Florida’s Convicted Felons Regisitration Laws

Florida has an extensive set of statutes requiring convicted felons to register. In the past these statutes were rarely, if ever and enforced, in Miami, South Florida, Broward Fort Lauderdale and the West Palm Beach area. Things have changed! Within the last six months there’s been an exponential increase in the arrests for people who violate the registration of felons statutes. Florida statute 943.0435 requires sexual offenders to register. Those persons convicted of sexually motivated or sexually related offenses have come under increased supervision and control by the Florida Department of Corrections. The prosecutors in South Florida, called the State Attorney for Dade County, and the prosecutor for Broward County(Fort Lauderdale) have increased the arrests for failure to register. The current statute makes it a felony for a person, convicted of a felony, to fail to register with the local law enforcement, or Sheriff, in the county in which they reside. If you have a felony conviction in Florida, whether from Fort Lauderdale, Miami, or West Palm Beach, you should consult with a South Florida criminal defense attorney regarding the requirements for registration. The most likely way people get caught up into the registration violation traps is at traffic stops. Be certain that your drivers’ license address is correct, and reflects the county in which you are registered. If you have a withheld adjudication, then you are not under Florida law considered a convicted felon. If you have a withheld adjudication, the felony registration requirements do not apply to you. If you contact a South Florida criminal defense attorney, in Fort Lauderdale, or Miami, he or she, can tell you from the court records the correct disposition of your final disposition. Do not rely on websites to determine if you have a felony conviction. The only place to check is with the felony court clerk in which your case was filed and resolved.