Fla. Stat. § 775.261 — Florida Code / Title XLVI / Chapter 775 / Section 775.261
775.261 The Florida Career Offender Registration Act.
Status: in_force

(1) SHORT TITLE. — This section may be cited as “The Florida Career Offender Registration Act.”

(2) DEFINITIONS. — As used in this section, the term: (a) “Career offender” means any person who is designated as a habitual violent felony offender, a violent career criminal, or a three-time violent felony offender under s. 775.084 or as a prison releasee reoffender under s. 775.082(9). (b) “Chief of police” means the chief law enforcement officer of a municipality. (c) “Community” means any county where the career offender lives or otherwise establishes or maintains a temporary or permanent residence. (d) “Department” means the Department of Law Enforcement. (e) “Entering the county” includes being discharged from a correctional facility, jail, or secure treatment facility within the county or being under supervision within the county with a career-offender designation as specified in paragraph (a). (f) “Permanent residence” means a place where the career offender abides, lodges, or resides for 14 or more consecutive days. (g) “Temporary residence” means: 1. A place where the career offender abides, lodges, or resides for a period of 14 or more days in the aggregate during any calendar year and which is not the career offender’s permanent address; 2. For a career offender whose permanent residence is not in this state, a place where the career offender is employed, practices a vocation, or is enrolled as a student for any period of time in this state; or 3. A place where the career offender routinely abides, lodges, or resides for a period of 4 or more consecutive or nonconsecutive days in any month and which is not the career offender’s permanent residence, including any out-of-state address.

(3) CRITERIA FOR REGISTRATION AS A CAREER OFFENDER. — (a) A career offender released on or after July 1, 2002, from a sanction imposed in this state must register as required under subsection (4) and is subject to community and public notification as provided under subsection (5). For purposes of this section, a sanction imposed in this state includes, but is not limited to, a fine, probation, community control, parole, conditional release, control release, or incarceration in a state prison, contractor-operated correctional facility, or local detention facility, and: 1. The career offender has not received a pardon for any felony or other qualified offense that is necessary for the operation of this paragraph; or 2. A conviction of a felony or other qualified offense necessary to the operation of this paragraph has not been set aside in any postconviction proceeding. (b) This section does not apply to any person who has been designated as a sexual predator and required to register under s. 775.21 or who is required to register as a sexual offender under s. 943.0435 or s. 944.607. However, if a person is no longer required to register as a sexual predator under s. 775.21 or as a sexual offender under s. 943.0435 or s. 944.607, the person must register as a career offender under this section if the person is otherwise designated as a career offender as provided in this section. (c) A person subject to registration as a career offender is not subject to registration as a convicted felon under s. 775.13. However, if the person is no longer required to register as a career offender under this section, the person must register under s. 775.13 if required to do so under that section. (d) If a career offender is not sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the clerk of the court shall ensure that the career offender’s fingerprints are taken and forwarded to the department within 48 hours after the court renders its finding that an offender is a career offender. The fingerprints shall be clearly marked, “Career Offender Registration.”

