Law / United States / 
Florida
Tracking Devices and Tracking Applications Without Consent
In force since .
A device storage and tracking consent rule binding private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Criminal prosecution by the State.
- Obligation class
- Consent, Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- If you are an individual, do not knowingly install or place a tracking device (a device whose primary purpose is to reveal its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals) or a tracking application (a software program whose primary purpose is to track or identify the location or movement of an individual) on another person's property without that person's consent, and do not knowingly use a tracking device or tracking application to determine the location or movement of another person or another person's property without that person's consent.
- The section's person is an individual and does not include a business entity (a corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, joint venture, business trust or sole proprietorship that conducts business in Florida), and it does not apply to a person acting in good faith on behalf of a business entity for a legitimate business purpose, except that this exclusion does not reach a person engaged in private investigation on behalf of another person unless the activity would otherwise be exempt if performed by the person who engaged the investigator.
- Treat a person's consent as revoked when the consenting person and the person to whom consent was given are lawfully married and one files a petition for dissolution of marriage, or when either files an injunction for protection against the other under section 741.30, 741.315, 784.046 or 784.0485.
- The section does not apply to a law enforcement officer or agency lawfully acting in a criminal investigation, to specified Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile Justice personnel lawfully acting in the course and scope of their employment on a person in their care, custody or control, to a person authorized by court order, to a parent or legal guardian of a minor child who meets one of the section's four custody and consent conditions, to a caregiver of an elderly person or disabled adult whose treating physician certifies that tracking is necessary to ensure the person's safety, or to an owner or lessee of a motor vehicle who tracks that vehicle during the ownership or lease and meets one of the section's three conditions on removal, written consent or original-manufacturer installation.
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
A violation is a felony of the third degree, and a violation to commit or to facilitate the commission of a dangerous crime as defined in section 907.041(5)(a) is a felony of the second degree.
What this law does
Section 934.425 of the Florida Statutes bars a person from knowingly installing or placing a tracking device or tracking application on another person's property without that person's consent, and from knowingly using a tracking device or tracking application to determine the location or movement of another person or another person's property without that person's consent.
A tracking application is a software program whose primary purpose is to track or identify the location or movement of an individual, and a tracking device is a device whose primary purpose is to reveal its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals. The section's person is an individual and does not include a business entity.
A business entity is any form of corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, joint venture, business trust or sole proprietorship that conducts business in Florida. A person's consent is presumed revoked if the consenting person and the person to whom consent was given are lawfully married and one files a petition for dissolution of marriage, or if either files an injunction for protection against the other under section 741.30, 741.315, 784.046 or 784.0485.
The section does not apply to a person acting in good faith on behalf of a business entity for a legitimate business purpose, and that exclusion does not apply to a person engaged in private investigation on behalf of another person unless the activity would otherwise be exempt if performed by the person engaging the private investigator.
The section also does not apply to a law enforcement officer or agency that lawfully uses a tracking device or tracking application on another person's property as part of a criminal investigation. The section also does not apply to a person authorized to install, place or use a tracking device or tracking application under a court order.
The section also does not apply to a parent or legal guardian of a minor child who tracks the child's property when the parents are lawfully married and not living apart and either consents, when the parent is the sole surviving parent or guardian, when the parent has sole custody, or when divorced, separated or living-apart parents both consent.
The section also does not apply to a caregiver of an elderly person or disabled adult whose treating physician certifies that tracking is necessary to ensure the person's safety.
The section also does not apply to an owner or lessee of a motor vehicle who tracks the vehicle during the period of ownership or lease if the device or application is removed before the title is transferred or the lease expires, the new owner or lessor consents in writing to nonremoval, or the owner at the time of installation was the original manufacturer and the next owner was told where the device is and how to remove it.
A violation is a felony of the third degree, and a violation to commit or to facilitate the commission of a dangerous crime as defined in section 907.041(5)(a) is a felony of the second degree. As created in 2015 the section reached only knowingly installing a tracking device or tracking application on another person's property without the other person's consent. Chapter 2015-137, Laws of Florida, which created the section, took effect on .
Chapter 2024-114, Laws of Florida, extended the prohibition to placing a tracking device or tracking application and to using one to determine the location or movement of another person or another person's property. Chapter 2024-114 took effect on .
Chapter 2025-71, Laws of Florida, added enhanced criminal penalties for a person who, to commit or facilitate the commission of a dangerous crime, knowingly installs or places a tracking device or tracking application on another person's property without consent. Chapter 2025-71 took effect on .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app tracks devices.