Volusia County Public Records

Florida Public Records Framework

Florida's open-records law is one of the broadest in the country. The right to inspect and copy public records sits in Article I, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution, which means it is not just a statutory right but a constitutional one. Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, is the operational law. Florida Statute 119.01 declares public policy: state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person. That word "any" matters. You do not need to be a Florida resident, and you are not required to explain why you want the records.

Florida Statute 119.07 is the working rule for custodians. It requires every agency with custody of a public record to permit inspection at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions. If copies are requested, the agency must provide them once lawful fees are paid. When part of a record is exempt, the agency must redact only the protected part and release the rest. It cannot withhold an entire record just because one field is exempt. Florida Statute 119.071 lists general exemptions, including security plans, attorney work product, and certain personal identifiers. For court files specifically, Florida Statute 119.0714 adds a layer of court-file exemptions, and Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.420 governs judicial-branch records and lists categories that must be kept confidential regardless of other law.

No formal request form is required. A written request is not even required, though writing it down protects you and gives the agency something to respond to. Agencies must respond promptly, and if they cannot produce records immediately, they must acknowledge the request and say when the records will be ready.

Volusia County Clerk and Official Records

The Clerk of the Circuit Court is the county recorder under Florida Statute 28.222, which requires the Clerk to record instruments in one continuous series called Official Records. Every deed, mortgage, lien, judgment, plat, easement, power of attorney, marriage record, military discharge, and many other instruments must be filed there. Official Records are separate from court case files, though both live under the same office.

The Volusia County Official Records Inquiry at app02.clerk.org/or_m/ is the public online search tool. The Clerk says online records are released records only. "Released" means the instrument has been recorded, indexed, verified, and cleared for public viewing. A document may exist but not appear online yet if indexing or imaging is still in process. For documents that should exist but do not appear, the Recording office handles in-person research. Records go back to April 4, 1988, in the online system, and the public research room at the DeLand courthouse holds records back to 1887. That room has staff and terminals to help with older searches.

Florida Statute 28.2221 lets property owners request removal of protected personal information, such as Social Security numbers and financial account numbers, from the public Official Records website. That request goes to the Recording division directly.

The Official Records online inquiry returns these fields for each instrument:

• Instrument number and book/page reference.
• Recording date and time.
• Document type (deed, mortgage, lien, judgment, plat, etc.).
• Grantor and grantee names, or other party names as indexed.
• Legal description or property data where indexed.
• Number of pages and consideration/documentary stamp fields where applicable.
• Image link where the record has been released and imaged.

The Clerk also holds court case records for Circuit Court and County Court, plus marriage and divorce records. Court case records are searched through a separate Case Inquiry portal, not through Official Records. See Volusia County court records for details on that search.

The Official Records Inquiry portal is shown below. The Clerk's Official Records search covers instruments recorded back to April 4, 1988.

The portal is mobile-friendly and allows searches by party name, instrument number, book and page, or document type.

How to File a Volusia County Public Records Request

The most important step is sending the request to the right custodian. The Clerk holds court files, Official Records, and marriage records. The Volusia Sheriff's Office holds incident reports, arrest records, and traffic crash reports. The Division of Corrections holds jail records. The State Attorney holds prosecution files. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Florida Department of Corrections, Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and federal agencies each hold their own records. Sending a request to the wrong office just delays you. Once you know the custodian, the process is straightforward.

1. Identify the correct custodian. Match what you want to the office that created or holds it. Court case files go to the Clerk. Incident reports and crash reports go to the Volusia Sheriff's Office Records Section. Jail booking data goes to the Division of Corrections. Driver records go to FLHSMV. State criminal history goes to FDLE.
2. Describe the records as clearly as you can. Give names, dates, case or report numbers, and any other details that narrow the search. A vague request produces a vague (or slow) response. You do not need to cite the statute, but including "Chapter 119, Florida Statutes" signals you know the law.
3. Choose a submission method. Most agencies accept requests online, by mail, or in person. The Volusia Sheriff's Office uses a GovQA online portal. The Clerk accepts requests through its contact page or in person at its offices. Mail goes to the agency's mailing address with attention to the Records Section or Custodian of Records.
4. Wait for an acknowledgment. Florida law requires agencies to respond promptly. If records cannot be produced right away, the agency must tell you when they will be ready. Complex or large requests may take longer, and the agency may ask you to narrow the scope or pay a deposit.
5. Pay any lawful fees and receive the records. Copy fees are set by statute. Pay the stated amount, and the agency releases the records. If costs will be high, ask for an estimate before authorizing the work. Inspection of records at the office is generally free; copies cost money.

Note: Florida law does not require agencies to create new records, compile data in a new format, or answer questions. The duty is to provide existing records in the format they are kept.

Public Records Request Field Inventory

No single required form exists for Florida public records requests. But including the right information from the start speeds up the response. The table below maps the fields you should include in any written request to any Volusia County agency, along with notes on what each field accomplishes.

Volusia Sheriff's Office Public Records

The Volusia Sheriff's Office Records Section is the central repository for incident reports and Florida Traffic Crash Reports generated by VSO. The section also handles sealing and expunging of arrest records. Requests that go to VSO should not go to the Clerk; these are different offices with different record sets.

