Florida Statute 406.145
“Unidentified persons; reporting requirements”
What it means
When an unidentified body reaches a district medical examiner, Florida Statute 406.145 starts the identification clock. The examiner must immediately report receipt of the body to the appropriate law enforcement agency — or, if jurisdiction is unclear, notify the county sheriff, who determines which agency is responsible for the identification.
The officer assigned to the death has a duty to immediately establish the identity of the body. If the body is not immediately identified, the responsible agency must enter the data, through the Florida Crime Information Center, into the Unidentified Person File of the National Crime Information Center — the national database that matches unidentified remains against missing-person reports.
- The medical examiner must immediately report receipt of an unidentified body to the law enforcement agency with jurisdiction.
- If the responsible agency is unclear, the county sheriff determines which agency handles the identification.
- The investigating officer's duty is to immediately establish the identity of the body.
- Unresolved cases are entered through the FCIC into the NCIC Unidentified Person File.
How it plays out
This section is the machinery behind identifications that come years late. The NCIC entry is what lets a missing-person report filed in another state match a body in Florida — without it, identification depends on luck. For families searching for someone, the practical companion is a missing-person report wherever the person was last seen; Florida's entry under this section is the other half of that match. It also holds up probate: until identification, there is no death certificate in the person's name, and nothing estate-side can start.
Questions people ask
