Okaloosa County Arrest Records

Okaloosa County booking reports are kept by the Sheriff's Office in Crestview, Florida. This northwest Florida county covers the communities along the Emerald Coast and inland areas. The sheriff processes all arrest bookings through the county jail. You can search for inmates, review recent booking data, and request copies of arrest records. Okaloosa County treats these records as public documents under Florida law. Anyone can ask to see them, and the process for getting them is direct. Start with the sheriff's office or use the state-level search tools listed on this page.

Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office

The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office is at 1200 East James Lee Boulevard in Crestview. Call 850.689.5690 for questions about booking reports or jail information. The sheriff runs the county detention facility and handles all arrests in Okaloosa County. This includes Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Niceville, and the surrounding areas.

Okaloosa County has an inmate search tool. You can look up current inmates by name. The results show charges, bond amounts, and booking dates. This is a quick way to check on someone who was picked up in Okaloosa County. You do not need to visit in person for a basic search. The booking data is also available by phone if you call the jail directly.

Under Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes, booking records are public. The law states that all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person. Providing access to public records is a duty of each agency. Okaloosa County must follow this rule like every other county in the state. If you want to see a booking report, you have the right to ask.

How to Find Okaloosa Booking Records

Use the inmate search tool to look up who is in the Okaloosa County jail. Type a name. See the results. Each entry shows the charges, bond, and when the person was booked in. It is free. It is fast.

For older records or cases that are no longer in the active system, call the sheriff's office. Staff can look up booking data from past arrests. You can also visit in person at the Crestview location. Bring your ID. If you want copies, the sheriff can make them for a small fee. Florida law allows agencies to charge for the cost of copies, but looking at the records costs nothing in Okaloosa County.

The Florida Department of Corrections runs a statewide search for people in state facilities. If someone was arrested in Okaloosa County and later sentenced to state prison, this tool will show you where they are now. The database gets a complete refresh every week. Release dates and location changes update nightly. It covers five separate databases in one search.

Okaloosa Booking Reports Online

The Florida Department of State publishes a directory of all 67 county jails in the state. Okaloosa County is listed with its address and phone number.

This directory shows you which counties have online search tools and which do not. Okaloosa County has an inmate search noted in the listing. The directory is maintained by the Division of Library and Information Services in Tallahassee. You can also reach them at 850.245.6500 if you need help with a records request.

Booking photos from Okaloosa County arrests fall under Chapter 901. Websites cannot charge to remove a booking photo. If a written removal request is made, the site has 10 days. Failure to comply brings a $1,000 per day civil penalty. Republishing after removal raises it to $5,000 per day. This law applies to all arrests in Okaloosa County.

Okaloosa County Criminal Justice Data

Chapter 943 of the Florida Statutes sets up the criminal justice information program. When someone is booked in Okaloosa County, their fingerprints, palm prints, and facial images are captured electronically. This data gets sent to the FDLE. It goes into a central system that agencies across the state can use. This is how law enforcement shares information about arrests between counties.

The FDLE also runs a sexual offender and predator search for the state. Their main number is (850) 410-7000. If you have questions about criminal history data that goes beyond basic booking info in Okaloosa County, the FDLE is the agency to contact.

The FDC offender search covers inmates from all 67 counties. For Okaloosa County cases that ended in a state prison sentence, this search will give you the inmate's current status, location, and release date. Call (850) 488-9859 for questions about current inmates. For release information, call (850) 488-9167.

Note: Okaloosa County is in the 1st Judicial Circuit along with Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties.

Public Records Requests in Okaloosa

If you need a formal copy of an Okaloosa County booking report, make a written request. Send it to the sheriff's office at the Crestview address. Include the person's name and approximate date of arrest. Florida law says agencies must respond promptly. They must act in good faith. Exempt information gets redacted, but the rest of the record must be provided.

Read the statutes yourself at leg.state.fl.us. Chapter 119 covers public records access. Chapter 943 covers criminal justice data. Chapter 901 covers arrests and booking photos. These three chapters cover most of what you need to know about booking records in Okaloosa County and the rest of Florida.

Cities in Okaloosa County

Okaloosa County includes Crestview, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Niceville, Valparaiso, and Mary Esther. None of these cities have a separate jail. All arrest bookings go through the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Booking reports come from the same central system no matter which city in the county the arrest took place in.

Nearby Counties

Okaloosa County shares borders with several counties in the Florida panhandle. If you need booking records from a nearby area, check below.