The filing fee for a divorce in Florida is about $400 for the petition itself, and once the clerk adds the $10 summons and roughly $10.50 recording charge, you’re looking at close to $418 before anyone has been served. Service of process, a mandatory parenting course if you have kids, and possible mediation can push the total higher. If your income sits at or below twice the federal poverty level, you can apply to have those court costs waived.
What the Clerk Charges When You File
Florida Statute 28.241 sets a base filing fee of up to $295 for family law cases filed under Chapter 61, which covers dissolution of marriage.1Online Sunshine. Florida Code 28.241 – Filing Fees for Trial and Appellate Proceedings That’s the starting point. The statute adds a $4 education trust fund fee, and other surcharges authorized by general law stack on top, so most county clerks end up charging around $400 for the petition alone. Lake County lists the dissolution filing fee at $397.50.2Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Domestic Relations Fees
Two smaller charges are typically collected at the same time. The clerk charges $10 to issue the summons that formally notifies your spouse of the case.1Online Sunshine. Florida Code 28.241 – Filing Fees for Trial and Appellate Proceedings There’s also roughly $10.50 for recording the final judgment. Budget around $418 at the clerk’s window.
If your spouse files a counter-petition, they’ll owe a separate filing fee. Broward County charges $392.50 for that filing.3Broward County Clerk of Courts. Fees and Costs Other counties are generally in the same range.
Serving Your Spouse
Once the summons is issued, someone has to physically deliver it. The county sheriff’s office is the standard option and costs about $40 per person served. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office charges exactly $40 for serving a civil summons.4Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Civil Process These fees are set by Florida Statute 30.231 and are non-refundable even if the sheriff can’t locate your spouse on the first try.
A private process server is the other option, and it can be worth the money if your spouse is hard to find or you need faster delivery. Private servers in Florida generally charge $40 to $100 for standard service, with rush requests adding $25 to $50. Extra travel or repeated attempts drive the cost up further.
When your spouse cannot be found at all, the court may allow service by publication. That means running a legal notice in a local newspaper, and it’s considerably more expensive than personal service, often several hundred dollars depending on the paper’s rates and how long the notice runs. You’ll need to document your efforts to locate your spouse before a judge signs off on this method.
The Parenting Course if You Have Kids
If you have minor children, Florida law requires both parents to complete a state-approved Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before the court will enter a final judgment.5Online Sunshine. Florida Code 61.21 – Parenting Course Authorized The course runs at least four hours. If your children have special needs or emotional concerns, you have to pick a course tailored to those issues.
The deadlines are tight. The filing parent must complete the course within 45 days of filing. The other parent has 45 days from the date they’re served.5Online Sunshine. Florida Code 61.21 – Parenting Course Authorized Proof of completion has to be filed with the court before the final hearing. Skipping the course risks contempt, loss of shared parental responsibility, or restricted time-sharing. Course fees vary by provider but are typically modest compared to the filing fee itself.
Mediation Costs
When spouses disagree on property, parenting time, or support, the court will often order mediation before setting a trial date. Florida’s court-connected mediation programs scale their fees to combined annual income:
- Combined income under $50,000: $60 per person, per session.
- Combined income between $50,000 and $100,000: $120 per person, per session.
- Parties declared indigent: no charge.
Those rates apply to the court’s own program.6Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Family Mediation A private mediator runs considerably higher, often $150 to $300 per hour. Most divorces that go through mediation need one to three sessions. Couples with combined income above $100,000 are generally expected to use a private mediator.
The Simplified Dissolution Option
Florida offers a streamlined process called simplified dissolution. The filing fee is the same, but the case moves faster and skips much of the paperwork that drives up costs in a contested divorce. Both spouses have to qualify, and every one of these conditions must be true:
- You have no dependent children together, the wife has no minor children born during the marriage, and she is not pregnant.
- Neither spouse is seeking alimony.
- You’ve already divided all assets and debts to both parties’ satisfaction.
- Both of you are willing to give up the right to a trial and appeal.
- Both spouses can appear at the clerk’s office to sign the petition and attend the final hearing together.
- At least one spouse has lived in Florida for six months or more before filing.
Because both spouses sign the petition cooperatively, you won’t pay for formal service of process. The trade-off: you can’t ask for alimony or contest how property is divided, so this only works when both sides are genuinely on the same page.
If You Can’t Afford the Filing Fee
You can apply for indigent status through the clerk’s office. Florida Statute 57.082 lets the clerk waive court costs for people whose income falls at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status For 2026, that works out to roughly $31,920 a year or less for a single person, or about $43,280 or less for a two-person household.
The application asks for a complete picture of your finances: take-home pay after mandatory deductions, government benefits or pension income, and the value of your assets including bank accounts, real estate equity, and vehicles.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status The clerk makes the determination, not a judge. Be thorough and honest — the clerk can deny the application or revoke the waiver later if the information turns out to be inaccurate.
One detail catches people off guard. Even if you’re approved as indigent, you still have to enroll in the clerk’s payment plan and pay a one-time $25 administrative fee. The waiver defers your costs rather than eliminating them outright, so you may owe the balance later if your financial situation improves.
How to Pay and File
Florida requires all court filings to go through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, the single statewide access point for submitting documents and paying fees electronically.8Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Authority The portal accepts credit cards and electronic checks (ACH). As of July 2025, credit card payments carry a convenience fee of 3.95 percent, while ACH transactions have a flat $5 fee.9The Florida Bar. Significant Updates Ahead for E-Filers and Florida’s E-Filing Portal On a $400 filing fee, the credit card surcharge alone runs about $16, so ACH saves you real money.
Before you upload anything, make sure all forms are signed and notarized where required.10Florida Courts Help. Filing Your Forms The petition for dissolution of marriage, the financial affidavit, and certain other documents need notarized signatures. A missed notarization delays your case because the clerk won’t accept the filing until it’s fixed. Florida notaries can charge up to $10 per signature.
One timing point worth planning around: Florida imposes a mandatory 20-day waiting period between the date the petition is filed and the earliest date a judge can enter a final judgment. Even in an uncontested case where both spouses agree on everything, the divorce cannot be finalized before that window closes.