How to file for divorce in Florida, step by step

Florida makes this more structured than most states. The Supreme Court publishes an approved form for every version of a dissolution case, and the whole system assumes you will use them. Picking the wrong petition is the most common way a Florida filing goes sideways in week one.

Which divorce petition form do you file in Florida?

There are four, and the petition form page carries all of them:

• Form 12.901(a), joint petition for simplified dissolution. Both spouses sign, no minor or dependent children, no pregnancy, assets and debts already divided, no alimony sought, and both give up trial and appeal rights.

• Form 12.901(b)(1), dissolution with dependent or minor children. Use this if you have a child together or a spouse is pregnant.

• Form 12.901(b)(2), dissolution with property but no children.

• Form 12.901(b)(3), dissolution with no children and no property. For couples with no marital assets or liabilities, no children, no pregnancy, and no alimony claim.

The instructions to form 12.901(b)(1) are worth reading even if you have a lawyer, because they describe the whole sequence the court expects.

What else do you file with a Florida divorce petition?

More than the petition itself. For a case with children, the instructions list:

• UCCJEA Affidavit, form 12.902(d), which establishes that Florida is the right state to decide custody

• Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, form 12.902(e), if you are asking for support. If you do not know your spouse's income, you can file it after their financial affidavit arrives.

• Proof of residency, either an Affidavit of Corroborating Witness, form 12.902(i), or a photocopy of a Florida driver license, ID card, or voter registration card issued at least six months before filing

• Notice of Social Security Number, form 12.902(j)

• Family Law Financial Affidavit, form 12.902(b) or (c). It goes in with the petition if you are asking for child support, and otherwise within 45 days of service.

• Certificate of Compliance with Mandatory Disclosure, form 12.932, within 45 days of service

• Parenting Plan, form 12.995(a), (b), or (c), signed and notarized if you agree, proposed if you do not

• Marital Settlement Agreement, form 12.902(f)(1), if you have reached one

• Family Court Cover Sheet, form 12.928

Getting the residency proof right matters more than it looks. A driver license issued four months ago proves nothing, and the hearing is a bad place to discover that.

How much does it cost to file for divorce in Florida?

The base is statutory. Section 28.241 sets a filing fee of up to $295 for a case brought in circuit court under chapter 61, the family law chapter, when there are no more than five defendants, plus $2.50 for each defendant beyond five. Ordinary civil cases pay up to $395, so family cases get the lower rate. The same statute adds a $4 court education fee and several other small statutory charges.

Your clerk's actual number is usually a bit above the statutory base once the add-ons are included, and it varies by county. Call the clerk or check their site before you go.

Then budget for the rest:

• Service of process: roughly $40 to $100 through the sheriff, more for a private process server or a hard-to-find spouse

• Certified copies of the final judgment: a few dollars each, and you will want several

• Parenting course: commonly $25 to $75 per parent online

• Mediation: circuit-run mediation is often on a sliding scale, and private mediators generally run $200 to $500 an hour split between the parties

• Qualified domestic relations order: a separate document, usually the largest add-on in an otherwise simple case

Can you get the Florida filing fee waived?

Yes. The simplified dissolution instructions say that if you cannot afford the filing fees, you fill out an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status and file it with your petition. The clerk, not the judge, decides whether you are eligible to have the fees waived.

Ask the clerk's office for the form. They are required to have it.

Do you have to file electronically in Florida?

Mostly yes, with one exception for people without lawyers. The petition instructions explain that the Florida rules require all petitions, pleadings, and documents to be filed electronically except in certain circumstances, and that self-represented litigants may file electronically but are not required to.

If you do file electronically, you have to follow Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.525 and the local procedures of your judicial circuit.

There is a matching rule for service after the case starts. Once the initial petition has been served by the sheriff or a certified process server, documents generally have to be served by email, which means designating your email address on the court's form and putting it on every filing you sign.

What happens right after you file for divorce in Florida?

1. Serve your spouse. Personal service is what starts the 20 day answer clock and what preserves the court's power to order support. The service chapter covers the methods and their consequences.

2. Calendar day 45. Mandatory disclosure and, if you have minor children, the parenting course.

3. Calendar day 20 from filing. The earliest a judge can sign anything final.

4. Ask for temporary relief if you need it. Support, exclusive use of the home, or a temporary time-sharing schedule, each with its own disclosure requirements.

5. Start on the parenting plan. Even a proposed one shapes the conversation, and the time-sharing chapter explains what the court will presume.

What mistakes cause the most delay in a Florida filing?

• Using the wrong petition form. A case with a pregnancy needs the children form even though no child exists yet.

• Residency proof that does not qualify. The document has to predate your filing by six months.

• Filing the disclosure documents in the court file. Only the certificate of compliance and the financial affidavit belong there. The rest is exchanged between the parties.

• Forgetting the parenting course. It blocks the final judgment and nobody reminds you.

• Leaving out the UCCJEA affidavit. A children's case without it is incomplete on arrival.