How to Get a 911 Call Recording in Hollywood, FL — And Why You Need to Move Fast

If you were involved in an accident or incident in Hollywood and a 911 call was made — by you, the other driver, or a witness — that recording can be some of the most powerful evidence in your case. But unlike a police report or body-worn camera footage, 911 audio disappears fast. Here's how to get it, how long you actually have, and who can request it.

Who Actually Handles 911 Calls in Hollywood?

This is the first thing that trips people up: Hollywood PD does not handle 911 audio requests directly. Hollywood's 911 dispatch is handled by the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) Communications division, so any request for the actual call recording goes to BSO — not the city.

Where to submit your request:

• Online: BSO's Public Records Online Portal at browardcountysheriff.govqa.us — this GovQA-powered portal handles 911 recordings, incident reports, arrest records, and other BSO records in one place. You can create an account to track your request or submit anonymously.

• Phone: 954-831-8700 (Monday–Thursday, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.)

• Mail: Broward Sheriff's Office Public Records Unit, Attn: Erin Foley, RMLO, P.O. Box 9507, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33310

What Law Allows You to Get It?

911 recordings in Florida are governed by two statutes:

• Chapter 119, Florida Statutes (the Public Records Act) treats 911 call recordings as public records, open to inspection, unless a specific exemption applies. There's no blanket secrecy rule for 911 audio in Florida — the recording is presumed public unless the agency can point to a specific reason to withhold it.

• Section 119.071, Florida Statutes is that exemption. If the incident became part of an active criminal investigation, the 911 call — like the police report and body-worn camera footage — can be withheld until the investigation is formally closed.

In short: if your incident is a routine crash or non-criminal matter, the 911 call is accessible as a public record. If it turned into an open criminal case, the recording may be held back along with the rest of the investigative file until that case resolves.

How Long Is the Recording Actually Available?

This is the most important thing to know, and it's shorter than almost any other record covered in our other guides:

Florida's General Records Schedule sets a 30-day minimum retention period for audio recordings of radio and telephone communications, including 911 calls. Compare that to:

Record type	Availability window
911 call recording	As little as 30 days
Body-worn camera footage	90 days
Traffic crash report	Available ~10 days after filing; public after 60 days

Thirty days is a minimum, not a guarantee — agencies can and sometimes do retain recordings longer, and BSO may keep them beyond that floor in practice. But there's no way to know that in advance, and once a recording is gone, it's gone. If you know a 911 call was made, request it within days of the incident, not weeks.

If the call becomes part of an active criminal investigation, it gets pulled into that case file and retained on a much longer schedule — but you generally can't count on that happening for a routine civil matter like a car accident.

The Request Process, Step by Step

1. Identify what you know. Date, approximate time, location, and — if you have it — the CAD/incident number from the police report.

2. Submit directly to BSO — online through the Public Records Unit portal, by phone, or by mail. Do not submit this to Hollywood PD; it will just get redirected and cost you time you don't have given the 30-day window.

3. BSO reviews the recording for any applicable exemption before release — for example, redacting a caller's identity if they're a minor or a protected victim under a specific statute.

4. You receive the audio file. Format and delivery method aren't standardized citywide, so confirm with BSO when you submit the request.

Can You Get the Other Driver's or a Witness's 911 Call?

Generally, yes — and this is one of the most useful things to know if you're building an injury case. Because Florida treats 911 recordings as public records tied to the incident, not to the identity of the caller, you don't have to be the person who called 911 to request the recording.

That means:

• If the other driver called it in, you can request that recording.

• If an independent witness called it in, you can request that one too.

• A witness's real-time 911 account — made in the moment, before anyone has had time to reconsider their story — can be more valuable than a statement given days or weeks later.

The exceptions:

• If the incident is under active criminal investigation, all related calls (yours, the other party's, any witnesses') can be withheld together under §119.071 until the case is no longer active.

• Certain identifying information may be redacted even when the substance of the call is released — for example, if a caller is a minor or the victim of a sexual offense protected under a specific statutory exemption.

Bottom Line

A 911 call can capture something a written report never will — tone of voice, immediate reactions, background sounds, and a real-time account before anyone's memory (or story) has had time to shift. But of everything covered across our records guides, this is the one with the shortest shelf life. If you were in an incident where a 911 call was made — by you or anyone else — treat it as time-sensitive and request it immediately.

Need Help Tracking Down a 911 Call or Other Records From Your Accident?

Between figuring out which agency to contact, moving fast enough to beat a 30-day retention window, and knowing whether you can request someone else's call, this is exactly the kind of detail that's easy to miss while you're recovering from an accident.  

Call Dan: (954) 923-6110.