Alachua County Sex Offender Registry

Alachua County Sheriff and Sex Offender Registration

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office is the agency responsible for sex offender registration in Alachua County. Every person who has been convicted of a qualifying sex offense and lives, works, or regularly frequents locations in Alachua County must register in person at the sheriff's office. This is not optional, and it is not handled by the city police department. Even residents of Gainesville report to the sheriff's office, not city law enforcement.

The sheriff's main facility handles registration intake. Staff process new registrations, photograph registrants, collect fingerprints, and document all required information including addresses, vehicle details, and online identifiers. That data gets sent to FDLE within 24 hours of any registration change, which keeps the statewide public database current.

If you are new to Alachua County, you have 48 hours from the time you establish any residence here to register in person. That clock starts immediately. Do not wait until you have a permanent address. Even a temporary place to stay triggers the requirement. Call ahead to (352) 367-4000 to confirm current registration hours before making the trip.

Registration Requirements in Alachua County

Florida's sex offender registration law is found at Florida Statute § 943.0435. Under that statute, every registered sex offender must report to their local sheriff's office in person twice per year to update their registration. Sexual predators face a stricter schedule and must report four times per year. Both groups must also report within 48 hours whenever any registered information changes, including a new address, a new vehicle, or a new email address.

Transient offenders, meaning those who do not have a stable address, face an even tighter schedule. They must report to the sheriff every 30 days to confirm their status. This rule applies whether the person is sleeping in a shelter, a car, or outdoors. The law does not allow a lack of permanent housing to serve as an excuse for not reporting.

The 48-hour change reporting rule is one that catches people off guard. Many assume they only need to update the registry at the next scheduled visit. That is wrong. Any change in address, employment, vehicle, or online account information must be reported within two days. A move across town is not something you note at the next check-in. You go to the sheriff's office within 48 hours of making the change.

Providing false information at any point in the registration process is a third-degree felony. The same charge applies to deliberate omissions. If you leave something out on purpose, the law treats that the same as a lie. Both carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison.

Sexual Predators and Sexual Offenders in Alachua County

Florida law draws a clear distinction between a sexual offender and a sexual predator. The distinction matters because predators face stricter rules in almost every area: how often they must register, how the public gets notified, and what residency restrictions apply to them.

A sexual predator designation is governed by Florida Statute § 775.21, known as the Florida Sexual Predators Act. A person receives the predator label when a court formally designates them based on the severity of the offense or a pattern of sexual crimes. The court issues a written order, the Department of Corrections notifies FDLE, and the designation stays with the individual for life in most cases.

Sexual predators in Alachua County must report to the Alachua County Sheriff's Office four times per year rather than twice. They are also subject to active community notification, which can include door-to-door notification in some circumstances. When a predator registers or moves into a neighborhood, FDLE is required to notify law enforcement agencies in the area and may alert neighbors directly.

Sexual offenders are a broader category under § 943.0435. They include anyone convicted of a qualifying sex offense, regardless of whether a court issued a predator designation. Their obligations are still serious, but the reporting frequency is lower (twice per year rather than four times) and the community notification is less intensive. Both groups appear in the same FDLE public database, but their profiles are labeled differently so the public knows which category applies.

How to Search Alachua County Sex Offenders

The primary tool for searching sex offenders in Alachua County is the FDLE statewide database. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement offender search lets you filter results by county, city, or ZIP code. To find offenders in Alachua County specifically, select Alachua from the county dropdown when running a search. The database includes both sexual offenders and sexual predators and shows current registration information including home address, photograph, and offense details.

The search tool allows you to look up specific individuals by name, or you can browse all registered persons in a geographic area. Results show the offender's current registered address, not necessarily a real-time location. If an offender has recently moved and not yet updated their registration, the database may not reflect the change. For the most urgent concerns, contact the Alachua County Sheriff's Office directly at (352) 367-4000.

The FDLE site is free to use and requires no account or login. It is the official source and the most reliable database for Alachua County searches. Third-party sites may pull data from FDLE but are not always as current.

Residency Restrictions in Alachua County

Florida Statute § 775.215 sets the baseline residency restriction for sex offenders in the state. Under that statute, a sex offender or sexual predator may not live within 1,000 feet of a school, day care center, park, playground, or other place where children regularly gather. The 1,000-foot rule is measured from the property line of the restricted location to the offender's residence.

Individual municipalities in Alachua County may adopt stricter rules. The City of Gainesville, for example, can set local ordinances that extend the buffer zone or restrict additional location types. Anyone subject to the registry should check both state law and local ordinances before signing a lease or purchasing property. A residence that seems legally compliant under state law may still be prohibited under a local rule.

The Alachua County Sheriff's Office can provide guidance on specific addresses if you have questions. The FDLE database does not map restricted zones, so independent verification is the safest approach before committing to a residence.

FDLE Search Portal

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement maintains the official sex offender registry for the entire state, including Alachua County.

The FDLE homepage provides direct access to the offender search tool, community alert signup, and resources for offenders seeking registration information. Alachua County registrants are included in the statewide database and updated within 24 hours of any registration change at the local sheriff's office.

FDLE Offender Search Tool

The FDLE search portal allows county-level filtering, making it easy to pull results specific to Alachua County.

Use the county filter in the FDLE offender search tool to narrow results to Alachua County. The results include the registrant's name, photograph, address, and offense information. You can search by name, address, or geographic area.

Florida Offender Alert Notifications

The Florida Offender Alert system lets residents sign up for free email notifications when a sex offender or predator registers at an address near their home, school, or workplace. The service is free and covers all of Florida, including Alachua County.

To sign up, go to the Florida Offender Alert website and enter the address you want to monitor. You can set a radius around that address and receive alerts whenever a new registration falls within that distance. This tool is useful for parents, schools, and anyone who wants to stay informed about changes to the registry in their neighborhood without manually checking the FDLE database.

The alert system pulls from the same FDLE database used for public searches. Notifications are not instant, but they are generally sent within hours of a registration update. The service covers both new registrations and updates to existing ones, so you will be notified when a nearby offender changes address as well.

Cities in Alachua County

Gainesville is the only city in Alachua County that meets the population threshold for a dedicated page on this site.

Other cities and towns in Alachua County, including Newberry, Archer, Hawthorne, and High Springs, do not meet the population threshold. Sex offender registration for those areas is handled the same way: through the Alachua County Sheriff's Office at 2621 SE Hawthorne Rd in Gainesville.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Alachua County. Each has its own sheriff's office handling sex offender registration.