Public records in Florida grow like Florida oranges in orchards: They’re readily available and—to the citizens and researchers who need them—sweet, juicy and nutritious.

Unlike Florida oranges, however, it’s not the Florida sunshine that makes Florida public records grow. It’s the law, as public records in Florida—and throughout the United States—are protected and promised by the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and by state’s individual public records laws. Thanks to those laws and others, public records—including everything from public property records and public vital records to Florida public court records and Florida public criminal records—are easy to find, access and utilize.

The best place to start looking is online. Whether you live in Palm Beach County, Florida, or Broward County Florida, public records are available to you electronically at the following state and county government Web sites, many of which offer free Florida public records online:

• Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation - License Search: If you want to verify a professional's occupational credentials, search public records in Florida for licensing information. The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation keeps licensing records on everyone from accountants and architects to dentists and doctors so that you can make sure your service providers are licensed to practice in the State of Florida.

• Florida Department of Corrections - Offender Information Search: A good place to find Florida public criminal records is the Florida Department of Corrections, which allows the public to conduct inmate searches on its Web site in order to find information about criminals who are currently incarcerated in Florida prisons. Information includes offenders’ names, ages, locations, offenses and more.

• Florida Department of Financial Services - Bureau of Unclaimed Property: Maintained by the Florida Department of Financial Services, the State of Florida’s database of unclaimed property includes records for missing property—including money from uncashed paychecks, inactive bank accounts and more—throughout the Sunshine State, searchable electronically via the department’s Web site.

• Florida Department of Health - Birth Records: The Florida Department of Health keeps a variety of public records, including birth records. Please note that such public records in Florida are only available to you if you’re seeking your own birth certificate or your child’s. Other birth records are only available to you by court order.

• Florida Department of Health - Death Records: The Florida Department of Health keeps a variety of public records, including death records. Please note that such public records in Florida are only available to you if you’re related to the deceased or have some other documented interest in his or her death—you’re the deceased’s lawyer, for instance, or you’re named in the deceased’s will. In Florida, death records only become public record 50 years after a person’s death.

• Florida Department of Health - Marriage and Divorce Records: The Florida Department of Health keeps a variety of public records, including marriage records and divorce records, which you can obtain by sending a signed letter to Florida’s Bureau of Vital Statistics.

• Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles: For driving records, vehicle records and other such public records, Florida residents should turn to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which outlines on its Web site the procedures for requesting and obtaining copies of public driver and vehicle records.

• Florida Department of Law Enforcement - Florida Sexual Offenders and Predators: You can find registered sex offenders in Florida by searching Florida public criminal records via the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Web site. There, you can search for sex offenders by name or location. Records include the names, addresses, ages and photographs—as well as the e-mail addresses and IM screen names—of registered sex offenders in the State of Florida.

• Florida Department of State - Division of Corporations: To find information about Florida-based businesses, including their names, addresses and owners, visit the Florida Division of Corporations’ Web site, where you can search free Florida public records for information about businesses and corporations. Searchable documents include fictitious business name filings, trademark applications and more.

• Florida Department of State - State Library & Archives of Florida: Because it maintains an archive of historic Florida public records, the Florida State Archives is always a good resource for finding public records in Florida—especially for genealogy purposes. Records available may include Florida public court records, probate records, vital records and more.

• Florida State Courts: To learn how to access Florida public court records, including Florida public criminal records, consult the Florida State Courts Web site, which includes information for getting public court records from Florida’s Supreme Court, district courts, circuit courts and county courts. You can even submit a records request electronically to Florida’s Judicial Branch Records Management Committee using its online form.

• MyFlorida.com - Local Government: To find public records, Florida residents should consider contacting their city and county governments, which often keep local public records that can't be found in national databases. For a list of such governments in Florida, consult MyFlorida.com, the State of Florida’s official Web site, where the local government page links to city and county resources.

• MyFloridaCounty.com - Search Statewide Official Records: Produced by the Florida Local Government Internet Consortium, which includes the Florida Clekrs of Court and Florida Tax Collectors, MyFloridaCounty.com claims to be the “first fully integrated local government e-commerce Web site in the nation.” Using it, you can search for a variety of Florida public records online, including Florida public court records, property records, probate records, business records, death records and more.

• United States District Court - Middle District of Florida: The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida hears federal civil and criminal cases taking place in Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Myers and surrounding areas, for which it keeps Florida public court records and Florida public criminal records. To access those public records, Florida residents should register for PACER, the federal government’s electronic court records system, or contact the Clerk’s Office, which is charged with maintaining public records in Florida and connecting citizens with them.

