Supreme Court of Florida

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No. SC2023-1320

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IN RE: AMENDMENT TO FLORIDA RULE OF GENERAL 

PRACTICE AND JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION 2.420.

October 19, 2023

PER CURIAM.

The Court, on its own motion, amends Florida Rule of General 

Practice and Judicial Administration 2.420 (Public Access to and 

Protection of Judicial Branch Records) to reflect a recent statutory

change making court records in cases giving rise to sealed criminal 

history records confidential and exempt.1

Under section 943.0595, Florida Statutes (2023), the

Department of Law Enforcement must automatically seal criminal 

history records that meet specified criteria, such as when “[a] 

judgment of acquittal was rendered by a judge as to all counts.” A

1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; see 

also Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.140(d).
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recent statutory change, effective July 1, 2023, requires the

department to then notify the clerk of court, and “[u]pon such 

notification, the clerk of the court must automatically keep the 

related court record in the case giving rise to the department’s

sealing of the criminal history record confidential and exempt from 

s[ection] 119.071(1) and s[ection] 24(a), Art. I of the State

Constitution.” Ch. 2023-189, § 1, Laws of Fla. We now amend 

subdivision (d) (Procedures for Determining Confidentiality of Court 

Records) of rule 2.420 to list section 943.0595 and a court record in 

a case giving rise to the sealed criminal history record in the list of 

statutes and information that the clerk of court must maintain as 

confidential.

The Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial 

Administration are amended as reflected in the appendix to this 

opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring. The 

amendment is effective immediately. Because the amendment was

not published for comment previously, interested persons have 75 
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days from the date of this opinion in which to file comments with 

the Court.2

It is so ordered.

MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS, 

FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur.

THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER 

THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS AMENDMENT.

Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial 

Administration

2. All comments must be filed with the Court on or before

January 2, 2024, as well as a separate request for oral argument if 

the person filing the comment wishes to participate in oral 

argument, which may be scheduled in this case. If filed by an 

attorney in good standing with The Florida Bar, the comment must 

be electronically filed via the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (Portal). 

If filed by a nonlawyer or a lawyer not licensed to practice in 

Florida, the comment may be, but is not required to be, filed via the 

Portal. Any person unable to submit a comment electronically must 

mail or hand-deliver the originally signed comment to the Florida 

Supreme Court, Office of the Clerk, 500 South Duval Street, 

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1927.
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Appendix

RULE 2.420. PUBLIC ACCESS TO AND PROTECTION OF 

JUDICIAL BRANCH RECORDS

(a)-(c) [No Change]

(d) Procedures for Determining Confidentiality of Court 

Records.

(1) Except as provided in this subdivision, the clerk of the 

court must designate and maintain the confidentiality of any 

information contained within a court record that is described in this 

subdivision.

(A) [No Change]

(B) Except as provided by court order, the clerk of 

the court must maintain as confidential information subject to 

subdivision (c)(7) or (c)(8) of this rule that is currently confidential 

or exempt from section 119.07, Florida Statutes, and article I, 

section 24(a) of the Florida Constitution as specifically stated in any 

of the following statutes or as they may be amended or renumbered:

(i)-(xxiii) [No Change] 

(xxiv) a court record in the case giving rise to 

the Department of Law Enforcement’s sealing of a criminal history 

record. § 943.0595, Fla. Stat.

(C) [No Change]

(2)-(5) [No Change]

(e)-(m) [No Change]