Lee County Arrest Records Lookup

Lee County arrest records are available through the Lee County Sheriff's Office, which serves the Fort Myers area and surrounding communities in Southwest Florida. The sheriff runs a booking search tool on its website that the agency describes as a courtesy to the community. The main jail sits at 2115 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fort Myers. Arrest records from every law enforcement agency in Lee County pass through this facility for processing and booking. You can call the jail at 239-477-1700 for questions about current or past bookings.

Lee County Booking Search Tool

The Lee County Sheriff's Office runs an online booking search tool on its website. You can use it to look up people who have been arrested and booked in Lee County. Enter a name and the system pulls up booking records, charges, and related details. It is a straightforward search that works from any device.

The sheriff's office makes a point of saying this tool is "a courtesy to the community." They also say it should not be used as a substitute for filing a formal public records request. That is a fair warning. The online tool may not have every record, and the data could lag behind real-time bookings. For certified copies or for records that don't show up online, you will need to contact the Lee County Sheriff's Office directly or submit a public records request.

The booking search page for Lee County also includes links to other useful tools. The sheriff offers an incident search, fingerprinting services, online report filing, and traffic report requests. If you need arrest records tied to a specific incident in Lee County, the incident search can help you connect the dots.

The screenshot above shows the Lee County Sheriff's arrest search page. This is the main public-facing tool for finding booking data in Lee County.

Note: The Lee County Sheriff's online booking search is a courtesy tool and may not include every arrest record in the system.

Lee County Records Under Florida Law

Arrest records in Lee County are public under Florida's Sunshine Law. Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes gives anyone the right to access government records. You don't need to give a reason. You don't need to be a Florida resident. Just make the request and the agency has to respond.

A Lee County arrest record shows the person's name, the charges, the arresting agency, the date and time of the arrest, and the booking details. Mugshots may also be part of the record. Under Section 943.053, Florida criminal history records are public unless they have been sealed or expunged by a court. That means most Lee County arrest records are open for anyone to see, whether through the sheriff's online tool or through a formal request.

There are limits though. Active investigation files may be held back. Juvenile records in Lee County are not public. And records sealed or expunged under Section 943.0585 or Section 943.059 are off limits to the public. The victim's personal data is also protected in many cases. But for the vast majority of adult arrests in Lee County, the records are there for anyone who asks.

Lee County Arrest Report Services

Beyond arrest records, the Lee County Sheriff's Office offers a range of public services through its website. These can be useful when you are trying to get a complete picture of a case or incident in the county.

The incident search lets you look up reported events in Lee County. This is different from the booking search. The booking search shows arrests. The incident search shows what was reported to law enforcement, which may or may not have led to an arrest. If you are looking for a police report tied to a Lee County arrest, this tool can help you find it.

Fingerprinting services are also run by the Lee County Sheriff's Office. This is relevant because FDLE's statewide criminal history check can be done by fingerprint in addition to name. A fingerprint check is more accurate. Lee County residents who need this service for any reason can get it through the sheriff's office.

Online report filing lets you file certain types of reports without going in person. Traffic report requests let you get copies of crash reports from Lee County. These are separate from arrest records, but sometimes traffic stops lead to arrests, so the traffic report and the arrest record can be connected in Lee County cases.

The FDLE website shown above is the state-level resource for criminal history checks that include Lee County records. A name search costs $25 and gives instant results.

Clearing Lee County Arrest Records

To seal or expunge a Lee County arrest record, start with FDLE. You apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. The cost is $75. Processing takes about 12 weeks. There is no way to rush it. Once you have the certificate, you file a petition with the Lee County court.

Expungement under Section 943.0585 means most agencies must destroy their copy of the record. FDLE keeps one confidential copy. Sealing under Section 943.059 keeps the record intact but blocks public access. In either case, you can generally deny the arrest happened, with some exceptions for government agencies and certain legal situations. The FDLE seal and expunge page has the forms and step-by-step instructions for Lee County residents.

Section 943.0581 covers administrative expungement. This applies when an arrest was made by mistake or contrary to law. If that happened in Lee County, you can apply directly to FDLE without going through the court process.

Note: The certificate of eligibility expires in 12 months, so make sure you file your petition with the Lee County court before it runs out.

Lee County Arrest Record Databases

The FDLE Public Access System searches all Florida criminal history records at once. This includes Lee County arrests along with every other county. The cost is $25 per name search. Results are instant for online searches. You need the person's full name, and adding a date of birth helps narrow things down when the name is common.

Court records from Lee County arrests are in the CCIS database, which covers all 67 Florida counties. Over 150 million cases are in the system. For Lee County, this shows case filings, charges, hearing dates, and outcomes after an arrest leads to formal charges. If the person ended up in state prison, the FDC Offender Search lets you look them up by name or DC number.

Cities in Lee County

Lee County has a mix of incorporated cities and large unincorporated areas. All of them send arrests to the same Lee County Jail in Fort Myers for booking. Three communities in Lee County have populations above 75,000.

Other areas in Lee County include Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers Beach, and Sanibel. Lehigh Acres is an unincorporated community served directly by the Lee County Sheriff's Office. Cape Coral has its own police force but all bookings still go through the county jail.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Lee County in Southwest Florida. If you are not sure where the arrest happened, check these neighboring agencies as well.