Search Bay County Public Records for Free & Run Background Checks

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Free Bay County Public Records Search

Access Bay County Records: marriage, divorce, warrants, arrests, probation, criminal, court, background checks, and all public records.

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Bay County public records reference the whole gambit of free or low-cost information accessible to members of the general public.

Whether this be criminal records such as warrants, arrests, prisoner information, and probation records, or vital records about birth, death, marriage, or divorce, Bay County record custodians provide a host of information. Residents can also access property records, tax information, and court case documents, and even discover how to perform a background check.

With step-by-step guidance found below, most public records in Bay County can be accessed online or with just a few short emails, phone calls, or letters.

How To Execute a Free Arrest Record & Inmate Search in Bay County

Searching for arrest records in Bay County is fairly straightforward, depending on the jurisdiction where the arrest occurred. For example, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office maintains the only jail in the county, so any person taken to jail throughout the county will end up there.

However, both the sheriff’s office and local police departments have differing public records policies for getting criminal records for individuals arrested within the jurisdiction. Therefore, getting detailed information on arrests will have to be done via written or in-person requests most of the time.

In addition to the helpful guidance below, more insight can be gained via the instructions for tracking down arrest details of anyone detained in Bay County.

Search Bay County Arrest Logs Through the Sheriff’s Office

Despite Bay County, Florida being a popular tourist destination because of Panama City, not many people call it home. There is just one jail, known as the Bay County Jail, which is owned and operated by the sheriff’s office and is the only way to find out if someone is in jail in the county.

Thanks to the sheriff’s office’s useful inmate search function, anyone can view current jail records to see current Bay County bookings.¹ Because of the way the function was created, a member of the public would need to know at least one character of an inmate’s first and last name to view the jail roster. Once the results come up, a person can find someone’s mugshot simply by looking at the left-hand side of the screen.

While inmates currently in custody will appear in the search function, those recently released will not. Searchers can also contact the Bay County Jail directly at:

Bay County Jail
5700 Star Lane
Panama City, Florida 32404

Phone: 850.785.5245
Secondary Phone: 850.215.5140

For members of the general public who want to access police reports or Bay County arrest records from the sheriff’s office, the primary way to do so is by creating a GovTransfer account.

GovTransfer is the main way that the Bay County Sheriff’s Office processes public records requests, including arrest reports. Making an account is free, but there are nominal fees associated with getting records from this office. The first ten pages of uncertified records are free.

Additionally, the sheriff’s office has been committed to digitizing all records beginning in 2005. Millions of records have already been digitized with countless thousands being added each month. Because of this, getting access to electronic copies of records for free should be relatively quick.

However, the costs for hard copy records are $.10 cents per page after the first page. Certified copies are a flat $1.00 per page. The sheriff’s office has a full fee schedule that shows other mediums offered for obtaining records.²

Once the sheriff’s office has completed preparing the requested records, members of the public have 30 days from that time to pick them up.

For any further inquiries about the type of records available or submitting a request, the Records Division can be contacted with the information listed below:

Bay County Sheriff’s Office Records Division
3421 North Highway 77
Panama City, Florida 32405

Phone: 850.747.4700

Acquire Police Reports via Local Police Departments

While the Bay County Sheriff’s Office is the largest law enforcement body in the area, it is not the only one. Several other communities within the county also have their own police departments from which interested parties may obtain police reports or a recent arrest report.

Below is a complete list of all the other local law enforcement agencies in the county, along with instructions on how to access records held by that agency.

Panama City: The Panama City police department is incredibly transparent and forthcoming when it comes to submitting public records requests.³ Citizens may go to the police department in person, call in the request, mail it in, fax it over, or send a request via email.

The Panama City police department does not state exactly what its fee schedule is, so it would be best to contact the police department before making a large or complicated request.

Members of the public can contact the Panama City records division through the following contact information:

Panama City Police Records Department
1209 East 15th Street
Panama City, Florida 32405

Phone: 850.872.3121
Fax: 850.872.3198

Panama City Beach: The Panama City Beach police department has jurisdiction over most of the waterfront space of Panama City. However, the police department does not appear to have a records division posted online. Interested parties should reach out directly to the police department when inquiring about any records in this jurisdiction:

Panama City Beach Police Department
17115 Panama City Beach Parkway
Panama City Beach, Florida 32413

Phone: 850.233.5010
Fax: 850.233.5013
Email: [email protected]

Lynn Haven: Lynn Haven is one of several small cities in Bay County and has a records department almost as robust as Panama City. Members of the public can submit records requests via phone, fax, email, or in person. It is important to note that Lynn Haven does not appear to offer any type of free record.

