--- title: "Are ChatGPT chats public records in Florida? | Verillian" description: "In Florida, a staff chat with ChatGPT about agency business is a public record, whatever tool or device it was on. Here is what Chapter 119, the courts and the state retention schedule say, and what custodians can do now." url: "https://verillian.ai/blog/are-chatgpt-chats-public-records-in-florida/" --- # Are ChatGPT chats public records in Florida? October 28, 2026 / 4 min read In Florida, a staff chat with ChatGPT about agency business is a public record, whatever tool or device it was on. Here is what Chapter 119, the courts and the state retention schedule say, and what custodians can do now. Yes, when the chat is about agency business. Florida defines a public record by what it was made for, not by the tool, so a staff member’s ChatGPT conversation about a permit, a budget or a letter is covered the same way their email is. ## What does Florida law count as a public record? Almost everything made for official business. Section 119.011(12) of the Florida Statutes covers documents, data processing software “or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.” Section 119.01 sets the tone: “Providing access to public records is a duty of each agency.” The Florida Supreme Court drew the line in [Shevin v. Byron, Harless](https://static.case.law/so2d/379/html/0633-01.html) (1980): a public record is “any material prepared in connection with official agency business which is intended to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge of some type.” Rough notes that are only precursors of a record are not. ## Does that include a chat with an AI tool? We found no Florida court ruling or state guidance on AI chats yet. The test does not need one. A chat used to draft a memo, summarize a contract or answer a resident is material made in connection with official business, and it is often the step that formalizes the knowledge. A chat that only fixed a typo may be no more than a precursor. The content decides, as it does for every other record. ## What about a personal phone or account? The courts have already answered this for texts. In O’Boyle v. Town of Gulf Stream (Fla. 4th DCA 2018), texting about public business on a private phone “can create an electronic written public record subject to disclosure,” and the agency handles those texts as it would email: review each one, apply exemptions, release the rest. In City of Sunny Isles Beach v. Gatto (Fla. 3d DCA 2022), a commissioner’s purely personal texts fell outside the definition. The Attorney General’s [Government in the Sunshine Manual](https://www.myfloridalegal.com/sites/default/files/government-in-the-sunshine-manual.pdf) adds that the agency must make a reasonable search for requested messages, “including those located on private accounts or devices.” A personal ChatGPT account used for work is the same problem. ## How long do the chats have to be kept? As long as their content requires. Under the state’s [General Records Schedule GS1-SL](https://dos.fl.gov/media/709005/gs1-sl-2023-final-0.pdf), retention periods “are determined by the content, nature, and purpose of records,” not format. Transitory messages can go once “obsolete, superseded, or administrative value is lost,” but transitory means they “do not set policy, establish guidelines or procedures, certify a transaction, or become a receipt.” A chat that shaped a policy or a decision is not transitory. ## What should an agency do now? - **Put AI chats in your records policy** next to email and texts. - **Map them to GS1-SL** by content, and say which ones are transitory. - **Decide how a request reaches personal accounts** before one arrives. Our [records request guide](https://verillian.ai/blog/how-should-an-agency-answer-a-records-request-for-chatgpt-logs/) walks through the search, and we cover [California](https://verillian.ai/blog/are-ai-prompts-public-records-in-california/), [Washington](https://verillian.ai/blog/are-chatgpt-chats-public-records-in-washington/) and [Texas](https://verillian.ai/blog/are-chatgpt-chats-public-records-in-texas/) too. ## Where Verillian fits Verillian keeps the record of every captured AI interaction on your agency’s own servers, so a custodian can search, review and produce AI chats the way they already do email. Verillian never receives your prompts, responses or records. *Sources read on 28 October 2026.* [All writing](https://verillian.ai/blog/) ## New posts by email Email Subscribe Yes, Verillian can email me product updates and recommendations. I can unsubscribe at any time. We use your email to send what you asked for, as described in our [privacy policy](https://verillian.ai/legal/privacy/). ## See Verillian on a real device. [Request a demo](https://verillian.ai/demo/)