JUDICIAL REVIEW OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION

(a) Applicability. Judicial review of administrative action will be as in civil cases except as specifically modified by this rule. (b) Commencement. April 1, 2026 Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 139 (1) An appeal from final agency action as defined in the Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 120, Florida Statutes, including immediate final orders entered under section 120.569(2)(n), Florida Statutes, or other administrative action for which judicial review is provided by general law must be commenced in accordance with rule 9.110(c). (2) Review of nonfinal agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, including nonfinal action by an administrative law judge, and agency orders entered under section 120.60(6), Florida Statutes, must be commenced by filing a petition for review in accordance with rules 9.100(b) and (c). (3) Review of quasi-judicial decisions of any administrative body, agency, board, or commission not subject to the Administrative Procedure Act must be commenced by filing a petition for certiorari in accordance with rules 9.100(b) and (c), unless judicial review by appeal is provided by general law. (c) The Record. (1) Generally. As further described in this rule, the record must include only materials furnished to and reviewed by the lower tribunal in advance of the administrative action to be reviewed by the court. (2) Review of Final Action Under the Administrative Procedure Act. (A) Proceedings Involving Disputed Issues of Material Fact. In an appeal from any proceeding under sections 120.569 and 120.57(1), Florida Statutes, the record will consist of all notices, pleadings, motions, and intermediate rulings; evidence admitted; those matters officially recognized; proffers of proof and objections and rulings thereon; proposed findings and exceptions; any decision, opinion, order, or report by the presiding officer; all staff memoranda or data submitted to the presiding officer during the hearing or before its disposition, after notice of submission to all parties, except communications by advisory staff as permitted April 1, 2026 Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 140 under section 120.66(1), Florida Statutes, if such communications are public records; all matters placed on the record after an ex parte communication; and the official transcript. (B) Proceedings Not Involving Disputed Issues of Material Fact. In an appeal from any proceeding under sections 120.569 and 120.57(2), Florida Statutes, the record will consist of the notice and summary of grounds; evidence received; all written statements submitted; any decisions overruling objections; all matters placed on the record after an ex parte communication; the official transcript; and any decision, opinion, order, or report by the presiding officer. (C) Declaratory Statements. In an appeal from any proceeding under section 120.565, Florida Statutes, the record will consist of the petition seeking a declaratory statement and any pleadings filed with the agency; all notices relating to the petition published in the Florida Administrative Register; the declaratory statement issued by the agency or the agency’s denial of the petition; and all matters listed in subdivision (c)(2)(A) or (c)(2)(B) of this rule, whichever is appropriate, if a hearing is held on the declaratory statement petition. (D) Summary Hearings. In an appeal from any proceeding under section 120.574, Florida Statutes, the record will consist of all notices, pleadings, motions, and intermediate rulings; evidence received; a statement of matters officially recognized; proffers of proof and objections and rulings thereon; matters placed on the record after an ex parte communication; the written decision of the administrative law judge presiding at the final hearing; and the official transcript of the final hearing. (E) Challenges to Rules. (i) In an appeal from any proceeding conducted under section 120.56, Florida Statutes, the record will consist of all notices, pleadings, motions, and intermediate rulings; evidence admitted; those matters officially recognized; proffers of proof and objections and rulings thereon; proposed findings and April 1, 2026 Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 141 exceptions; any decision, opinion, order, or report by the presiding officer; all staff memoranda or data submitted to the presiding officer during the hearing or before its disposition, after notice of submission to all parties, except communications by advisory staff as permitted under section 120.66(1), Florida Statutes, if such communications are public records; all matters placed on the record after an ex parte communication; and the official transcript. (ii) In an appeal from a rule adoption under sections 120.54 or 120.68(9), Florida Statutes, in which the sole issue presented by the petition is the constitutionality of a rule and there are no disputed issues of fact, the record will consist only of those documents from the rulemaking record compiled by the agency that materially address the constitutional issue. The agency’s rulemaking record consists of all notices given for the proposed rule; any statement of estimated regulatory costs for the rule; a written summary of hearings on the proposed rule; the written comments and responses to written comments as required by sections 120.54 and 120.541, Florida Statutes; all notices and findings made under section 120.54(4), Florida Statutes; all materials filed by the agency with the Administrative Procedures Committee under section 120.54(3), Florida Statutes; all materials filed with the Department of State under section 120.54(3), Florida Statutes; and all written inquiries from standing committees of the legislature concerning the rule. (F) Immediate Final Orders. In an appeal from an immediate final order entered under section 120.569(2)(n), Florida Statutes, the record must be compiled in an appendix pursuant to