According to the department’s fee schedule, the cost per single-sided page is 0.15 cents per page. Certified copies are $1.00 per page. Of note, the Lynn Haven Police Department requires payment in full before starting on any records request.

Additionally, if the department deems a task large or complex, the department will charge a $23.00 per hour administrative fee along with a $19.00 per hour service charge if additional personnel are needed to complete the request.

The estimated cost must be paid in full and a refund will be issued 6-8 weeks after completion if the project took less time than expected.

The Lynn Haven Police Department Records Division can be reached by the following means below:

Lynn Haven Police Records Department
901 B Ohio Ave
Lynn Haven, Florida 32444

Phone: 850.265.4111
Mon – Fri 7 am – 4 pm

Springfield: The last local law enforcement agency in the county is the Springfield Police Department. What makes this department unique is that visitors are requested to use the electronic submission form as the primary means of submitting a request.⁴

When submitting a request, the date of the incident or case number must be provided. If not known, the records division should be contacted directly via the contact information below. Additionally, when requesting online, the requestor’s email address can become public record too.

For this reason, the department urges those who desire privacy to call in or send written requests.

All further inquiries can be directed to the Springfield Police Department Records Department:

Springfield Police Records Division
408 School Avenue
Springfield, Florida 32401

Phone: 850.872.7545

How To Obtain Bay County Criminal History Information

Thanks to the transparency and public records laws of the various governmental entities both in Bay County and the state of Florida, there are numerous repositories within this jurisdiction that offer free, accessible Bay County public records involving criminal history.

The primary judicial bodies that host criminal records are the 14th Judicial Circuit Court and the Bay County Main Courthouse. The 14th Judicial Circuit court handles most serious criminal offenses such as felonies, while the Bay County Courthouse adjudicates all other matters including misdemeanors, civil litigation, juvenile cases, and other non-criminal court proceedings.

Though there are numerous law enforcement bodies that operate within Bay County, none of them offer their own warrant check service. Instead, each police department and the sheriff’s office contribute data to the Public Access System maintained by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Another statewide database that provides coverage for this jurisdiction is the portal provided by the Florida Department of Corrections. The DOC maintains the statewide database that tracks all persons currently on probation or parole within the state.

Despite not providing a warrant search database, several local police agencies within the county do offer background check services for minimal fees.

Look Up Bay County Public Criminal Records Through the Clerk of Court

The Bay County Clerk of Courts offers the easiest means of obtaining access to Bay County criminal records in the area.

The clerk maintains an online directory of each case that gets heard in the confines of Bay County, including those in the 14th Judicial Circuit court. Using this portal is the best way to look up someone’s criminal record since it encompasses all types of crimes from civil infractions like tickets to misdemeanors and felony cases.

Performing a free criminal record check here is fairly straightforward and does not require much information. If no search criteria is entered, the search results will populate the first 5,000 hits and no more. Because of this, knowing some basic information on the subject such as first and last name as well as the date of the incident will help narrow down the search results.

While any public criminal records obtained through the portal are free, the Clerk of Court does charge for hard copies and certified documents.

To obtain certified copies, the Clerk of Court uses an online system for members of the public to request information. This third-party system that Bay County subscribes to allows users to request certified electronic copies from at home. However, the fee schedule is not posted.

Those persons seeking certified copies should reach out to the Clerk of Courts to confirm this information.

For those seeking hard copy documents, the Clerk of Court does have a posted fee schedule. Though the fee schedule does list some related services, such as records checks for $1.00 per search or $25.00 to have documents loaded onto a CD, it does not list basic printing fees or service fees that appear to be common in Bay County for any large requests.

To find out this information and any other questions regarding Bay County judicial records, the Clerk of Courts can be contacted in the following ways:

Bay County Clerk of Courts
300 East 4th Street
Panama City, FL 32401

Phone: 850.763.9061
Email: [email protected]
Mon – Fri 8am – 4:30pm

How To Perform a Bay County Arrest Warrant Search

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is the state of Florida’s main investigative body. State law mandates that county and city law enforcement agencies share information with the FDLE. Because of this, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, local police departments, and the courts do not maintain their own public index of active warrants.

In order to check warrant statuses from the comfort home, interested parties must utilize the FDLE’s wanted persons search function to perform a warrant search.

When using the function, at least a partial last name must be entered. When the results populate, they can be sorted by jurisdiction by pressing the reporting agency function. While certainly a useful tool, there are some limitations to it.

For example, the tool only solicits inputs warrant information from county sheriff’s offices. It does not appear that individual cities are required to submit warrants. Additionally, the FDLE does not guarantee the authenticity of the information.

