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Domestic Violence

Always call 911 if you feel you are in danger.

Before reviewing this page, please be aware that your abuser or stalker may monitor your internet use. If you believe your computer may not be secure, please consider using a computer your abuser cannot monitor. If you must use a computer that your abuser or stalker has access to, we urge you to delete your browser history and empty your computer’s “trash” after visiting the Clerk’s page.

For more information on using this page securely, please visit the National Network to End Domestic Violence.

General Information

What is an injunction? In simple terms, an injunction is an order issued by the Court that commands an individual to stop doing something specific, such as abusing or stalking. Injunctions, also known as Restraining Orders, legally restrain individuals from harming other people. They also restrict contact between the two people involved. Injunctions may also address other issues depending on the specific circumstance of your situation. This can include ordering counseling, treatment, establishing a temporary parenting plan and temporary child support, and a variety of other matters depending on the particulars of your case.

The Clerk’s Office is here to assist you with filling your injunction, but is barred by Florida law from offering legal advice.

What You Need to File for an Injunction

There is never a fee to file an injunction for protection.

You must have the first and last name of the person you are seeking an injunction against, who is known as the Respondent. You should have an address where the Respondent may be served. This could include the Respondent’s home address, employment address or an address they frequent. In order for an injunction to be enforced, the Respondent must be served by the Sheriff’s Office.

To file for an injunction, you must file a notarized petition with the Clerk of Courts. The type of petition you should file is based on the relationship between you and the Respondent. The various types are listed below. While the Clerk of Courts cannot advise you which petition to file, a description of each relationship is included.

The petition forms can be found by visiting Florida Courts Family Law Forms.

Choose an Injunction Type to read its Description from Florida Courts:

Petitions

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Domestic Violence 12.980(a)

The domestic violence petition is used if the Respondent is your spouse, former spouse, related to you by blood or marriage, living with you now or has lived with you in the past (if you are or were living as a family), or is the other parent of your child(ren), whether or not you have ever been married or ever lived together. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing together or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.

Repeat Violence 12.980(f)

This petition is used when at least two incidents of violence have been committed against you or a member of your immediate family by another person, one of which must have occurred within six months of filing this petition.

Dating Violence 12.980(n)

This petition is used when there is violence between individuals who have or have had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The dating relationship must have existed within the past six months, the nature of the relationship must have been characterized by the expectation of affection or sexual involvement between the parties, and the frequency and type of interaction must have included that the persons have been involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship. Dating violence does not include violence in a casual acquaintanceship or violence between individuals who only have engaged in ordinary fraternization in a business or social context.

Sexual Violence 12.980(q)

In order to obtain this type of injunction, you must have reported the sexual violence to a law enforcement agency and be cooperating in the criminal proceeding, if there is one. It does not matter whether criminal charges based on the sexual violence have been filed, reduced, or dismissed by the State Attorney’s Office. You may also seek an injunction for protection against sexual violence if the Respondent was sent to prison for committing a sexually violent crime against you or your minor child living at home and the Respondent is out of prison or is getting out of prison within 90 days of filing your petition.

Stalking 12.980(t)

This petition is used to stop the repeated following, harassment, or cyberstalking of one person by another. Cyberstalk means to engage in a course of conduct to communicate, or to cause to be communicated, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at a specific person, causing substantial emotional distress to that person and serving no legitimate purpose.

Additional Forms

ADDITIONAL FORMS

Supplementary forms that may be required to be filed with your petition are described below. The forms can be found by visiting Florida Courts Family Law Forms.

Civil Cover Sheet

Domestic Relations Identification Sheet

Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) - Only required if children are involved

Designation of Email Address by Self Represented Litigant

Request to be Excused from Email Service

Notice of Change of Address or Email Address

If you are asking the Court to determine issues with regard to your parenting plan or time-sharing for a minor child(ren) or if you are seeking protection on their behalf, you must file a Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) Affidavit, Form 12.902(d).

If you fear that disclosing your address to the Respondent would put you in danger, you should complete a Request for Confidential Filing of Address, Form 12.980(h), and file it with the Clerk’s Office. Additionally, when filling out your petition you should write “Confidential” in the space provided to list your address.

