To run a Broward County lawsuit search, go to the Broward County Clerk of Courts’ free online Case Search at browardclerk.org. The portal covers every division of Florida’s 17th Judicial Circuit, which serves all of Broward County, and no account or fee is required for a basic lookup.1Broward County Clerk of Courts. Case Search and eServices Portal
Using the Clerk’s Case Search
The “Case Search – Public” tool is the authoritative starting point for finding a case filed in Broward County. You can search across Circuit Civil, County Civil, Family, Felony, Traffic and Misdemeanor, Juvenile, Probate and Guardianship, and Domestic Violence cases from a single interface, by party name, case number, or citation number.1Broward County Clerk of Courts. Case Search and eServices Portal
Electronic documents and images filed on or after January 6, 2014, are generally viewable online. Some older cases appear in the index, but their documents may not be digitized. If what you need predates 2014 or isn’t showing up online, you have two alternatives: visit a public access terminal at any of the four Broward courthouse locations, where searching the docket is free, or submit a written records request to the Clerk’s office.2Broward County Clerk of Courts. Felony Division
One important disclaimer appears on the Clerk’s own website: information shown online is not the “official court record.” If you need the case information for a formal or legal purpose, such as attaching it to a filing or presenting it to another agency, you’ll need to request certified copies.3Broward County Clerk of Courts. Clerk of Courts Homepage
What Case Types You Can Look Up
Broward sorts lawsuits into divisions based on the type of dispute and the amount of money at stake. Knowing which bucket a case lives in helps you narrow a search quickly.
Circuit Civil
Circuit Court handles larger and more complex civil matters: cases where the amount in dispute exceeds $50,000, along with foreclosures, declaratory judgments, and other claims falling under general circuit jurisdiction.4Florida Courts. Trial Courts – Circuit Foreclosure sales are tracked through a dedicated section within Circuit Civil on the Clerk’s website, and Certificates of Title can be followed through a separate log maintained by the Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division.5Broward County. Foreclosure Sales
The 17th Circuit also maintains two specialized divisions for high-stakes litigation: the Complex Business Division (Division 07) and the Complex Tort Division (Division 26). Business cases generally require more than $250,000 in dispute, and complex tort claims typically must involve trials projected to last at least ten days.617th Judicial Circuit of Florida. AO 2025-22-CIV, Procedures for Complex Business and Complex Tort Divisions These still appear in the Clerk’s search, but under different division codes.
County Civil and Small Claims
County Civil covers disputes between $8,000.01 and $50,000. Small Claims handles amounts from one cent up to $8,000. Both divisions see a wide range of lawsuits, including evictions, breach of contract claims, negligence actions, property damage suits, and smaller foreclosures.7Broward County Clerk of Courts. County Civil Division Attorneys aren’t required for small claims, which is sometimes called the “People’s Court.”
Criminal
Felony and misdemeanor cases are searchable through the same public portal. The Clerk’s office manages hearing records, restitution information, and related data, though it does not file criminal charges — that authority belongs to the State Attorney’s Office.2Broward County Clerk of Courts. Felony Division Traffic citations appear under the Traffic and Misdemeanor division.
Family and Domestic Violence
Divorces, adoptions, name changes, and custody matters are filed and searchable under the Family division. Domestic violence injunctions go through a separate intake unit, with filings accepted at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation at no cost.8Broward County Clerk of Courts. Domestic Violence Division Juvenile cases are a separate division with their own confidentiality rules.
What Won’t Appear in the Search
Several categories of cases either don’t show up at all or require extra steps to view, so a blank search result isn’t always proof that nothing was filed.
Mental health cases, including Baker Act petitions, Marchman Act proceedings, incapacity determinations, and risk protection orders, are confidential and are not displayed through the public online portal. Clinical records of patients treated for mental illness are specifically designated as confidential under Florida law.9Broward County Clerk of Courts. Mental Health Division
Probate and guardianship cases can be found by name, but viewing the actual documents online requires creating an eServices account and subscribing to a case access service. Public access terminals at the courthouses allow free name searches, and written requests can be mailed in with a $2.00 search fee.10Broward County Clerk of Courts. Probate and Guardianship Division
Sealed and expunged criminal records are excluded from public search results. A sealed record is still accessible to criminal justice agencies and certain employers; an expunged record is destroyed. Both involve a separate eligibility process through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and judicial approval.11Broward County Clerk of Courts. Felony Division – Section: Sealing and Expungement
Even in cases that do appear, Rule 2.420 of the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration requires that 23 categories of information be redacted before public release, including Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, health records, and the addresses of domestic violence victims.12Florida Courts. SC2023-1401, Amendments to Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration
Finally, federal lawsuits don’t show up in the Broward Clerk’s system at all. Cases filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fort Lauderdale Division, are accessed through PACER at pacer.gov, which requires registration and charges document fees. PACER covers civil and criminal cases filed on or after July 1, 2000. Older federal records are retrieved through the Clerk’s Office; archived civil records from the Federal Records Center in Atlanta cost $45, and criminal records cost $64, with anything older than 25 years held by the National Archives.13U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida. Records
Looking Up Liens, Judgments, and Recorded Documents
If you’re searching for a recorded court judgment, a lien, a lis pendens, a deed, or a mortgage rather than a pending lawsuit, that information lives in a different database. Broward County maintains an Official Records portal at officialrecords.broward.org, operated by the Records, Taxes and Treasury Division rather than the Clerk of Courts.14Broward County Property Appraiser. Common Questions
You can search by party name, document type, instrument number, book and page reference, case number, parcel ID, consideration amount, or date recorded. Records are fully searchable back to July 7, 1977. Older records back to March 1972 are only partially searchable by instrument number and book and page, and anything before 1972 is not online.15Broward County. Official Records Search The county warns that the data carries no warranty of accuracy, and recommends trying every plausible spelling of a name.
Copies, Certified Records, and Fees
Searching is free. Copies are not. Paper copies run $1.00 per page, with a $2.00 fee to certify a document. A record search performed by Clerk’s staff costs $2.00 per year searched. Electronic certified documents cost $8.00 each and are delivered immediately after online payment, though the online tool won’t handle documents over 100 pages.16Broward County Clerk of Courts. Records Request The Clerk accepts cash, cashier’s checks, money orders, and credit cards, but not personal checks.17Broward County Clerk of Courts. Fees and Costs
Advanced Search for Heavier Users
The free public search handles most needs. Researchers, businesses, and legal professionals who want more precise filtering can register for the Clerk’s Advanced Search, which allows queries by date of birth, party type, filing type, disposition, hearing date range, attorney bar number, judge name, and batch lookups of up to 200 case, citation, or arrest numbers at a time. It requires registration, a notarized agreement, and the purchase of search “Units.” Subscribers are treated as “commercial purchasers of bulk records” and don’t receive the same level of access as attorneys of record or parties to a case.18Broward County Clerk of Courts. Advanced Search
Organizations needing systematic or automated access can use the Clerk’s Commercial Data Services and API, available through the eServices menu.19Broward County Clerk of Courts. Commercial Data Services
A Word on Third-Party Court Record Sites
Plenty of commercial sites aggregate Broward court records alongside those from other jurisdictions. They can be useful for casting a wide net across multiple counties, but they typically disclaim accuracy, are not considered official records, and under the Fair Credit Reporting Act cannot be used for credit, employment, or tenant screening decisions. For any purpose where accuracy matters, verify what you find against the Clerk’s own portal.1Broward County Clerk of Courts. Case Search and eServices Portal