Florida’s SB 1332, chapter 2026-151, Laws of Florida, took effect on October 1, 2026. Florida has required career offender registration since 2002 under Fla. Stat. § 775.261, and failing to register was already a third-degree felony. SB 1332 tightens nearly every part of the system. Deadlines shrink from two working days to 48 hours. Registrants must appear in person every year. The driver license carries a marking. A residence is counted after three days instead of fourteen. Each missed report is a separate offense.
Who Is a Career Offender
Under § 775.261(2)(a), a career offender is a person a court has designated as a habitual violent felony offender, a violent career criminal, or a three-time violent felony offender under § 775.084, or as a prison releasee reoffender under § 775.082(9). The designation is entered at sentencing, and the registration duty applies to anyone released on or after July 1, 2002 from a sanction imposed in Florida: prison, jail, probation, community control, parole, or conditional or control release. A person designated as a sexual predator or required to register as a sexual offender registers under that law instead. SB 1332 left the definition alone, but it added two rules on who is covered: federal prison now counts as a sanction, and a person who receives no sanction is deemed released on conviction.
A separate 2026 law did widen it. SB 436 added battery on a law enforcement officer resulting in bodily injury to the prison releasee reoffender list on July 1, 2026, so a person sentenced under that designation now registers too. See our post on SB 436.
What Changed on October 1
Registration moved to 48 hours and to the sheriff. Under § 775.261(4)(a), a career offender registers in person at the sheriff’s office within 48 hours. The clock starts on release from the custody, control, or supervision of the Department of Corrections, from a contractor-operated facility, or from a local jail, or on establishing a permanent, temporary, or transient residence in Florida. The old deadline was two working days, and FDLE offices accepted registrations. They no longer do. A person sentenced to no custody or supervision registers within 48 hours of conviction, in the county of conviction.
Reregistration is now annual and in person. Under § 775.261(8)(a), every registrant reports to the sheriff’s office each year during the month of his or her birthday. Before the act, a registrant appeared at the driver license office when the card came up for renewal or when a residence or name changed, and at the sheriff’s office or FDLE before leaving the state; the sheriff verified the addresses of registrants not under Department of Corrections supervision once a year. There was no annual appearance.
The driver license carries a marking. Within 48 hours of registering, the career offender reports to a driver license office and obtains a Florida license or ID card, unless a compliant card was already issued while under Department of Corrections supervision. Under § 322.141(3)(c), the front of the card now reads “775.261, F.S.” Under § 322.141(4)(b), a registrant whose card does not yet carry the marking reports to the driver license office during the birthday month to obtain an updated card. After that, the card is renewed on its normal schedule, and each renewal is an in-person visit.
A residence is counted after three days. A permanent residence is a place where the person primarily lives for 3 or more consecutive days, down from 14. A temporary residence, including a vacation or business stay in or out of Florida, is 3 or more days in the aggregate in a calendar year, down from 14 in the aggregate or 4 in any month. The first day is not counted, and any part of a calendar day counts as a day. The 3-day rule is new, and we have not yet seen it used to charge anyone. The act adds a third category, transient residence: a county where the person stays 3 or more days in a year outside a permanent or temporary residence, including a place where the person sleeps or seeks shelter or a location with no street address.
The registration file is larger. Registration now includes the employer’s name, address, and phone number; every home and cell phone number; tattoos and identifying marks; palm prints; professional licenses; and vehicles. “Vehicles owned” reaches any vehicle registered, co-registered, leased, titled, or rented by the registrant, any rented vehicle the registrant is authorized to drive, and any vehicle the registrant is insured on as a driver. It also reaches any vehicle registered, co-registered, leased, titled, or rented by a person residing at the registrant’s permanent residence for 5 or more consecutive days, so a roommate’s car goes on the registrant’s file. The registrant must produce a passport if one exists and, if not a citizen, documents establishing immigration status.
Every change has a 48-hour clock. A change of residence is reported in person at a driver license office under § 775.261(6)(a); a registrant who cannot obtain or update a license or ID card reports it to the sheriff instead. A change in phone numbers, employment, or vehicles, or a new in-state travel residence, is reported in person to the sheriff’s office; a registrant under Department of Corrections supervision may report phone, employment, and travel-residence changes to the Department instead. A move out of Florida is reported to the sheriff at least 48 hours before leaving.
Jails report to FDLE. Under § 775.261(5)(d), a local jail must notify FDLE within 3 business days of a career offender’s intake and again on release, and must photograph the registrant while in custody.
The Penalties
Failing to register, to obtain or renew the license or ID card, to report required information, or otherwise to comply with § 775.261 is a third-degree felony under § 775.261(13)(a), the same grade as before the act, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The act adds failures to report phone numbers, employment changes, vehicle changes, a vacated residence, and annual reregistration, and adds knowingly providing false information. Each instance of failure to register or report is a separate offense. A registrant who misses the birthday-month visit, then moves and changes phones without reporting either, faces three offenses. In Miami-Dade, the practice is to charge each missed report as a separate count, at the State Attorney’s discretion.
