Broward County, Florida Criminal Records Search: Cases & Public Records

Where to Find Broward County Criminal Records

The best starting point depends on the record you want. Here are the official Broward and Florida government services most relevant to a criminal-records search.

How to Search Broward County Criminal Court Cases by Name

The Broward County Clerk operates a public case-search website for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Its search page supports party-name, case-number, business-name and traffic-citation searches.

For a person whose case number is unknown, the Party Name Search is usually the most practical option.

1. Open the official case search. Use the Broward Clerk’s public case-search website at browardclerk.org. Avoid paid people-search pages that imitate a government search screen.
2. Select the criminal case category. Use the Court Type selector to narrow the search to Felony or Traffic/Misdemeanor, as appropriate. The felony choices include first-, second- and third-degree felonies; misdemeanor choices include criminal traffic and municipal-ordinance cases.
3. Enter the last name and first name. Both are required in Broward’s Party Name Search. Enter the person’s name as it might appear in a court filing, including the middle name when known.
4. Add a filing-date range when appropriate. If you know the approximate year, enter both Date From and Date To in MM/DD/YYYY format. The court search requires both fields for a filing-date range.
5. Run the search and narrow broad results. The Clerk limits record searches to the first 200 results. If there are too many matches, select a more specific court type, add a middle name or shorten the filing-date interval.
6. Open the matching case. Click the case number and compare the court type, party information, filing information, available events and disposition before assuming you found the correct person.
7. Request the official document if needed. If the case summary is not sufficient, use the Clerk’s document-purchase service or its Court Records Request procedure.

Broward’s exact-name search restrictions

The Clerk publishes several rules worth knowing before you start:

• The last name must contain at least three characters to support broader matches; shorter names return exact matches.
• The first name must contain at least two characters for broader matching; shorter entries return exact matches.
• Middle names shorter than two characters are matched exactly when entered.
• More than 200 possible results require refining the query.
• A criminal court case is not necessarily searchable using a sheriff’s arrest number.

Broward Criminal Case Number Format: CF, MM, TC and Other Codes

Broward’s criminal case-number format is unusually useful once you understand it. The Clerk states that felony, traffic and misdemeanor case numbers contain a two-digit year, six-digit sequence, two-letter division identifier, two-digit location and a one- or two-letter companion designation.

These are sample identifiers demonstrating the search format, not claims about the status of an actual case.

Location numbers in Broward cases

For a case-number search, enter the exact case number in the required format without additional spaces or punctuation. If your paperwork uses a different presentation, check the Clerk’s examples before editing the number.

Traffic citation number search

The Clerk’s citation search requires a citation number without dashes or spaces. It is designed for traffic citations, and a citation may not yet appear if it has not been entered into the case-management system. Boating citations must be searched by party name.

How to Get Broward Criminal Court Documents and Certified Copies

The online case-search result is useful for locating a file, but it is not necessarily the official, certified court record. For immigration, legal proceedings, licensing or other formal purposes, the requesting agency may require a certified judgment, disposition or docket record.

Online criminal court documents and older records

The Clerk’s document-access guidance distinguishes electronic documents by case type and filing date:

• Felony records filed on or after January 6, 2014: Electronic criminal court documents may be available to view, subject to access restrictions.
• Some felony cases before 2014: Electronic images may also be available, but availability is not guaranteed.
• Traffic and misdemeanor cases filed before 2011: These were routinely purged from the main case-management system and may require an archived record request or in-person search.
• Other unavailable or older documents: Use the Clerk’s Court Records Request process or the relevant courthouse division.

Here, “purged” refers to records removed from the main search system under the Clerk’s records practices. It should not be confused with a judicial order sealing or expunging the case.

Order an electronic certified document

1. Find the case. Use the official Broward online case search.
2. Open its detail page. Select the case number from the results.
3. Check whether the document is viewable. Not all filed documents are available through public online access.
4. Select the certification option. When available, click the red Purchase Certified Copies Online button.
5. Choose the documents. Select the needed documents and proceed through the purchase flow.
6. Check your email. After payment, the Clerk sends access links from its electronic certification service. Keep the purchase confirmation and verify the digital certificate if required.

