, or confidential and exempt?

Florida law sorts closed records into two kinds. A record that is confidential and exempt may go only to the people a statute names.

A record that is just exempt does not have to come out. But the police may still choose to share it.

Active case files are the second kind. See Williams v. City of Minneola, 575 So. 2d 683 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991).

And once the police make the facts public, the shield no longer covers them. The manual reports Staton v. McMillan, 597 So. 2d 940 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), on that point.

Sharing one record does not open the rest of the file, though. The court said so in Arbelaez v. State, 775 So. 2d 909 (Fla. 2000). A police department may also share an active file with another police force, and the file keeps its shield.

For a closer look at how the active investigation exemption works, see the companion article. This guide is about timing. At what point does the shield end?

Timeline: when an investigation ceases to be active

No law sets a date. Each case turns on its own facts, and the police carry the burden to prove the shield fits. That rule comes from Christy v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 698 So. 2d 1365 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).

Stage 1: What if there is an arrest, but no charges yet?

Say the police arrest someone, but the state attorney has not filed charges yet. The shield almost always holds at this stage, since the police are still building the case. Witness talks, lab tests, and officer notes can stay closed.

The basic facts listed above still come out. That means the crime charged, the name of the person under arrest, and the time and place of the arrest.

Do you want your police report or body cam footage right away? Expect a no under Section 119.071(2)(c) at this stage. But the police must black out only the closed parts and hand over the rest, under Section 119.07(1)(d).

Stage 2: What if the state files charges and the case is pending?

Filing charges does not open the whole case file. A file tied to an open case stays active, and the police often keep working after the charges. But two doors open at this stage.

First, the charging paper is not case work, so anyone can see it. Second, discovery papers lose the shield in most cases. Discovery is the swap of case papers before trial.

In Satz v. Blankenship, 407 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981), a reporter got tapes the defense had seen.

A few limits still apply. Facts that name a victim of a sex crime or child abuse stay private under Section 119.071(2)(h).

A court may also keep some of it closed until trial. It must find that release would smear or put at risk a victim or witness. It must also find harm to the case against a codefendant, a person charged in the same crime.

One more rule matters to the defense. Section 119.07(8) says the records law does not widen or narrow discovery under Rule 3.220.

See Henderson v. State, 745 So. 2d 319 (Fla. 1999). There, a records request on a pending case counted as a choice to join discovery. The defense then owed the state discovery in return.

Stage 3: What happens at a plea, a verdict, and the appeal?

A plea or a verdict ends the trial stage. But the file stays active while a direct appeal is still open. See Tal-Mason v. Satz, 614 So. 2d 1134 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993).

Once the conviction and sentence are final, the file can no longer be active. The manual reports State v. Kokal, 562 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 1990), on that point.

A later motion for postconviction relief does not count as an open appeal. See Tribune Co. v. Public Records, 493 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986).

Other laws of this state may still close parts of the file. The end of this shield does not open every page. It takes away one barrier, and the police must then name any other law they rely on.

Stage 4: What if the case closes with no charges?

Say the state attorney will not file charges, and the police close the case. The shield should end then. The manual reports Barfield v. City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department, 639 So. 2d 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994).

Under that case, the files stop being active once the work ends with no charges. Then they must come out, unless some other law keeps them closed.

The practical step is to ask the police in writing if the case is still open. If they say yes, ask them to name the work still going on. If they cannot, you have a strong basis to fight the denial.

Stage 5: What about cold cases?

Cold cases are the hardest fights. The police often say an old, unsolved case is still active. Sometimes that is true, since a cold case unit may test new DNA or talk to witnesses again.

The law cuts both ways here.

See Florida Freedom Newspapers, Inc. v. Dempsey, 478 So. 2d 1128 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). No time limit applies to naming a suspect, other than the statute of limitations. Having no suspect yet does not by itself make a case go cold in the legal sense.

But the police still need a good faith hope of an arrest or charges soon. In Christy, files from a probe done 13 years before were not active criminal intelligence. Age alone does not end the shield, and it does not stretch it either.

What does reasonable, good faith anticipation mean?

The phrase is a legal test, not a mood. Barfield says the police must show, case by case, a fair reason to expect an arrest or charges soon.

The test does not demand that an arrest be sure, or even likely. In Barfield, a police shooting case stayed active while it went to the state attorney and a grand jury. The police did not know if an arrest would follow, but a choice on charges was coming soon.

So ask two things about any file the police hold back. Is real work going on in good faith? And will someone make a choice on charges in the near future?

How do agencies stretch this exemption?

Police overuse the shield. Here are the moves to watch for, and you can push back on each one:

Calling a case open when no one works on it.
Holding back the basic facts that Section 119.011(3)(c) says are always open, such as the crime charged.
Holding back papers the defense already got in discovery.
Closing a whole report when only part of it is active case work. Section 119.07(1)(d) says to black out that part and give you the rest. City of Riviera Beach v. Barfield, 642 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), says the same.

The Riviera Beach case also shows the limits of the shield. There, one police force sent an active file to another for an internal affairs probe of an officer. That kind of probe looks at whether the officer faces disciplinary action, and the file kept its shield.

How do you test whether the exemption still applies?

Can you ask for the reason in writing?

Yes. Under Section 119.07(1)(e), the police must name the law that lets them hold a record back. Upon request, Section 119.07(1)(f) makes them state their reasons in writing, with detail.

In your letter, you may request answers to four plain questions:

What work on the case is still going on right now?
Why do you expect an arrest or charge in the near future?
Is a trial or direct appeal on this case still open?
Has the statute of limitations run out on any of the crimes?

Police who cannot answer the first question with facts stand on weak ground. Your letters also build a record in case you sue later.

Should you ask again later?

Yes. A no today does not last forever, since cases go cold and state attorneys decline to charge. Ask again every few months, and point to your first request and the time that has passed.

If the police go silent, see what to do when a Florida agency ignores your public records request.

What should defense lawyers check?

Case still pending? Recall Section 119.07(8) and Henderson. A records request on the case counts as a choice to take part in discovery.
Case over by plea, verdict, or no charges? Get word in writing that the file is no longer active. Then make your request.
Cold case? Ask the police to name the work still going on. Cite the test in Section 119.011(3), and say so if the statute of limitations has run.
Still turned down? A court can order the records out on a petition for writ of mandamus. See how to sue a Florida agency for refusing to produce public records.

For the full steps, see how to request public records in Florida.

Frequently asked questions

When does the active criminal investigation exemption end in Florida?: It ends when the police lose a good faith hope of an arrest or charges in the near future. A file tied to an open trial or direct appeal stays active until the case is final.
Does the exemption end once the state files charges?: Not for the whole file. But the charging paper is always open to the public. And what the state gives the defense in discovery loses the shield in most cases.
When can I get files on a case that closed with no charges?: Soon after the case closes, in most cases. Barfield v. City of Fort Lauderdale Police Department says the files stop being active when work ends with no charges. Some other law may still close a few parts.
What about cold cases?: Age alone does not decide it. No time limit applies other than the statute of limitations. But the police still need a good faith hope of an arrest or charges soon.
Is active case work confidential and exempt?: No. It is just exempt, so the police do not have to release it. But no law bars them from sharing it if they choose to.
Does the exemption end if the statute of limitations has run?: Yes. Under Section 119.011(3)(d), a file can never be active once the time to charge the crime runs out.

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.