To file for joint custody in Florida, you file a petition in circuit court asking for shared parental responsibility and a time-sharing schedule, attach a proposed parenting plan and the required financial and jurisdictional affidavits, serve the other parent, complete a state-approved parenting course, and attend mediation before a judge enters a final order. Florida does not actually use the phrase “joint custody.” The law speaks in terms of shared parental responsibility (who makes decisions) and time-sharing (who has the child when), and since July 2023 courts begin with a rebuttable presumption that equal time-sharing serves the child’s best interests.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court That presumption is your starting point, and the steps below are how you turn it into an enforceable order.
Which Petition You File
Your relationship with the other parent determines the petition. If you are married, you file a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Children. If you were never married to the other parent, you file a petition under Florida’s paternity statute to determine paternity and establish a parenting plan and time-sharing schedule.2Florida Senate. Florida Code 742.011 – Proceedings for Determination of Paternity, Rights, and Responsibilities; Jurisdiction Both forms are available through the Florida Courts Self-Help Center or your local clerk of court.3Florida State Courts System. Dissolution of Marriage
The vocabulary matters because the forms ask for it. You are not asking for “custody.” You are asking the court to order shared parental responsibility and to adopt a time-sharing schedule, both of which get written into a document called a parenting plan.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.046 – Definitions
Documents to Prepare
Three supporting documents go in with the petition.
The Family Law Financial Affidavit is a sworn statement of your income, expenses, assets, and debts. Florida has a short form for individual gross annual income under $50,000 and a long form at $50,000 or more. The court uses it to assess each parent’s financial picture and to calculate child support, which runs alongside the custody question in every case.
The UCCJEA Affidavit establishes that a Florida court has jurisdiction over your child’s custody case by listing where the child has lived.5Florida State Courts. Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Affidavit Florida qualifies as the child’s home state if the child has lived here for the six months before filing, or recently left but a parent still lives here.6The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.514 – Initial Child Custody Jurisdiction The affidavit prevents a court in another state from issuing a conflicting order.
The Proposed Parenting Plan is the document a judge will actually approve, modify, or replace. At minimum it has to describe how the parents will share daily responsibilities, set out a specific time-sharing schedule, assign responsibility for healthcare and school decisions, say how each parent will communicate with the child, and designate drop-off and pickup arrangements. You can give one parent final decision-making authority on specific topics like education if both parents agree or the court finds it appropriate. If you and the other parent can agree on a plan now, you can submit it jointly and skip most of what follows. If you cannot, submit the plan you want and expect the court process to work out the differences.
Filing and Fees
File the completed and notarized petition with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where you or the other parent lives. You can file in person or electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which lets you upload the documents from home and pay the fee online.7Florida Courts Help. Filing Your Forms8Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
Expect a filing fee of roughly $400. If you cannot afford it, Florida law lets you apply for a determination of indigent status, which waives filing fees, service costs, and other court charges.9The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 57.081 – Costs; Right to Proceed Where Prepayment of Costs and Payment of Filing Fees Waived
Serving the Other Parent
After filing, you have to formally deliver copies of the petition and a summons to the other parent. You cannot do this yourself. Florida requires service by the county sheriff, a deputy, or a certified process server.10The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 48.031 – Service of Process Generally The server files a return-of-service form with the court confirming the other parent received notice. Without that confirmation, the case does not move.
If the other parent lives out of state, you can still file in Florida if Florida is the child’s home state. You typically hire a process server in that state, or in some situations use certified mail with return receipt. The clerk’s office can tell you the correct method for the state involved.
If you genuinely cannot locate the other parent, Florida allows service by publication as a last resort. You file a sworn statement describing the specific steps you took to find the person and confirming their location is unknown.11The Florida Legislature. Florida Code Chapter 49 – Constructive Service of Process If the court approves, a notice runs for four consecutive weeks and the other parent has between 28 and 60 days from the first publication to respond. Judges look carefully at whether you really tried to find the person before approving this method.
