The History of ALPRs in Florida: A Legislative Policy Timeline
Florida's used ALPR systems since at least 2009 (if not earlier), to enforce toll road payments and capture vehicles running a red light in traffic. (Systems that, to this day, still generate plate errors by sending erroneous bills or tickets to people that didn’t commit violations.) Over time, new technologies emerged, leaving regulatory gaps state and federal agencies struggle to properly address.In theory, data obtained from ALPRs is used to check license plates against law enforcement "hot lists" or department BOLOs (be on the look out) so local law enforcement have a place to dispatch an entry for vehicles tied to recent local crimes, armed suspects, or gang activity. At the state level, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) manages the Florida Crime Information Center (FCIC), a centralized, computerized database supplying regional stolen vehicle reports, wanted or missing persons alerts, Amber alerts, and local administrative vehicle flags. (FCIC also provides local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies with real-time access to criminal histories, stolen property, and protective orders.) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) can also check ALPR data against the National Crime Information Center (NCIC Database), which provides federal entries for stolen vehicles and major federal felony warrants.
But in the summer of 2013, the ACLU publishes a report titled, You Are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used To Record Americans’ Movements which shows how hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the country are beginning to add ALPRs to vehicles in their fleet, which allows for real-time opportunities to run plates while on patrol or performing standard duties. The extension of ALPR use beyond tolls and red-light tickets violations as early as 2012-2013 should have exposed the need for carefully crafted ALPR regulations. Unfortunately, Florida opted for something less privacy focused, and more law enforcement friendly...
Florida's First ALPR Legislation - 2014
October 1, 2013 – Then Senator Jeff Brandes (R) files the initial version of Senate Bill (SB) 226 - Public Records/Automated License Plate Recognition Systems Exemption. In the Florida House of Representatives, Representative Travis Hutson (R) files a similar bill in House Bill (HB) 599: Pub. Rec./Automated License Plate Recognition Systems on January 14, 2014. The bills are similar, and both original bill texts mention the following, "The release of such images and data gathered through automated license plate recognition systems could enable a third party to track a person’s movements and compile a history on where a person has driven. This exemption is necessary because the public disclosure of such information constitutes an unwarranted invasion into the personal life and privacy of a person. The harm from disclosing such information outweighs any public benefit that can be derived from widespread and unregulated public access to such information."
2014 Legislative Session (March-May) - both bills move through committee and become as Committee Substitutes (CS). (Fun Fact: The senate committee’s legislative analysis references the 2013 ACLU study on ALPRs linked above! The analysis also says, "According to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, it may be difficult for agencies to identify and redact personal identifying information if a public records request is made." The bill sponsor, Senator Brandes, also admits during a Senate Rules Committee meeting (start at minute 8:00), that ALPRs create GPS tagged, centrally stored records that--over time--may make it so LEO and others may be able to determine behavior patterns over time.) Ultimately, the Florida Senate passes the bill on 4/11/2014 (38 YEAS, 1 NAY), and the Florida House of Representatives tables the house’s version of the bill, passing CS/CS/SB 226 (116 YEAS, 0 NAYS), and presenting the Senate iteration of the legislation to the Governor on 6/13/2014.
June 20, 2014 - Then Governor (now Florida Congressional Senator) Rick Scott (R), signs the bill, establishing Fla. Stat. § 316.0777 Automated license plate recognition systems; installation within rights-of-way of State Highway System; public records exemption.
During this same legislative session, the Governor signs House Bill 7005 (Ch. 2014-216) into law, establishing Fla. Stat. § 316.0778 – Automated license plate recognition systems; records retention. The new section requires the Department of State, in consultation with the Department of Law Enforcement, to establish a retention schedule for records created by an automated license plate recognition system, and establishes a maximum period the records may be retained.
Florida Department of State Florida's General Records Schedule GS2 for Criminal Justice AgenciesFlorida’s Department of State maintains the General Records Schedule GS2 for Criminal Justice Agencies, (most recent publication & effective June 2023). On page 24, Item #217 – License Plate Recognition Records within the document says,
"This record series consists of license plate records created by license plate recognition systems. The series may include, but is not limited to, images of licenses plates and any associated metadata. These records may become part of a criminal investigative record or some other record series. See Section 316.0778, Florida Statutes, Automated license plate recognition systems; records retention, requiring a maximum retention period for these records."
⯈ RETENTION: Retain until obsolete, superseded, or administrative value is lost, but NO LONGER THAN 3 ANNIVERSARY YEARS unless required to be retained under another record series.
Florida ALPR Legislation: 2019 to Present Day
2019 Legislative Session - Senate Bill No. 7034 is passed in both chambers and Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signs the bill, which removes the Open Government Sunset Review Act portion of the prior 2014 statute.
Legislative Session 2025 - Representative Doug Bankson (R) and Senator Ana Maria Rodriquez (R), both run pieces of legislation making it a second-degree misdemeanor to apply or use a "license plate obscuring device". The bill creates Section 320.262, Florida Statutes, and defines a "license plate obscuring device" to mean a manual, electronic, or mechanical device designed or adapted to be installed on a motor vehicle for a series of purposes. The two most obviously ALPR coded parts of the bill include:
(c) Covering, obscuring, or otherwise interfering with the legibility, angular visibility, or detectability of the primary features or details, including the license plate number or validation sticker, on the license plate; or
(d) Interfering with the ability to record the primary features or details, including the license plate number or validation sticker, on the license plate.
Legislative Session 2026 – Due to the ambiguity of portions of the 2025 law, SB 488 clarified the use of a license plate frame or decorative border around a license plate is not an offense under this section of law, provided that the frame or border does not obscure the visibility of (a) The alphanumeric designation or license plate number or (b) The registration decal or validation sticker located in the upper right corner.