Warrants may no longer be active or have been listed under aliases that make the information contained within them inaccurate.

Because of this, to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, any interested party should contact the sheriff’s office directly with any questions regarding active Bay County warrants:

Bay County Sheriff’s Office
3421 N Highway 77
Panama City, FL 32405

Phone: 850.747.4700

Review the Bay County warrant lookup steps for further guidance on finding information on anyone wanted.

How To Discover if Someone Is on Probation in Bay County FL

Similar to how warrant information can be obtained in Bay County, there is no locally generated public records repository of citizens on probation within Bay County either. Instead, the Florida Department of Corrections maintains statewide databases for all persons who have been ordered to serve probation or parole in Florida.

By using the offender search function, interested parties can search using just a partial last name or department of corrections number, if known.⁷ The search results are not filterable by location and will instead display in alphabetical order. Despite this minor drawback, the results do provide some great information, including most of the following for each entry:

• Photo of person
• Court case number
• Convictions
• Probation start and end dates
• Whether currently incarcerated (including supervised release)

For more information regarding people on probation within Bay County, there are three separate probation offices within the jurisdiction that may be contacted:

Panama City Circuit
3621 West Hwy 390
Panama City, Florida 32405

Phone: 850.872.7590
Fax: 850.872.7594

Panama City West/Intake
1625 Florida Ave
Panama City, Florida 32405

Phone: 850.872.4139
Fax: 850.747.5547

Panama City East
204 N Tyndall Parkway
Panama City, Florida 32404

Phone: 850.872.7375
Fax: 850.691.4430

How To Complete a Bay County Background Check

The state of Florida utilizes a third-party provider that takes fingerprints from members of the public and sends them to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The FDLE then sends these prints off to the FBI to perform an FBI background check as well. According to the FDLE, there are several commercial providers endorsed by the FDLE as authorized vendors under the section titled Bay County.

The document lists all providers alphabetically by county name. These providers may charge their own varying fees for fingerprinting or conducting a background check; therefore, if utilizing these services, citizens should contact the provider directly for information on costs.

Another route individuals can take is to get fingerprinted and background checked at one of the local law enforcement agencies. Both the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and Panama City Police Department offer fingerprinting and background check services.^{2, 3}

The Panama City police request anyone getting fingerprinted to bring two forms of valid ID, including any of the following:

• State-Issued ID
• Social Security Card
• Birth Certificate
• Passport

According to the sheriff’s office’s posted fee schedule, the office charges $3.00 per background check and a $10.00 fingerprinting fee if a person’s prints are not currently on file with the FDLE.²

The Sheriff’s office does not specify if requests have to be made a particular way.

If there are still any unanswered questions, interested parties may contact the Panama City police and Bay County Sheriff’s offices through any of the following methods:

Bay County Sheriff’s Office Records Division
3421 North Highway 77
Panama City, Florida 32405

Phone: 850.747.4700

Panama City Police Records Department
1209 East 15th Street
Panama City, Florida 32405

Phone: 850.872.3121
Fax: 850.872.3198

Official or professional background checks require consent from the subject of the check before they can be performed, and are often done for reasons like employment, renting an apartment, or obtaining a firearm. Professional checks must abide by all relevant state and federal statutes.

Personal background checks, on the other hand, can be conducted by individuals for purposes of gaining insight on anyone from a neighbor or colleague to a potential date. These types of checks do not necessitate permission from the subject and can be performed by accessing the various Bay County public records described throughout this article.

The only restriction is that the information obtained cannot be used to stalk, harass, or intimidate others.

How To Access Public Criminal Records Throughout Florida

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) offers an efficient method to check public records across the state of Florida. Known as the state of Florida criminal history check, this background search can be conducted at home, as the FDLE allows users to get instant results for a background check online.⁹

However, it is not free. Users must pay a flat fee of $24.00 per search. Additionally, the results are not certified as authentic. In order to obtain certified results, citizens must enter a background check request through the FDLE’s online request form and then pay the same $24.00 fee.

Once received, the FDLE will process the request in 6-7 business days before mailing it to the requestor.

Background checks are not the only ways to find Florida public records; there are several other tools provided by state and federal agencies for free criminal records information across Florida, including Bay County:

Florida Department of Corrections Inmate Search: The Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) maintains both a current listing of state prisoners currently incarcerated and those who are expected to be released.¹⁰ These lists are updated daily and only represent prisoners held in state prisons–not in city or county jails.

Florida Escaped Inmate Search: The Florida DOC also maintains a roster of all escaped inmates since 1990 who have not been apprehended within the past 15 calendar days. The roster covers every type of correctional facility in the state, including county and city jails.

