Child Support in Bradford County, Florida

The Eighth Circuit's Northern Region child support docket sits in Starke, so Bradford County residents file and appear right in their own backyard at the Bradford County Courthouse, 945 North Temple Avenue. Baker and Union County families don't get that convenience. A new petition, a modification, and an enforcement action all go through the same Clerk's office there.

If the parents were never married and no lawsuit has been filed, a parent can skip the courthouse and ask the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program to establish paternity and set support administratively instead. Once a Bradford County case is on file, any later change goes in under that same case number as a Supplemental Petition for Modification of Child Support, Form 12.905(b).

The final support amount comes from the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, Form 12.902(e), which runs both parents' net income, overnights, health insurance, and child care costs through the Fla. Stat. 61.30 formula. Most Florida child support orders, including this one, also come with an Income Deduction Order under Fla. Stat. 61.1301, directing the paying parent's employer to withhold support straight from wages. Starke hosts the Northern Region office at (904) 966-6319, so Bradford County residents have the shortest commute of the three counties in that group when a hearing calls for showing up in person.

The Eighth Circuit's Self-Help Center in Gainesville, shared by Bradford County and five neighboring counties, reviews the Family Law Financial Affidavit for completeness: the long Form 12.902(b) for gross income of $50,000 a year or more, or the short Form 12.902(c) below that.

How child support is calculated in Florida

Florida sets child support with a statewide income shares guideline (Fla. Stat. 61.30) that applies the same way in Bradford County, FL as everywhere else. The guideline combines:

1. Both parents' net incomes, combined into one child support obligation.
2. The number of overnights each parent has with the child (the time-sharing schedule).

The guideline result is presumed correct, and the parties complete a Child Support Guidelines Worksheet along with a Financial Affidavit (Florida Supreme Court approved family law form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c)) so the court can calculate the amount.

Where child support cases are handled in Bradford County, FL

Child support in Bradford County, FL is handled through the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Bradford County, and, for enforcement and establishment cases that do not involve a private attorney, the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program, which can open a case at no cost to the parents. There are two common paths:

1. A parent requests support inside a dissolution, paternity, or existing family case by motion, with a Financial Affidavit.
2. The Department of Revenue Child Support Program opens an administrative or court case to establish, collect, and enforce support.

Because courthouse and local agency office details change over time, confirm current details using the Florida court clerk directory:

Find the Bradford County, FL Clerk of Court (Florida court clerk directory)

Local notes for Bradford County, FL

Traffic runs the other way here compared to Baker and Union: Bradford County residents are already in Starke instead of driving there, and the Clerk's civil counter handles a heavier support caseload because it hosts the regional docket. Call (904) 966-6319 to confirm hearing times instead of assuming a fixed weekly schedule.

One quirk before you file: the Bradford Clerk's published fee-schedule PDF still carries a 2014 footer date, even though it's the live document linked from the site today. Treat the $408.00 marriage-dissolution figure as a starting point to confirm by phone, not a locked-in number, especially for a standalone support filing.

Administrative cases the state opens, rather than the courthouse, are handled entirely off-site by the Florida Department of Revenue. It fields Bradford County questions the same way it fields every county's, by phone at 850-488-KIDS or through childsupport.floridarevenue.com, since it keeps no local office in Starke either.

Official child support resources in Bradford County, FL

Bradford County Courthouse handles child-support filings, located at 945 North Temple Avenue, Starke 32091.

The filing fee is $408. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Statewide myflcourtaccess.com portal applies; the Bradford Clerk's own published fee schedule (last updated 2014 but still the current live-linked version) lists dissolution filings separately from support-specific fees.

Eighth Judicial Circuit Self-Help Center (https://circuit8.org/self-help/) can help with procedure and paperwork. Fourth floor of the Family and Civil Justice Center, Room 413, Gainesville, (352) 548-3781. Serves Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union counties. Staff explain procedures and help set a hearing with the judge but do not give legal advice, represent litigants in court, or select forms.

• Eighth Judicial Circuit Self-Help Center
• Eighth Judicial Circuit Child Support Enforcement
• Florida Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (Form 12.902(e))
• Florida DOR Child Support Program
• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal

Local details reviewed August 2026. Offices and locations can change, so confirm with the official sites above before you file.

Bradford County, FL Child Support FAQs