(1) This section applies to legal notices that must be published in accordance with this chapter unless otherwise specified.
(2) If a governmental agency publishes a legal notice in the print edition of a newspaper, each legal notice must be published on the newspaper’s website on the same day that the printed notice appears in the newspaper, at no additional charge, in a separate web page titled “Legal Notices,” “Legal Advertising,” or comparable identifying language. A link to the legal notices web page shall be provided on the front page of the newspaper’s website that provides access to the legal notices. If there is a specified size and placement required for a printed legal notice, the size and placement of the notice on the newspaper’s website must optimize its online visibility in keeping with the print requirements. The newspaper’s web pages that contain legal notices must present the legal notices as the dominant and leading subject matter of those pages. The newspaper’s website must contain a search function to facilitate searching the legal notices. A fee may not be charged, and registration may not be required, for viewing or searching legal notices on a newspaper’s website if the legal notice is published in a newspaper.
(3)(a) If a legal notice is published in the print edition of a newspaper, the newspaper publishing the notice shall place the notice on the statewide website established and maintained as an initiative of the Florida Press Association as a repository for such notices located at the following address: www.floridapublicnotices.com.
(b) A legal notice placed on the statewide website created under this subsection must be:
1. Accessible and searchable by party name and case number.
2. Published for a period of at least 90 consecutive days after the first day of publication.
(c) The statewide website created under this subsection shall maintain a searchable archive of all legal notices published on the publicly accessible website for 18 months after the first day of publication. Such searchable archive shall be provided and accessible to the general public without charge.
History.—s. 1, ch. 2012-212; s. 1, ch. 2014-210; s. 3, ch. 2021-17; s. 3, ch. 2022-4; s. 3, ch. 2022-103.
Structure Florida Statutes
Title VI - Civil Practice and Procedure
Chapter 50 - Legal and Official Advertisements
50.011 - Publication of Legal Notices.
50.021 - Publication When No Newspaper in County.
50.0211 - Internet Website Publication.
50.031 - Newspapers in Which Legal Notices and Process May Be Published.
50.041 - Proof of Publication; Uniform Affidavits Required.