(4) REGISTRATION. — (a) A career offender must register with the department by providing the following information to the department, or to the sheriff’s office in the county in which the career offender establishes or maintains a permanent or temporary residence, within 2 working days after establishing permanent or temporary residence in this state or within 2 working days after being released from the custody, control, or supervision of the Department of Corrections or from the custody of a contractor-operated correctional facility: 1. Name, social security number, age, race, gender, date of birth, height, weight, hair and eye color, photograph, address of legal residence and address of any current temporary residence within the state or out of state, including a rural route address or a post office box, date and place of any employment, date and place of each conviction, fingerprints, and a brief description of the crime or crimes committed by the career offender. A career offender may not provide a post office box in lieu of a physical residential address. If the career offender’s place of residence is a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home, as defined in chapter 320, the career offender shall also provide to the department written notice of the vehicle identification number; the license tag number; the registration number; and a description, including color scheme, of the motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home. If a career offender’s place of residence is a vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat, as defined in chapter 327, the career offender shall also provide to the department written notice of the hull identification number; the manufacturer’s serial number; the name of the vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat; the registration number; and a description, including color scheme, of the vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat. 2. Any other information determined necessary by the department, including criminal and corrections records; nonprivileged personnel and treatment records; and evidentiary genetic markers when available. (b) If a career offender registers with the sheriff’s office, the sheriff shall take a photograph and a set of fingerprints of the career offender and forward the photographs and fingerprints to the department, along with the information that the career offender is required to provide pursuant to this section. (c) Within 2 working days after the registration required under paragraph (a), a career offender who is not incarcerated and who resides in the community, including a career offender under the supervision of the Department of Corrections pursuant to s. 944.608, shall register in person at a driver license office of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and shall present proof of registration. At the driver license office, the career offender shall: 1. If otherwise qualified, secure a Florida driver license, renew a Florida driver license, or secure an identification card. The career offender shall identify himself or herself as a career offender who is required to comply with this section, provide his or her place of permanent or temporary residence, including a rural route address or a post office box, and submit to the taking of a photograph for use in issuing a driver license, renewed license, or identification card, and for use by the department in maintaining current records of career offenders. The career offender may not provide a post office box in lieu of a physical residential address. If the career offender’s place of residence is a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home, as defined in chapter 320, the career offender shall also provide to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles the vehicle identification number; the license tag number; the motor vehicle registration number; and a description, including color scheme, of the motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, or manufactured home. If a career offender’s place of residence is a vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat, as defined in chapter 327, the career offender shall also provide to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles the hull identification number; the manufacturer’s serial number; the name of the vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat; the registration number; and a description, including color scheme, of the vessel, live-aboard vessel, or houseboat. 2. Pay the costs assessed by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for issuing or renewing a driver license or identification card as required by this section. 3. Provide, upon request, any additional information necessary to confirm the identity of the career offender, including a set of fingerprints. (d) Each time a career offender’s driver license or identification card is subject to renewal, and within 2 working days after any change of the career offender’s residence or change in the career offender’s name by reason of marriage or other legal process, the career offender must report in person to a driver license office, and shall be subject to the requirements specified in paragraph (c). The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shall forward to the department and to the Department of Corrections all photographs and information provided by career offenders. Notwithstanding the restrictions set forth in s. 322.142, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles may release a reproduction of a color-photograph or digital-image license to the department for purposes of public notification of career offenders as provided in this section. (e) If the career offender registers at an office of the department, the department must notify the sheriff and, if applicable, the police chief of the municipality, where the career offender maintains a residence within 48 hours after the career offender registers with the department. (f) A career offender who intends to establish residence in another state or jurisdiction other than the State of Florida shall report in person to the sheriff of the county of current residence or the department within 2 working days before the date he or she intends to leave this state to establish residence in another state or jurisdiction other than the State of Florida. If the career offender is under the supervision of the Department of Corrections, the career offender shall notify the supervising probation officer of his or her intent to transfer supervision, satisfy all transfer requirements pursuant to the Interstate Compact for Supervision of Adult Offenders, as provided in s. 949.07, and abide by the decision of the receiving jurisdiction to accept or deny transfer. The career offender must provide to the sheriff or department the address, municipality, county, and state of intended residence. The sheriff shall promptly provide to the department the information received from the career offender. The failure of a career offender to provide his or her intended place of residence is punishable as provided in subsection (8). (g) A career offender who indicates his or her intent to reside in a state or jurisdiction other than the State of Florida and later decides to remain in this state shall, within 2 working days after the date upon which the career offender indicated he or she would leave this state, report in person to the sheriff or the department, whichever agency is the agency to which the career offender reported the intended change of residence, of his or her intent to remain in this state. If the sheriff is notified by the career offender that he or she intends to remain in this state, the sheriff shall promptly report this information to the department. A career offender who reports his or her intent to reside in a state or jurisdiction other than the State of Florida, but who remains in this state without reporting to the sheriff or the department in the manner required by this paragraph, commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (h)1. The department shall maintain online computer access to the current information regarding each registered career offender. The department must maintain hotline access so that state, local, and federal law enforcement agencies may obtain instantaneous locator file and criminal characteristics information on release and registration of career offenders for purposes of monitoring, tracking, and prosecution. The photograph and fingerprints need not be stored in a computerized format. 2. The department’s career offender registration list, containing the information described in subparagraph (a)1., is a public record. The department may disseminate this public information by any means deemed appropriate, including operating a toll-free telephone number for this purpose. When the department provides information regarding a career offender to the public, department personnel must advise the person making the inquiry that positive identification of a person believed to be a career offender cannot be established unless a fingerprint comparison is made, and that it is illegal to use public information regarding a career offender to facilitate the commission of a crime. 3. The department shall adopt guidelines as necessary regarding the registration of a career offender and the dissemination of information regarding a career offender as required by this section. (i) A career offender must maintain registration with the department for the duration of his or her life, unless the career offender has received a full pardon or has had a conviction set aside in a postconviction proceeding for any offense that meets the criteria for classifying the person as a career offender for purposes of registration. However, a registered career offender who has been lawfully released from confinement, supervision, or sanction, whichever is later, for at least 20 years and has not been arrested for any felony or misdemeanor offense since release may petition the criminal division of the circuit court of the circuit in which the registered career offender resides for the purpose of removing the requirement for registration as a career offender. The court may grant or deny such relief if the registered career offender demonstrates to the court that he or she has not been arrested for any crime since release and the court is otherwise satisfied that the registered career offender is not a current or potential threat to public safety. The state attorney in the circuit in which the petition is filed must be given notice of the petition at least 3 weeks before the hearing on the matter. The state attorney may present evidence in opposition to the requested relief or may otherwise demonstrate the reasons why the petition should be denied. If the court denies the petition, the court may set a future date at which the registered career offender may again petition the court for relief, subject to the standards for relief provided in this paragraph. The department shall remove a person from classification as a career offender for purposes of registration if the person provides to the department a certified copy of the court’s written findings or order that indicates that the person is no longer required to comply with the requirements for registration as a career offender.

