Clerk of the Circuit Court Homepage

Civil Courts

Effective June 1, 2009, new Circuit Civil Court fees available here.

Effective July 1, 2009, new County Civil Court fees available here.

The Florida Rules of Procedure for County Civil, Circuit Civil, Family, Probate and Small Claims courts state there shall be one form of action to be known as a "civil action."
Civil actions include:

Child Support and Custody Cases,

Adoptions,

Name Changes,
Divorces,

Domestic and Repeat Violence,

Mortgage Forclosures
Contract Disputes,

Negligence,

Guardianship,

Wills and Estates,

Landlord/Tenant Actions,
Ejectment
and

Small Claims Suits.

Looking for information on "Collecting a Judgement" or "Filing a Lien"? CLICK HERE

If you are an attorney or legal assistant looking for helpful hints from the Clerk , CLICK HERE.

Clerk's Civil Court glossary of terms.

Clerk's Civil Court forms.

Florida Courts Family Law Forms.

Forclosure Statistics

^New ONLINE HELP WITH COMPLETING LANDLORD/TENANT, DIVORCE &/OR SMALL CLAIMS FORMS

The Clerk's Self Help Center for affordable legal services offers limited attorney consultations to pro se or self-represented litigants (i.e. those people who do not plan to have an attorney represent them in court).

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Civil Court Records

There are four major types of cases within Civil Court Records. Circuit Civil cases are those where damages sought exceed $15,000. Common actions include Mortgage Foreclosures, Lien Foreclosures and Negligence suits. Family Division cases include actions relating to Adoptions, Dissolution of Marriage, Child Custody and Domestic/Repeat Violence. County Civil cases involve actions such as Delinquent Tenant and Lien Foreclosure, where damages sought range from $5000.01 to $15,000. Small Claims damages do not exceed $5,000. Common actions include Breach of Contract and Replevin.

Circuit Civil Court Records

CIRCUIT CIVIL COURT RECORDS handles all Domestic Relations (i.e. divorce, child support, domestic violence), Mortgage Foreclosures and Negligence Actions.

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

The Circuit Court for Civil is divided into two divisions: civil and family.

The Family Division of the Circuit Court hears family actions, which include dissolution of marriage, name change, paternity, domestic violence and adoption. The Unified Family Court also handles certain adoption cases and Domestic Violence cases when a Juvenile Dependency action is pending.
The Civil Division of Circuit Court hears civil action which include mortgage foreclosure, contracts, medical malpractice, negligence and wrongful acts, dealing with money matters in excess of $15,000. Circuit Civil actions seek private remedies of enforcement of personal rights based on contracts and agreements dealing with money amounts of $15,000 or more.

In 2005, Circuit Civil Court Records handled more than 17,000 Domestic Relations cases plus nearly 8,500 "Other" cases including Contracts, Civil Actions, Mortgage Foreclosures and Negligence cases.

315 Court St., Room 170
Clearwater, Florida 33756
727-464-3267

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County Civil Court Records

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

COUNTY CIVIL COURT RECORDS handles all Small Claims (up to $5,000), Claims ($5,000 to $15,000) and Landlord/Tenant actions.

County Civil actions include actions where damages sought are over $5,000 but less than $15,000 excluding costs, interest and attorney fees; this includes Landlord/Tenant actions.

Small Claims is a separate division of the County Court and has jurisdiction where damages do not exceed $5,000 exclusive of costs, interest or attorney fees. Small Claims Court provides a forum for people to settle disputes in a speedy, inexpensive manner.

The County Court also hears Simplified Dissolution of Marriage cases, even though they are filed as a Circuit family action.

In 2005, County Civil Court Records handled more than 21,000 cases.

315 Court St., Room 170
Clearwater, Florida 33756
727-464-3267

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Ken Burke, Clerk of the Circuit Court
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