To look up restraining orders in Florida online, go to the website of the clerk of court for the county where the case was filed and use its public case search. If you don’t know the county, the statewide Comprehensive Case Information System lets you search across all Florida counties from one place. Both routes are free to search, and many clerks let you view the actual court documents on screen.
One thing to know before you start: Florida statutes don’t use the phrase “restraining order.” The equivalent court order is called an injunction for protection, and it’s a civil case, not a criminal one.1Florida Courts. Overview for Respondents – Domestic Violence2Florida Senate. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence Injunction Powers and Duties of Court and Clerk3Online Sunshine. Florida Code 784.046 – Action by Victim of Repeat Violence, Dating Violence, or Sexual Violence for Protective Injunction If you aren’t sure which type was filed, don’t filter by category. Search by name and let the results tell you.
What You Need Before You Start
The single most useful piece of information is the respondent’s full legal name, spelled correctly. That’s the person the injunction was filed against. Florida clerk databases search by name, and any known aliases are worth trying if the first spelling doesn’t return a match. If you already have a case number from a court notice or a law enforcement report, that will take you straight to the file without wading through name matches.
You also need to know which county the case was filed in, or at least make an educated guess. Florida court records are kept at the circuit level, and each county clerk runs its own database. An injunction filed in Miami-Dade won’t appear in a Hillsborough search. When the county is a mystery, skip ahead to the statewide option below.
Searching a County Clerk’s Website
Every Florida county has a clerk of court, and most offer free online case searches. Open the clerk’s homepage for the county in question and look for a link labeled “Court Records Search,” “Case Search,” or “Public Records.”4Orange County Clerk of Courts. Orange County Clerk of Courts Records Search
Enter the respondent’s name in the search tool. You’ll usually see a list of matching cases with the case number, case type, and filing date. Click the correct one and you’ll get the docket: every filing, hearing, and order in chronological order. Many clerks also let you open the actual documents on screen, including the injunction itself and any later modifications. The Florida Supreme Court has authorized electronic access to non-confidential court documents through these county clerk portals.4Orange County Clerk of Courts. Orange County Clerk of Courts Records Search
If nothing turns up, recheck the spelling, try any aliases, and confirm you’re in the right county’s system. Smaller counties have less developed online tools, and older cases may not be fully digitized.
Searching Statewide When You Don’t Know the County
The Comprehensive Case Information System (CCIS), run by the Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers, lets you search court case information across all Florida counties from one interface.5Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers. Comprehensive Case Information System It’s the right tool when you don’t know where to look.
CCIS is a secured system, so expect to create an account or agree to terms of use before searching. How much information you actually see depends on what each county has uploaded to the system. If CCIS shows you a matching case but you need the underlying documents, you’ll likely need to jump over to that county clerk’s portal or visit the courthouse.
When Online Isn’t Enough: Visiting the Courthouse
Some records aren’t fully available online. Older filings and documents with restricted electronic access may exist only in paper form at the courthouse. During regular business hours you can go to the clerk of court’s office, use a public terminal to locate the case, and ask the clerk to pull the physical file for you to review in a designated area.
Copies come with set fees under Florida law. Standard photocopies of court records cost $1.00 per page for standard-size documents. A certified copy, which you’d need for a legal proceeding or an employment verification, is $2.00 per document.6Online Sunshine. Florida Code 28.24 – Service Charges by Clerk of the Circuit Court The clerk stamps certified copies on the spot.
Why Some Results Look Incomplete
If you find a case but the file looks thin or addresses are missing, Florida’s privacy protections are usually the reason. The case still exists; certain details are simply shielded.
Victims of domestic violence can enroll in the state’s Address Confidentiality Program, run by the Florida Attorney General’s office. Participants get a substitute mailing address so their actual location doesn’t appear in public filings.7Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute. Address Confidentiality Program Any petitioner using the program will have their home address suppressed in the file you see.
Beyond addresses, either party can ask the court to make specific records confidential under Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420. The requesting party files a written motion explaining why, and the court weighs whether disclosure would cause substantial harm that outweighs public access. Grounds include preventing safety threats and protecting privacy interests not already covered elsewhere. Even when portions of a file are sealed, the case number and docket number themselves cannot be made confidential, so the case will still show up in search results even if the documents inside are restricted.8Ninth Judicial Circuit. Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420
Reading the Docket to Tell if the Order Is Still Active
Finding an old injunction in a search doesn’t tell you whether it’s still in force. Florida issues these orders in two stages. A temporary (ex parte) injunction can be entered right away, without the other party present, and lasts up to 15 days, with a full hearing set before it expires. If the court grants a final injunction after that hearing, it stays in effect until the court modifies or dissolves it. There is no automatic expiration. Either party can ask the court to change or end the order at any time.9Online Sunshine. Florida Code 741.30 – Domestic Violence Injunction Powers and Duties of Court and Clerk
Open the docket and read down to the most recent entry. If the last substantive action is the entry of a final injunction and nothing later dissolves it, the order is still active. If you see something like “Order Dissolving Injunction” further down, it has been lifted.
What About FDLE Criminal History Checks?
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement runs public criminal history searches, but they aren’t built for injunction lookups. Injunctions for protection are civil orders, not criminal records, so a standard FDLE name search generally won’t return injunction information. Where FDLE can help is if you’re checking whether someone has been arrested for violating an injunction, which would show up as a criminal charge. An FDLE name check costs $24.00, plus a $1.00 credit card processing fee for instant results.10FDLE. State of Florida Criminal History Record Check For finding the injunction itself, stay with the county clerk or CCIS.