Citrus County Sex Offender Registry

Citrus County sex offenders and sexual predators register with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, and all active registrants appear in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement statewide database that any resident can search at no cost.

Citrus County Sheriff's Office Sex Offender Registration

The Citrus County Sheriff's Office is responsible for all sex offender and sexual predator registrations in the county. Any person convicted of a qualifying sexual offense who lives, works, or regularly visits Citrus County must register with the sheriff's office. That obligation does not depend on whether the conviction occurred in Florida or another state. Out-of-state convictions still trigger registration under Florida law if the offense would be a registerable crime here.

Registration takes place in person. Registrants must appear at the sheriff's office to complete the process, provide documentation, and have a photograph taken. Staff collect a full physical description along with address, vehicle, phone, and electronic account information. The process cannot be done by mail or online.

When registering, bring a valid Florida ID or driver's license, any court documents related to the conviction, and documentation of your current address. If you are registering for the first time after moving to Citrus County from another county or state, bring your out-of-state paperwork. The sheriff's office uses those records to determine your registration tier and re-registration schedule under Florida law. Missing any required documents can delay the process and may create a compliance gap that carries legal risk.

After registration is complete, a fingerprint record and photo are submitted to the FDLE. The information goes live in the public database shortly after. Any person who changes their address, vehicle, email address, or phone number must report that change to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office within 48 hours of the change occurring. That rule applies every day of the year, not just on business days.

Registration Requirements in Citrus County

Florida's registration requirements are set by Florida Statute § 943.0435. The statute applies uniformly across the state, including Citrus County. Every registrant must provide their full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, physical description, photograph, address, vehicle information, phone numbers, and all electronic identifiers such as email addresses and social media accounts. Nothing on that list is optional.

Re-registration frequency depends on offense category. Standard sex offenders must re-register twice a year. The first visit falls within the registrant's birthday month. The second visit comes six months after that. Sexual predators must re-register four times per year, once every three months. Those quarterly visits are more frequent because the predator designation reflects a higher level of assessed risk.

Transient registrants face an even tighter schedule. Anyone who does not have a fixed address must report to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office every 30 days to update their location. Sleeping in different places week to week does not eliminate the registration obligation. It adds the reporting requirement on a monthly cycle.

The 48-hour window for reporting changes is strict. Address changes, new vehicles, new email accounts, and new phone numbers must all be reported within two days. Waiting until the next scheduled re-registration visit is not acceptable under the law. And the obligation is permanent. In most cases, Florida does not set an end date for registration. The statute is explicit: registration is for life.

Sexual Offenders and Predators in Citrus County

Florida law creates two separate categories for people required to register. Understanding the difference matters because the two groups have different obligations and face different levels of public notification.

Sexual offenders are those convicted of certain qualifying crimes under Florida law, or those convicted in another state of offenses that would be registerable here. They must re-register twice per year, report changes within 48 hours, and follow all residency restrictions. Their information is publicly available in the FDLE database. However, the state does not conduct active community notification for this group. The public can search for them, but no formal door-to-door or neighbor notification program applies by default.

Sexual predators are designated by a court order. Not every sex offender is a predator. The predator designation requires a formal legal finding that the person meets the elevated criteria established by Florida Statute § 775.21. Predators face stricter rules. They must re-register four times per year instead of two. They are also subject to active community notification, which can include contact with neighbors and nearby residents when the predator moves in or changes address. Both categories appear in the same FDLE registry database, but predator profiles are labeled distinctly so the public can tell the difference.

Search Citrus County Sex Offenders Online

The main tool for searching Citrus County sex offenders is the FDLE sex offender search portal. The database is free to use and requires no account or login. You can filter results by Citrus County specifically or search by city, ZIP code, or a radius from a street address.

Search results include each registrant's photo, physical description, current registered address, offense history, and whether they hold a predator designation. Radius searches are useful for checking who is registered near a specific location, like a school, park, or your home address. The database is updated regularly, and records reflect the most recent information submitted by the registrant's county of registration.

For people moving to Citrus County or checking whether someone arriving from out of state has a registration history, the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) pulls data from all participating states and territories. It is a free federal resource that works well for cross-state lookups when you need to confirm someone's history before they appear in Florida's database.

The FDLE search portal allows you to filter results by county, city, or ZIP code to find registered sex offenders and predators in Citrus County.

Residency Restrictions in Citrus County

Florida's residency restrictions apply throughout Citrus County. Under § 775.215, no registered sex offender or sexual predator may live within 1,000 feet of a school, childcare facility, park, playground, or any other location where children regularly gather. That 1,000-foot buffer is measured from the property line of the protected location to the property line of the registrant's residence.

The restriction covers both permanent and temporary addresses. A registrant cannot temporarily stay at a location that falls within the prohibited zone. They also cannot establish any form of residence there, even briefly. The sheriff's office verifies addresses against these restrictions as part of the registration process. A residence that falls within the buffer zone will be flagged and the registrant must find another location to live before completing registration at that address.

Individual cities and municipalities within Citrus County may set stricter local limits. Some communities add their own ordinances that go beyond the 1,000-foot state requirement. Registrants should confirm local rules before choosing a new address, not after. Moving to a non-compliant address creates a violation even if the move was made in good faith.

The FDLE registry homepage is the starting point for all public sex offender searches in Florida, including Citrus County registrants.

Florida Offender Alert for Citrus County

Citrus County residents can sign up for free email notifications through Florida Offender Alert. The service sends automatic alerts when a registered sex offender or sexual predator moves into or within an area you select. You pick the ZIP codes you want to monitor. The system watches for new registrations and address changes in those areas and sends you an email when something changes.

The service is free. There is no cost to sign up and no cost to receive alerts. It works well for parents, neighborhood groups, and anyone who wants to stay informed without checking the FDLE database manually every few weeks. Alert emails include the registrant's photo and the address they registered at, so you know where the person is located. Sign up at the Florida Offender Alert website and choose Citrus County ZIP codes to start receiving notifications.

Cities in Citrus County

Citrus County's communities, including Inverness, Crystal River, Lecanto, and Beverly Hills, do not currently meet the population threshold for dedicated city pages on this site. All sex offender and sexual predator registrations for every city and unincorporated area in Citrus County go through the Citrus County Sheriff's Office at 1 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Ave in Inverness.

Nearby Counties

Sex offenders who leave Citrus County must notify the sheriff's office and register with the sheriff in their new county within 48 hours of relocating. Each surrounding county has its own registration office and compliance process under Florida's statewide registration framework.