To fill out and file a court form in Florida, download the Supreme Court–approved form for your case type from flcourts.gov, complete it using your official records, redact sensitive personal information, sign it (with a notary if the form requires one), and submit it through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com or in person at the Clerk of Court’s office in the county where your case belongs. The fee, the supporting documents, and the small formatting rules are what decide whether the clerk accepts your filing or sends it back for correction.
Find the Right Form
The Florida Supreme Court maintains approved forms grouped by legal category. Family law is the most developed set and covers divorce, child custody, alimony, name changes, domestic violence injunctions, paternity, parenting plans, and relocation.1Florida Courts. Find a Form Forms are numbered by topic. Dissolution of marriage petitions fall under forms 12.901 through 12.905, domestic violence injunctions under 12.980(a) through 12.980(x), and final judgments under 12.990 through 12.999. Each form on the Supreme Court’s forms page comes with its own instruction packet.2Florida Supreme Court. Court Forms
Probate and guardianship forms live in the Florida Probate Rules rather than on the main family law forms page.3Florida Courts. Guardianship Civil forms for small claims, residential evictions, and replevin are generally posted on your local Clerk of Court’s website rather than the statewide portal. If you can’t find your form on the Supreme Court site, go to the clerk in the county where you plan to file.
Check for Local Circuit Forms
Florida has 20 judicial circuits, and chief judges issue administrative orders that add local filing requirements on top of the statewide templates.4Florida Courts. Trial Courts – Circuit A circuit may require a local cover sheet, a specific disclosure, or an internal checklist. Visit your circuit’s website before you start filling anything out. A statewide form submitted without the required local attachment sits in a pending status until you add the missing piece.
Gather Your Information First
Pull everything together before you open the form. Most filings require full legal names, current mailing addresses, dates of birth for all parties, and the case number if a case already exists. Family law matters almost always require a Financial Affidavit covering income, expenses, assets, and debts, so have recent pay stubs, tax returns, and bank statements in front of you.
The “address of record” is where the court will mail every future notice. Put down an address you actually check. If you miss a hearing because a notice went to an outdated address, the court can enter a default judgment against you.
Check every date, identification number, and address against your official records before writing anything on the form. Inconsistencies between the form and your supporting documents are one of the fastest ways to create problems during judicial review.
Redact Sensitive Information
Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.425 requires you to minimize sensitive personal data in anything you file. The rule is strict. You may not include any portion of a Social Security number, bank account number, credit card number, charge account number, or debit account number.5The Florida Bar. Rule 2.425 – Minimization of the Filing of Sensitive Information For taxpayer identification numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, phone numbers, insurance policy numbers, and loan account numbers, include only the last four digits. Use initials only for anyone known to be a minor, and include only the year of birth rather than the full date. Email addresses, usernames, passwords, and PINs must also be truncated.
If a form’s instructions call for a full Social Security number on an internal worksheet, check whether that worksheet is meant to be filed separately under seal. Unredacted sensitive information doesn’t just create a privacy risk. The clerk can place the filing in a correction queue until you redact and resubmit.
Sign and Notarize
Some Florida court forms require your signature to be witnessed by a notary public or a deputy clerk at the Clerk of Court’s office.6Florida Courts. Notary Public Requirement The notary verifies your identity and confirms you’re signing voluntarily. They don’t review the legal content. A Florida notary can charge up to $10 per notarial act.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 117.05 – Use of Notary Commission; Unlawful Use; Notary Fee; Seal; Duties Many banks, UPS stores, and libraries also offer notary services.
Each form’s instruction packet tells you whether notarization is required. Read the last page of the instructions before you sign. A filing that should have been notarized and wasn’t can be stricken on a motion from the opposing party or flagged by the clerk.
The Perjury Declaration
Many verified Florida court documents include a written declaration: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing document and that the facts stated in it are true.” Signing that declaration while knowingly providing false information is perjury by false written declaration, a third-degree felony.8The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 92.525 – Verification of Documents; Perjury by False Written Declaration, Penalty A third-degree felony carries up to five years in prison.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 775.082 – Penalties; Applicability of Sentencing Structures; Mandatory Minimum Sentences If a figure on your Financial Affidavit isn’t exact, use a reasonable estimate and label it as such rather than guessing at a precise number and signing as if it were verified.
