Public Records Request

Public records and confidential youth records requests made to the Department are processed through the Public Records Unit within the Office of General Counsel.  Employee records requests and employment verifications are processed through the Bureau of Human Resources.

All records, except those regarding youth, in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice or its agents, employees, or contractors are public records, unless otherwise exempt, pursuant to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes.

Public Records Procedure

You can make a public records request by contacting the Public Records Unit by phone, fax, email, or regular mail:

Email: PublicRecordsReq@fldjj.gov
Fax: (850) 921-4159
Phone: (850) 717-2597
Mail: Department of Juvenile Justice, Public Records Unit, Office of General Counsel, 2737 Centerview Drive, Suite 3200 Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Media:  Public records requests made by members of the media must be sent to News@djj.state.fl.us.

Please make sure your contact information is on the request. In addition, please include as much information as possible relating to your request so that we can respond promptly and accurately.

To request your own juvenile records or for confirmation that you do not have a juvenile record:

You must sign this Records Release Form [ Adobe PDF Document ] in the presence of a notary and return it to the Public Records Unit via email, fax, regular mail, or hand delivery BEFORE the Public Records Unit can process your request. If you, the requestor, are 17 years of age or younger, your legal guardian must complete the form. If you, the requestor, are 18 years of age or older, you must complete the form. 

To request juvenile records that are not your own:

You must provide a notarized Records Release Form [ Adobe PDF Document ], a court order, or subpoena with notice of non-objection to the Public Records Unit via email, fax, regular mail or hand delivery BEFORE the Public Records Unit can process your request. If you use the Records Release Form [ Adobe PDF Document ] and the subject of the record is 17 years of age or younger, the subject’s legal guardian must complete the form. If the subject of the record is 18 years of age or older, the subject must complete the form. 

To request employee records or employment verification:

Please contact the Bureau of Human Resources at:

Email: HRPublicRecordsRequest@djj.state.fl.us
Phone: (850) 717-2651
 

General Information Regarding Charges

The Department may charge a fee for extensive time or resources utilized to complete your request; therefore, you may receive an invoice prior to your request being processed. When documents can be sent via email, the Department will do so in the interest of efficiency and to minimize costs. When a large volume of documents is requested and must therefore be placed on a CD, DVD, or Flash Drive, the costs of those materials will be recovered in addition to any fees charged for extensive time or resources utilized.