Florida’s domestic violence hotline is 1-800-500-1119, answered 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Trained counselors provide crisis support, safety planning, and a direct referral to the certified domestic violence center nearest you. For TTY, dial 711. If you need legal advice, a separate attorney-staffed line is available at 1-850-385-0611, or press option 3 from the main hotline.1Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence. Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence
All Available Hotline Numbers
Different situations call for different lines. Keep this short list somewhere you can reach it quickly.
- Florida Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-500-1119, available 24/7 for crisis counseling and shelter referrals.
- TTY access: 711 through the Florida Relay Service.
- Florida Legal Hotline: 1-850-385-0611, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attorneys advise on protective injunctions, custody, and the criminal process. Staff communicate in English and Spanish, with interpretation available for other languages. You can also reach this line by calling the main hotline and choosing option 3.1Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence. Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Use this as a backup if you cannot reach the Florida line.2National Domestic Violence Hotline. Domestic Violence Support
Text and web-chat options are also available through the Florida Partnership to End Domestic Violence for callers who cannot safely speak aloud.
Calling Safely If You Are Being Monitored
Reaching out for help can escalate the danger if an abuser watches your phone or computer. A few steps reduce that risk before you dial.
On a shared computer, open a private or incognito window before visiting any help-related site, and manually clear your search history, cookies, and temporary files afterward. On a mobile phone, delete call logs and text messages tied to the hotline. If you have any reason to think your phone is being monitored, don’t use it. Borrow a friend’s phone, use a phone at work, or go to a public library.
The Federal Trade Commission notes that monitoring software is usually hidden, but there are signs to watch for: the abuser knowing your exact location, the content of your messages, or your search history without an obvious explanation; a battery that drains faster than normal; unexplained data spikes; or settings that change on their own.3Federal Trade Commission. Stalkerware – What To Know
One warning matters more than the technical details: trying to investigate or remove stalkerware on your device can alert the abuser. Speak to a domestic violence advocate first, using a clean device, before you touch anything on the phone you suspect.3Federal Trade Commission. Stalkerware – What To Know
What Happens When You Call
The first call is about stabilizing the crisis. A counselor helps you assess immediate safety and works through a plan for your situation: the safest way to leave a shared home, someone trusted you can stay with, or a strategy for gathering essential documents.
From there, counselors make concrete referrals. That includes emergency shelter at the closest certified domestic violence center, legal aid for a protective injunction, and medical or mental health providers. If you have children, the counselor will help you think through custody and safety concerns specific to your family. The referral is to the specific center serving your area, with a walk-through of what to expect on arrival.
Florida operates 41 certified domestic violence centers covering all 67 counties, so a shelter is within reach wherever you are in the state.4Florida Department of Children and Families. Office of Domestic Violence Minor children and other dependents can be sheltered together with the survivor they depend on.5The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 39.905 – Domestic Violence Centers Many centers also offer transitional housing lasting up to two years, with help toward employment and long-term stability.
