Florida Harassment Statute: Penalties, Injunctions, and Defenses

Florida harassment laws don’t create a standalone “harassment” crime. Instead, repeated harassing behavior is prosecuted as stalking under Section 784.048, a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail, or as aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison when threats, court orders, or child victims are involved. Separate statutes reach single harassing phone calls, secret GPS tracking, and school and workplace harassment, and victims can seek a civil injunction for protection whether or not criminal charges are filed.

What Counts as Harassment Under Florida Law

Because there is no independent harassment offense, the word “harass” does its work inside the stalking statute. Section 784.048 defines it as engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose.¹ A single rude comment or one unpleasant encounter usually won’t meet that bar.

A “course of conduct” means a pattern of acts over a period of time showing continuity of purpose. The timeframe can be short, but there has to be more than one incident. The statute also carves out constitutionally protected activity such as picketing and organized protests.¹

A “credible threat” is a separate defined term that pushes a stalking charge up to aggravated stalking. It covers verbal, nonverbal, or electronic threats that place the target in reasonable fear for their safety or their family’s. Prosecutors don’t have to prove the person intended to actually carry the threat out, and even someone who is incarcerated can be charged for making one.²

Penalties for Stalking

Willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly following, harassing, or cyberstalking another person is a first-degree misdemeanor.¹³⁴ That means up to one year in jail, up to one year of probation, and a fine of up to $1,000. Courts often add mandatory counseling or community service.

As part of sentencing for any stalking conviction, the court can enter a no-contact order lasting up to 10 years. The length turns on the seriousness of the conduct, the risk of further violations, and the safety of the victim and their family. Law enforcement can also make warrantless arrests when they have probable cause to believe someone violated the statute.²

Aggravated Stalking

Several circumstances upgrade stalking to aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in state prison, five years of probation, and a fine of up to $5,000.³⁴ Any of the following triggers the felony charge:

Stalking or cyberstalking combined with a credible threat, under Section 784.048(3).¹
Stalking someone after an injunction for protection has been issued against you, whether for domestic, repeat, sexual, or dating violence, under Section 784.048(4).²
Stalking a child under 16, whether or not a threat was made, under Section 784.048(5).²
Stalking the victim of a prior sex offense conviction, under Section 784.048(7). The sentence runs consecutively to the earlier one.²

Harassing Phone Calls

Section 365.16 targets harassing telephone calls directly, filling the gap for behavior that hasn’t yet risen to a course of conduct. A single call can be enough. It’s a crime to make obscene or threatening calls, to call repeatedly with intent to harass, or to place calls anonymously to annoy or threaten someone. The offense is a second-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a fine of up to $500.⁵ Calls made in good faith during the ordinary course of business are exempt.

Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking is a course of conduct using email or any other electronic communication to direct words, images, or language at a specific person, causing substantial emotional distress with no legitimate purpose. The definition also covers accessing or attempting to access someone’s online accounts or internet-connected home devices without permission.¹ That second prong reaches someone repeatedly logging into your email, social media, or smart-home system even if they never send a threatening message.

On its own, cyberstalking is treated the same as physical stalking: a first-degree misdemeanor. Paired with a credible threat, it becomes aggravated stalking, a third-degree felony.¹

Secret GPS Tracking

Placing a GPS tracker or a tracking app on someone’s property without their consent is a third-degree felony under Section 934.425, carrying the same maximum penalties as aggravated stalking: up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.⁶ The rule applies to any device or software whose primary purpose is revealing location or movement.

Narrow exceptions exist for law enforcement acting under a court order, parents tracking a minor child subject to custody rules, caregivers monitoring an elderly or disabled person with a physician’s certification, and employers using tracking for legitimate business purposes. Outside those exceptions, hiding an AirTag in someone’s bag or installing a location app on their phone is a felony.⁶

Getting a Protective Injunction

Section 784.0485 creates a dedicated injunction for stalking and cyberstalking victims, separate from the injunctions available for domestic or repeat violence. Any victim, or a parent or legal guardian filing for a minor child, can petition the circuit court.⁷

The petition is a verified document describing the specific stalking conduct. If the court sees evidence of stalking, it can issue a temporary injunction immediately without the other party present. A full hearing follows for a final injunction. The court can order the respondent to stay away from the victim’s home, workplace, and school, surrender firearms, and attend counseling at the respondent’s own expense.⁷ Injunctive relief is in addition to any other civil or criminal remedies.

