Florida Judicial Circuits: Counties, Jurisdiction, and Appeals

Florida’s judicial circuits are the 20 trial court districts that cover the state’s 67 counties, handling felonies, civil disputes over $50,000, family law, probate, and juvenile cases. Each circuit follows county lines, with some circuits made up of a single large county and others grouping several smaller ones so every resident has a courthouse within reasonable reach.¹

All 20 Circuits and the Counties They Cover

If you need to file a case or respond to one, start by finding your county below.¹

1st Circuit: Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Walton
2nd Circuit: Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Wakulla
3rd Circuit: Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, Taylor
4th Circuit: Clay, Duval, Nassau
5th Circuit: Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Sumter
6th Circuit: Pasco, Pinellas
7th Circuit: Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns, Volusia
8th Circuit: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, Union
9th Circuit: Orange, Osceola
10th Circuit: Hardee, Highlands, Polk
11th Circuit: Miami-Dade
12th Circuit: DeSoto, Manatee, Sarasota
13th Circuit: Hillsborough
14th Circuit: Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Washington
15th Circuit: Palm Beach
16th Circuit: Monroe
17th Circuit: Broward
18th Circuit: Brevard, Seminole
19th Circuit: Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, St. Lucie
20th Circuit: Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee

Why Some Circuits Are One County and Others Are Seven

Article V of the Florida Constitution tells the legislature to divide the state into judicial circuits along county lines.² Five circuits serve a single county each: the 11th (Miami-Dade), 13th (Hillsborough), 15th (Palm Beach), 16th (Monroe), and 17th (Broward). Those counties generate enough litigation on their own to keep dozens of judges busy. The 3rd Circuit, by contrast, stretches across seven mostly rural counties in north-central Florida where no single county would justify a standalone court operation.

Grouping counties lets a circuit centralize administration, share support staff, and move judges to where the backlog is heaviest. The legislature can redraw boundaries as population shifts. The broader state court system includes the Supreme Court, six district courts of appeal, the 20 circuit courts, and 67 county courts.³

What Circuit Courts Handle

Circuit courts are Florida’s general-jurisdiction trial courts. They take the cases that are too serious or too complex for county courts. Florida Statute 26.012 sets out their exclusive jurisdiction.⁴

Civil Cases Over $50,000

County courts handle civil lawsuits where the amount in dispute is $50,000 or less.⁵ Anything above that goes to circuit court. The threshold moved from $30,000 to $50,000 on January 1, 2023, and is scheduled for a cost-of-living adjustment in 2030. Circuit courts also hold exclusive jurisdiction over cases involving real property boundaries and titles, tax assessments, and actions to recover possession of property.⁴

Felonies

Every felony prosecution starts in circuit court. Florida grades felonies in tiers: a third-degree felony carries up to 5 years, a second-degree felony up to 15 years, a first-degree felony up to 30 years, a life felony up to life, and a capital felony can carry the death penalty.⁶ If a misdemeanor arises from the same incident as a charged felony, it stays with the felony in circuit court rather than splitting off to county court.⁴

Family Law, Probate, and Juvenile Matters

Divorce, child custody, and domestic violence injunctions are circuit court matters. Probate work also sits here, including administration of estates, guardianship for people who cannot manage their own affairs, and involuntary hospitalization hearings. Juvenile delinquency and dependency cases are handled in circuit court as well, except for traffic offenses.⁴

A Narrow Appellate Role

Circuit courts hear appeals from final orders of local code enforcement boards.⁴ They used to review most county court decisions as well, but that function shifted to the district courts of appeal in 2021.⁷

Who Runs a Judicial Circuit

Each circuit elects circuit judges to six-year terms through nonpartisan elections. A candidate must be a Florida voter, live in the circuit, and have been a Florida Bar member for at least five years. When a seat opens mid-term, the governor appoints from a short list sent by the circuit’s Judicial Nominating Commission, and the appointee faces voters at the next general election more than a year later.²

Each circuit also elects a state attorney and a public defender, both to four-year terms, under the same five-year Bar membership and residency rules. The state attorney is the chief prosecutor for all trial courts in the circuit and decides which felony charges to file. The public defender represents people in criminal cases who cannot afford private counsel. Both offices appoint assistants as authorized by law.²

A clerk of the circuit court is selected in each county under Article VIII rather than circuit-wide. The clerk maintains court records, processes filing fees, and records court orders, and in many counties also serves as clerk of the county commission and custodian of county funds.²

Each circuit has a chief judge, drawn from the sitting circuit judges, who supervises every trial court in the circuit, including the county courts. The chief judge assigns judges to divisions, manages the internal budget, and issues local administrative orders.⁸

Which District Court of Appeal Hears Appeals From Your Circuit

Six district courts of appeal sit above the circuit courts. Since 2021, they hear appeals from both circuit and county court decisions in criminal and most civil cases. If you plan to appeal a trial court ruling, this is where it goes:⁷

1st DCA (Tallahassee): 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 14th Circuits
2nd DCA (Tampa): 6th, 12th, 13th Circuits
3rd DCA (Miami): 11th, 16th Circuits
4th DCA (West Palm Beach): 15th, 17th, 19th Circuits
5th DCA (Daytona Beach): 4th, 5th, 7th, 18th Circuits
6th DCA (Lakeland): 9th, 10th, 20th Circuits

Finding Your Courthouse

The Florida Courts website has a “Find My Court” tool that searches by city or county for your local courthouse. Statewide civil case resources are organized by circuit, and appellate dockets and documents are searchable through the Appellate Case Information System.⁹ Individual circuit websites usually maintain their own docket search tools, though the features vary from one circuit to the next.

1
Florida Courts. Trial Courts – Circuit
2
Florida Senate. Florida Constitution
3
Florida Courts. Court Structure
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 26.012 – Jurisdiction of Circuit Court
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 34.01 – Jurisdiction of County Court
6
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 775.082 – Penalties, Applicability of Sentencing Structures, Notification Requirements
7
Florida Courts. District Courts of Appeal
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 43.26
9
Florida Courts. Florida Courts