How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Florida

The public records law that gets you the video

Florida Public Records Act, Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, and Article I, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution

No fixed deadline; prompt, good faith

Article I, Section 24(a) of the Florida Constitution gives every person the right to inspect or copy any public record of a state or local body, unless an exemption applies, and Chapter 119 carries it out. Records include tapes, photographs, films and sound recordings, the Attorney General’s Office says, and you do not have to put a request in writing or say why you want the record, the Attorney General’s Office says; FDOT adds that, except for limited statutory exceptions, you need not give your name. A written request is still wise, though, because it gives you a record of what you asked for. Every custodian must permit inspection and copying at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions (Fla. Stat. §119.07(1)(a)), and must acknowledge requests promptly and respond in good faith (§119.07(1)(c)). The Attorney General’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Manual says the Act does not contain a specific time limit (such as 24 hours or 10 days); the only delay allowed is the limited reasonable time to find the record and redact exempt parts, a policy of automatic delay is not permitted, and courts have treated unjustified delay as an unlawful refusal. If the agency withholds anything, it must redact only the exempt part and produce the rest (§119.07(1)(d)), cite the statute it relies on (§119.07(1)(e)), and, if you ask, state its reasons in writing and with particularity (§119.07(1)(f)). Even if it says a record is not public, it may not dispose of the record for 30 days after your written request (§119.07(1)(h)). Fees, unless another law sets one: up to 15 cents per one-sided copy up to 8 1/2 by 14 inches, the actual cost of duplication for all other copies such as video, up to $1 for a certified copy, and a reasonable special service charge when a request requires extensive use of information technology or extensive clerical or supervisory help (§119.07(4)). Example, Florida Highway Patrol only: its public records policy (revised 06/16/17) says audio and video duplicated to DVD or CD is charged at the cost actually incurred, including personnel costs, and FLHSMV says work over 30 minutes of clerical or supervisory time may add labor costs, with all costs paid in advance.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Bodycam statute; kept at least 90 days

Florida has a body camera statute. Fla. Stat. §119.071(2)(l) makes a body camera recording, or part of one, confidential and exempt only if it is taken inside a private residence, inside a facility offering health care, mental health care or social services, or in a place a reasonable person would expect to be private (§119.071(2)(l)2.). Even then, the agency must disclose the relevant portions to a person recorded, to that person’s personal representative (a parent, a court-appointed guardian, an attorney, an agent with written authorization, or, if the person died, the estate’s representative, spouse, parent or adult child), and to a person who lived in a home shown in the recording, and must disclose it under a court order; a court deciding whether to order release weighs factors including whether the requester is a party seeking evidence in a case (§119.071(2)(l)4.). The exemption does not override any other exemption, so other protected parts, such as active criminal investigative information, can still be withheld (§119.071(2)(l)7.). A law enforcement agency must retain a body camera recording for at least 90 days (§119.071(2)(l)5.). Fla. Stat. §943.1718 requires every agency that lets officers wear body cameras to adopt policies on storage, retention and release of the footage and to retain it under the state’s records retention rules in §119.021, so retention beyond 90 days varies by agency. We found no Florida statute specifically governing in-car dashboard camera video; it is a public record under Chapter 119 like any other recording, subject to the same exemptions. Example, Florida Highway Patrol only: FLHSMV lists FHPRecords@flhsmv.gov and 2900 Apalachee Pkwy, MS 44, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0500 for Highway Patrol records requests.

When police can hold video back

Active criminal investigation exempt

Active criminal intelligence information and active criminal investigative information are exempt from disclosure (Fla. Stat. §119.071(2)(c)1.). Criminal investigative information is information about an identifiable person compiled by a criminal justice agency while investigating a specific act or omission, including any type of surveillance (§119.011(3)(b)), and it is active as long as the investigation is continuing with a reasonable, good faith anticipation of an arrest or prosecution in the foreseeable future, and also while it is directly related to a pending prosecution or appeal (§119.011(3)(d)2.). It is not active once prosecution is barred by the statute of limitations. Some facts can never be withheld under this exemption: the time, date, location and nature of a reported crime, the time, date and location of the incident and of an arrest, and the crime charged (§119.011(3)(c)). Once material has been given to a criminal defendant in discovery, the Sunshine Manual says it ordinarily is no longer exempt as criminal investigative information, with narrow exceptions. A separate exemption shields information revealing the substance of a confession until the case is finally disposed of (§119.071(2)(e)). Many crashes involve no criminal investigation at all, and the exemption applies only to criminal matters. When a crash does lead to a criminal investigation or charges (DUI, leaving the scene, a traffic homicide), the agency may withhold the video as active while the investigation continues or the prosecution or appeal is pending, unless it has already been given to the defendant in discovery; ask again once the video has been disclosed in discovery or the case is over. In a lawsuit over a denial based on this exemption, the court may, but need not, review the record privately (§119.07(1)(g)).

Do traffic cameras in Florida record?

