Who owns the dirt

Permitting

State highway, county road, city street, private pole. A permit is not a contract, and it is often revocable.

1. Local

   City dirt is not state dirt

   A municipal franchise or pole-attachment is not a state highway occupancy permit. A camera near a state road may still sit on city, county, utility, or private land. Proximity is an inference, not a permit.

   Name the land owner before treating a pin as authorized.

   supportedinference

   FDOT Engineering and Operations Memorandum No. 26-01 — LPR systems in SHS right-of-way · § 316.0777, Fla. Stat. — ALPR in State Highway System right-of-way

2. County

   County roads vs state roads

   A sheriff’s cameras on county roads survive a DOT order that only hits the state highway system. Florida’s EOM 26-01 is one current exhibit: SHS revoked, local dirt untouched by its terms. The same split exists wherever the DOT does not own county dirt — which is most of the map.

   Split the roster: SHS, county, city, private.

   supportedevidence

   FDOT Engineering and Operations Memorandum No. 26-01 — LPR systems in SHS right-of-way · § 316.0777, Fla. Stat. — ALPR in State Highway System right-of-way

3. State

   DOT owns the state highway

   Right-of-way is a state definition. Florida’s General Use Permit was revocable; EOM 26-01 (31 Aug 2026) revoked local-LEA LPR approvals on SHS with a 30-day clock. That instrument is Florida’s. Do not copy it onto another state’s dirt.

   Use that state’s occupancy form, or leave it empty.

   supportedevidence

   FDOT Engineering and Operations Memorandum No. 26-01 — LPR systems in SHS right-of-way · § 316.0777, Fla. Stat. — ALPR in State Highway System right-of-way

4. Federal

   Federal land is a separate owner

   Interstate highways are still state-administered for most occupancy. NPS, USFS, GSA, and military bases are their own dirt. This briefing has not retrieved a federal occupancy instrument. Empty beats a guess.

   Do not treat a pin on an interstate as a federal permit.

   unprovenassumption

   CRS IN12735 — Federal Legislation and Oversight of Law Enforcement Use of ALPRs