Marchman Act: Florida’s Involuntary Substance Abuse Treatment Law

The Florida Marchman Act, codified at Chapter 397 of the Florida Statutes, gives families and other qualified people a way to ask a court to order substance abuse assessment and treatment for someone who will not seek help on their own. A judge can authorize an initial hold of up to five days for assessment and stabilization, and, if the clinical team and court agree the person still meets the legal criteria, follow that with court-ordered treatment for up to 90 days. Three doors lead into the process: a petition filed in circuit court, emergency protective custody by law enforcement, or a professional certificate signed by a qualified clinician.

Who Qualifies for Involuntary Admission

Not every person struggling with drugs or alcohol can be committed under the Marchman Act. Florida Statutes § 397.675 sets a two-part test, and both parts must be met.

First, there has to be good-faith reason to believe the person has lost the power of self-control over their substance use. Second, at least one of these must also be true:

Their judgment is so impaired by substance use that they cannot appreciate their need for treatment and make a rational decision about it. Refusing treatment, by itself, is not proof of impaired judgment.
Without care, they are likely to suffer from neglect or refuse to care for themselves, that neglect poses a real and present threat to their well-being, and no family member, friend, or other service is willing and able to prevent it.
There is a substantial likelihood they have caused, attempted, or threatened harm to themselves or others, or will unless admitted.¹

The same criteria govern every pathway into the Act. A judge weighing a petition, an officer deciding whether to take someone into protective custody, and a clinician signing an emergency certificate are all applying this test.

Three Ways the Process Can Start

Families often think a Marchman Act case can only begin at a courthouse. It can also begin on the street or in an emergency room, and which route fits depends on how urgent things are right now.

Court Petition

This is the route most families take when they see a loved one deteriorating but are not standing in the middle of an immediate emergency. A qualified petitioner files a written petition in the circuit court asking for an involuntary assessment. The court either sets a hearing or, in urgent cases, issues an order without one.

Law Enforcement Protective Custody

If a person who appears to meet the involuntary admission criteria is in a public place or otherwise comes to law enforcement’s attention, an officer can place them in protective custody without waiting for a petition or a court order.² The officer takes the person to a licensed receiving facility for assessment. The statute forbids holding someone in a jail or juvenile detention center during this process.³

Professional Certificate

A range of licensed clinicians, from physicians and psychiatric nurses to licensed clinical social workers and master’s-level certified addictions professionals, can issue a certificate authorizing emergency admission. The clinician must have examined the person within the past five days, state why the involuntary admission criteria are met, and recommend the least restrictive appropriate care. Law enforcement can transport the person on the certificate alone if they refuse to go voluntarily, and the certificate remains valid for seven days after it is signed.⁴

How to File the Petition

Who Can File

For an adult respondent, the petition can be filed by the person’s spouse or guardian, any relative, a private practitioner, the director (or director’s designee) of a licensed service provider, or any adult with direct personal knowledge of the substance abuse.⁵ For a minor, only a parent, legal guardian, legal custodian, or licensed service provider may file.

That “any adult with direct personal knowledge” category is broader than most people expect. A close friend, employer, neighbor, or coworker who has personally witnessed the loss of control can petition. You do not have to be family.

The Form

The petition uses form CF-MH 4006, sometimes labeled MA-7. You can get it from the clerk of court in the county where the respondent lives or is located, or download it from the Florida Department of Children and Families.⁶ Some circuits post the form with local instructions on their own court websites.

What the Petition Must Say

The petition needs the respondent’s name, the petitioner’s name and relationship to the respondent, and the name of the respondent’s attorney if one is known. Then it needs specific facts backing up each element of the legal test:

Why you believe the person is impaired by substance abuse.
Why you believe they have lost self-control over their use.
Why you believe they pose a risk of harm to themselves or others, or that their judgment is too impaired to recognize the need for treatment.

If the person has already refused a voluntary assessment, say so in the petition.⁷

Specific, recent incidents carry far more weight than general statements about long-running addiction. Attach what you can: medical records, police reports, written witness statements describing particular episodes. A petition that says “he drinks too much” without concrete examples is likely to be dismissed.

Filing Fee

There is none. The statute prohibits any filing fee for a Marchman Act petition.⁷

What Happens After You File

Once the clerk receives the petition, the judge chooses between two paths, depending on how urgent the facts in the petition sound.

The Standard Hearing

Most petitions go this way. The court issues a summons and schedules a hearing within ten days. The petitioner, respondent, respondent’s attorney, and any witnesses appear. The petitioner offers testimony and evidence; the respondent can contest the petition. If the respondent does not already have a lawyer, the court decides whether to appoint one.⁸

Service of the petition and hearing notice is usually handled by the local sheriff. If the respondent has been properly served and does not show up, the court can issue a pickup order sending law enforcement to take the person into custody and deliver them to a licensed facility.

An Ex Parte Order

If the petition describes circumstances urgent enough that waiting ten days could cause serious harm, the judge can skip the hearing and issue an ex parte order based on the petition alone. The order authorizes involuntary assessment and stabilization right away and can direct law enforcement to bring the respondent to the nearest appropriate licensed facility.⁸ No lawyer is appointed before the order issues, but the respondent’s right to counsel attaches as soon as they are brought into the system.