Digitally certified documents use the Clerk’s electronic signature and authentication features rather than a physical embossed or inked seal. Confirm whether the receiving institution accepts electronic certification.

Broward court records request fees

These amounts are from the Clerk’s general Court Records Request fee schedule. Electronic purchasing and particular divisions may have additional or different charges. Verify the actual estimate before paying.

The Clerk advises that a submitted Court Records Request can take up to two weeks after receipt, depending on record availability. Avoid sending duplicate forms by email or fax because the office specifically asks requesters to submit a completed form only once.

Broward County Arrest Records and Jail Inmate Search

The Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) maintains the official Arrest Search used for publicly available booking and inmate information. It is particularly useful if you are trying to locate someone recently arrested or held in a Broward jail.

How to search an arrest or booking

1. Open BSO Arrest Search.
2. Enter the person’s last name and first name in the available search fields.
3. Complete any security verification presented by the website.
4. Click Search and review the returned arrest listings.
5. Select the arrest number to view available booking details, charges, bond or location information.
6. For the criminal case outcome, take the associated court case number to the Broward Clerk’s case search.

BSO states that its arrest search returns are refreshed approximately every 15 minutes. This is a published update frequency, not a guarantee that every booking or release is immediately reflected.

Request historical arrest reports or a Broward local records check

For a past arrest record, incident report or local records check, use the Sheriff’s Office Public Records Unit rather than the current inmate search alone.

BSO explains that its local records checks are limited to arrest records reported by Broward County law-enforcement agencies. They do not provide a complete criminal history, information outside Broward County or non-arrest incidents.

BSO notes that a records-request backlog can affect processing time. Fees, where applicable, depend on the record and work required; the office provides estimates for requests requiring payment.

Florida Criminal History Checks: When Broward Court Search Is Not Enough

A Broward County case search covers one county’s court system. To request publicly available statewide Florida criminal-history information, use the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE).

FDLE’s Criminal Justice Information Services division maintains Florida’s central criminal-history repository.

How to perform an FDLE instant search

1. Select Instant Search. Open FDLE’s Florida Criminal History Record Check page and follow the official link for the instant online service.
2. Enter accurate identifying information. Use the requested name and available demographic fields.
3. Confirm the transaction fee. FDLE lists $24 for the public search and an additional $1 processing fee for the instant card transaction.
4. Review the results. Understand that a name-based result can include identity ambiguity and is not fingerprint-confirmed.
5. Verify the final disposition. If a Broward case entry looks incomplete, obtain the certified outcome from the Clerk’s Office.

What about records outside Broward County?

Use FDLE for publicly available Florida statewide history. For an arrest in another state, contact that state’s repository or the relevant court. For a federal prosecution, use PACER. Do not assume that one Florida search covers the entire United States.

Felony, Misdemeanor and Criminal Traffic Records in Broward

The Broward Clerk maintains both Circuit Criminal and County Criminal case records within Florida’s Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.

How to interpret the case outcome

A typical criminal case may involve several events: arrest, charging decision, arraignment, pretrial hearings, plea negotiations, trial, dismissal or sentencing. The existence of an arrest or charge does not establish the outcome.

• Pending: A matter may remain before the court without final disposition.
• Dismissed or nolle prosequi: The prosecution ended as to the relevant charge under the stated procedure; this is not a conviction.
• Adjudicated guilty: The court entered an adjudication of guilt.
• Adjudication withheld: Florida permits withholding of adjudication in certain cases; its consequences depend on the statute and legal context and should not simply be labeled a conviction or an absence of a criminal record.
• Sentence completed: Completion of the imposed sentence does not automatically erase the court case.

If the legal meaning of a disposition affects licensing, immigration or another consequential decision, obtain the certified court records and seek qualified legal advice.

Broward County Clerk of Courts: Where to Go for Criminal Records

The main judicial complex is in downtown Fort Lauderdale. It is the central location for Broward felony court records and the Clerk’s Archives Division.

For archived records

The Clerk lists the Archives Division at the Central Courthouse in the East Building, Room 03305, reachable through its main phone number by selecting option 3.

Before traveling, call to confirm that the case file is available at that location, especially when the record predates the Clerk’s main electronic records system.