The Parent Education Course
Every parent in a Florida dissolution or paternity case involving children must complete the Parent Education and Family Stabilization Course before a judge enters a final judgment.12The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.21 – Parenting Course Authorized The course runs a minimum of four hours and covers how separation affects children, communication, and co-parenting.
The deadlines are tight. The parent who files has 45 days from filing. The other parent has 45 days from being served. Both parents must file a certificate of completion with the court before the final judgment. Courts can excuse a parent for good cause, but rarely do. Most approved courses cost between $25 and $85 and can be done online.
Mediation
Florida courts refer custody disputes to mediation when the circuit has a family mediation program, which most do.13The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 44.102 – Court-Ordered Mediation Mediation is confidential. A neutral mediator helps you and the other parent negotiate a parenting plan. The mediator decides nothing.
There is one important exception. If a parent can show a history of domestic violence that would compromise the process, the court must not refer the case to mediation. Raise that with the court or your attorney before mediation is scheduled.
Many cases settle here. If you reach agreement, the mediator drafts it into a written document the court can approve as your final parenting plan. If mediation fails, the case moves toward trial.
Temporary Orders While the Case Is Pending
Custody cases take months. If you need a time-sharing schedule or financial support in the meantime, file a motion for temporary relief. A judge will hear limited evidence and put interim arrangements in place that last until the final judgment.14Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Packet 38 – Motion for Temporary Relief These typically cover time-sharing, child support, and sometimes exclusive use of the family home.
In a genuine emergency, Florida courts can exercise temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is in the state and has been abandoned, or if the child, a sibling, or a parent faces mistreatment or abuse.15Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.517 – Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction The bar is high. You need an immediate threat of harm, not a general concern about the other parent’s judgment.
If the Judge Has to Decide
When parents cannot agree, the judge decides. The standard is the child’s best interests, and Florida law lists roughly 20 specific factors the judge must consider and make written findings on. The ones that tend to drive the outcome:
- Each parent’s willingness to encourage the child’s relationship with the other parent and to honor the schedule. Judges watch this closely. Badmouthing the other parent or interfering with their time hurts your case.
- Whether each parent puts the child’s needs ahead of their own preferences.
- How long the child has lived in a stable environment and whether continuity benefits the child.
- Whether the plan is realistic given the distance between the two homes, especially for school-age children.
- Each parent’s physical and mental health, though a manageable condition alone rarely tips the balance.
- The child’s own preference if the court finds the child mature enough.
- Any evidence of domestic violence, abuse, or neglect, which can override almost everything else.
No single factor is automatically controlling.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court If the court needs more information, it can order a social investigation where a licensed psychologist, clinical social worker, or other qualified professional evaluates the parents and child and submits written recommendations. The parents typically pay unless one qualifies as indigent.16The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.20 – Social Investigation and Recommendations Regarding a Parenting Plan
When Shared Responsibility Is Off the Table
Shared parental responsibility is the default, not a guarantee. A court can order sole parental responsibility for one parent if it finds that sharing would be detrimental to the child. Certain convictions create a rebuttable presumption of detriment: a first-degree misdemeanor or higher conviction involving domestic violence, convictions meeting specific criteria for child abuse or neglect, and convictions for sexual offenses against a minor. If the convicted parent cannot rebut the presumption, the court cannot award shared responsibility or time-sharing to that parent, though they still owe financial support.
Changing the Plan Later
A parenting plan is not permanent. To modify it, you have to show a substantial and material change in circumstances that was not anticipated when the original order was entered, and that the modification serves the child’s best interests. Common examples include a parent relocating, a significant change in work schedule, the child’s evolving needs, or a parent developing a substance abuse problem.
One scenario the statute names directly: if the parents lived more than 50 miles apart when the last order was entered and one later moves within 50 miles of the other, that move alone can qualify as a substantial change for the purpose of modifying the time-sharing schedule. The best-interests analysis still applies, but getting into court is easier.