Who Counts as a Family or Household Member
Florida law covers a wider circle of relationships than the term “domestic violence” sometimes suggests. It includes battery, assault, stalking, sexual assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal act causing physical injury or death committed by a family or household member.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.28 – Domestic Violence
“Family or household member” covers current and former spouses, blood relatives, in-laws, people who live together or have lived together as a family, and parents who share a child regardless of whether they were ever married. Aside from co-parents, the people involved must have shared a home at some point.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.28 – Domestic Violence
Getting a Protective Injunction
A protective injunction, sometimes called a restraining order, is a court order that bars the abuser from contacting you or coming near you. Filing costs nothing. Florida law prohibits charging a filing fee for domestic violence petitions, and the court reimburses the sheriff for service.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence Injunction
You can file if you are a victim of domestic violence, or if you have reasonable cause to believe you are in imminent danger of becoming one. The petition goes to circuit court, and every clerk’s office must provide simplified forms with instructions.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence Injunction
Describe the specific facts: what happened, when, and any threats made. Include the respondent’s full name, current address, and identifying details such as date of birth, physical description, and workplace, so the sheriff can serve the papers. Photographs of injuries, screenshots of threatening messages, medical records, and witness names all help the court weigh the petition. You sign under penalty of perjury, so every statement must be truthful. You do not need a lawyer, and the legal hotline at 1-850-385-0611 can help you think through what to include.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence Injunction
After you file, two things happen. If the court finds immediate and present danger, a judge can issue a temporary injunction the same day, without the abuser being present or notified. That temporary order lasts up to 15 days. The court then schedules a full hearing no later than the day the temporary order expires, at which both sides appear.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence Injunction
Within 24 hours of the injunction being issued, the clerk electronically transmits it to law enforcement, who serve the respondent. Service can happen any day of the week, at any time. A final injunction can order the respondent to stay away from your home, workplace, and school, surrender firearms, and comply with any other conditions the judge finds necessary.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence Injunction
If the Order Is Violated
Florida treats violations as crimes on their own. An abuser who deliberately violates a domestic violence injunction, by contacting you, coming within 500 feet of your home, school, or workplace, destroying your property, or refusing to surrender firearms, commits a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail.8Justia Law. Florida Code 741.31 – Violation of an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence
A person with two or more prior convictions for violating an injunction against the same victim commits a third-degree felony on a further violation. Possessing any firearm or ammunition in violation of a final injunction is itself a first-degree misdemeanor, even without any other violation.8Justia Law. Florida Code 741.31 – Violation of an Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence
On any domestic violence conviction, Florida law requires a minimum of one year of probation and completion of a batterers’ intervention program.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.281 – Court to Order Batterers Intervention Program Attendance
If You Leave Florida
A Florida injunction remains enforceable if you move or travel. Federal law requires every state, tribe, and territory to honor a protection order from another jurisdiction as though it were their own. You do not have to register the order in the new state for it to be valid; law enforcement must enforce it on sight.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders
The only conditions are that the issuing Florida court had jurisdiction and that the respondent received notice and an opportunity to be heard. The standard Florida injunction process satisfies both.
Housing Protections If You Rely on Federal Assistance
If you live in federally subsidized housing, the Violence Against Women Act keeps an abuser’s actions from costing you your home. You cannot be denied admission to, evicted from, or terminated from a HUD-subsidized program because of domestic violence committed against you, even if the abuse produced an eviction record or a criminal history in your file.11U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
The specific rights include:
- Requesting an emergency transfer to a different unit for safety.
- Asking the landlord to remove the abuser from the lease while you stay (lease bifurcation).
- Moving with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher and keeping the assistance.
- Self-certifying eligibility on HUD Form 5382, without being required to provide more proof unless the housing provider has conflicting information.
- Confidentiality of your survivor status, with a bar on retaliation for exercising these rights.
These protections apply across public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, Section 202, Section 811, HOPWA, HOME, and Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation.11U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
Florida also runs an Address Confidentiality Program under Sections 741.401 through 741.465 of the Florida Statutes. It gives you a substitute mailing address so your actual location stays hidden, with the program’s office acting as your legal agent for mail and service of legal documents. Call (850) 414-3300 and ask for the Address Confidentiality Program, or work with an advocate at your local certified center.
Immigration Options for Non-Citizen Survivors
Non-citizen survivors have two federal pathways that do not depend on the abuser’s cooperation.
A VAWA self-petition is available to an abused spouse, former spouse, child, or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. It is filed directly with USCIS. The abuser is never contacted or notified at any stage. There is no filing fee and no police report is required. A personal declaration describing the abuse is the central piece of evidence. Once USCIS makes a preliminary determination that the petition has merit, the applicant becomes eligible for a work permit and certain public benefits.
The U visa is for victims of qualifying crimes, including domestic violence, who cooperate with law enforcement. Applicants must show substantial physical or mental harm and obtain a certification from a law enforcement agency confirming they were helpful to the investigation.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders The Florida legal hotline at 1-850-385-0611 can give initial guidance on either pathway and connect you with an immigration attorney.