English
EspañolStep 1: Go to the courthouse and get the necessary forms.
To get an injunction, you must file your petition for an injunction for protection against domestic violence with the clerk of the circuit court. The clerk is the court official who keeps court records and files. You can file in the county where:
- you currently live (even if you have only been living there for 1 day);
- the abuser lives; or
- the domestic violence occurred.1
To find the location of the circuit courthouse where the clerk’s office is located, go to our FL Courthouse Locations page or look in the county government section/page in the telephone directory or on your county’s website.
The clerk of the circuit court will give you the forms you need and instructions for filing a “Petition for an Injunction for Protection against Domestic Violence.” The petition will be your formal request for an injunction. There is no fee to file for an injunction.2
You will also find links to online forms at our FL Download Court Forms page. This petition and other court papers may refer to the abuser as the “respondent” and to you as the “petitioner.”
Also, you can get help through one of the domestic violence organizations listed on our FL Advocates and Shelters page.
Note: You will need to have some form of identification (a driver’s license or a picture I.D.) to file a petition.
1 Fla. Stat. § 741.30(1)(k)
2 Fla. Stat. § 741.30(2)(a)
