Privacy Policy & Disclaimers

The Polk County Property Appraiser (PCPA), provides this website for the convenience of the property owners in Polk County Florida. By using the information and services available on this website, you agree to be bound by all of the PCPA’s terms and conditions of use as defined in this Privacy Policy.

The Polk County Property Appraiser (PCPA) recognizes the importance of protecting the privacy of personal information collected on this site. Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name, address, email address, or phone number, and that is not otherwise publicly available.

The terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy may be updated. Users should check this policy frequently to keep abreast of any changes. Your continued use of our websites and services will indicate your agreement to any such change.

Please note that PCPA is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of third party web sites whose contents are not controlled by the PCPA.

Privacy Policy

AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION - The Polk County Property Appraiser (PCPA) automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, PCPA cookie information, and the page you request.

PCPA uses information for the following general purposes: to customize the content you see, fulfill your requests, improve our services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients.

BREACHED PASSWORDS - A breached password is a password known to have been compromised from one or more breached websites. This does not mean the Polk County Property Appraiser website has been breached but breached passwords are no longer secure and should be changed ASAP as they are at much greater risk of being used to access other website accounts.

COOKIES – The Polk County Property Appraiser’s websites require cookies for security purposes. In addition to authenticating the identity of visitors using features that require the visitor to log in, the cookies used help to prevent potentially malicious third parties from tampering with or even hijacking the browsing sessions of anonymous visitors. The PCPA requires secure cookies for authenticated transactions. While you can adjust your browser settings to limit or block cookies, be aware that blocking cookies from the PCPA website will render the site inaccessible to you. For instructions:


DATA COLLECTION – When you engage in activities on this site, you may be asked to provide certain information about yourself by filling out and submitting an online form. It is completely optional for you to engage in these activities.

Depending upon the activity, some of the information that we ask you to provide is identified as required and some as voluntary. If you do not provide the required data with respect to a particular activity, you will not be able to engage in that activity online. Instead, you will need to use a non-web option for transacting that business with the Polk County Property Appraiser.

LINKS - Links to other government agencies and some private organizations are provided on our websites. The Property Appraiser's Office and/or its authorized agents are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such other websites. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that respective site.

PASSWORDS - For the security of data on this site we require users' accounts to have strong passwords. Password must be a minimum of 8 characters and have at least one each of the following: one number, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one special character.

SECURITY - We use reasonable precautions to protect our customers' personal information and to store it securely. All of the Polk County Property Appraisers websites use Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS), which transports data over an encrypted connection, in order to increase security of data transfer. Only the latest version of Transport Layer Security (TLS), 1.2, is enabled on our web servers. Finally, the servers on which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

SOCIAL MEDIA – Social Media channels are used to convey public information, concerning the valuation of property in Polk County Florida. Comments posted by others on the Polk County Property Appraiser's social media sites are not to be considered the opinion of the agency; nor does the Polk County Property Appraiser's Office endorse any third-party comments. All contents of the page, including friends and likes, are subject to disclosure under Florida’s Public Records Act. Postings on these platforms constitute acceptance of these terms.

TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION - Two-Factor Authentication adds a second layer of security to user accounts by requiring an email confirmation before logging in.

Disclaimers

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) COMPLIANCE - It is the goal of the Polk County Property Appraisers Office (PCPA) to ensure that the services we provide are as accessible for individuals with disabilities as they are for individuals without disabilities. The PCPA is working diligently to ensure our documents, forms, maps, websites and web content meet or exceed the WCAG 2.0 Level AA and federally mandated accessibility standards. If this correspondence or any attachments provided do not address your specific needs, please email us and we will work to provide the information to you via alternative means. Please note there is no charge to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable requests to ensure your needs are met. If you have questions or require additional information, please contact the Polk County Property Appraiser's ADA Coordinator at PAadacoordinator@polk-county.net.

DATA DISCLAIMER - The Polk County Property Appraiser makes every effort to produce and publish the most current and accurate information possible. The Property Appraiser’s Office assumes no responsibility for errors in the information and does not guarantee that the data is free from errors or inaccuracies. Similarly, the Property Appraiser’s Office assumes no responsibility for the consequences of inappropriate uses or interpretations of the data. No warranties, expressed or implied, are provided for the data herein, its use, or its interpretation. Confidential information is redacted per Florida Statute 119.071.

EMAIL ADDRESSES ARE PUBLIC RECORDS - Per Florida Statute 668.6076 a government agency that operates a website and uses electronic mail shall post the following disclaimer: E-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.

MAP DISCLAIMER - The Polk County, Florida Property Appraiser (PCPA) Interactive Map is a public resource of general information. The PCPA makes no warranty, representation or guarantee as to the content, sequence, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any of the data provided herein. The PCPA explicitly disclaims any representations and warranties, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. PLEASE NOTE THAT All MAPS ARE WORKSHEETS USED FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY. They are not surveys. The information is provided "as is." The PCPA shall assume no liability for: errors or inaccuracies regardless of how caused; OR decisions made/actions taken in reliance upon data furnished.

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION DISCLAIMER – Property descriptions provided on this site are a condensed version of the original legal description recorded in the public records. The property description does not include the section, township, range, or the county where the property is located. It is a description of the ownership boundaries only and does not include easements or other interests of record. The property description should not be used when conveying property. The Property Appraiser assumes no responsibility for the consequences of inappropriate uses or interpretations of the property description. No warranties, expressed or implied, are provided for the data herein, its use, or its interpretation.

PUBLIC RECORDS ACT The Public Records Act does not contain a specific time limit (such as 24 hours or 30 days) for compliance with public records requests. The standard is the limited reasonable time allowed to retrieve the record(s) and remove those records that are exempt. If the nature or volume of public records requested to be inspected, examined, or copied is such as to require extensive use of information technology resources, or extensive clerical or supervisory assistance by Property Appraiser personnel, charges may be assessed, which are to be reasonable and based on the cost incurred for the extensive use of such resources of labor in furnishing or copying the information requested. The Public Records Act is fully outlined in Florida Statute Chapter 119.

SQUARE FOOTAGE DISCLAIMER - All square footage estimates are derived from exterior wall measurements which is the standard in the appraisal industry. Builders frequently use interior dimensions and they may differ from those on our records. Before requesting a review, property owners may want to verify their square footage by taking external wall measurements themselves.

Questions and Suggestions

If you have questions or suggestions in regards to this privacy statement, please Contact Us.