File Through the Portal or at the Clerk’s Window
You can file online through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com or in person at the Clerk of Court’s office in the county where your case belongs.10Florida Courts. Filing Your Forms E-filing is the standard method, and attorneys are generally required to use it. Self-represented litigants can still file paper documents at the clerk’s window.
Registering on the E-Filing Portal
Go to myflcourtaccess.com, select your filer role from the dropdown, and click “Register.” Provide your name and email, and create a username and password. You’ll get two emails after registering: one confirming your registration and one with an activation link. Click the activation link within 72 hours or your account will be deleted and you’ll have to start over.11Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Portal Filer User Manual
Upload documents as PDFs. The portal validates each submission and routes it to a correction queue if it detects a virus or a corrupt file. The clerk also reviews submissions and can place a filing in the correction queue if it can’t be associated with a pending case, the fee is wrong, or the filing conflicts with court rules.12Florida Courts. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal Standards When your document is accepted into the official court record, you’ll get an email notification. That acceptance email is your proof of filing.
Pay the Fee or Apply for Indigent Status
Every new case requires a filing fee set by the type and value of the claim. Small claims fees start at $55 for claims under $100, rise to $175 for claims between $500 and $2,500, and reach $300 for claims between $2,500 and $8,000. A dissolution of marriage petition typically costs $408. These amounts are set by statute, though local surcharges may add small variations by county.
Civil Indigent Status
If you can’t afford the fee, apply for a determination of civil indigent status under Florida Statute 57.082. The application asks for your net income, other income, assets, liabilities, and debts.13The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status You qualify as indigent if your household income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. There is a presumption against indigent status if you own property with net equity of $2,500 or more, excluding your homestead and one vehicle worth up to $5,000.
If the clerk finds you indigent, you’ll be enrolled in a payment plan under Section 28.246 rather than paying upfront. A monthly payment is presumed reasonable if it doesn’t exceed 2 percent of your annual net income divided by 12.13The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status Once certified, you don’t have to prepay filing fees, service of process costs, or charges for certified copies of court orders.14Florida Senate. Florida Code 57.081 – Costs; Right to Proceed Where Prepayment of Costs and Payment of Filing Fees Waived
Arrange Service on the Other Party
Filing with the clerk does not notify the opposing party. You’re responsible for service of process, meaning the formal delivery of the summons and petition. Civil process in Florida runs throughout the state and is generally served by the sheriff of the county where the person to be served is located.15The Florida Legislature. Florida Code Chapter 48 – Process and Service of Process For non-enforceable civil process, you can also use a certified process server appointed under Section 48.27.
The sheriff’s fee for serving a summons or writ is $40.16Florida Senate. Florida Code 30.231 – Service of Process; Fees Private process servers set their own rates, which tend to run higher. Once the other party is served, the server files a return of service with the court. Without that proof on file, your case can’t move forward to a hearing.
Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.140, a defendant generally has 20 days after service to file a responsive pleading.17The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.140 A state agency sued under Section 768.28 gets 30 days; other state entities get 40 days. If no response comes within the deadline, you can move for a default judgment.
Common Mistakes That Delay Filings
Most filings end up in the correction queue for one of these reasons:
- Wrong or missing filing fee. The clerk will hold the filing until the correct amount is paid.
- Missing notarization when the form requires it. The document is incomplete and can be challenged.
- Unredacted sensitive information in violation of Rule 2.425, forcing you to redact and refile.
- Corrupt or unreadable PDFs, which the e-filing portal rejects automatically.12Florida Courts. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal Standards
- Wrong case number on a filing meant to go into an existing case, so the clerk can’t associate it with the right file.
- Missing local circuit forms, such as a required cover sheet or checklist, which leaves the statewide form unprocessed.
The filing date generally reflects when the corrected document is accepted, not when the flawed version was first submitted. Getting it right the first time matters more than getting it in fast.
Interpreter and ADA Requests
If you need a spoken-language or sign-language interpreter, or an ADA accommodation, request it through your circuit’s court administration office. Most circuits ask for at least seven days’ notice before the scheduled hearing. The court provides these services at no cost. Each circuit uses its own request form, so contact your local court administration office for the specific process.