How to Fill Out and File a Blank Motion Form in Florida: E-Filing and Fees

To file a blank motion in Florida, download a fill-in template from your circuit court’s website (or draft one from scratch using the format in Rule 1.100), complete the caption and a numbered statement of what you want and why, add a certificate of service, and upload it as a PDF/A through the statewide e-filing portal at myflcourtaccess.com. Once the motion is filed, you contact the judge’s judicial assistant to request a hearing and file a Notice of Hearing letting every other party know when it will happen.

Finding a Template

The Florida Courts self-help page at flcourts.gov lists standardized family law forms, including Forms 12.940 through 12.949 for specific motion types like setting a case for trial or requesting testimony from a minor child.¹ The state site does not publish a generic, all-purpose motion. If nothing on the official list matches what you need, look to your circuit court.

Several circuits publish their own blank motion templates for self-represented filers. The Eighth Judicial Circuit offers a one-page “Motion To/For” template with checkboxes for petitioner or respondent and blank space for the grounds.² Putnam County’s Clerk of Courts has a comparable “Pro Se Motion” form with lines for what you want the judge to order and why.³ Check your own circuit’s website first, since some judges expect filings to follow their local formatting conventions.

What the Motion Must Contain

The Caption

Every motion opens with a caption at the top of the first page. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.100 requires the name of the court, the case number, the name of the first party on each side with an indication of any additional parties, and a label identifying who is filing and what the document is.⁴ Copy the caption exactly as it appears on other documents already in your case file so the clerk routes your filing to the correct judge.

Below the caption, center a short title that describes the request: “Motion for Continuance,” “Motion to Compel Discovery,” “Motion for Rehearing.” The judge should know what you are asking for before reading the first paragraph.

The Body

Rule 1.100(b) requires every motion to “state with particularity the grounds for it” and “set forth the relief or order sought.” The judge needs to know exactly what you want and specifically why you are entitled to it. Vague requests go nowhere.

A workable structure:

An opening line identifying yourself as petitioner or respondent and stating the order you want entered. The Eighth Circuit’s template uses the phrasing “requests that the Court enter an order” followed by a description of the relief sought.²
Numbered paragraphs listing the relevant facts, one fact per paragraph. Stick to dates, events, and specifics the judge can verify. Skip the character attacks.
Any Florida statute or rule that supports the request, identified by number. You do not have to quote the full text, but pointing the judge to the right authority helps.
A short closing paragraph asking the court to grant the relief described.

The Putnam County template simplifies this into one section for “Write what you want the Judge to order” and another for “explain why you think the Judge should grant your request.”³ Follow your template’s structure if you are using one; otherwise the numbered-facts approach is standard.

Signature, Verification, and Redaction

Every filing needs a signature block with your full legal name, mailing address, email, telephone number, and the date. Some motions, particularly those seeking emergency relief or asking the judge to accept factual claims without a hearing, must be verified under penalty of perjury. Florida Statute 92.525 supplies the required language: “Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have read the foregoing [document] and that the facts stated in it are true.”⁵ That declaration goes directly above your signature. A false declaration is a third-degree felony, so verify only facts you know to be true.

Before filing, scrub the document for sensitive data. Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.425 bars Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and credit card numbers from court filings entirely. Taxpayer ID numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, and other financial account numbers are limited to the last four digits. Minors should appear by their initials, and dates of birth should show only the year.⁶ Court filings are public records in Florida.

Serving the Other Party

Every motion filed after the initial pleading must include a Certificate of Service confirming that you sent a copy to every other party. This is a section at the end of the document, typically next to the signature block, stating the date you served the motion, the name and address of each person served, and the method used (email, mail, or hand delivery). Leaving it off is the fastest way to have your motion ignored or struck.

Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.516 governs service. For parties represented by attorneys, email is the default. Self-represented litigants have a choice: designate a primary email address (and up to two secondaries) for electronic service, or opt out of email and use paper. If you do not designate an email address, service on you and by you must be made by delivering a copy or mailing it to the last known address.⁷ Most pro se filers find email faster and easier to document.

