The Florida DH 513 divorce report is a one-page vital statistics form that the clerk of the circuit court submits to the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics every time a judge grants a dissolution of marriage or annulment. You do not file it yourself. What you do is supply the information that goes on it, usually at the time you file your petition for dissolution. Having that information ready keeps your paperwork moving and prevents a delay in the state record of your divorce.
What the Form Records
DH 513 is the standardized form the Florida Department of Health uses to create a permanent state record of each divorce or annulment granted in Florida. Florida Administrative Code Rule 64V-1.021 designates it as the prescribed form.1Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code 64V-1.021 – Dissolution of Marriage Once the clerk transmits it, the Bureau of Vital Statistics files the record permanently and uses the data on it to issue certified dissolution-of-marriage certificates on request.2Florida Department of Health. Divorce or Annulment Certificates
Information You Need to Supply
Many circuits hand you an information worksheet when you file your petition. The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit in Hillsborough County, for example, instructs petitioners to complete the information sheet and submit it with the petition.3Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Hillsborough County, Florida. DH513 Form Even if your circuit does not use a separate worksheet, the clerk needs the same information from you.
The form has thirteen fields:4Citrus County Clerk of Courts. Divorce Report DH513
- Fields 1 through 4 cover case details: the county where the case was filed, the date of the final judgment, the docket number, and the date the judgment was filed and recorded. The clerk completes these from court records.
- Fields 5 and 6 cover the first spouse: full legal name, maiden name if applicable, and current residence including street, city, county, and state.
- Fields 7 and 8 ask the same name and address information for the second spouse.
- Field 9 asks for the county and state where the marriage took place and the date of the marriage.
- Field 10 asks for the total number of living children from the marriage and how many are under eighteen.
- Field 11 identifies which spouse is the petitioner.
- Field 12 asks for the petitioner’s attorney name and address.
- Field 13 is the clerk’s signature line.
Circuits that use a worksheet often ask for one or two extras: the address where the parties last lived together as a married couple, which helps the court confirm venue, and sometimes a question about whether the wife’s maiden name was restored in the judgment. Confirm the maiden-name restoration against your final judgment before answering, because that detail flows through to the state record.
Filling Out the Worksheet Without Mistakes
If your circuit provides a worksheet, print or type clearly in black ink and use uppercase letters. The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit’s version requires both. Match the names you provide to the names on your marriage certificate exactly. A mismatch between your DH 513 data and the final judgment can hold up the clerk’s submission to vital statistics.
A few fields catch people out:
- Maiden name means the wife’s surname before this marriage, not a surname from an earlier marriage. If the wife kept her maiden name throughout the marriage, enter it anyway.
- Place of marriage is the county and state (or country, for marriages abroad) where the ceremony took place, not where the license was issued if those are different.
- Number of children counts biological or legally adopted children of this marriage only. Include adult children in the total, but list only those under eighteen in the separate field.
Hand the completed worksheet to the clerk’s office with your petition. Do not mail anything to the Bureau of Vital Statistics yourself. That is the clerk’s job.
What the Clerk Does Next, and What It Costs
Florida law places the reporting duty on the clerk of the circuit court. Under Section 382.023 of the Florida Statutes, the clerk electronically transmits a record of each dissolution judgment to the Department of Health on either a weekly or monthly schedule. Clerks who report weekly must submit by Friday for judgments granted during the preceding calendar week. Clerks who report monthly must submit by the tenth of the month for the prior month’s judgments. If no dissolutions were granted during a reporting period, the clerk still reports that fact.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 382.023 – Department to Receive Dissolution-of-Marriage Records; Fees
The clerk collects a fee of up to $10.50 at the time the final judgment is filed to cover the reporting process.5Florida Senate. Florida Code 382.023 – Department to Receive Dissolution-of-Marriage Records; Fees This is built into your overall filing costs. You will not see a separate line item for the DH 513.
Getting a Certified Dissolution Certificate Later
Once the clerk transmits your DH 513 data, the Bureau of Vital Statistics takes roughly sixty days from the date the clerk records the judgment to process it and create a permanent record.2Florida Department of Health. Divorce or Annulment Certificates During that window, the state cannot issue a certified dissolution certificate. If you need immediate proof your divorce was finalized, for a Social Security name change or a new marriage license, contact the clerk of court in the county where the dissolution was granted and request a certified copy of the final judgment directly.
After the processing window closes, you can order a certified certificate from the Bureau of Vital Statistics three ways:
- Online through VitalChek. The first certificate costs $22, which includes a $5 search fee, a $10 rush fee, and a $7 processing fee. Additional copies are $4 each.
- By mail to Florida Department of Health, Vital Statistics, P.O. Box 210, Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042. The fee is $5 for a search covering one calendar year plus one certified copy, $4 for each additional copy, and $1 for shipping and handling. Pay by check or money order to Vital Statistics. Do not send cash.
- Walk-in at 1217 N. Pearl Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fees match the mail-in rates. Records before 1970 require a $10 rush fee for same-day service when available.
If you do not know the exact year of the dissolution, the bureau charges $2 per additional calendar year searched, up to $50. The $5 search fee is nonrefundable even if no record is found, though fees for additional copies are refunded on written request when no record turns up.2Florida Department of Health. Divorce or Annulment Certificates
Your written request must include the full legal names of both spouses as shown on the record, the date and county of the dissolution, your own name and mailing address, your phone number, your signature, and your relationship to the person on the record. Computerized records from 1970 forward take three to five business days to process, not counting shipping. Older records take longer.