The penalty clauses also cite § 775.084, the habitual offender statute, and nearly every career offender has the prior record it requires. If the failure occurs while the registrant is serving a sentence or supervision for a prior felony, or within five years of the last prior felony conviction or of release from a sentence for a prior felony, the state can seek a habitual felony offender sentence: up to 10 years on a third-degree registration felony and up to 30 years on a second-degree one. If that prior felony is one of the violent offenses listed in § 775.084(1)(b), such as robbery, sexual battery, kidnapping, or aggravated battery, the state can seek a habitual violent felony offender sentence instead. The maximums are the same, but the registrant is not eligible for release for 5 years on a third-degree felony and 10 years on a second-degree one. The violent career criminal and three-time violent felony offender enhancements require the new offense itself to be one of their listed offenses, and a registration violation is not. Prosecutors do seek habitual offender sentences on registration charges.
Two failures are second-degree felonies, with a base range of up to 15 years and a $10,000 fine, and both punish staying put after announcing a departure. Under § 775.261(6)(d), a career offender who reports that he or she will vacate a residence, then remains there, must report back within 48 hours after the stated departure date. Under § 775.261(7)(b), a career offender who reports an intent to move out of Florida, then stays, must report to the sheriff within 48 hours after the stated departure date. The out-of-state offense existed before the act with a two-working-day deadline. The vacated-residence offense is new.
The act also narrows the notice defense. Under § 775.261(13)(c), an arrest for failure to register after the person has been advised of the duty, service of an information or complaint, or an arraignment is actual notice of the duty to register. A defendant who claims lack of notice must register at once, a later failure is a new charge on which lack of notice is no defense, and registering after arrest is not a defense to the original charge. Venue under § 775.261(13)(b) now includes the county of release from custody and the county of the address the registrant gave before release.
Helping a career offender evade the law is a third-degree felony under § 775.261(14): withholding information from law enforcement, harboring or concealing the person, or giving law enforcement false information, with intent to help the person avoid questioning or arrest for noncompliance. It was a first-degree misdemeanor before October 1, 2026. The statute reaches any person, but a family member or roommate who knows the registrant is out of compliance is the person most exposed.
Registration lasts for life unless the person receives a full pardon or has the qualifying conviction set aside. A registrant may petition to end the requirement after at least 20 years since release from confinement, supervision, or sanction, whichever is later, with no arrest for a felony or misdemeanor in that time, under § 775.261(10). That path existed before the act. SB 1332 moves the petition from the circuit where the registrant lives to the circuit where the designation was entered, and adds FDLE to the state attorney as a party that receives at least three weeks’ notice and may present evidence in opposition.
Source: chapter 2026-151, Laws of Florida, amending §§ 322.141, 775.261, 944.608, and 944.609. The governor approved the act on June 16, 2026.
Quick Answers
What is SB 1332?
SB 1332 is a 2026 Florida law, chapter 2026-151, that tightens career offender registration under Fla. Stat. § 775.261 and adds a career offender marking to § 322.141. Deadlines drop to 48 hours, reregistration is annual and in person, a residence counts after three days, each missed report is a separate felony, and helping a registrant evade the law is a felony instead of a misdemeanor.
When did SB 1332 take effect?
October 1, 2026.
Who has to register as a career offender?
A person designated as a habitual violent felony offender, a violent career criminal, or a three-time violent felony offender under § 775.084, or a prison releasee reoffender under § 775.082(9), who was released on or after July 1, 2002 from a Florida sanction and is not registered as a sexual offender or sexual predator. SB 1332 did not change the definition.
How soon must a career offender register after release?
Within 48 hours, in person at the sheriff’s office. The deadline was two working days before SB 1332, and FDLE offices no longer accept registration.
What appears on a career offender’s driver license?
The marking “775.261, F.S.” on the front of the license or ID card, under § 322.141(3)(c). A registrant whose card does not yet carry the marking must obtain an updated card during the birthday month.
When must a career offender report?
Each year during the birthday month, in person at the sheriff’s office. Within 48 hours of a change of residence, at a driver license office. Within 48 hours of a change in phone numbers, employment, or vehicles, or of a new in-state travel residence, at the sheriff’s office, or at the Department of Corrections for a supervised registrant’s phone, employment, and travel-residence changes.
What is the penalty for failing to register?
A third-degree felony under § 775.261(13)(a), up to five years in prison. If the failure occurs while on supervision for a prior felony, or within five years of a prior felony conviction or release, the state can seek a habitual offender sentence of up to 10 years, with no release for 5 years if the prior was a listed violent felony. Each failure to register or report is a separate offense. Reporting that you will vacate a residence or leave Florida, then staying without reporting back within 48 hours, is a second-degree felony, up to 15 years, or up to 30 with a habitual offender sentence.
Can the registration requirement end?
Registration is for life unless the person receives a full pardon or the qualifying conviction is set aside. A person may petition the circuit court where the career offender designation was entered after at least 20 years since release from confinement, supervision, or sanction, whichever is later, with no arrest for a felony or misdemeanor in that time. FDLE and the state attorney receive three weeks’ notice and may oppose the petition.
What should I do if I am accused of failing to register?
If you realize you missed a report, make it immediately. Wait to answer questions about why it was late until you have spoken with a lawyer. A registration case can begin with any contact with law enforcement, and each failure is a separate offense. In defending these cases we review whether the person was advised of the duty to register, the exact dates of release, moves, and reports, and whether the career offender designation itself was valid. See our criminal defense page and our post on hiring a lawyer before an arrest.
The first consultation is free and confidential, with no obligation to retain.