Florida public records and OCULUS

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) says Florida has a very broad public records law, and that most written communications to or from state officials regarding state business are public records. It also says records and information may be readily available at no cost through its online resources. The first one it lists is OCULUS, its web-based electronic document management system.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name a state's records request procedure among its standard record sources. This is DEP's route to the reports and letters behind the Florida listings in this section.

• Start with the facility number. DEP says documents in OCULUS are filed under a specific DEP program and facility, and that you need the facility or site name or the facility identification number used in OCULUS. Its petroleum pages say site files are stored under the seven digit facility identification number. Get the number from a DEP search first.
• The electronic file may be partial. DEP says the electronic database for a site may not have every paper document available in electronic format. Ask for a paper records search when a file looks thin.
• Some petroleum data are held back from public reports. DEP says the Petroleum Restoration Program removed data concerning certain facilities from the reports available for public review, to meet guidelines on internet access to data recommended on January 18, 2002, and that it still provides the data on request through its Records Management Center.
• Research time can cost money. DEP says many records are provided at no cost, but that it may charge for extensive use of staff time and resources under section 119.07(4), F.S. It defines extensive use as more than 30 minutes of staff time. There may also be charges for paper copies, discs, postage and technological resources. DEP says it gives a cost estimate in advance when possible, and that records may not be released until payment is made in full.
• A paper search goes through a district or the ombudsman's office. DEP has six district offices, and the district boundaries changed on September 1, 2025. Confirm which district serves the county before sending a request.

DEP notes that OCULUS may be unavailable between 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. each day for database backups, and at times on weekends for maintenance.

Where to look a site up

• OCULUS, for the documents.
• The DEP Information Portal, which searches by facility, site name or street address to find associated records, with a search by document type as an option.
• The Contamination Locator Map (CLM), which DEP describes as a way to locate sites currently under its cleanup oversight.
• The Facility Name and Address Search, which DEP says locates the county or district a facility is in.
• Waste Management Database Reports, one page of the division's report links.

Getting the file

• Online. Use OCULUS or the DEP Information Portal. Problems with OCULUS go to ServiceDesk@FloridaDEP.gov.
• Paper records. DEP says to contact the district office's Public Records Coordinator or the Office of Ombudsman and Public Services for a paper records search. The office is at Public.services@FloridaDEP.gov or 850-245-2118.
• District offices. DEP's Districts page lists the six offices, the counties each serves and their addresses and phone numbers.

The pages read do not give a time limit for DEP's answer to a records request.

Sources

Florida Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 6, 2026:

• Public Records, last modified October 2, 2026.
• Database Reports & Site Files, last modified March 13, 2024.
• Storage Tank and Petroleum Contamination/Cleanup Monitoring, last modified March 13, 2024.
• Petroleum Restoration Program, no modified date shown.
• Waste Management Database Reports, last modified December 5, 2025.
• Districts, no modified date shown.