Find Highlands County Booking Records

Highlands County 24 hour booking records are managed by the Highlands County Sheriff's Office in Sebring, Florida. The sheriff runs the county jail and posts booking data online through an inmate search portal. You can check recent arrests from any device at no cost. The sheriff's office also offers a free smartphone app with mugshot photos. Florida law makes these records public, so the data is open to anyone who wants to look it up.

Highlands County Jail Roster and Inmate Search

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office runs an online inmate search tool on its website. You type in a name and the system pulls up matching records from the county jail. The tool is free. No login or account is needed. It works on computers, phones, and tablets. Results show names, charges, booking dates, and other standard booking details.

The sheriff's office takes pride in making this data easy to find. Their motto is to serve with fairness and respect, and part of that means keeping the public informed. The online portal is one of the main ways they do this. It gives you direct access to the jail roster without having to call or visit the office. For people who want booking info fast, the web tool is the best starting point.

Beyond the website, the Highlands County Sheriff's Office also has a free smartphone app that shows mugshot photos. You can download it on your phone and browse recent bookings on the go. This is not something every county offers, so it is a useful extra tool if you check Highlands County booking records often. The app pulls from the same data as the web portal.

How Highlands County Booking Records Work

When someone is arrested in Highlands County, they are brought to the county jail at 400 South Eucalyptus Street in Sebring. During intake, officers record the person's name, date of birth, and physical details. A booking photo is taken. Fingerprints are collected. The charges are logged in the system. All of this creates a booking record that becomes part of the public file under Florida law.

Under Section 119.07 of the Florida Statutes, these records are public. The sheriff's office must make them available on request. You do not have to give a reason for wanting to see them. The online inmate search is one way they meet this requirement. You can also ask for records in person or by mail. Viewing data online is free, though formal copies may come with a small charge.

The Highlands County Sheriff's Office also has a jail information page with details about the facility, visitation schedules, and rules. This page is helpful if you need info beyond just booking records. It covers how the jail operates day to day and what to expect if you plan to visit someone who has been booked in.

Below is a look at the Highlands County inmate detail page for reference.

Detail pages like this one show charges, bond info, and other specifics for each booking entry.

Contacting the Highlands County Sheriff's Office

The main phone number for the sheriff's office is 863-402-7200. For jail-related calls, use 863-402-7301. This gets you to the jail staff who can check on inmate status, bond amounts, and release dates. The jail is at 400 South Eucalyptus Street in Sebring, FL 33870. You can go in person to ask for booking records or to handle other jail-related business.

If you need formal copies of a booking report, submit a public records request to the sheriff's office. Under Section 119.011, booking data is classified as a public record in Florida. The office may charge a small fee for copies. But viewing data through the online tool or in person costs nothing. Most people get what they need from the free inmate search and do not need to request paper documents.

You can visit the Highlands County Sheriff's Office website for general info about the agency, its divisions, and its services.

Below is the Highlands County Sheriff's Office main website.

The website has links to the inmate search, jail info, and other public-facing tools.

Highlands County Records and Florida Public Access

Florida's Sunshine Law is one of the broadest public records laws anywhere. It covers nearly all government records. Booking data is not exempt. When someone gets arrested and booked in Highlands County, that record is public from the start. You do not need to wait for a court date or a conviction. The data is available right away.

Some records are not accessible. Sealed or expunged cases will not appear in the inmate search. Juvenile arrests are handled differently and are not on the public roster. Certain info may be withheld under Section 119.071, which lists specific exemptions. But for standard adult bookings in Highlands County, the data is open and free to access.

A booking record does not equal a conviction. It shows an arrest took place. Courts decide what happens next. Charges can be dropped. A person might go to trial and be found not guilty. The record stays, but it should not be read as proof of anything beyond the fact that an arrest was made.

The right to make phone calls after being booked is covered by Section 901.243 of Florida law. Anyone booked into the Highlands County jail can call within a reasonable time frame after the process is done.

For searches beyond Highlands County, the FDLE Criminal History portal lets you run statewide checks. That costs $24 per search under Section 943.053. The FDLE main website has more info on available resources.

Cities in Highlands County

Sebring is the county seat and the largest city in Highlands County. Avon Park and Lake Placid are the other main communities. None of these cities have populations large enough for their own booking page, but all arrests made anywhere in the county go through the Highlands County jail in Sebring. The booking records are the same no matter which city the arrest happened in.

Nearby Counties

Highlands County borders several other counties in central Florida. If you are not certain where someone was booked, it is worth checking the neighbors. Each one has its own jail system.