From the courts to law enforcement and other county departments, all public agencies must maintain an account of government activities and residents’. These agencies do not only create and maintain public records in Hillsborough County. They must also make the documents available to interested persons under the Florida Public Records Law. However, certain records are by nature confidential or contain sensitive information. For this reason, only authorized persons may access them. Nevertheless, once a record is designated as public information, you can obtain it from the record custodian without prior authorization.
Court records in Hillsborough County
A court record is the most reliable source of obtaining authentic information on criminal and civil cases filed in Hillsborough County. While court records are mostly available to the public, intending requesters must follow court procedure for applying, inspecting, and copying the case documents. Most people visit the clerk’s office, but you can also submit a request via mail or email.
Generally, you may perform the actual search and retrieval of records from storage, but you may not remove the records from office premises. Thus, you will need to pay for copying and certification of the court records. The standard cost is $1.00 per page, and certification costs $2.00 per document. These fees are payable by certified check and money order.
However, with the transition to electronic repositories, the fastest way is to get court records online. Online databases are much easier to use and cost a fraction of in-person and mail requests. Most are free to use, requiring only a computer and internet connection. If you want hard copies of the documents found, you will need a printer.
Hillsborough County Court Records Public Access
- Visit the service center page
- Choose the public record you want, i.e., court case records.
- Enter the case number if known. Otherwise, switch to the name search tab
- Input the name of the party (last name is required)
- Set approximate the filing date window
- Select search at the bottom of the form
- The database will return a list of matching results
- Search for the case of interest and download the case file attached to the result
Hillsborough County Public Records Free Access
Besides court records, other public records are available to interested persons. Refer to the following record custodians:
- Florida Law Enforcement Agency – Criminal records & Sex offender information
- Sheriff’s Office – Local inmate jail records
- Florida Department of Corrections – Statewide inmate search
- Property Appraiser – Property records
- Department of Health – Vital records
- State Archives – Genealogy research
- Middle District Bankruptcy Court – Bankruptcy records
Florida Public Records
Comprehensive Public Court Records of Florida Counties