The Custodian of Records is Lisa Linden at (386) 736-5962. Requests can be submitted through the VSO GovQA public records portal online or in person at the Volusia County Administrative Center, 123 West Indiana Avenue, Suite 401, DeLand. Hours for in-person records requests are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Mail goes to: Volusia Sheriff's Office, ATTN: Records Section, P.O. Box 569, DeLand, FL 32721.

Records you can request from VSO include incident reports, calls for service, local record checks, insurance requests, Uniform Crime Reports, and traffic accident reports. Body-worn camera recordings and 911 audio are subject to additional research time charges. For Volusia County criminal records and arrest information, the Sheriff's Office is the right first stop for law-enforcement-generated data.

The VSO GovQA portal is pictured below. The VSO public records portal allows online submission for incident reports, crash reports, and other Sheriff-held records.

After submitting, you receive a tracking number and updates by email as the request moves through the review process.

Public Records Copy Fees in Volusia County

Florida Statute 28.24 sets the fee schedule for Clerk services. Chapter 119 sets the general copy rate for other agencies. Inspection of records at the office is free; you pay only when you want copies. The Clerk and the Sheriff's Office each have their own fee schedules, summarized in the table below.

Inspection at the Clerk's public terminals or at the VSO office carries no copy fee. You pay only if you want paper or electronic copies sent to you. For large requests, ask the agency for a cost estimate before work begins.

Volusia County Records That Are Exempt or Confidential

Not every record is open. Florida law lists hundreds of specific exemptions, and courts have added more through Rule 2.420 and individual orders. The key categories you are likely to run into in Volusia County are these.

Juvenile delinquency and dependency records are restricted under Florida Statutes 985.04 and 39.0132. Access is limited to parties, attorneys, specified agencies, and authorized persons. Adoption records are confidential under Florida Statute 63.162 and generally require a statutory basis or court order to view. Mental health clinical records, including Baker Act proceedings, are protected under Florida Statute 394.4615. Sealed and expunged criminal records are restricted after a court order under Florida Statutes 943.0585 and 943.059.

Rule 2.420 lists other confidential information categories for judicial-branch records: protected identifiers, victim data, financial account numbers, minors in family proceedings, domestic violence safety information, and certain court-ordered sealed materials. Grand jury materials and sealed warrants are not public until the law permits disclosure. Attorney work product prepared for litigation is also exempt under the general Chapter 119 framework.

When an exemption applies to part of a record, the custodian must redact only that part and release the rest. If the entire record is confidential, the agency will tell you so and cite the applicable statute or rule. A denial based on a claimed exemption should state the specific provision. If you believe the exemption is being applied incorrectly, you can challenge it through the courts.

Note: Some Volusia Official Records contain protected personal data. Florida Statute 28.2221 gives individuals a process to request removal of protected information from the public Official Records website.

Sending Requests to the Right Volusia County Custodian

The most common mistake in public records work is sending a request to the wrong office. Each agency is custodian only of the records it created or controls. They do not transfer or forward requests to other offices. The list below maps record types to the correct custodian for Volusia County.

• Clerk of the Circuit Court: Court case files (civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic), Official Records (deeds, mortgages, liens, judgments, plats, marriage records, military discharges), and certified copies of any of those.
• Volusia Sheriff's Office Records Section: Incident reports, traffic crash reports, arrest records, and calls for service generated by VSO deputies.
• Volusia County Division of Corrections: Jail booking records, inmate rosters, and bond information for the county jail. This office is separate from the Sheriff's Office.
• State Attorney, Seventh Judicial Circuit: Prosecution case files and charging decisions. These are not the same as court case files at the Clerk.
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE): Statewide criminal history records and sex offender registry data.
• Florida Department of Corrections (FDC): State prison records and supervision data for offenders sentenced to state custody.
• Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV): Driver license records, vehicle registration, and state crash report data.
• Federal courts and agencies: U.S. District Court records through PACER; FBI and other federal agency records through federal FOIA requests, not through Chapter 119.

The VSO Civil Unit processes and returns judicial process for courts and the Board of County Commissioners, handling more than 100,000 individual writs each year. Civil process questions go to the Civil Unit at (386) 254-4660 (Daytona Beach), (386) 822-5014 (DeLand), (386) 860-7037 (Deltona), or (386) 423-3386 (New Smyrna Beach). Email is civilunit@volusiasheriff.gov. The unit does not provide legal advice.

Volusia County Clerk Contact for Public Records

For Clerk-held records, the office accepts requests by phone, mail, online contact form, and in person. The Recording division at DeLand handles Official Records requests; the main number covers general records questions. The Clerk of the Circuit Court page has full department and location details.

The Clerk also has counters at the Steven C. Henderson Judicial Center in Daytona Beach and at the S. James Foxman Justice Center. Marriage services and probate counters operate at multiple locations. Florida law says that emails to public officials may themselves be public records, so use official contact channels when submitting a formal request.

Related Volusia County Record Searches

For court case files, see Volusia County court records. For the Clerk's office and its services, see Clerk of the Circuit Court. For arrest data and criminal history, see criminal records. For marriage and dissolution filings, see marriage and divorce records.