Do I Have to Register as a Felon in Florida?

Florida is one of a handful of states that requires people convicted of felonies to register with the local sheriff — separate and apart from any sex offender or predator registry. Here’s who has to register, what it involves, and who’s exempt.

Who actually has to register as a felon in Florida?

Under section 775.13 of the Florida Statutes, anyone convicted of a felony in any Florida court has to register with the sheriff of any county they enter, and they have to do it within 48 hours of arriving. The same duty applies to someone convicted in federal court, in another state, or in a foreign country, if the underlying offense would have been a felony had it happened in Florida.

The word “convicted” trips a lot of people up, because Florida defines it more broadly than most people expect. Section 775.13(1) defines a conviction as a determination of guilt from a trial, or the entry of a guilty or no contest (nolo contendere) plea — regardless of whether the judge withheld adjudication. That last part matters. A lot of clients believe that if they took a plea and the court withheld adjudication, they were never “convicted” of anything. For most collateral consequences that’s true, but for purposes of this specific registration statute, it isn’t. If the court accepted a guilty or no-contest plea to a felony charge, the registration duty attaches even if there is no formal adjudication of guilt on the record.

What does registering actually involve?

Registration happens at the sheriff’s office of the county the person is in — it isn’t a one-time statewide filing. The statute requires the person to be fingerprinted and photographed, and to provide:

• The crime they were convicted of
• Where the conviction occurred
• The sentence imposed, if any
• Name and any aliases
• Current address
• Occupation

If the underlying felony was found, under section 874.04, to have been committed to benefit, promote, or further a criminal gang, the person also has to identify themselves as a gang-related offender at registration. That distinction isn’t cosmetic — it changes the penalty for failing to register, which we cover below.

Because the clock resets every time someone enters a new Florida county, this statute comes up more often than people expect for anyone who’s convicted of a felony and later moves, works across county lines, or relocates within the five counties this firm serves — Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Osceola, and Hillsborough. Someone who registers in Polk County and then takes a job or moves to Hillsborough County still has a fresh 48-hour registration obligation in the new county.

Who is exempt from registering?

Section 775.13(4) carves out several categories of people who do not have to register despite having a qualifying felony conviction:

• Civil rights restored. If the person’s civil rights have been restored, the registration requirement doesn’t apply.
• Full pardon. A full pardon from the Governor and Cabinet (sitting as the Board of Executive Clemency) removes the obligation.
• More than five years since release. If the person was released from incarceration or from supervision (probation or parole) more than five years before the time registration would be required, and hasn’t been convicted of a crime during that period, they’re exempt — unless they’re a fugitive from justice.
• Consenting federal supervision. If the person is under active federal parole or probation supervision, and Florida’s Department of Corrections/Florida Commission on Offender Review knows about and consents to their presence in the state, registration isn’t independently required.
• Already registered as a sexual predator or sexual offender. Someone already registered under section 775.21 (sexual predators) or section 943.0435 / section 944.607 (sexual offenders) doesn’t have to separately register under 775.13.
• Already registered as a career offender. Someone already registered as a career offender under section 775.261 or section 944.609 is likewise exempt.

Notice what isn’t on this list: expungement or sealing of the record isn’t automatically the same thing as “civil rights restored,” and simply completing a sentence doesn’t by itself trigger the five-year exemption — the five years has to have actually run, cleanly, with no new convictions in the meantime. People sometimes assume that once probation ends, the registration duty ends with it. It doesn’t. The exemption clock is measured from release from incarceration or supervision, and it’s five years, not zero.

What happens if someone doesn’t register?

Failing to register under section 775.13 is itself a separate crime, on top of whatever the underlying felony was. For someone whose felony wasn’t gang-related, failing to register is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable under section 775.082 and section 775.083 — up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

If the underlying felony was gang-related under section 874.04, failing to register is a third-degree felony. Under section 775.082, that carries up to five years in prison, and under section 775.083, a fine of up to $5,000. The gang-related version of the charge also opens the door to sentence enhancement under section 775.084 if the person separately qualifies as a habitual offender — an added layer of exposure that doesn’t exist for the misdemeanor version of this charge. That’s a significant jump, and it’s one more reason gang-related findings in an underlying case carry consequences well beyond the original sentence.

Because this is a strict, short deadline — 48 hours from entering the county — it’s easy to miss without realizing it. Someone who’s convicted, moves for work, stays with family for a weekend in a different county, or simply doesn’t know the law applies to them because adjudication was withheld can end up facing a brand-new criminal charge that has nothing to do with the original offense.

What should someone do if they’re not sure whether they have to register?

Anyone who has a felony conviction — including one where adjudication was withheld — and isn’t sure whether one of the exemptions applies to their situation should get it sorted out before the 48-hour window runs, not after. The analysis depends on details that aren’t always obvious from memory: exactly when supervision ended, whether civil rights have actually been restored (as opposed to just eligible for restoration), and whether any intervening arrests reset the clock on the five-year exemption. Someone already charged with failing to register should talk to a defense attorney before answering questions or making assumptions about which exemption might apply — the underlying facts of the original conviction and the timeline since often make the difference between a viable defense and a conviction stacked on a conviction.

Legally reviewed by Tonmiel Rodriguez · Last reviewed July 2026

Tonmiel Rodriguez is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law by The Florida Bar and represents clients throughout Polk, Highlands, Hardee, Osceola, and Hillsborough Counties. If you have questions about a felony conviction, a registration requirement, or a new charge for failing to register, call The Rodriguez Law Office at (863) 774-4556.