To serve divorce papers in Florida, you file your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the clerk of the circuit court, have the clerk issue a summons, and then arrange for a sheriff’s deputy or a certified process server to hand-deliver the summons and petition to your spouse. You cannot deliver the papers yourself, and you generally have 120 days from filing to get it done before the court can dismiss the case.
What Has to Exist Before Anyone Can Be Served
Service can’t happen until the clerk has your petition and has issued a summons. The petition is filed at the circuit court in the county where you or your spouse lives, and at least one of you must have lived in Florida for six months before filing. The petition lays out what you’re asking for: property division, alimony if you want it, and a proposed parenting plan if children are involved.
Once the clerk accepts the filing, the clerk issues the summons. That’s the document that tells your spouse a case has been filed and that they have 20 days to respond in writing. The package your spouse receives is the summons together with a copy of the petition.
Who Is Allowed to Serve the Papers
Florida law does not let you hand the papers to your spouse yourself. Service must be carried out by an authorized third party.1Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Title VI Chapter 48 – 48.021 Process; by Whom Served You have two choices.
The first is the county sheriff. You bring the documents to the sheriff’s office in the county where your spouse lives or works, and a deputy attempts service. The base fee is $40, and it is nonrefundable even if the deputy can’t complete service.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 30.231 – Sheriffs Fees for Service
The second is a certified process server. Private process servers are certified by the chief judge of the circuit and carry the same legal authority as a sheriff’s deputy. Fees typically run $50 to $150. They tend to be faster and more flexible about scheduling, which helps when a spouse works irregular hours or is hard to catch at home.1Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Title VI Chapter 48 – 48.021 Process; by Whom Served
Papers can be delivered at your spouse’s home, workplace, or anywhere else they’re found. Serving at work is legal and does not require the employer’s permission. Experienced servers handle workplace deliveries discreetly, and the recipient decides what, if anything, to say to coworkers.
Substituted Service When the Server Can’t Reach Your Spouse
If the sheriff or process server tries to deliver the papers in person but can’t reach your spouse directly, Florida allows substituted service. The server may leave the documents at your spouse’s usual residence with any person living there who is at least 15 years old, provided that person is told what the papers are about.3Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Title VI Chapter 48 – 48.031 Service of Process Generally
Substituted service only works after genuine attempts at direct service. A single failed visit probably won’t cut it. The server should document multiple attempts at different times and on different days, because a court can throw out service that skipped that step.
Waiver of Service When Your Spouse Is Cooperating
In an uncontested case, you don’t need a sheriff or a process server at all. Your spouse can voluntarily accept the papers and sign a notarized waiver acknowledging receipt of the petition and summons. The waiver is filed with the court.
The waiver has to be signed voluntarily and with a real understanding of what it does. By signing, your spouse gives up the right to later claim they were never properly notified. This is the cheapest and fastest route, but it only works when both of you are communicating and on reasonably good terms.
Service by Publication When You Can’t Find Your Spouse
If your spouse has genuinely disappeared and you have no way to locate them, Florida allows service by publication as a last resort. You can’t jump to this method just because personal service is inconvenient. The court must approve it first, and you earn that approval by filing a sworn affidavit showing you conducted a diligent search.4Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 49 – Constructive Service of Process
That affidavit has to be thorough. You need to document specific steps: searching public records, checking with the post office, contacting your spouse’s last known employer, reaching out to relatives and friends, and searching online databases. Vague statements like “I tried to find them” won’t satisfy a judge. The more concrete the search, the more likely the court will grant the request.4Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 49 – Constructive Service of Process
If the judge approves, the clerk issues a Notice of Action that must be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the case is filed. The notice runs once a week for four consecutive weeks.5Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County. Service by Publication FAQ Publication fees vary and can run several hundred dollars.
There’s an important limit here. Publication gives the court jurisdiction over the marriage itself, so a judge can grant the divorce. It does not give the court personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse, which means the judge generally cannot order that spouse to pay alimony, divide their share of assets, or take on other personal financial obligations. If you need financial relief beyond ending the marriage, you’ll likely need to locate your spouse and arrange personal service.
Serving a Spouse on a Military Base
If your spouse is active-duty military and stationed on a base, service is still possible but requires extra coordination. A civilian process server cannot simply walk onto a military installation. Federal regulations require the commanding officer’s consent before anyone can serve process on base personnel.6eCFR. 32 CFR 720.20 – Service of Process Upon Personnel When consent is given, the commanding officer typically designates a location, often the base legal office, where the server and the service member meet privately.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act adds protections that shape what happens after service. If your spouse is on active duty and does not respond to the petition, the court cannot simply enter a default judgment. You must first file an affidavit stating whether the respondent is in the military. If they are, the court must appoint an attorney to represent them before proceeding, and the judge can grant a stay of at least 90 days if military duties prevent the service member from participating.7United States Courts. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
Serving a Spouse in Another Country
When your spouse lives abroad, the method depends on whether their country is a party to the Hague Service Convention. For member countries, you follow the Convention’s procedures, which typically involve submitting a formal request through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Judicial Assistance, the U.S. Central Authority.8U.S. Department of State. Service of Process The request is forwarded to the foreign country’s central authority, which handles delivery under its own rules.
Some Hague member countries have objected to service by mail, so registered post to those countries isn’t valid. For countries not party to the Convention, service methods vary and may involve letters rogatory or other diplomatic channels. International service almost always takes longer than domestic service, sometimes months, so factor that into the 120-day deadline and be ready to ask the court for an extension.
If You Are Filing Against an Abusive Spouse
The court file becomes a public record, which means your address can appear in documents your spouse can access. Florida’s Address Confidentiality Program, administered by the Office of the Attorney General, provides a substitute mailing address that participants can use in place of their actual home address on public records, including court filings. The program also acts as your legal agent for receiving service of process, so your physical location stays hidden.9Florida Crime Prevention Training Institute. Address Confidentiality Program Enrolling before you file keeps your address out of the record from the start. The program can be reached at (850) 414-3300.
The 120-Day Deadline
Florida gives you 120 days from the date you file the petition to complete service. If service is not completed within that window, the court can dismiss the case. You can ask for an extension by showing good cause or excusable neglect, but the burden is on you to explain the delay. Don’t assume extra time will be granted automatically.
The deadline matters most when a spouse is evading service, living overseas, or stationed on a distant military base. If you expect difficulty, start the service process immediately after filing rather than waiting.
Filing the Proof of Service
After your spouse has been served, the person who delivered the papers completes a return-of-service form documenting the date, time, and method of delivery. The server notes this on the first page of the served documents and signs or initials it.3Official Internet Site of the Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Title VI Chapter 48 – 48.031 Service of Process Generally The completed form is filed with the clerk of the circuit court where you filed your petition.
This step is not optional. Without a properly filed proof of service, the court has no evidence that your spouse was notified and the case cannot move forward. If service was done by the sheriff, the sheriff’s office typically files the return directly. If you used a private process server, confirm they filed it, or file it yourself.
What Happens Once Service Is Complete
The 20-day response clock starts on the date your spouse is served. If they file an answer, the case moves into the standard divorce process: financial disclosures, negotiation or mediation, and eventually a final hearing.
If your spouse does not respond within 20 days, you can file a Motion for Default. That motion tells the judge your spouse was properly served but chose not to participate. Before entering a default, the court requires an affidavit confirming whether your spouse is an active-duty service member. If they are, the SCRA protections apply and the court must appoint an attorney for them before proceeding.7United States Courts. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) A default does not automatically give you everything in the petition; the judge still reviews your requests, but your spouse loses the ability to contest them.