For traffic and misdemeanor documents

Depending on the case and division, the Clerk also offers regional service locations. The Traffic and Misdemeanor Division’s official page lists locations in northern, western and southern Broward County.

Use the division website to confirm which location can supply your particular court file. A regional service counter may not have every older file immediately on hand.

Broward County Criminal Record Sealing and Expungement

Florida provides several ways for qualifying criminal-history information to become nonpublic. The applicable method depends on the arrest, charge, disposition and statutory eligibility.

For ordinary court-ordered sealing or expungement under Florida Statutes 943.059 or 943.0585, the process generally begins with the FDLE Certificate of Eligibility.

1. Identify the Broward criminal case. Use the Clerk’s search and obtain the relevant case number, disposition and certified documentation.
2. Read FDLE’s eligibility instructions. Review whether the record may qualify for court-ordered sealing or expungement. Certain offenses and histories make a person ineligible.
3. Prepare the certificate application. FDLE requires the completed application materials, including fingerprint information, necessary certified documents and prosecutor certification when applicable.
4. Submit the application and fee. The Broward Clerk identifies a $75 FDLE application fee for its standard sealing/expungement instructions. Confirm the current payment method with FDLE.
5. Wait for an eligibility determination. FDLE states that determining eligibility typically takes approximately 12 weeks after a completed application packet is received.
6. Petition the appropriate court. An FDLE certificate does not itself seal or expunge a record. A qualifying person must obtain the required court order.
7. Confirm implementation. If a court grants relief, certified court orders must reach the appropriate agencies so that the records are handled under the applicable law.

The Broward Clerk also lists a $42 statutory processing fee for sealing or expunging the court record, plus other applicable copying or certification costs.

Florida automatic sealing is different

Florida also provides a statutory automatic-sealing process for qualifying criminal-history information maintained by FDLE under section 943.0595. FDLE notes that this automatic process does not seal records at the local level.

Other Relevant Criminal Record Searches

Florida Department of Corrections

For a person sentenced to Florida state prison or state supervision, the Florida Department of Corrections maintains its own offender information. Its public offender data is not a complete history of everyone arrested or convicted in Broward County and does not cover everyone sentenced only to county jail.

Use the Florida Department of Corrections website to access the official offender lookup options.

Florida sexual offender and predator registry

The FDLE registry supports name and neighborhood searches. You can use a Broward County, city or ZIP code filter to find publicly listed registrants. This registry does not replace a court-record search or statewide criminal-history check.

Open the FDLE Sexual Offender and Predator Search.

Federal criminal cases in Fort Lauderdale

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida maintains federal criminal records separately from the Broward County Clerk.

Use PACER for online federal dockets and case information. If you need help identifying a federal case filed in Fort Lauderdale, the federal Clerk’s Office lists 954-769-5400 for case-related questions.

Southern District of Florida – Case and Contact Information.

What to Do When a Broward Criminal Record Is Missing

A search that returns no results does not establish that no record ever existed. Broward’s electronic filing periods, archived case practices, restricted records and separate arrest/court systems can all affect what you see online.

Correcting an inaccurate criminal record

If the disputed information is in the Broward court file, begin with the Clerk or the court that entered the record. If it is in FDLE’s statewide criminal-history repository, follow FDLE’s criminal-history record-maintenance guidance.

For an identity mismatch or incorrect charge disposition, gather the full case number, arrest reference when available, and certified disposition before submitting your dispute.

Official Broward County and Florida Criminal Records Sources

These are the official government services supporting the procedures and details in this guide.

• Broward County Clerk – Public Case Search
• Broward Clerk – Felony Division
• Broward Clerk – Traffic and Misdemeanor
• Broward Clerk – Court Records Request
• Broward Clerk – Electronic Certified Documents
• Broward Sheriff’s Office – Arrest and Booking Search
• Broward Sheriff’s Office – Public Records Requests
• FDLE – State of Florida Criminal History Record Check
• FDLE – Seal and Expunge Process
• FDLE – Certificate of Eligibility Instructions
• FDLE – Sexual Offender and Predator Search
• Florida Department of Corrections
• Southern District of Florida – Federal Case Information
• PACER – Federal Court Case Search