How to Fill Out and File the Florida Child Support Verification Form

Florida’s child support financial affidavit is a sworn statement of your monthly income, deductions, and expenses that the court or the Department of Revenue uses to calculate support. You complete the short form (Form 12.902(b)) if your gross income is under $50,000 per year and the long form (Form 12.902(c)) if it is $50,000 or more, sign it under oath before a notary, then serve it on the other parent and file it within 45 days of the initial petition being served.¹²

Short Form or Long Form

The dividing line is $50,000 in individual gross annual income. Below that, use Form 12.902(b). At or above it, use Form 12.902(c).¹ The long form asks for a more detailed accounting of assets and liabilities, but both versions have the same backbone: Section I for income, Section II for expenses, and a sworn certification at the end.

Both forms are available under the Family Law Forms section of the Florida Courts website.³

Documents to Gather First

Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.285 lists the financial records that go with the affidavit. For an initial or supplemental proceeding, everything must be served on the other parent within 45 days of the date the respondent was served with the petition.² Pull these before you start filling out numbers:

Your three most recent months of pay stubs or other proof of earned income.
All federal and state income tax returns filed by you or on your behalf for the past three years.
W-2s, 1099s, and any K-1 schedules for the same three-year period.
Statements for all checking, savings, and investment accounts.
Any financial statements or loan applications you prepared within the past year. Courts compare these to the affidavit to check that the income you told a lender matches what you’re telling them.

Self-employed and business-owner parents also need corporate returns, profit-and-loss statements, and records of business expenses. Under Section 61.30, business income is gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce that income.⁴

The rule adjusts for a temporary financial hearing scheduled inside the 45-day window: one year of tax returns instead of three, and the same three months of pay stubs. The party requesting the hearing serves the documents with the notice; the responding party serves them at least two business days before the hearing, or seven days if serving by mail.²

Filling Out Section I: Monthly Gross Income

Every figure on the affidavit is a monthly amount. Weekly pay: multiply by 52, divide by 12. Biweekly: multiply by 26, divide by 12. Semi-monthly: multiply by two.¹ Biweekly and semi-monthly are not the same, and mixing them up shifts your reported income enough to change the support number.

Section I follows the income categories in Section 61.30 of the Florida Statutes. List each on its own line:⁴

Salary or wages before deductions.
Bonuses, commissions, overtime, and tips. Average these across recent months if they fluctuate.
Business income (gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses). Personal cell phone bills and family meals are not business expenses.
Disability benefits and workers’ compensation.
Unemployment compensation.
Pension, retirement, or annuity payments.
Social Security benefits.
Spousal support received from a prior marriage or ordered in the current case.
Interest, dividends, and rental income (rental income uses the same net formula as business income).
Royalties and income from trusts or estates.
Reimbursed expenses and in-kind payments to the extent they reduce your personal living costs.
Gains from property sales, unless the gain is a one-time event unlikely to recur.
Any other recurring income, identified with a description and dollar amount.

Add every line. The total is your monthly gross income and the starting point for the child support calculation.

If You’re Not Working

A judge can assign you an income figure under Section 61.30(2)(b) if your unemployment or underemployment is voluntary, meaning you chose not to work or chose to work less without a legitimate reason like a disability or the need to care for the child at home. If a parent refuses to participate or provide income information, Florida law presumes the parent earns the median income of full-time, year-round workers from U.S. Census data. To argue for a different imputed amount, the requesting party has to point to specific jobs and earnings the other parent could realistically obtain, given education, work history, and the time-sharing schedule. Incarceration does not count as voluntary unemployment.⁴

Allowable Deductions

After totaling gross income, the form subtracts a closed list of deductions from Section 61.30(3). Car payments, credit card bills, and other personal debts are not on the list:⁴

Federal, state, and local income taxes, adjusted for your actual filing status and dependents.
Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA), or self-employment tax if you’re self-employed.
Mandatory union dues.
Mandatory retirement contributions required as a condition of employment. Voluntary 401(k) contributions don’t qualify.
Health insurance premiums for yourself. The child’s portion is handled separately on the guidelines worksheet.
Court-ordered support for other children that you are actually paying.
Spousal support paid under a court order from a prior marriage or this case.

