Find Sex Offenders in Clay County

Clay County sex offenders and sexual predators are registered with the Clay County Sheriff's Office, and their information is publicly available through the FDLE statewide registry that any resident can search free of charge.

Clay County Sheriff's Office Sex Offender Registration

The Clay County Sheriff's Office handles sex offender registration for all of Clay County, including Fleming Island, Orange Park, and Middleburg. Every person convicted of a qualifying sexual offense who lives, works, or regularly spends time in Clay County must register with the sheriff. That applies whether the conviction happened in Florida, another state, or another country, as long as the offense would qualify for registration under Florida law.

Clay County's proximity to Jacksonville means the sheriff's office processes registrations from both longtime county residents and those relocating from Duval County. People who move from Duval into Clay must register with the Clay County Sheriff's Office within 48 hours of establishing any residence in the county.

Registration is done in person at the Green Cove Springs office. Walk-ins are accepted during business hours, though calling ahead is a good idea. Bring a valid Florida driver's license or state ID, any court documents from the conviction, and proof of your current address. If you are registering from an out-of-state conviction, bring all available records. Clay County staff will use those documents to assign the correct registration tier and set your re-registration schedule.

At registration, staff photograph the registrant and collect a full physical description, home address, vehicle information, all phone numbers, and every electronic identifier including email addresses and social media handles. The information is submitted to FDLE and appears in the public database shortly after processing. Any change to any of those details must be reported back to the Clay County Sheriff's Office within 48 hours of the change, not at the next scheduled re-registration visit.

Clay County's proximity to Jacksonville means the sheriff's office processes registrations from both longtime county residents and those relocating from Duval County.

Registration Requirements in Clay County

Registration requirements in Clay County follow Florida Statute § 943.0435, which sets out the full registration framework for the state. The required information includes your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, height, weight, hair color, eye color, race, sex, current address, all vehicle descriptions and plate numbers, phone numbers, and every email account and online identifier you use. That list is not optional. All of it must be provided at each registration visit.

Standard sex offenders in Clay County must re-register twice per year. The first visit is due within the registrant's birthday month. The second falls six months later. Both are in-office appointments at the Green Cove Springs office. Sexual predators must re-register four times per year, once every three months. That higher frequency reflects the elevated risk classification that comes with the predator designation.

Transient registrants have a separate obligation. Anyone without a fixed address must report to the sheriff's office every 30 days. Moving around does not suspend the registration duty. It adds a monthly check-in requirement on top of the other obligations.

The 48-hour rule is firm. Any change to a registered address, vehicle, phone number, or email must be reported within two days. That deadline does not pause for weekends or holidays. And the obligation does not end after a set number of years. Florida requires lifetime registration in most cases. The statute is clear: registration continues for the duration of a registrant's life unless a court order specifically removes the requirement.

Sexual Offenders and Predators in Clay County

Florida law distinguishes between two groups: sexual offenders and sexual predators. Both must register with the Clay County Sheriff's Office. Both appear in the FDLE database. But they are not the same, and the differences matter for how each group is treated.

Sexual offenders are those convicted of specified offenses under Florida law, or those convicted elsewhere of crimes that would be registerable in Florida. They re-register twice per year, follow the 48-hour change notification rule, and are subject to residency restrictions. The state does not conduct active community notification for standard offenders. Their records are public, but no formal notification program targets neighbors or nearby residents when a standard offender moves in.

Sexual predators face a different standard. The predator designation comes from a court order, not just the nature of the conviction. Florida Statute § 775.21 sets the criteria. Once designated, a predator must re-register four times per year and is subject to active community notification. That can include direct outreach to neighbors when the predator establishes or changes a residence. Both categories appear in the same public FDLE database, but predator profiles are clearly marked so the public can tell them apart.

Search Clay County Sex Offenders Online

The FDLE sex offender search is the primary tool for looking up Clay County registrants. The database is free and requires no account. You can search by name, county, city, ZIP code, or a radius from a street address. Filtering by Clay County pulls up all active registrants with their photo, physical description, current address, offense history, and predator status.

Radius searches are useful when you want to check registrants near a specific location, like a school or park. Enter the address and select a distance, and the database returns everyone registered within that range. Results include full profiles with photos and conviction details. Predator designations are visible in the results so you can distinguish the two categories at a glance.

For people arriving from other states, the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) allows cross-state searches. It is a federal resource that aggregates data from all participating states and can confirm whether someone has a registration history before they appear in Florida's system. Use it alongside the FDLE search when you need a more complete picture.

The FDLE search portal lets you filter by Clay County or search by ZIP code to find all registered sex offenders and sexual predators in the area.

Residency Restrictions in Clay County

Florida's residency law applies everywhere in Clay County. Under § 775.215, no registered sex offender or sexual predator may live within 1,000 feet of a school, childcare center, park, playground, or any other place where children regularly gather. The 1,000-foot distance is measured from property line to property line.

The law covers both permanent and temporary addresses. A registrant who tries to stay temporarily at a location inside the buffer zone is violating the law just as much as someone who tries to live there permanently. The Clay County Sheriff's Office checks new addresses against restricted locations as part of the registration process.

Local municipalities in Clay County may have their own ordinances with stricter limits. Orange Park, Fleming Island, and Middleburg may all have local rules that go beyond the state's 1,000-foot standard. Registrants should verify local regulations before selecting a new address. Finding out a location is non-compliant after moving creates a violation that can result in arrest.

Florida Offender Alert for Clay County

Residents of Clay County can get free email notifications through Florida Offender Alert. The service tracks registration changes in ZIP codes you choose and sends you an email when a new offender or predator registers in that area or when an existing registrant changes their address.

The service is free. You pick the ZIP codes to monitor, and the system does the rest. Alert emails include the registrant's photo and their registered address so you know exactly who is nearby and where. It is a practical tool for parents and residents who want current information without manually checking the FDLE database. Sign up at the Florida Offender Alert website and select your Clay County ZIP codes to start receiving notifications.

Cities in Clay County

Clay County's largest communities include Orange Park, Fleming Island, and Middleburg. None currently meet the population threshold for dedicated city pages on this site. All sex offender and sexual predator registrations for every community in Clay County, incorporated or unincorporated, go through the Clay County Sheriff's Office in Green Cove Springs.

Nearby Counties

Sex offenders relocating from Clay County must notify the sheriff and register with the receiving county's sheriff's office within 48 hours. Each neighboring county operates its own registration office under Florida's statewide framework.