How do I get my mugshot taken down in Florida?

A booking photograph is taken at the jail when a person is arrested, long before anyone decides whether a crime can be proved. Private websites copy those photos and keep them online for years. Florida has had a specific law on these sites since 2017, and it works separately from sealing and expunction, which are covered on our records expungement page.

What happens at booking in Palm Beach County is described in the Gun Club Road jail and first appearance page.

How does the removal request work, step by step?

1. Identify the publisher. List every site showing the photo, and note which ones ask for money to remove it or exist mainly to publish booking photos. Those are the sites the law covers (s. 901.43(5)).
2. Find the registered agent. The request goes "to the registered agent of the person or entity who published or otherwise disseminated the photograph" (s. 901.43(2)).
3. Write the request. It must be in writing, sent by registered mail, and include "sufficient proof of identification" and "specific information identifying" the photo you want removed (s. 901.43(2)). A lawyer may send it for you.
4. Count 10 calendar days. Within 10 calendar days after receiving it, the publisher "shall remove the arrest booking photograph without charge" and may not republish it (s. 901.43(2)).
5. Go to court if needed. If the photo is still up after 10 days, you may sue to stop the publication. The court may impose a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for ignoring its injunction and "shall award" reasonable attorney fees and court costs (s. 901.43(3)(a)).

What remedies does Florida law give?

Civil penalties under s. 901.43 go to the state's General Revenue Fund, not to the person in the photo. What the person gets is the removal order and the award of fees and costs.

Which websites does the law cover?

Section 901.43 does not reach every publisher. It applies only if the site "solicits or accepts payment to remove the photographs," or if its "primary business model is the publishing and disseminating of arrest booking photographs for a commercial purpose or pecuniary gain" (s. 901.43(5)). A pay-to-remove mugshot gallery fits; a newspaper's crime story usually does not, unless it charges for removal. For publishers outside the statute, the options are a polite request, a correction of inaccurate facts, or, after sealing, sending a copy of the order and asking for an update.

FDLE says plainly that "mugshot photographs and arrest information maintained on privately operated websites are not subject to an expungement order," that it has no authority over those companies, and that you must contact them directly. It adds that some of these businesses may be consumer reporting agencies covered by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Does sealing or expunging take the mugshot down?

Not on private sites. A court-ordered sealing goes to the State Attorney, the arresting agency and the agencies they shared the record with (s. 943.059(5)(b)), and an expunction requires criminal justice agencies to destroy their copies of the criminal history record (s. 943.0585(6)(a)). Neither order binds a private publisher. Automatic sealing after a dismissal goes even less far: it "does not require sealing by other criminal justice agencies" (s. 943.0595(3)(c)), as explained in whether your record is already sealed automatically.

Sealing still helps. It stops FDLE from releasing the arrest to private background checks, and it lets you deny the arrest in most settings, as set out in what employers and landlords can see after sealing. The court's own file is covered in whether sealing removes a case from the clerk's website. Used together with a s. 901.43 request, sealing addresses both the official record and the copies.

What should the request letter say?

The statute does not prescribe a form, but it lists what the letter must contain, so a short letter can cover everything. State that you are the person shown in the arrest booking photograph, or that you are writing as that person's legal representative. Include a copy of a government photo identification as the "sufficient proof of identification" the law asks for. Identify the photo precisely: the page address, the name shown, the booking date and any booking number the site displays. Then ask that the photograph be removed under s. 901.43(2) without charge, and note that the law requires removal within 10 calendar days and forbids republishing.

Send it by registered mail, not certified mail or regular mail, because the statute names registered mail. Keep a copy of the letter, the identification you enclosed, the receipt and the delivery record. If the site later claims it never got the request, those papers are your proof, and they are what a court would want to see before entering an injunction.

What changes the answer?

• The site's business model. Only fee-for-removal sites and sites built mainly on booking photos are covered (s. 901.43(5)).
• The form of the request. The statute requires writing, registered mail, the registered agent, identification and specific identifying details (s. 901.43(2)). An email or web form may not start the 10-day clock.
• Whether the photo came back. Republishing after a request raises the court's per-day penalty from $1,000 to $5,000 (s. 901.43(3)(b)).
• A child's photo. A records custodian may choose not to post a child's booking photograph online, even when the felony rule makes it public (s. 985.04(2)(b)). Juvenile records are covered in whether a juvenile record can be expunged.
• How the case ended. If the charges were dropped, the record may already be sealed; see whether criminal charges can be dropped before trial. Eligibility for a court order is in whether you are eligible to seal or expunge.

A worked example

For example, picture a hypothetical man arrested in Fort Lauderdale whose battery charge the State Attorney dropped. A year later his booking photo appears on two sites: a mugshot gallery that offers "removal" for a fee, and a local news article. He sends the gallery's registered agent a registered-mail request with a copy of his driver license, the booking date and the page address. The gallery must take the photo down free within 10 calendar days. If it does not, he can ask the circuit court for an injunction, and the court shall award his attorney fees and costs. The news article falls outside s. 901.43 unless the outlet charges for removal, so he writes to its editor with the disposition. Because his case was nolle prossed and battery is not a forcible felony, his FDLE record would likely have been sealed automatically, which a Personal Review can confirm. This illustration is not a prediction for any case.

Common mistakes people make

• Paying a removal fee. The law says these sites may not solicit or accept one (s. 901.43(1)).
• Using a contact form or email instead of registered mail to the registered agent.
• Leaving out proof of identity or the details needed to find the exact photo.
• Not keeping the registered-mail receipt, which proves when the 10 days began.
• Assuming a sealing or expunction order will make private sites delete the photo.
• Dealing with one site and ignoring the copies that other sites made from it.

What to do this week

1. Search your name and the arrest date, and save the address and a screenshot of every page showing the photo.
2. Note which sites ask for payment or exist mainly to publish booking photos.
3. Find each covered site's registered agent and mailing address.
4. Send a registered-mail request with identification and the page details, and keep the receipt.
5. Mark the tenth calendar day after delivery and check the page again.
6. At the same time, check whether your record can be sealed or expunged, using how to seal or expunge a record, step by step.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal for a site to charge me to remove my mugshot?

No. A person or business that publishes booking photographs "may not solicit or accept a fee or other form of payment to remove the photographs" (s. 901.43(1)).

How long does the site have to take it down?

Ten calendar days after it receives your written request (s. 901.43(2)).

Can my lawyer send the request?

Yes. The request may come from the person in the photo "or his or her legal representative" (s. 901.43(2)).

What if the site ignores the letter?

You may bring a civil action to enjoin publication. The court may impose $1,000 per day for noncompliance with its injunction and must award reasonable attorney fees and court costs (s. 901.43(3)(a)).

Does this law apply to the sheriff's own website?

Section 901.43 is aimed at businesses whose model is booking photos or removal fees (s. 901.43(5)). Agency records are handled through sealing or expunction orders.

Will a removed mugshot stay down?

The publisher may not republish it, and doing so exposes it to a $5,000 per day penalty for violating an injunction (s. 901.43(2), (3)(b)). Copies on other sites need their own requests.

How can Mr. Mead help?

Mr. Mead's practice is devoted entirely to criminal defense, with more than three decades in South Florida courts. A removal request is most effective alongside a check of whether the record itself can be sealed or expunged, and he can review both. The office is in Boca Raton, Spanish and Portuguese are spoken, and you can call 24 hours.

Every case is different, and no result can be promised. If an old booking photo keeps appearing in searches for your name, a confidential call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

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