Public Records Requests in Port St. Lucie, Florida

Port St. Lucie routes every public records request through its online public records request portal, where the City Clerk's Office or the Police Department picks it up (Public Records Requests page).

The portal is the main door, but the Port St. Lucie Public Records Center also takes requests in person, by email, by USPS mail, by phone and by fax. The contact block on the city page lists the Clerk's Office at 772-871-5168, Police Records at 772-871-5047 and a fax line at 772-344-4094, and the location 121 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd., Port St. Lucie 34984 (Public Records Requests page).

Under section 119.01, Florida Statutes, all state, county and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person, and providing access to them is a duty of each agency, Port St. Lucie included (section 119.01).

Any material made or received by Port St. Lucie under law or ordinance or in official business is a public record, whatever its physical form, under section 119.011(12), Florida Statutes (section 119.011).

The statute's list runs from documents, papers, letters, maps and books to tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings and data processing software, regardless of the physical form, characteristics or means of transmission (section 119.011). The Port St. Lucie public records page quotes the same definition (Public Records Requests page).

Two limits come from the Port St. Lucie FAQ itself. The city provides documents in the format it already holds them and is not required to create new documents to answer a request, and how long a request takes varies with the type of record (Public Records Requests page). State law adds a duty on the other side: the custodian must acknowledge a request promptly and respond in good faith, including reasonable efforts to find out from other employees whether the record exists and where it can be accessed (section 119.07(1)(c)).

A Port St. Lucie request that takes under 30 minutes of staff time costs only duplication, while longer requests may carry a labor charge (Public Records Requests page).

The state caps apply when no other fee is prescribed by law, and for copies of other sizes or media the agency may charge the actual cost of duplication (section 119.07). The special service charge is separate: the statute lets an agency add it on top of duplication when the nature or volume of a request needs extensive use of information technology resources or extensive clerical or supervisory help, and it must be reasonable and based on the cost actually incurred (section 119.07(4)(d)). The minutes price comes from the City Clerk page, which says minutes are typically available within one month of a meeting.

Yes: Florida law lets any person inspect Port St. Lucie records at any reasonable time under the custodian's supervision, and photograph them with a camera while they remain in the custodian's possession (section 119.07).

For Port St. Lucie records, section 119.07(1)(a) says every person who has custody of a public record shall permit it to be inspected and copied by any person desiring to do so, at any reasonable time, under reasonable conditions and under supervision by the custodian, and the custodian may designate another employee to handle the inspection as long as that designee's identity is disclosed (section 119.07). Section 119.07(3)(a) adds the right of access to make photographs of a record while it is in the custodian's possession, custody and control, and subsection (3)(b) says this applies to photographs taken by use of a camera device (section 119.07(3)).

When Port St. Lucie withholds part of a record as exempt, state law requires the custodian to state the basis, including the statutory citation, and to explain it in writing with particularity if the requester asks (section 119.07).

An exemption, under section 119.011(8), is a provision of general law that takes a specified record or meeting, or part of one, outside the access requirements of section 119.07(1), section 286.011 or section 24, Article I of the State Constitution (section 119.011). In practice the Port St. Lucie FAQ says exempt or confidential information is redacted to conceal that portion, and the rest of the record is sent to the requester as the law requires (Public Records Requests page). Under section 119.07(1)(d), the custodian redacts only the portion to which an exemption validly applies and produces the remainder, and under section 119.07(1)(f) the custodian states in writing and with particularity the reasons a record is exempt or confidential when the requester asks (section 119.07(1)).

Since May 19, 2025, Port St. Lucie honors a records exemption only when it is requested on the city's signed, notarized exemption form and approved by city staff (Public Records Requests page).

The form rule covers people who were granted an exemption in the past, too: the Port St. Lucie page says they must still complete it. Completed forms go by email to publicrecordsexemption@cityofpsl.com or to the City Clerk's Office at 121 SW Port St. Lucie Blvd., and an exemption holder who moves to a new home address must resubmit the form (Public Records Requests page). The city names sworn law enforcement officers and judges as common examples and points to section 119.071, Florida Statutes, for the full list of who qualifies.

Information most often protected, according to the Port St. Lucie FAQ, is the home address, telephone number, email address, date of birth and place of work or school of the qualified person and their dependents (Public Records Requests page). The page also reminds anyone doing business with the city that an address or phone number given to Port St. Lucie may end up in a public record unless an exemption applies.

Port St. Lucie meeting agendas, minutes and the code of ordinances sit with the City Clerk, code case files can be requested through the same public records process, and St. Lucie West Services District records go to that district (City Clerk page).

The Port St. Lucie City Clerk prepares and distributes City Council and board agendas, transcribes and archives the official minutes and keeps the city's official records and code of ordinances, which are open for public review during normal business hours; the city's legal advertisements are posted on the St. Lucie County Legal Notices Portal (City Clerk page). The same page lists the Clerk's Office in City Hall, Building A, at 772-871-5168, and says the office also operates the City Hall Mail Center (City Clerk page).

For a Port St. Lucie code enforcement case, the Code Compliance page tells residents to call the main line at 772-871-5010 or submit a public records request for case information (Code Compliance page). St. Lucie West is served by the St. Lucie West Services District, a community development district whose site lists its own Public Records Request page, so records about its water, sewer, irrigation and lakes are requested from the district rather than the city (St. Lucie West Services District). Last verified: October 22, 2026, by re-reading the Port St. Lucie public records and City Clerk pages, the Code Compliance contact section, the district home page and sections 119.01, 119.011 and 119.07 of the Florida Statutes.