Impossible to Comply. What should you do in the event it’s impossible to comply?
Holiday season and office closures raise an important concern among registrants. There are several changes that require reporting IN PERSON “WITHIN 48 HOURS”, pursuant to the registration statutes. But there are many times where the registration office or the DHSMV (Driver’s license office) are not open for periods exceeding 48 hours, making registration impossible.
One registrant tried to report in Polk county, but arrived at the office to find a sign on the door letting them know the office was closed on December 24, 25, and 26. With their registration office being closed on Saturday and Sunday, that leaves a period of 132 hours where it’s impossible to report IN PERSON.
The law does not specify business hours, the law does not exclude hours where the registration office is closed, there’s no exception from criminal liability where someone shows up to register and there’s a “Closed” sign on the door.
So, to avoid a 3rd Degree Felony and potential 5 years in prison (but a mandatory minimum 6 months on an ankle monitor), what do you do?
Unfortunately, there’s no good answer. You can try calling (or better yet, emailing – so there’s a record) the FDLE (info below) and hope they give you an answer that’s better than “we can’t give you legal advice, you need to call an attorney”. Truth is, attorneys don’t know what to do either, since the law is written without exception and nobody has filed a lawsuit compelling their county registration office to remain open.
You can also try calling your county registration office when they are open and asking them what to do in a situation where you have a 48 hour window to report something but your sheriff’s office is closed. Contact info for every county can be found here.
Please share any information you get (along with who you spoke with) in the comments, so that someone else in your county will know what you’ve been told and multiple people don’t call the same office with the same question. Also remember that any information posted here is not legal advice and is not a legal authority.
[email protected]
Toll-free: 1-888-357-7332 (M-F 8:00am – 5:00pm, Eastern)
Local:1-850-410-8572
Discover more from Florida Action Committee (FAC)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
It seems very simple to me. I have had this occur on two occasions. Each time I drove to the Sheriffs office and called the non emergency number and requested a deputy respond to take an information report. The Deputies did not like it however they took the information and provided a case number. Since I did in fact report in person to the Sheriffs office and report to a deputy my obligation was fulfilled. This occurred in both Sumter and Hernando Counties.
I then returned to the registration office and was there first thing when they reopened. Providing the information report case number and the information I did not have a problem.
The Detective in Highland County tells people to go to the Jail to register when their office is closed which provides 24hr registration however this is not ideal because the Jail Staff are not the best at taking the information and if they mess up it’s your neck on the line.