Broward County Criminal Records Search

Narrow the Clerk’s search before reviewing matches

Use Broward Clerk’s public case search for criminal proceedings in Broward County, Florida. Choose the appropriate felony or traffic/misdemeanor court type. Party-name searches require a last and first name; a middle name and filing-date range can narrow the results. A date range needs both a starting and ending date in the displayed format. If the full case number is known, use the case-number search instead.

Only the first 200 results are returned. If a broad name reaches that limit, refine the court type, middle name or date range before treating the list as complete. Very short names also behave differently: a surname under three characters, or a first or middle name under two characters, returns exact matches only. Keep the inputs with your notes so an empty or capped result can be understood.

Move from the case summary to the disposition

Open the candidate case and compare the defendant, case number, court and event dates. Read the disposition for the relevant charges and locate the actual judgment, dismissal or other concluding order. A case title, charge or arrest entry does not by itself establish a conviction. If the intended document is not visible, record its docket description for a Clerk request rather than substituting a different filing.

Choose electronic certification when the document is viewable

From the case detail, select Purchase Certified Copies Online, review the service terms, choose the documents and proceed to checkout. Only viewable electronic documents can be purchased this way. The records-request page lists $8 per electronic certified court document and excludes documents over 100 pages from online purchase. This is a per-document product, distinct from ordinary paper-copy charges.

After purchase, [email protected] sends links to the certified documents. Delivery can depend on the email server and may take a few minutes. Save the complete downloaded document. Ask the receiving organization whether it accepts electronic certification before buying, especially if it requires a paper original or a different authentication.

Keep the verification information with the certified file

Broward’s eCertify verification service authenticates a document using its Unique Reference Code or an uploaded electronic certificate file. Use the code from the original document, not a number copied from the case-search screen. Retain the full file and any verification result with the order it proves. A cropped screenshot drops the certification context and should not be presented as the purchased certified document.

Request older or unavailable criminal records from Archives

The Clerk’s records guidance identifies criminal electronic records filed on or after January 6, 2014; an older or unavailable document may require a Court Records Request. Archives lists felony cases from 1915 onward and traffic/misdemeanor cases from 1973 onward. Those ranges describe its record services, not a promise that every individual file survives or is open. Sealed, expunged, purged and confidential material has separate limitations.

Supply the case number, defendant’s name and birth date, approximate arrest year, type of case and the list of requested documents. If the case number is unknown, the name and birth date help the search. Archives is in the Central Courthouse, Judicial Complex East Building, 201 SE 6th Street, third floor, Room 03305, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301; its number is 954-831-6565, option 3. Published hours are weekdays, 8 a.m.–3:30 p.m., excluding holidays.

Budget for copies, search work and the chosen delivery route

The main Records Request page lists $1 per court-document page, $2 per document for certification and $2 per year searched. By-request processing can take up to two weeks after receipt; in-person retrieval depends on availability. Specify the exact order and year to avoid unnecessary search or copy work, and confirm payment and delivery instructions for the route you select.

The Traffic and Misdemeanor page contains inconsistent certification wording: one passage says $2 per page while its purged-record instructions say $2 per case document. The main records-request and Archives schedules use a per-document unit. For a traffic or misdemeanor mail request, obtain the division’s written page count and total before paying rather than assuming the conflicting wording is a second charge.

Use a failed search or disputed result to ask a specific question

If an older misdemeanor is missing, the Traffic and Misdemeanor division offers a purged-record search using the defendant’s name, birth date and incident date or year; add a case or citation number if known. It may supply a certified microfiche printout when an original file cannot be obtained. Sealed or expunged cases are excluded. For a mismatch or missing disposition, identify the entry to the Clerk and request clarification from the case file.

A Broward court search is a county case-record task. The Clerk’s records page directs statewide background checks and criminal histories to FDLE, and arrest or custody details belong with the responsible law-enforcement custodian. Preserve each source’s identifier and date instead of merging the products into an assumed complete history.