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.
Discover more from Florida Action Committee (FAC)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
This has happened to me several times with different information… i’ve had the same job for over 25 years. Nothing has changed and yet when I went to Register at the sheriff department, they had me listed as not having any employment. Same thing has happened with email identifiers… it’s more common than people think and this is very dangerous
Willkillya
I appreciate that the registration office I go to, the last thing they ask you before leaving is to view your paperwork and verify EVERYTHING is correct. Then they have you sign that you agree it is correct. I usually never find anything but the last time I went, I had lost a lot of weight due to illness and medications I take, so had them change my weight. I had lost 31 lbs in just about 6 months time.
Not sure why anyone on the registry would renew their passports. WAYYYY back in the day (yes I was registered then too) it was easy to travel out of country, but nowadays it can be a nightmare. The countries want us to come, but the U.S often tells them to turn us around, instead of not letting us go in the first place.
People still want or need to travel for business or personal reasons.
Travel to Schengen Area countries should not be a problem. Our members are still traveling there without incident.
Anyone know if i no longer live in FL but am on the registry for life if i have to report a new passport i received? I am not required to register in the state i moved to so they are not asking me for any information but just in case i come through a FL airport i do not want to give them a reason to arrest me on some nonsense. Does anyone know the answer to this question? FAC?
If you do not live, work, or attend school in Florida, you no longer have reporting requirements here. If you establish a temporary, transient or permanent residence here, work here, or attend school here, you will be obligated to register again.
You will be required to follow the registration laws in any jurisdiction in which you live (if applicable).
Great thing about living in a different state where i do not have to register is that i can travel abroad without notifying anyone. i checked with the U.S. Marshall & the U.S. states attorney and i have in writing that i have to inform no one. What that does is the travel matrix that shows RSO’s rejected doesn’t apply to me because no one is telling them i am coming so they cannot reject me when i arrive. Also, my passport is not marked. once inside a certain country i travel from city to city until its time to return home. So far stayed in 3 non RSO countries and no hassle until i get back home of course and the TSA pulls me aside for an hour or two of waiting on nonsense before they release me
What i was going for in Colorado. So every state, territory is different laws. I didn’t have to register in colorado so I was about to get my passport not have to report my travel. Would love to help those trying to transition to different regions of country. I own an RV but follow the laws of reporting and also the area i travel in. I know when I can travel more freely than others before having to report too
please share if you could what state you’re living in maybe we should all move there
It really depends on the person. I’m considered Tier 1 in any state that uses a tier system. I especially like Colorado and California—Colorado works well for me because it’s centrally located, which makes traveling in an RV easier.
If you take the time to read and follow each state’s requirements, getting around becomes much simpler. For example, if you live in California and stay compliant there, you can travel to Oregon to visit without needing to register—as long as it’s just a short visit, not residency. Generally, people registered under California’s PC 290 only have to register in Oregon if they stay 14 days or longer. Oregon also doesn’t use Florida’s stricter “calendar day” counting, so the rules there tend to be more flexible
i’m in WV But UT and VT are great states when it comes to the registry also
Thanks for the heads up. This raises another question I’ve never gotten a good answer for. I once asked my registration deputy if I should leave an old deleted Facebook account on my registration. She told me “Yes, stuff on the internet never truly goes away.” So, is this how the state looks at these things? I since have left every social media/internet site on my registration even though I haven’t used it in years, or in the case of an ‘X’ (twitter) account that Google created for me by accident, that I immediately deleted. So many gray areas in our lives…..
We asked FDLE the same thing and they sidestepped. See: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/fac-keeps-pushing-for-answers-after-fdle-fails-to-clarify-internet-identifier-requirements/
It’s totally F-ed, because if, for example, you vacate a residence and leave it up (in case you return), that’s a second degree felony.
My registration office told me precisely the opposite of what JT’s registration told him. Specifically, if you had a facebook account, but it’s been deleted and officers can’t locate it, then you’re better off deleting it from your registration.
Their guidance on Zoom also ran contrary to some others.
Jacob, you know how it goes… if you ask 5 different registration offices you get 5 different answers, if you ask the FDLE you get ignored. There’s a delete button in the cyber communication portal, so one can presume the purpose is to remove old, unused accounts. But sadly you can’t presume anything.
I’m honestly scared to even use that site. I know it’s great that you’ve got it up and running, but this is just my personal concern. Websites track your location and other data, and law enforcement—especially with the resources they have—can access a lot. I don’t want my phone or computer IP, or even the network I’m using, to be exposed. It worries me, especially since Florida has shown they’re willing to collect and even sell a lot of information about people
It’s worse: ask five registration offices, get six or seven different answers.
Because the answers tend to change whenever personnel change.
Do they not bear the same requirement to notify PFRs if they make changes? If not, then why? Especially if this “civil” paperwork carries “felony” implications. There should be an automatic notification of any changes initiated by FDLE.
Union County passed an ordinance that merely criminalizes “traveling through” Union within a buffer zone. If you’re traveling from Miami to Tallahassee by car and pass through Union, get pulled over for speeding (or a tag reader) and you happened to be within an exclusion zone and go to jail. Who would know this? There are 90K people on the registry in Florida. Nobody got a notice.
I rarely get notices of anything, even new state laws, other than from FAC of course.
Of course not. Due process requires proper notice, but the registry is devoid of any due process. You’re left to guess. See: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/are-we-expected-to-be-clairvoyant-when-compliance-depends-on-what-you-cant-possibly-know/
This is a reason to file lawsuits against the State.
Are interstate safer to drive on by chance ? This is a question on my right to travel for sure. Since interstate are federal more than state if I get pulled over for speeding in a county with restrictions. Now when I travel interstates I notice more troopers than local sheriff how do they do this as far as restrictions boundaries?
It’s the same. Troopers are Florida state police officers, not federal. The Residency Restrictions don’t exclude Interstate highways, federal post offices, etc.
And this again poses the question who determines the laws like you have stated before FAC
Thank you for the heads up…