Reminder: Double Check Your Registration Information – Including Passport Status
We want to share an important heads-up based on a recent member experience that could affect anyone on the registry in Florida.
During a routine registration appointment, a member was going through the standard “is this still the same?” verification process when the officer noted: “No passport.” The member, however, does have a passport. It turns out the passport had expired in December and was later renewed, but in the meantime, the FDLE system had apparently automatically removed the passport information and switched the status to “no passport.”
The member immediately went home, retrieved the renewed passport, and returned to have it properly entered. The officer added a note stating the member was unaware of the change and corrected it promptly.
Still, the situation raises a serious concern: if the FDLE system is automatically deleting expired passport information (or anything else), and you’re not aware of it, you could unknowingly be out of compliance.
Given how strictly registration requirements are enforced and how even unintentional or unknowing discrepancies can lead to felonies, we strongly encourage all members to: (1) Review your registration details carefully at every check-in. (2) Confirm that your passport number, vehicle tags, etc. are accurate and up to date. And (3) Verify all other information entered by the deputy, even if you believe nothing has changed.
This is one of those areas where being proactive can make all the difference. A simple system update you didn’t know about shouldn’t turn into a serious legal issue, but as we’ve seen, it can. I know most of us don’t want to spend a minute more than we have to at the Sheriff’s Office, but please take a few extra minutes at your next registration to go over everything before you sign that signature pad and give your thumbprint. It’s worth it.
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This happens more frequently than most see. I was informed during a spot check yesterday that my DL number didn’t match. I pulled out the registration form showing that I reported the renewal the day I got it 7 months ago.
The deputy amended it, however I’m waiting on the detective to show up and arrest me anyway.
The fact that I have proof I reported it probably will not matter to the detective however it will hold up in court.
The system is rigged against us and done on purpose. Keep all of your paperwork no matter how old it is.
Who cares if your DL# doesn’t match? Your only job is to bring it with you to initial registration and re-registration.
Ditto passports
I see nothing in the statute that requires timely reporting of changes in these numbers. Nor have I heard of an arrest.
I’m not being flippant. An officer asked me a similar question. Only it was worse than an address-check officer: it was a registration officer! I was already in their facility! So I was rattled for a sec. But my answer to their question was, I was simply following the instructions of the previous registration officer from six months prior.
And after I got home, I checked the statute again.
Here’s what I fear: corruption. What i mean by this is, FDLE and our local sheriff’s offices control the information they input or delete from their system. We have no control what anyone does with our information after we provide it. They can change, edit, or delete it at will. Yes, it’s possible that a good defense lawyer might be able to show that a corrupt LEO did that to make an arrest. The point is, WE CAN BE ARRESTED FOR WRONG INFORMATION IN THEIR SYSTEM. An arrest alone without conviction is enough to prevent us from petitioning for removal from the registry, even if that arrest was illegal.
I agree with Just Sayin,
Lee county sherrif arrested me 13 years ago and the States attorney drop all charges, no evidence but because I was arrested, I also got denied petitioning the state for my removal off FDLE website.
The judge claimed, legaly I was arrested. The statue needs to have the wording changed to ” Any convictions” and not arrest for denial off the FDLE website.
No other state to my knowledge has that arrest denial
Matt
I can tell you (In my opinion) they made that clause on purpose. Step one foot on the sidewalk of a school, no getting off registry for you, and me and whoever else dares to leave their house. But there is more. You can get arrested just for being in your own house. Don’t register an email you stopped using but is active, the prize is an arrest.
And as reported from many, often the judge throws it out, yet the FDLE does that little thing they do, where no relief for the poor soul who dares to step over that invisible line, and never getting off the registry, even after we die. And the reason they get away with it is, because a high percentage of citizens see us as the worst pariah on earth. And yet, they do not know a damn thing about us. Most people do not differentiate between someone looking at a picture online and someone molesting someone over a period of years.
Jacob, It does say that upon renewing your DL you must report in person within 48 hours.
Tearful, not seeing that…Where are you seeing it?
Thanks for asking for clarification, Jacob. The language of the statute says, the renewal itself must be done in person at the driver license office, but it does not say you must then separately report within 48 hours to the sheriff.
Tearful, if you are seeing something different, or are referring to a County ordinance for a specific county that requires that, please let us know.
it may have been the way I read that. LOL Sorry for the confusion.