Filing Your Petition

After completing your petition, it may be filed with the Clerk’s Office in one of the following ways:

Electronically, using the statewide e-filing portal
Through the US mail addressed to:

Duval County Clerk of Courts
Attn: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DEPARTMENT
501 West Adams Street, Room 2409
Jacksonville, FL 32202
In person in the Domestic Violence Department located at 501 West Adams Street, Room 2409 from 8 AM to 4 PM

After You Have Filed Your Injunction

After you have filed your petition, a judge will review your case and an order will typically be entered within 24-48 hours of your filing. The judge may grant the temporary injunction, deny the temporary injunction, or deny the petition and set a hearing. If the temporary injunction is approved or the petition is denied with a hearing, the hearing before the judge will occur within 15 days. If your injunction is denied without a hearing, the other party will not be notified that you have filed against them and your court date will be cancelled.

To check the status of your case, please call the Domestic Violence Department during normal business hours at (904) 255-2210. You must have your case number when you call.

It is important to note that if a Temporary Injunction for Protection is issued, it does not go into effect until the Respondent has been served.

Designation of Email Address for a Party Not Represented by an Attorney

If you are not represented by an attorney, you can submit an email address for electronic service of all documents related to your case. This will allow you to be notified by email immediately of any documents filed into your case. The 4th Judicial Circuit has provided a system to allow you to submit this required form electronically.

Instructions: To begin, please type your case number. DO NOT USE DASHES. Example: 162023DR123456XXXX

Click Here to Register Your Email For Electronic Service

Office Information

Domestic Violence Department

Office Hours
Monday through Friday (excluding holidays): 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM, however we cease intake of new petitions at 4:00 PM

Mailing Address
Duval County Clerk of Courts
Attn: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE DEPARTMENT
501 West Adams Street, Room 2409
Jacksonville, FL 32202

Phone
(904) 255-2210

Notice of the Right of any Affected Party to Request the Addition of Information to a Domestic Violence Case Involving the Protection of a Minor

Any affected person has a right to request that the Clerk of the Court add information to a publicly available Internet website if that information involves the identity of a respondent against whom a final judgment for an injunction for the protection of a minor under s. 741.30, s. 784.046, or s. 784.0485, F.S., is entered, unless the respondent is also a minor. The request must be in writing and contain the case number.

To make a request, please submit an email to Public Information or mail your request to:

Duval County Clerk of Courts
ATTN: Public Records Department
501 W. Adams St
Jacksonville, FL 32202

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

AGENCY

Anger Class Online	angerclassonline.com
Department of Children & Families (DCF) Hotline	Hotline: 1(800)96-ABUSE
Domestic Violence Compliance	dvcompliance@coj.net
Equality Foundation LLC Batterers' Intervention	Equalityfoundation109@gmail.com
Family Court Services (Family Law)	Phone: (904) 255-1060
Family Court Services (post-Judgment/compliance)	Phone: (904) 255-1075
Family Nurturing Center	familynurturingcenter.org
Family Resource Connection Batterers' Intervention	stephanie@familyresourcefl.org
Fleet & Family Support	navymwrmayport.com
Florida Courts	flcourts.org
Florida Courts E-filing portal	myflcourtaccess.com
Fourth Judicial Circuit - General Information	jud4.org
Fourth Judicial Circuit - Division DV-A Procedures	Division DV-A Procedures and Documents
Hubbard House	hubbardhouse.org Hotline: (904) 354-3114 Text line: (904) 210-3698
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid	jaxlegalaid.org
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office	jaxsheriff.org
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office - Civil Process	Phone: (904) 255-2470
Jewish Family & Community Services	Jfcsjax.org
Metropolitan Behavorial Services Batterers' Intervention	msagesse@metropolitanbhs.com
National Network to End Domestic Violence	nnedv.org
Our Family Wizard	ourfamilywizard.com
Salvation Army Batterers’ Intervention	salvationarmyflorida.org
State Attorney’s Office	Phone: (904) 255-2500
Three Rivers Legal Services	Trls.org
Women’s Center of Jacksonville	womenscenterofjax.org