Find Bradford County Sex Offenders

Bradford County Sheriff and Sex Offender Registration

The Bradford County Sheriff's Office is the single point of contact for all sex offender registration in Bradford County. Whether you live in Starke, Lawtey, Hampton, or anywhere in the unincorporated county, registration goes through the sheriff's office. City police do not process registrations. The sheriff's office handles every step from initial intake to periodic check-ins.

Bradford County is a small, rural county in north-central Florida. It sits just south of Baker County and northeast of Alachua County, and it borders Union County to the west. The county's population is modest, which means the registration caseload is lower than in large urban counties, but the legal obligations for registrants are identical statewide. Small county size does not reduce reporting requirements.

Registration at the Bradford County Sheriff's Office involves in-person appearance, photographing, and fingerprint collection. Staff document the registrant's home address, vehicle information, phone numbers, and online identifiers. All of that information goes to FDLE within 24 hours of the registration event, keeping the statewide database current. The Bradford County Sheriff's Office website at bradfordsheriff.com provides additional contact information and agency details.

Registration Requirements in Bradford County

Florida's sex offender registration law is Florida Statute § 943.0435. It sets the rules that apply in Bradford County and every other county in the state. Sexual offenders must report to the sheriff's office in person twice per year. Sexual predators report four times per year. Both must report within 48 hours of any change to their registered information.

What counts as a change that triggers the 48-hour window? A lot. New address, even temporary. New vehicle. New phone number. New employer or school. New email address. New social media account. Any of those changes requires an in-person trip to the Bradford County Sheriff's Office within two days of the change occurring. This is not a grace period. It is a hard deadline. Missing it puts the registrant at risk of a third-degree felony charge.

Transient offenders have the strictest schedule. Anyone without a fixed address, whether sleeping outdoors, in a vehicle, or moving between locations, must report to the Bradford County Sheriff's Office every 30 days. Transient status does not reduce the reporting obligation. It increases it. The law treats the absence of a stable home as a reason for more contact with the sheriff, not less.

Anyone arriving in Bradford County from another state has 48 hours from establishing any residence to report in person and register. The 48-hour clock starts when any form of residence is established, not when a permanent address is secured. Bring conviction documents from the originating state, as the Bradford County Sheriff's Office will use them to determine the correct registration tier and reporting schedule under Florida law.

Sexual Predators and Sexual Offenders in Bradford County

Florida's registry contains two distinct categories of registrants: sexual offenders and sexual predators. Both categories are public and searchable through FDLE, but the two groups face different obligations and different levels of community notification.

Sexual predators are designated by a court under Florida Statute § 775.21, the Florida Sexual Predators Act. The court issues a written predator designation at sentencing based on the nature of the offense and other statutory criteria. Once designated, the label is permanent in almost all cases. The Department of Corrections notifies FDLE of the designation, and it appears on the person's registry profile from that point forward.

In Bradford County, a sexual predator must report to the sheriff's office four times per year. Sexual offenders report twice. When a predator registers or changes address within the county, FDLE notifies nearby law enforcement agencies. Depending on the circumstances, active community notification may also occur, which can include direct notice to neighbors or local institutions.

Sexual offenders, by contrast, are subject to less intensive notification procedures. They still appear in the public database and must comply with all registration requirements, but the community alert process is less aggressive. The Bradford County Sheriff's Office enforces both sets of requirements and handles compliance for all registrants in the county.

How to Search Bradford County Sex Offenders

The FDLE sex offender database is the official and most accurate tool for searching registered offenders in Bradford County. Access it through the FDLE website. Select Bradford from the county filter to return only Bradford County registrants. Each result includes the person's name, photograph, registered address, and offense information. The data is updated within 24 hours of any registration change made locally.

The FDLE tool is free and requires no registration or login. You can search by name if you know who you are looking for, or you can use address-based searches to check a specific location or neighborhood. The map view in the FDLE tool is useful for seeing where registered individuals are clustered within the county.

Bradford County is small. The number of registered sex offenders and predators is lower than in larger counties, which makes it practical to review the full list periodically if you want a broad picture of current registrations. For urgent concerns or questions about a specific registrant, call the Bradford County Sheriff's Office at (904) 966-6386.

Residency Restrictions in Bradford County

Florida Statute § 775.215 prohibits sex offenders and predators from living within 1,000 feet of schools, day care centers, parks, playgrounds, and other locations where children regularly gather. The 1,000-foot measurement runs from the property line of the restricted site to the registrant's residence. It is not a door-to-door measurement.

Bradford County includes Starke and several smaller communities. In small towns, a single school or park can restrict housing options across a wide swath of the community. Anyone subject to registration should map out restricted zones before selecting a home. Do not assume a rural location is outside the 1,000-foot buffer without actually measuring. Farms and rural properties near a school bus stop or small park can still fall within the restricted zone.

Local municipalities within Bradford County may also impose stricter rules beyond the state baseline. Starke and other towns can adopt ordinances that expand the buffer zone or add new restricted location types. Checking with local city government as well as the Bradford County Sheriff's Office is the right approach before signing any lease or property agreement. The sheriff's office can answer general questions about the state restriction, but local ordinances are separate.

FDLE Registry Homepage

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement operates the official statewide sex offender registry that includes all Bradford County registrations.

The FDLE database is updated within 24 hours of any registration change processed at the Bradford County Sheriff's Office. It is the most reliable source for current Bradford County sex offender data.

FDLE Offender Search

The FDLE search tool supports county-level filtering and geographic lookups for all of Florida.

Use the FDLE offender search tool and select Bradford County to view current registrations. Search by name, address, or ZIP code, or use the map view to browse the county geographically. All results include photograph, current address, and offense details.

Florida Offender Alert Notifications

The Florida Offender Alert system lets you set up free email alerts for any address in Florida, including Bradford County locations. When a sex offender or predator registers within your chosen radius of that address, you receive an email notification.

To use the service, go to the Florida Offender Alert website and enter the address or addresses you want to watch. Set your alert radius, which you can customize to match your concerns. Whether you want to know about registrations within a quarter mile of your home or within a mile of a local school, the system lets you adjust those settings.

The alert service draws from the same FDLE data as the public search tool. Alerts are not instant, but they typically go out within hours of a registry update. This is a useful supplement to manual searches, especially for Bradford County residents who want to stay current without checking the FDLE database every few days on their own.

Cities in Bradford County

No cities in Bradford County meet the population threshold for a dedicated page on this site. Starke is the county seat and the largest city in Bradford County. Registration for Starke residents and all other Bradford County residents is handled through the Bradford County Sheriff's Office at 945-B N Temple Ave, Starke, FL 32091.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Bradford County. Registration in each is handled by the respective county sheriff's office.