One point that catches people off guard: the court cannot issue mutual injunctions in a stalking case. If both parties want protection from each other, each must file a separate petition and independently meet the statutory requirements.⁷

If your situation involves actual violence or the threat of it rather than a pattern of non-violent harassment, Section 784.046 covers injunctions for repeat, sexual, and dating violence. A temporary injunction can be granted on a finding of immediate and present danger, with a full hearing held within 15 days.⁸

Violating any of these protective injunctions is itself a crime under Section 784.047, a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, and a third-degree felony after two prior violation convictions involving the same victim.⁹

Reporting Harassment and Building a Case

A harassment or stalking case lives or dies on documentation. Police respond to patterns, and the way to show a pattern is to have it recorded before you walk into the station.

Keep a detailed log with the date, time, location, and exactly what happened, plus the names of any witnesses.
Preserve every email, text, voicemail, letter, and social media message. Screenshot posts immediately, because the sender can delete them.
Florida is a two-party consent state for recording conversations, so document threatening calls by writing down their content right away and reporting them.
Photograph unwanted items left behind, property damage, and any unexpected appearances at your location.

When you contact law enforcement, be specific. A vague complaint about someone “bothering” you gives police little to work with. A log showing 14 unwanted contacts over three weeks, with saved text messages attached, gives them a case. After filing a report, notify law enforcement of every new contact, no matter how minor. Each new incident strengthens the “course of conduct” element prosecutors have to prove.

Defenses to a Stalking or Harassment Charge

The statute requires proof that the defendant acted willfully and maliciously. That intent element is the most common line of defense: arguing that the contact was accidental, coincidental, or misinterpreted. Neighbors who cross paths daily may look like they’re being followed to an outsider, but the pattern lacks the willful element the state has to prove.¹

The second defense is legitimate purpose. The statute requires that the conduct serve “no legitimate purpose” and expressly carves out picketing and organized protests.¹ Contact tied to a shared business relationship, co-parenting, or lawful debt collection may qualify as legitimate even when the other person finds it unwelcome. Most of these cases are fought on the line between persistent and criminal.

Harassment at School, Work, and in Housing

The stalking statute is the general criminal tool, but three other frameworks apply in specific settings and are worth knowing about so you don’t assume the criminal law is your only option.

In public K-12 schools, the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act prohibits bullying and harassment on campus, at school events, on buses, and, for cyberbullying, off campus when it substantially interferes with a student’s participation in school or disrupts operations. Every district must have a policy allowing anonymous reporting, prompt investigation, parental notification, and counseling referrals.¹⁰

At work, the Florida Civil Rights Act makes harassment that creates a hostile work environment based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, or marital status actionable when the employer knew about it and failed to take corrective action. Retaliation for reporting is separately illegal.¹¹

In housing, the federal Fair Housing Act prohibits harassment based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. HUD regulations recognize that even a single incident can violate the Act if it’s severe enough to create a hostile environment or amount to a quid pro quo demand, and landlords, property managers, and other tenants can all be on the hook.¹²

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 784.048 – Stalking
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 784.048 – Stalking Definitions and Penalties
3
Florida Senate. Florida Code 775.082 – Sentencing
4
Justia. Florida Code 775.083 – Fines
5
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 365.16 – Obscene or Harassing Telephone Calls
6
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 934.425 – Installation or Use of Tracking Devices or Tracking Applications
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Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 784.0485 – Stalking Injunction
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 784.046 – Action by Victim of Repeat Violence, Sexual Violence, or Dating Violence for Protective Injunction
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Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 784.047 – Penalties for Violating Protective Injunction Against Violators
10
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 1006.147 – Bullying and Harassment Prohibited
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Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 760.10 – Unlawful Employment Practices
12
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 100 – Discriminatory Conduct Under the Fair Housing Act