Gross income minus these items is your net income, which carries over to the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet.

Filling Out Section II: Monthly Expenses

Section II asks for current monthly expenses across several categories: housing (mortgage or rent, property taxes, utilities), automobile costs (gas, insurance, repairs), the children’s expenses (daycare, clothing, uninsured medical costs), insurance premiums, and general living expenses like food, clothing, and entertainment.¹

If your expenses haven’t settled into a post-separation pattern yet, write “estimate” next to any figure that reflects what you expect to pay rather than what you’re currently paying. Enter zero on lines that don’t apply so it’s clear you didn’t skip them.

The expense section doesn’t plug directly into the guidelines formula the way income does, but hearing officers read it. A parent showing $1,200 in monthly expenses on $2,000 of claimed income while carrying a mortgage and a new truck payment will get questions.

Signing Under Oath

The affidavit is sworn testimony. Sign it in front of a notary public or a deputy clerk.⁵ The certification says the information is true “under penalties of perjury.”⁶

A false statement can support a third-degree felony perjury charge under Section 837.02. A judge who finds dishonesty on the affidavit can strike your testimony, dismiss your pleadings, order you to pay the other parent’s attorney fees, or refer the case to the State Attorney’s Office. Courts typically reserve those sanctions for repeated or egregious misrepresentation, but even a small mistake damages your credibility for the rest of the case. Check every figure before you sign.

Serving the Other Parent

The affidavit and supporting documents must reach the other parent within 45 days of the date the respondent was served with the initial petition. Rule 12.285(b)(2) is firm on this. Missing it doesn’t erase the obligation, but it opens you to sanctions and can make evidence you try to introduce later inadmissible.²

Service means actually delivering the documents so the other party can inspect and copy them. Hand delivery or mail both work. For temporary hearings the rule requires service at least seven days before the hearing when you use mail, so build in the extra time. Keep a certificate of service or other proof of when and how you delivered the documents; if compliance is later disputed, that record is what the court looks at.

Filing With the Court or the Department of Revenue

Where you file depends on who is handling the case. For court-based proceedings such as a private petition, a divorce, or a modification, use the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which routes to the Clerk of Court in your county.⁷ Register as a self-represented litigant, select the county and case number, upload the signed and notarized affidavit, and submit. Some circuits require a self-help paralegal to review your paperwork for form sufficiency before filing.⁸

If the case was opened by the Florida Department of Revenue’s Child Support Program, the DOR runs an administrative process under Section 409.2563. The agency sends a notice of proceeding, and both parents have 20 days from receipt to submit a completed financial affidavit.⁹ The DOR accepts submissions through its eServices portal or by mail to the local Child Support Enforcement office. If you mail a paper copy, use certified mail with return receipt so you have a dated record.

Redacting Sensitive Information

Financial affidavits filed in Florida family law cases become part of the public court record and can be viewed at the clerk’s office by anyone who asks. Before filing, redact Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and credit and debit card numbers, as Florida’s rules require.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

Under Rule 12.285(f), any document you produce fewer than 24 hours before a hearing in violation of the disclosure deadline is inadmissible at that hearing unless the judge finds good cause. Rule 12.380 gives judges broad authority to impose sanctions to compel disclosure, and those sanctions can fall on your attorney as well as on you.²

In a DOR case, failing to submit a financial affidavit within the 20-day window hands the agency the ability to impute income. Without your numbers, the DOR builds the order on whatever data it has: Census median income, prior tax records, or the other parent’s account of your earnings. Contesting an order built on imputed figures is much harder than filing accurate numbers on time.⁴

1
Florida Courts. Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.902(b) Family Law Financial Affidavit
2
Florida Courts. Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Rule 12.285 – Mandatory Disclosure
3
Florida Courts. Family Law Forms
4
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 61.30 – Child Support Guidelines; Retroactive Child Support
5
Florida Courts. Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(b) – Family Law Financial Affidavit (Short Form)
6
Florida Courts. Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(c) – Family Law Financial Affidavit (Long Form)
7
Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Authority
8
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court. Florida Courts eFiling Portal
9
The 2025 Florida Statutes. Florida Code 409.2563 – Administrative Establishment of Child Support Obligations