No current FDOT statement found

We found no current Florida Department of Transportation statement on whether its traffic cameras record. FL511, the state’s traveler information service, says only that operators often use FDOT traffic cameras to inspect a crash scene and that you can view cameras on its site. The most specific official statement we found is dated: a March 2016 Federal Highway Administration report on video recording at traffic management centers (FHWA-HOP-16-033) says FDOT’s February 2012 CCTV video-sharing agreement references that FDOT’s camera system does not record video. Because the Public Records Act reaches only records that exist, a request for traffic camera video produces nothing if no recording was made. Cameras on city and county roads may belong to those governments rather than FDOT. Be aware too that Florida courts have treated video from a public agency’s security cameras, such as city bus cameras, as part of a confidential security system plan under Fla. Stat. §119.071(3)(a) (Central Florida Regional Transportation Authority v. Post-Newsweek Stations, Orlando, Inc., 157 So. 3d 401 (Fla. 5th DCA 2015), as the Sunshine Manual describes); such video may still be released to the property owner or on a showing of good cause in court (§119.071(3)(a)3.). If a state, county or city camera covered the crash, send that agency a public records request right away naming the camera location, the date and the time window, and ask whether any recording or still image exists. FDOT takes requests through its online Public Records Request form, by email to prr@dot.state.fl.us, by mail to its Office of the General Counsel, 605 Suwannee Street, MS58, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0458, or by phone at (850) 414-5265.

Red-light and speed cameras

Red-light and school-zone speed cams

Florida authorizes both, locally. Red-light cameras (called traffic infraction detectors): a county or municipality may use them to enforce red-light violations on roads under its jurisdiction, and on state roads when FDOT permits (Fla. Stat. §§316.008(8), 316.0776(1)), under the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program in §316.0083; a city or county putting cameras where none existed on or after July 1, 2025 must first pass an ordinance (§316.0083(4)(a)1.). The notice goes to the registered owner within 30 days and must tell the owner of the right to review the photographs, electronic images or streaming video and the time and place or internet location where they can be examined (§316.0083(1)(b)1.a. and b.); the penalty is $158 (§316.0083(1)(b)1.a.). Speed cameras are authorized only in school zones: a county or municipality that passes an ordinance may use a speed detection system to ticket drivers more than 10 miles per hour over the school zone limit during set times around the school day (§§316.008(9), 316.1896). Under §316.1896(15), school zone camera video and photographs may not be used for remote surveillance, may be used only to document those speeding violations and for determining criminal or civil liability for incidents the system captures incidentally, and must be destroyed within 90 days after the final disposition of the recorded event. We found no Florida statute that makes red-light or speed camera images confidential (a 2014 bill to do so, CS/CS/HB 555, died in committee), and none that gives a crash victim a right to them; they are records of the city or county that runs the program. If a camera faced the crash, ask that city or county quickly in a public records request whether any image or video of the crash exists.

If your request is denied

No appeal board: mediation or court

Chapter 119 sets up no administrative appeal or review board. If an agency denies your request or will not answer, first ask the custodian in writing to state the exemption and its statutory citation and the reasons with particularity, which the law requires on request (Fla. Stat. §119.07(1)(e), (f)). The Attorney General’s Office runs a voluntary public records mediation program (§16.60): a mediator who is a Florida Bar member helps the two sides reach a voluntary agreement, and the decisions stay with the parties, so it cannot force the agency to release anything. For the program, the 2025 Sunshine Manual lists the Office of the Attorney General, PL-01, The Capitol, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1050, telephone (850) 245-0140; the Attorney General’s Open Government page lists (850) 414-3300 for the office at the same address. The binding remedy is a civil lawsuit to enforce Chapter 119: the court must set an immediate hearing and give the case priority, and an agency ordered to open its records must comply within 48 hours unless the court says otherwise or an appeals court stays the order (§119.11(1), (2)). Once the suit is served the agency may not destroy or alter the record (§119.11(4)). The court must award reasonable costs and attorney fees if the agency unlawfully refused access and you gave the agency’s custodian of public records written notice identifying the request at least 5 business days before filing suit, a notice you do not have to give if the agency did not prominently post its custodian’s contact information in its main administrative building and on its website (§119.12(1), (2)). Criminal violations of the public records law can also be prosecuted by the local state attorney, the Attorney General’s Office says. You may want to ask a lawyer about filing the lawsuit.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send public records requests today

   Email the records custodian of the police agency that worked the crash and of any city, county or FDOT office running a nearby camera. Give the date, time window, location and report number, and ask for body camera, dashcam and any other video.

2. 2

   Put it in writing to stop deletion

   Body camera video only has to be kept for 90 days. A written request also bars the agency from disposing of the record for 30 days, even if it claims the record is not public.

3. 3

   Ask for the exemption in writing

   If video is withheld, ask the custodian to cite the statute and explain the reasons in writing, then ask again once any criminal case is closed.

4. 4

   Look beyond public cameras

   We found no current statement that FDOT cameras record, so private video often matters most: nearby businesses, buses, and other drivers’ dashcams. Post the crash on the bounty board to reach dashcam owners who passed by.

Frequently asked questions