The Florida venue statute, found primarily at Section 47.011, tells you which county a lawsuit belongs in: for most civil cases, the county where the defendant lives, where the cause of action accrued, or where the disputed property is located. Criminal cases follow a separate rule and are prosecuted in the county where the offense occurred. Different case types — probate, divorce, foreclosure, suits against corporations — carry their own venue rules that override the default, and a forum selection clause in a contract can override all of them.
The Default Rule for Civil Cases
Section 47.011 gives a plaintiff three choices of county: where the defendant resides, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property in litigation is located.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 47.011 – Where Actions May Be Begun “Cause of action accrued” means the county where the key events giving rise to the lawsuit actually happened. A car crash in Duval County creates venue in Duval County, no matter where the drivers live.
One limit worth noting up front: Section 47.011 governs actions against Florida residents. Suits against nonresidents fall under a different set of rules.
Civil Cases With Their Own Venue Rules
Several categories of lawsuits don’t follow the general statute. The most common:
- Probate proceedings must be filed in the county where the deceased person lived at the time of death. If the decedent had no Florida home, venue lies in any county where they owned property.2Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 733.101 – Venue of Probate Proceedings
- Dissolution of marriage requires that at least one spouse have lived in Florida for six months before filing. The petition is typically filed in the county where either spouse resides.3Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 61.021 – Residence Requirements
- Foreclosure actions belong in the county where the property sits, under Section 47.011’s property prong. When a mortgage covers land in two or more counties, the action can be brought in any of them.4Justia Law. Florida Statutes 702.04 – Mortgaged Lands in Different Counties
- Real property disputes generally go in the county where the land or building is located.
A probate case filed in the wrong county gets transferred using the same procedures that apply to other civil cases, not dismissed.2Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 733.101 – Venue of Probate Proceedings Transfer rather than dismissal is the norm across civil venue disputes.
Multiple Defendants and Corporate Defendants
When a lawsuit names two or more defendants who live in different counties, the plaintiff can file in any county where at least one of them resides.5Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 47.021 – Actions Against Defendants Residing in Different Counties The other defendants can still push for a transfer if the chosen county is genuinely inconvenient.
Corporations follow Section 47.051. A suit against a Florida corporation must be filed in the county where the company keeps an office for its regular business, where the cause of action accrued, or where the disputed property is located. A suit against a foreign corporation doing business in Florida can be brought in any county where the corporation has an agent or representative, where the cause of action accrued, or where the property sits.6Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 47.051 – Actions Against Corporations
When a Contract Picks the County for You
Many business contracts include a forum selection clause naming the county where any dispute must be litigated. These clauses can override Florida’s default venue rules entirely. Mandatory language, using words like “exclusive,” “sole,” or “only,” generally locks both parties into the named location. Permissive language merely adds the named county as one option, without eliminating other venues that would otherwise be proper under the statutes.
The distinction matters. If your contract says disputes “shall be resolved exclusively in Miami-Dade County,” filing in Broward because it’s closer to home invites a transfer motion you’re almost certain to lose. Before filing any contract-related lawsuit, read the agreement for a venue or forum selection clause. It often decides the question.
Venue in Criminal Cases
Criminal prosecutions must be tried in the county where the offense was committed. When the county is unknown, the defendant can be charged in two or more counties and then choose which one to stand trial in. That choice, once made, permanently waives the right to challenge venue.7Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 910.03 – Place of Trial Generally
Crimes that cross county lines get their own rule. When the acts making up a single offense happen in more than one county, prosecution can be filed in any county where part of the crime occurred.8Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 910.05 – Where Acts Constituting One Offense Are Committed in Two or More Counties Fraud schemes, drug trafficking operations, and kidnappings that cross county boundaries fall under this rule.
If the defense challenges venue, the prosecution has to prove the crime took place in that county. Near county borders, that can come down to GPS data, surveillance footage, or testimony pinpointing where key events occurred.
Transferring a Civil Case and the Trap of Waiver
When a civil case is filed in the wrong county, the defendant’s remedy is a motion to transfer under Rule 1.060 of the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. The court transfers the case to any county where it could properly have been filed. If several counties qualify, the plaintiff picks. If the plaintiff doesn’t, the court does.9The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.060 Transfers of Actions
Transfer costs money. The plaintiff must pay the clerk’s service charge for the receiving court within 30 days of the transfer order. Miss that deadline and the case gets dismissed without prejudice, meaning you can refile but you’ve lost time and money.9The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.060 Transfers of Actions
Even when venue is technically proper, a court can transfer a civil case for the convenience of the parties, the convenience of witnesses, or in the interest of justice under Section 47.122. The case can only move to a county where it could have been filed originally.10Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 47.122 – Change of Venue Convenience of Parties or Witnesses or in the Interest of Justice
Defendants Can Lose the Objection by Waiting
Under Rule 1.140, improper venue must be raised in the defendant’s first responsive pleading or in a pre-answer motion. File an answer without raising the venue objection, or respond on the merits without a motion, and the objection is waived permanently.11The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.140 Defenses Unlike subject matter jurisdiction, which can be challenged at any time, venue is use-it-or-lose-it.
Change of Venue in Criminal Cases
Criminal defendants can seek a venue change when pretrial publicity or community bias makes a fair trial unlikely. The bar is high. The question isn’t whether coverage was heavy but whether it has so saturated the local jury pool that picking impartial jurors becomes impossible.
Section 910.03 requires courts to consider the demographic makeup of the original county when choosing a new trial location, prioritizing counties that closely resemble the community where the crime occurred.7Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 910.03 – Place of Trial Generally Florida courts also have the option of importing a jury from another county rather than moving the entire trial, which keeps proceedings local while drawing jurors from a less exposed community.
Most change-of-venue motions fail because judges try to solve the problem through careful jury selection first. If enough prospective jurors can credibly say they haven’t formed an opinion, the motion is denied.
When the Case Belongs in Federal Court
Not every case filed in Florida stays in state court. If a lawsuit involves a federal question, or if the parties are citizens of different states with more than $75,000 at stake, the case may belong in federal court instead. Federal venue rules come from 28 U.S.C. § 1391.
Under federal law, a civil action can be filed in any district where any defendant resides (if all defendants live in the same state), where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred, or where the disputed property is situated. For individuals, residency means domicile. For corporate defendants, residency means any district where the corporation is subject to personal jurisdiction.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1391 – Venue Generally
If a plaintiff files in state court and the case qualifies for federal jurisdiction, the defendant can remove it to the federal district court covering that location. The notice of removal must be filed within 30 days of receiving the complaint, and all properly served defendants must join in or consent. For cases based on diversity of citizenship, removal is barred after one year unless the court finds the plaintiff deliberately tried to prevent removal.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1446 – Procedure for Removal of Civil Actions
What Happens if You File in the Wrong County
In civil cases, the usual outcome of a successful venue challenge is a transfer rather than a dismissal. The court sends the case to the correct county and the plaintiff pays the transfer costs. The real risk is the 30-day payment deadline under Rule 1.060: if the plaintiff doesn’t pay the receiving court’s service charge in time, the case is dismissed without prejudice.9The Florida Bar. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.060 Transfers of Actions You can refile, but if the statute of limitations has run during the delay, you may have lost the case entirely.
Criminal venue errors carry heavier consequences. If a conviction happens in a county that lacked venue, the defendant can appeal and the conviction can be vacated. In State v. Wadsworth, 210 So. 2d 4 (Fla. 1968), the Florida Supreme Court reversed a conviction because the prosecution failed to prove the crime occurred within the trial court’s county. Prosecutors treat venue as an element they must affirmatively establish at trial.