Florida Absconders/Fugitives from Justice: The last criminal records listing maintained by the Florida Department of Corrections is the listing of absconders and fugitives.¹¹ This listing covers all Florida probationers and parolees who have stopped showing up to required appointments, treatment, and other court-mandated appearances.

National Sex Offender Registry: The National Sex Offender Public website is the Department of Justice’s sex offender tool that allows users to view reportable information from all 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia.¹² Users can search for offenders either by name or by desired radius from a particular location.

Florida State Sex Offender Registry: Known as the Sexual Offender and Predator System, the Florida sex offender registry is searchable by both offender name or radius around a desired address, such as a citizen’s home.¹³

How To Perform a Bay County Florida Court Case Lookup

Bay County court records searches can be performed in two primary ways, both of rely on online lookup tools from the Clerk of Courts. The first way is to use the case docket search function.¹⁴

Updated daily by the Clerk of Court, the docket function is a very powerful tool. It enables users to view criminal and civil cases of all types. The Clerk of Court uses an intricate alphabetical system to characterize the cases by type.

The Clerk of Court maintains data on all case types, including civil, criminal, litigation, code violations, felonies, and more.

When using the system, interested parties can submit partial information. However, because of known aliases being associated with cases on this portal, it is best to use as much information as practicable since the sheer volume of data presented is impressive and goes back to the 1980s.

It is important to note that using the basic, free version is slightly time delayed and will not reflect the most accurate data such as when a hearing or court date will take place. To get access to this information, the Clerk asks prospective users to register for a secure account.

The second way to do a Bay County case search is by using the second tool offered by the Clerk of Courts. While the previous search function focused exclusively on court cases, the other online portal offers another way to find public records in Bay County.

From information on marriages, probate, civil judgments, and more, the tool is definitely the best way to conduct a free public records search in Bay County due to the volume of freely accessible court and vital records available.

As far as a case search, members of the public can search both criminal and civil cases here with partial or full case numbers. While criminal cases can be found here, the portal is more geared towards civil cases such as small claims, marriage, probate, property records, and the like. These results can be further filtered by document type and document category.

How To View Vital Records in Bay County Florida (Marriage, Divorce, Birth & Death)

Vital records in a broad sense are those records relating to birth, death, marriage, and divorce. These records are important because these events are critical moments in a person’s life that need proper documentation.

For events such as these that took place in Bay County, there are several main repositories. The first one is the Florida Department of Health’s Office of Vital Statistics in Bay County. This is the satellite office of the main Florida Department of Health Vital Statistics office based in Jacksonville.

Any records not held in Bay County will be held in the main Jacksonville office.

The last resource is the Clerk of Court. Marriage licenses are freely available, while dissolution of divorces can be found under the civil judgment section of the case search tool.

Track Down Bay County Marriage & Divorce Records via the Clerk of Court or Florida Department of Health

Finding Bay County marriage records is pretty straightforward. Going back to the same search tool hosted by the Clerk of Court, any member of the public can find marriage licenses in Bay County.¹⁶ Beginning in 1987, the Clerk of Court began digitizing all marriage licenses.

These records are updated daily and contain some records going as far back as the 1950s. It is the fastest and easiest way to check if someone is married in Bay County.

Aside from using Bay County public records, another way to find out if someone is married is to reach out to the main office of the Florida Department of Health Vital Statistics in Jacksonville. Requestors must fill out this FL marriage certificate application and enclose a fee of $5.00 for the first certificate. Each additional certificate is $4.00, and a rush fee of $10.00 is charged.

If the year of the marriage is unknown, a $2.00 per calendar year fee is assessed as well.

To track down Bay County divorce records, the Clerk of Court will maintain divorce proceedings, while the main vital statistics office in Jacksonville will record the divorce.

Upon the dissolution of marriage, the Bay County clerk is required by law to forward a report of the dissolution of marriage and divorce certificate to the Jacksonville office within 60 days. Requests before 60 days must be made directly to the Bay County Clerk of Court.

Members of the public must fill out an application for a dissolution of marriage and send it to the office by mail. The fees for divorce certificates are the same as for marriage certificates.¹⁷

Requests and any further inquiries can be directed to the relevant records custodians at the information listed below:

Florida Department of Health Vital Statistics Office (Bay County Location)
597 W 11th Street
Panama City, FL 32401

Phone: 850.872.4455 Option 4 then 1

Florida Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics Headquarters
ATTN: Vital Records Section
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, Florida 32231

Obtain Death & Birth Records in Bay County Through the Florida Department of Health Vital Statistics Office

Obtaining a death certificate is not as simple in Bay County as it might be to obtain marriage or divorce records. To begin with, the local health department office in Panama City only has death records going back to 2009. All other requests for a certificate of death dated prior to 2009 must be sent to the main Jacksonville office.