(5) COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC NOTIFICATION. — (a) Law enforcement agencies may inform the community and the public of the presence of a career offender in the community. Upon notification of the presence of a career offender, the sheriff of the county or the chief of police of the municipality where the career offender establishes or maintains a permanent or temporary residence may notify the community and the public of the presence of the career offender in a manner deemed appropriate by the sheriff or the chief of police. (b) The sheriff or the police chief may coordinate the community and public notification efforts with the department. Statewide notification to the public is authorized, as deemed appropriate by local law enforcement personnel and the department.

(6) VERIFICATION. — The department and the Department of Corrections shall implement a system for verifying the addresses of career offenders. The sheriff of each county shall annually verify the addresses of career offenders who are not under the care, custody, control, or supervision of the Department of Corrections. The sheriff shall promptly provide the address verification information to the department in an electronic format. The address verification information must include the verifying person’s name, agency, and phone number, the date of verification, and the method of verification, and must specify whether the address information was verified as correct, incorrect, or unconfirmed.

(7) IMMUNITY. — The department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Corrections, any law enforcement agency in this state, and the personnel of those departments; an elected or appointed official, public employee, or school administrator; or an employee, agency, or any individual or entity acting at the request or upon the direction of any law enforcement agency is immune from civil liability for damages for good faith compliance with the requirements of this section or for the release of information under this section and shall be presumed to have acted in good faith in compiling, recording, reporting, or releasing the information. The presumption of good faith is not overcome if a technical or clerical error is made by the department, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Department of Corrections, the personnel of those departments, or any individual or entity acting at the request or upon the direction of any of those departments in compiling or providing information, or if information is incomplete or incorrect because a career offender fails to report or falsely reports his or her current place of permanent or temporary residence.

(8) PENALTIES. — (a) Except as otherwise specifically provided, a career offender who fails to register; who fails, after registration, to maintain, acquire, or renew a driver license or identification card; who fails to provide required location information or change-of-name information; or who otherwise fails, by act or omission, to comply with the requirements of this section, commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. (b) Any person who misuses public records information concerning a career offender, as defined in this section, or a career offender, as defined in s. 944.608 or s. 944.609, to secure a payment from such career offender; who knowingly distributes or publishes false information concerning such a career offender which the person misrepresents as being public records information; or who materially alters public records information with the intent to misrepresent the information, including documents, summaries of public records information provided by law enforcement agencies, or public records information displayed by law enforcement agencies on websites or provided through other means of communication, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(9) PROSECUTIONS FOR ACTS OR OMISSIONS. — A career offender who commits any act or omission in violation of this section, s. 944.608, or s. 944.609 may be prosecuted for the act or omission in the county in which the act or omission was committed, the county of the last registered address of the career offender, the county in which the conviction occurred for the offense or offenses that meet the criteria for designating a person as a career offender, or in the county in which he or she was designated a career offender.

(10) ASSISTING IN NONCOMPLIANCE. — It is a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, for a person who has reason to believe that a career offender is not complying, or has not complied, with the requirements of this section and who, with the intent to assist the career offender in eluding a law enforcement agency that is seeking to find the career offender to question the career offender about, or to arrest the career offender for, his or her noncompliance with the requirements of this section, to: (a) Withhold information from, or fail to notify, the law enforcement agency about the career offender’s noncompliance with the requirements of this section and, if known, the whereabouts of the career offender; (b) Harbor or attempt to harbor, or assist another in harboring or attempting to harbor, the career offender; (c) Conceal or attempt to conceal, or assist another in concealing or attempting to conceal, the career offender; or (d) Provide information to the law enforcement agency regarding the career offender which the person knows to be false.

History: s. 3, ch. 2002-266; s. 9, ch. 2004-371; s. 2, ch. 2006-200; s. 1, ch. 2010-69; s. 60, ch. 2013-116; s. 45, ch. 2016-24; s. 17, ch. 2021-156; s. 11, ch. 2024-84.