• United States District Court - Northern District of Florida: The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida hears federal civil and criminal cases taking place in Gainesville, Panama City, Pensacola, Tallahassee and surrounding areas, for which it keeps Florida public court records and Florida public criminal records. To access those public records, Florida residents should register for PACER, the federal government’s electronic court records system, or contact the Clerk’s Office, which is charged with maintaining public records in Florida and connecting citizens with them.

• United States District Court - Southern District of Florida: The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida hears federal civil and criminal cases taking place in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and surrounding areas, for which it keeps Florida public court records and Florida public criminal records. To access those public records, Florida residents should register for PACER, the federal government’s electronic court records system, or contact the Clerk’s Office, which is charged with maintaining public records in Florida and connecting citizens with them.

• United States Bankruptcy Court - Middle District of Florida: The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, which serves Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa, keeps Florida public court records about individuals and businesses that have filed bankruptcy in central Florida. Bankruptcy records are available online by registering for PACER, the federal government's electronic court records system, or via the Clerk's Office.

• United States Bankruptcy Court - Northern District of Florida: The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida, which serves Tallahassee, Pensacola, Gainesville and Panama City, keeps Florida public court records about individuals and businesses that have filed bankruptcy in northern Florida. Bankruptcy records are available online by registering for PACER, the federal government's electronic court records system, or via the Clerk's Office.

• United States Bankruptcy Court - Southern District of Florida: The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, which serves Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, keeps Florida public court records about individuals and businesses that have filed bankruptcy in South Florida. Bankruptcy records are available online by registering for PACER, the federal government's electronic court records system, or via the Clerk's Office.

• Broward County - Find an Agency: If they're looking for public records, Florida residents in Broward County should consider looking up the appropriate local government contact to help them navigate available resources. To find that contact, they should turn to the Broward County Web site, which publishes a comprehensive directory of county government agencies and contacts.

• Broward County 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida - Clerk of the Courts: The Clerk of the Courts for Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit keeps Florida public criminal records and Florida public court records for cases tried in Broward County. For residents of Broward County, Florida, public records are therefore available electronically for a variety of civil and criminal cases. The county’s Clerk of Courts also keeps local marriage records.

• Broward County - Records Division: For people who live in Broward County, Florida, public records are easily accessible online thanks to Broward County’s Records Division, which allows citizens to conduct an “official records search” for Broward County, Florida, public records, including financial records, property records, probate records, military records, vital records and more, including local Florida public court records.

• Broward County Revenue Collection Division - Property Search: If you live in Broward County, Florida, public records available to you include property records, which you can search online via the Broward County Revenue Collection Division’s Web site. There, you can conduct a property record search that includes addresses, ownership information, property values and more for properties in Broward County.

• Broward Sheriff's Office - Records Division: The Broward Sheriff’s Office allows you to search Florida public criminal records for information on crimes and criminals in Broward County. The office provides local background checks and copies of accident reports and event reports for incidents that occurred in Broward County.

• Miami-Dade County - County Departments and Agencies: If they're looking for public records, Florida residents in Miami-Dade County should consider looking up the appropriate local government contact to help them navigate available resources. To find that contact, they should turn to the Miami-Dade County Web site, which publishes a comprehensive directory of county government agencies and contacts.

• Miami-Dade County 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida - Clerk of Courts: The Clerk of Courts for Florida’s 11th Judicial Circuit keeps Florida public criminal records and Florida public court records for cases tried in Miami-Dade County. For residents of Miami-Dade County, Florida, public records are therefore available electronically for a variety of civil and criminal cases. The county’s Clerk of Courts also keeps local marriage records, death records, property records and more.

• Miami-Dade County Health Department - Vital Records: For residents of Miami-Dade County, Florida, public records such as birth records and death records are available through the Miami-Dade County Health Department, which outlines on its Web site procedures for requesting records.

• Miami-Dade County Tax Collector - Property Search: If you live in Miami-Dade County, Florida, public records available to you include property records, which you can search online via the Miami-Dade County Tax Collector’s Web site. There, you can conduct a property record search that includes addresses, ownership information, property values and more for properties in Miami-Dade County.

• Miami-Dade Police Department - Central Records Bureau: The Miami-Dade Police Department allows you to obtain Florida public criminal records for information on crimes and criminals in Miami-Dade County. To request such records, contact the Central Records Bureau according to the instructions on the police department’s Web site.

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