Additionally, Florida law prohibits information on the death certificate. If a requestor is not one of the following classes of persons, a death certificate with a cause of death will not be issued:

• Spouse
• Parent
• Child
• Sibling
• Grandchild
• Attorney representing decedent
• The interested party named in the will, insurance policy, etc.

Regardless of status, all requestors must submit a valid photo ID. Attorneys and other interested parties need to submit copies of professional licenses as well as documentation proving the need to know. All other citizens of legal age will be issued a certificate without a cause of death.

All certificates cost $15.00 each.

Getting ahold of a birth certificate in Bay County has some similar legal hurdles to obtaining a death certificate. To begin with, Bay County only has access to birth records going back to 1917. Interested parties seeking a certificate of birth prior to 1917 must send a written request for a birth record to the main Jacksonville office.

Birth certificates will only be issued to the following people:

• The person named on the record
• Parent
• Legal guardian
• Legal representative of any above-named persons
• The person appointed in a court order

The first copy costs $15.00 and each subsequent copy is $8.00. All fees shall be paid via check or money order. No cash will be accepted.

All requests can be mailed to either the Panama City or Jacksonville office, depending on the age of the record:

Florida Department of Health Vital Statistics (Bay County Location)
597 W 11th Street
Panama City, FL 32401

Phone: 850.872.4455 Option 4 then 1

Florida Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics Headquarters
ATTN: Vital Records Section
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, Florida 32231

How To Get Free Bay County Property Records

Finding property records in Bay County, Florida is relatively straightforward to do from home and completely free. The first way to find out who owns a property is by going to the same Clerk of Court tool used previously.

When searching for property records, three separate “Deed” document types come up. All three must be selected since it appears there was an error when constructing the site because selecting just one does not work.

The other way to view property records is by using the search function hosted by the Bay County Property Appraiser.¹⁸ Here, members of the public can sort property records by name, address, and parcel number.

The Bay County Property Appraiser can be reached via the contact information below with any further questions:

Bay County Property Appraiser
860 W 11th Street
Panama City, Florida 32401

Phone: 850.248.8401

Search Bay County Public Records Responsibly & Know Your Rights

Having almost unfettered access to public records in the United States is a privilege that few citizens around the world get to enjoy, but with such great power comes both personal and professional responsibilities.

For personal public record searches, Florida law allows a person to file a request at any time for a public record. However, it is a crime to utilize information that can only be gleaned from public records in the furtherance of a crime. Because of this, requestors should have legitimate, lawful purposes for the information and not use it in a way that could violate state or federal statutes.

Professional public record searches–also known as background checks–must abide by all applicable guidelines and laws from both federal statutes and agencies. The number of agencies and statutes are daunting, but this abbreviated list should clarify a lot of the confusion over what resources are out there to ensure lawful public use.

Federal Agencies & Statutes

Fair Credit Reporting Act: Known as the FCRA, the law is intended to prevent credit bureaus and financial institutions from using public information to discriminate against individuals, as well as providing avenues to correct errors. Individuals seeking more guidance or wanting to file complaints can do so with forms available directly from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.²⁰

Equal Employment Opportunity Exchange Commission: Created in the 1960s to enforce the plethora of Civil Rights legislation enacted by Congress that decade, the EEOC aims to eliminate discrimination in the workplace by holding discriminatory employers accountable.

Employees who believe themselves to be victims of discrimination have a fairly straightforward process to follow when filing a case.²¹ The EEOC simply requests complainants use these forms when filing a complaint.²²

Federal Trade Commission: Created in 1914 to protect American consumers from unjust and unfair business practices, the FTC also has a component that protects individuals during the hiring process. Potential employers must send out a series of notices or request permission when hiring new workers. Those that do not follow the law can be reported directly to the FTC.

Florida Agencies & Statutes

Florida Sunshine and Public Records Law: The state of Florida is very clear in its law that a wide variety of public records in whatever medium are open to the public.²³

Despite this, not all public records such as mental health records are not accessible to members of the general public and varying statutes govern the release of such information to specific agencies and individuals with a need to know.

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity: Similar to the federal EEOC, the DEC handles unlawful discrimination cases within Florida workplaces. Individuals who allege wrongdoing can file a complaint directly with the DEC, which then has similar investigating requirements to the EEOC.²⁴

 Any information obtained via Bay County public records shall not be used to discriminate against anyone for matters surrounding employment, loans, banking, housing, and other protected activities.