How do I get the police report and video from my DUI arrest in Palm Beach or Broward?

After a DUI arrest, most people want to see what the officer wrote and what the cameras recorded. There are two ways to get those records in Florida, and they work differently. The first is a public records request to the agency that made the arrest, under chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. The second is discovery in the criminal case, under Rule 3.220 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, which a defense attorney uses once the State files charges. This page explains what each one reaches, the limits while the case is open, and where to ask in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Agency details were checked on each agency's own website on October 25, 2026. How the DUI case itself unfolds is on our main DUI defense page.

How do I get the report and video, step by step?

1. Keep what you were handed. Documents given, or required by law to be given, to the person arrested are not "criminal investigative information," so the active-investigation exemption does not cover them (s. 119.011(3)(c)5.). The Fort Lauderdale Police Department's records page says that when an arrest is made, "you are immediately entitled to a copy of the arrest PC," the probable cause affidavit.
2. Identify the agency. The report and video belong to the agency whose officer made the stop: a city police department, the sheriff's office, or the Florida Highway Patrol. The case number on the paperwork speeds up any request.
3. Make a public records request. Each agency in the table below takes requests through its own portal, by mail or in person. The custodian must acknowledge the request promptly and respond in good faith (s. 119.07(1)(c)).
4. Expect redactions while the case is open. Active criminal investigative information is exempt from public disclosure (s. 119.071(2)(c)1.). If the agency withholds part of a record, it must produce the rest, state the exemption it relies on with its statutory citation, and, if asked, explain in writing (s. 119.07(1)(d), (e), (f)).
5. Get the full file through discovery. Once charges are filed, the defense can file a Notice of Discovery. Within 15 days the prosecutor must serve a Discovery Exhibit and allow the defense to inspect and copy the materials listed in Rule 3.220(b)(1), including police reports and recorded statements.
6. Ask for the breath test details. On request, the person tested or his or her attorney must be given "full information" about the test: the type and procedures, the time of the sample, the numerical results, the operator's permit, and the date of the breath instrument's most recent required inspection (s. 316.1932(1)(f)4.). How the breath test must be done is on our page about Florida breath test rules.

What does a public records request reach during the case?

Florida's public records law is broad, but a pending DUI case triggers one of its main exemptions. "Criminal investigative information" is information about an identifiable person compiled during a criminal investigation, including lab test results and investigators' reports (s. 119.011(3)(b)). It is "active" while the investigation continues with a good faith expectation of an arrest or prosecution, and also "while such information is directly related to pending prosecutions or appeals" (s. 119.011(3)(d)). While it is active, it is exempt (s. 119.071(2)(c)1.). In practice this means an agency may withhold parts of a DUI file until the case ends.

Some facts are never covered by that exemption: the time, date, location and nature of the reported crime; the name, sex, age and address of the person arrested; the time, date and location of the incident and the arrest; the crime charged; documents given to the person arrested; and informations and indictments (s. 119.011(3)(c)). The Fort Lauderdale police records page adds a local step: incident reports involving an arrest must be filed by the State Attorney's Office before they are released to the public.

Body camera video has its own rule. A recording is confidential only if it was taken inside a private residence, inside a facility offering health care, mental health care or social services, or in a place where a reasonable person would expect privacy (s. 119.071(2)(l)2.). Even then, the agency must disclose to a person recorded the portions relevant to that person's presence in the recording (s. 119.071(2)(l)4.a.). A stop on a public road is not one of the three listed places, although the active-investigation exemption can still apply while the case is open.

What does discovery give the defense?

Once charges are filed, discovery can reach more, because the rule requires the State to disclose its reports and recorded statements to the defense. The defense elects it by filing a Notice of Discovery, which binds both sides to all the discovery rules (Rule 3.220(a)). The prosecutor's Discovery Exhibit must disclose, among other things:

• the names and addresses of people with relevant information, sorted into categories, with investigating officers and witnesses to any statement in Category A (Rule 3.220(b)(1)(A));
• their statements, a term that "is specifically intended to include all police and investigative reports of any kind" prepared for the case, but not the notes those reports were compiled from (Rule 3.220(b)(1)(B));
• any written or recorded statements of the defendant and the substance of oral ones (Rule 3.220(b)(1)(C));
• whether there was any search or seizure, and related documents (Rule 3.220(b)(1)(I));
• reports or statements of experts, including the results of scientific tests (Rule 3.220(b)(1)(J));
• any tangible papers or objects the prosecutor intends to use at a hearing or trial (Rule 3.220(b)(1)(K)).

Discovery is reciprocal. Within 15 days after receiving the Discovery Exhibit, the defense must give the prosecutor a list of the witnesses it expects to call (Rule 3.220(d)(1)(A)). Depositions are limited in DUI misdemeanors: no deposition may be taken in a case charged only as a misdemeanor or criminal traffic offense, once all other discovery has been provided, unless the court finds good cause (Rule 3.220(h)(1)(D)). Rule 3.220(a) also says that filing a public records request for law enforcement records about one's own pending prosecution that are open only because a codefendant took part in discovery counts as electing discovery. Once the materials arrive, they can shape motions and the trial; what happens at the first court date is covered in whether you have to go to arraignment.

Where do I ask in Palm Beach and Broward?

Fort Lauderdale police add that requests for 911 communications are handled by the Broward Sheriff's Office Audio Evidence Unit, at (954) 321-4302. When no other fee is set by law, an agency may charge up to 15 cents a page, $1 for a certified copy, and a special service charge when a request requires extensive staff or technology time (s. 119.07(4)); several of the agencies above say video is billed at an hourly labor rate. Local police and courthouse details are on our Boca Raton DUI page. The Broward side is described on our Fort Lauderdale DUI page.