Filing Through the E-Filing Portal

Florida’s statewide e-filing portal at myflcourtaccess.com is the standard way to submit court documents. It is free apart from any required court fees and a small payment processing charge.⁸ Self-represented litigants register by entering an email address as a username, creating a password, and providing contact information. After registering, you get an activation link that expires in 72 hours.⁹

Upload your motion as a PDF/A file. The portal accepts Word as well, but PDF/A is the required format. The maximum submission size for trial court filings is 50 megabytes. If you scanned the document, set the scanner to 300 DPI in black and white to keep file sizes manageable.⁹ Without internet access, you can file paper copies in person at the Clerk of Court’s office or by mail.¹⁰

Getting a Hearing on the Motion

Filing a motion does not automatically put it in front of a judge. For most non-emergency motions, you contact the assigned judge’s judicial assistant after filing to request a date and time. The assistant’s contact information is usually on the judge’s page on your circuit court’s website. Have your case number and the motion’s title ready, and offer several dates that work for you.

Once you have a date, you must file a Notice of Hearing and serve it on every other party. In family law cases, the statewide form is Form 12.923.¹¹ The notice must list the date, time, and location of the hearing, the title of the motion being heard, and the estimated time needed. File it through the portal and serve a copy using the same method you use for all other documents in the case.

Some circuits and individual judges expect you to coordinate hearing times with the opposing party before grabbing a slot. The Fourth Judicial Circuit has published procedures requiring a meet-and-confer process before scheduling evidentiary hearings.¹² Check the assigned judge’s page before you call. A pro se filer is not bound by the Rule 1.202 attorney conferral requirement for non-dispositive motions, which applies only when both sides are represented.¹³

Proposed Order

Many judges expect or require a proposed order submitted with the motion or after the hearing. A proposed order is a draft of the ruling you want the judge to sign. Submit it in Word (.docx) format, not PDF, because the judge needs to edit before signing. The Fifth Judicial Circuit warns that proposed orders submitted in the wrong format will be rejected, delaying the case.¹⁴ Procedures vary significantly from judge to judge, so check the individual webpage of the judge presiding over your case before drafting.

Emergency Motions

When waiting for a regular hearing date would cause serious, immediate harm, you can file an emergency motion asking for relief before the other party responds. Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.610(a), a court can grant emergency relief without notice to the other side only when two things are true: your affidavit or verified pleading shows specific facts demonstrating that immediate and irreparable injury will result before the other party can be heard, and you certify in writing what efforts you made to give notice and why notice should not be required.¹⁵

The supporting affidavit must include the perjury declaration from Florida Statute 92.525.⁵ Judges scrutinize these filings closely. You need to explain either why giving notice would itself cause or accelerate the harm, or why the time required to schedule a normal hearing would allow the threatened injury to happen. “This is urgent” without specific facts will not get emergency treatment.

Fees

Filing a motion in an active, ongoing case generally costs nothing beyond the portal’s small processing fee. The expense comes when you reopen a closed case. If at least 90 days have passed since the final order or judgment was filed, the clerk can assess a reopen fee of up to $50 in circuit court or up to $25 for county court claims of $500 or less.¹⁶ If you believe your case is still open and the clerk tells you a reopen fee applies, the case has been marked as disposed in the court’s system.

Risk of Filing a Baseless Motion

Florida Statute 57.105 lets a judge order you to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees if you filed a claim or motion that you knew, or should have known, lacked factual support or a basis in existing law. The statute includes a 21-day safe harbor: once the other party serves you with a motion for sanctions, you have 21 days to withdraw or fix the offending filing before they can present the sanctions request to the judge. After the window closes, the court can split the fee award equally between a party and their attorney. A self-represented litigant who files a baseless motion bears the full amount personally, since there is no attorney to share it with.

1
Florida Courts. Find a Form
2
Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida. Blank Motion Form
3
Putnam County Clerk of Courts. Pro Se Motion
4
Florida Courts. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 1.100 Pleadings and Motions
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 92.525 – Verification of Documents; Perjury by False Written Declaration, Penalty
6
Florida Courts. Rule 2.425 – Minimization of the Filing of Sensitive Information
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Florida Courts. Rule 2.516 – Service of Pleadings and Documents
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Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
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Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Portal Filer User Manual
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Florida Courts Help. Filing Your Forms
11
Florida Courts. Notice of Hearing (General)
12
Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida. Division CV-E Procedures for Scheduling and Hearing Motions Requiring Evidentiary Hearing
13
Florida Supreme Court. Opinion SC2024-0662 – Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.202
14
State of Florida Fifth Judicial Circuit. Submitting Proposed Orders
15
Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida. Emergency Motions for Ex Parte Relief
16
Florida Senate. Florida Code 34.041 – Filing Fees