The Assessment Hold and the 90-Day Treatment Order

Up to Five Days for Assessment

When the court grants the petition, the respondent can be held for up to five days at a hospital, licensed detoxification facility, or addictions receiving facility. Clinical staff evaluate the severity of the addiction, decide whether the person meets criteria for longer-term involuntary treatment, and handle any immediate medical stabilization.⁵ If the team concludes during the hold that the person no longer meets the criteria, they can recommend release before the five days run out.

Up to 90 Days of Involuntary Treatment

If the assessment supports continued care, a separate petition for involuntary treatment is filed. The court must set a hearing within five days.⁹ The petitioner has to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent still meets the involuntary admission criteria.

If the court agrees, it can order up to 90 days of treatment at a publicly funded licensed service provider. When clinicians believe the person will still meet the criteria after that time, a renewal petition can be filed before the 90 days expire.¹⁰

Violating a treatment order can result in contempt of court, which may carry fines or short-term incarceration. The purpose of the statute is treatment, not punishment, and courts generally treat contempt as a last resort to compel compliance.

The Respondent’s Rights

Being the subject of a Marchman Act case does not erase the respondent’s legal rights. Several protections are built into the statute.

Right to counsel at every stage. If the respondent cannot afford a lawyer, the court appoints one, and the court can appoint counsel on its own initiative if it thinks the respondent needs help. For involuntary treatment petitions, the court notifies the office of criminal conflict and civil regional counsel when it appoints representation.¹¹⁹
Right to contest the petition, testify, and present evidence. If the respondent believes they no longer meet the criteria during treatment, they or their attorney can file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus seeking release.
Right to the least restrictive appropriate services based on the individual’s needs and best interests.³
Right to be treated with dignity, to not be held in a jail or detention center outside brief lawful protective custody transport, and to participate in creating and reviewing the treatment plan.

Confidentiality of the Case and Records

Records identifying a person by their Marchman Act involvement, diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment are confidential and exempt from Florida’s public records law. They cannot be released without written consent except in limited situations: medical emergencies, internal use by treatment staff, government audits with identifiers stripped, or a court order on a showing of good cause.³ For families worried that filing will create a permanently visible record of a loved one’s addiction, these protections are among the strongest in Florida law.

Marchman Act or Baker Act

Families in a crisis sometimes are not sure which law fits. The Baker Act, Chapter 394, covers involuntary examination and treatment for mental illness. The Marchman Act, Chapter 397, covers substance abuse. When a person has both a mental health disorder and a substance use problem, the Marchman Act can still be used if substance abuse is central.¹

Practical differences to know:

A Baker Act hold lasts up to 72 hours before an examination must occur. A Marchman Act assessment hold lasts up to five days.
Baker Act holds can be initiated on the spot by law enforcement, physicians, or certain licensed mental health professionals. A Marchman Act petition can be filed by family and other people with direct personal knowledge, giving families a more direct role.
The Marchman Act allows court-ordered treatment for up to 90 days, renewable. Baker Act involuntary treatment follows a different petition and hearing structure under Chapter 394.

Sometimes both statutes could apply, such as when a person’s psychosis is driven by methamphetamine use. The choice usually comes down to which problem is driving the crisis and which pathway is more likely to get appropriate care.

What It Costs

The court process itself is free. The petition carries no filing fee, and no fee can be charged for it. Treatment is a different matter. Private residential detox and inpatient care can run several hundred dollars per day, and a 90-day court-ordered stay adds up quickly.

Marketplace health plans are required to cover substance use disorder treatment as an essential health benefit, and parity rules keep insurers from imposing stricter limits on substance abuse coverage than on medical or surgical benefits.¹² Whether a specific court-ordered facility is in network, and what the deductibles and copays look like, varies by plan. If the respondent is uninsured, the court directs treatment to a publicly funded licensed provider, but bed availability at those facilities can be a real constraint.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXIX Chapter 397 – Section 397.675, Criteria for Involuntary Admissions
2
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Section 397.677, Protective Custody; Circumstances Justifying
3
FindLaw. Florida Statutes Title XXIX Section 397.501, Rights of Individuals
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXIX Chapter 397 – Section 397.6793, Professional’s Certificate for Emergency Admission
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 397 Section 6811, Involuntary Assessment and Stabilization
6
Florida Department of Children and Families. Petition for Involuntary Substance Abuse Assessment and Stabilization
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 397 Section 6814, Involuntary Assessment and Stabilization; Contents of Petition
8
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 397 Section 6815, Involuntary Assessment and Stabilization; Procedure
9
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 397 Section 6955, Duties of Court Upon Filing of Petition for Involuntary Services
10
Justia Law. Florida Code Title XXIX Chapter 397 – Section 397.697, Court Determination; Effect of Court Order for Involuntary Services
11
Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes Section 397.681, Rights of Respondents
12
HealthCare.gov. Mental Health and Substance Abuse Coverage