What about the court file and a crash report?

The court file. The Palm Beach County Clerk offers a free online search of criminal and traffic court records, with no registration required, though certain case types and documents are not available online. The Broward County Clerk sells most electronic court documents online at $8.00 per certified document, or in person at $1.00 a page plus a $2.00 certification fee. The court file holds what was filed, such as the charging document and orders; it is not where the officer's video is kept. The first court steps are covered in what happens after a DUI arrest in Florida.

A crash report. If the DUI involved a crash, the crash report is confidential for 60 days after it is filed, except to the parties, their legal representatives, insurers and other listed entities (s. 316.066(2)(a), (b)). FLHSMV sells crash reports through its Florida Crash Portal at $10.00 each, plus a $2.00 convenience fee per transaction, and requires a signed statement for mail or in-person requests. Boca Raton police note that since March 1, 2023, the crash affidavit must be notarized for every request. How a crash changes the charge is on our page about how damage or injury changes a DUI charge.

What changes the answer?

• Whether charges are pending. The active-investigation exemption follows the prosecution and any appeal (s. 119.011(3)(d)). After the case ends, the exemption no longer applies on that ground, though other exemptions still can.
• Where the video was recorded. Body camera footage inside a home, a health care facility or another private place is confidential, with a right of access for the person recorded (s. 119.071(2)(l)).
• The license hearing. At an administrative review, the officer may submit a copy of the crash report and a video recording of the field sobriety exercises, and those materials are in the record for the hearing officer (s. 322.2615(2)(b)). Timing is covered in what happens at a DUI formal review hearing.
• A court order restricting disclosure. A court may limit the release of parts of a police report that contain sensitive information about other investigations (Rule 3.220(b)(2)).
• The arresting agency. Each agency has its own portal, hours and fees, as the table shows.
• The Palm Beach first-time DUI program. The State Attorney's 2026 program document says its plea must be entered "prior to the filing of any defense motions, demands for discovery, or demands for jury trial," so in Palm Beach the timing of a Notice of Discovery matters. The program is explained on our page about the Palm Beach County first-time DUI program.

A worked example

For example, take a hypothetical driver arrested for DUI by Boca Raton police after a traffic stop on Glades Road. She keeps the copy of the arrest affidavit and the notice of suspension she was handed. She wants the body camera video before her license hearing, so she files a request through the city's JustFOIA portal. The department may withhold parts of the file as active criminal investigative information while the case is pending, but it must tell her which exemption it relies on and release the rest. Meanwhile, her attorney files a Notice of Discovery in county court. Within 15 days the State must serve its Discovery Exhibit, and the reports and recordings in the State's possession become available to the defense under Rule 3.220, along with the breath test details her attorney requests under s. 316.1932(1)(f)4. The driver and the facts are invented to show how the two routes run side by side; they do not predict what any agency will release.

Common mistakes people make

• Throwing away the paperwork from the arrest; it is the quickest copy you will get.
• Asking the wrong agency. A stop by a city officer is not a sheriff's office record.
• Sending duplicate requests to BSO, which it says can slow its backlog further.
• Emailing or calling Fort Lauderdale police for a report; it accepts report requests by mail or in person only.
• Assuming a public records denial is final, instead of asking for the exemption in writing.
• Relying on a public request alone when discovery reaches more once charges are filed.

What to do this week

1. Gather every paper from the arrest and note the agency and the case number.
2. Submit a public records request to that agency for the report, video and 911 audio.
3. Ask for the full breath test information under s. 316.1932(1)(f)4.
4. If there was a crash, prepare the sworn statement for the crash report.
5. Look up the court case on the Clerk's website and note the next date.
6. Talk with a defense attorney about whether and when to file a Notice of Discovery, especially in Palm Beach if the first-time program is possible.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer to make a public records request?

No. Anyone may make one, and each agency in the table accepts requests from the public. Discovery under Rule 3.220, however, runs through the criminal case.

Why did the agency black out parts of the report?

While the case is pending, the agency may treat parts of the file as active criminal investigative information (s. 119.071(2)(c)1.). The agency must state the exemption and its statutory citation (s. 119.07(1)(e)).

Can I get the 911 call?

It can be. Boca Raton police say 911 calls can be released with any information identifying the caller redacted. In Fort Lauderdale cases, the Broward Sheriff's Office Audio Evidence Unit handles 911 recordings.

How long does a request take?

The law requires a prompt acknowledgment and a good faith response (s. 119.07(1)(c)), not a fixed number of days. Delray Beach police say regular reports can be picked up after three business days.

Will the State share the breath machine's records?

The statute guarantees the test type, procedures, time, results, the operator's permit and the instrument's last inspection date (s. 316.1932(1)(f)4.). It does not include manuals, schematics or software of the instrument.

Is the video used at the license hearing?

It can be. The officer may submit a video of the field sobriety exercises to FLHSMV for the review (s. 322.2615(2)(b)).

How can Mr. Mead help?

The report and the video are often the center of a DUI defense, and getting all of it, on time, usually takes both a records request and discovery. Mr. Mead has more than three decades of criminal defense in South Florida, and he can request and review the reports, recordings and breath records with you in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade or Martin County cases. Every case is different, and no result can be promised. The county courts are described on our Palm Beach County page. The consultation is free, and you can call 24 hours at (561) 362-6677.

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