Child Support in Manatee County, Florida

Manatee County works differently from the rest of the 12th Judicial Circuit. The Clerk of Court, not the Attorney General's Office, supplies the attorneys who represent the Department of Revenue in child support cases. The DOR office for Manatee sits in the same building as the Manatee County Judicial Center in Bradenton.

That setup means a Manatee parent in a DOR-established or DOR-enforced case will likely deal with clerk-employed attorneys acting for the state, not the AGO attorneys used in neighboring DeSoto and Sarasota counties. These attorneys represent DOR only. They do not represent either parent, even the parent owed support.

Hearing officers and general magistrates from the circuit's family division hear Manatee child support cases. The clerk's family desk can confirm which official is assigned to a specific case. Every case, whether DOR-opened or privately filed, uses the same statewide guidelines worksheet and financial affidavit to calculate the support amount.

Manatee also requires its own Confidential Disclosure of Personal Information form, specific to Manatee County cases, in addition to the standard statewide paperwork. A parent filing here should check with the clerk about this Manatee-specific form before submitting a case.

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 Manatee 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 Manatee County, FL

Child support in Manatee County, FL is handled through the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Manatee 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 Manatee County, FL Clerk of Court (Florida court clerk directory)

Local notes for Manatee County, FL

Manatee's DOR Child Support Office shares an address with the Manatee County Judicial Center, 1115 Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton. A parent handling both a DOR case and a private court filing may find both processes happen in the same building, with no separate trip across town.

Manatee's clerk-supplied attorney arrangement for DOR representation is unusual in the 12th Circuit. If correspondence about your case comes from the Clerk of Court's office acting for DOR, rather than from the Attorney General's Office, that matches how Manatee is set up. It is not an error.

Self-help packets for family law matters in Manatee are sold at the Courthouse Cashiering station, not through a dedicated online self-help center. The clerk also links TurboCourt for parents who want to prepare dissolution paperwork online. Send family law mail to Attn: Family Law, P.O. Box 25400, Bradenton, FL 34206.

Official child support resources in Manatee County, FL

Manatee County Judicial Center handles child-support filings, located at 1115 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton 34205. Phone: (941) 749-1800.

E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; self-represented parties may use TurboCourt or file on paper. Mailing address for family law filings: Attn: Family Law, P.O. Box 25400, Bradenton, FL 34206.

Manatee Clerk Self-Help Packets (https://www.jud12.flcourts.org/about/divisions/family/child-support) can help with procedure and paperwork. No dedicated Manatee-specific self-help URL was found; self-help packets, including divorce, custody, and related family matters, are sold at the Courthouse Cashiering station, and TurboCourt links are provided for dissolution with or without children.

• 12th Circuit Child Support
• Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court
• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• Form 12.905(b), Supplemental Petition to Modify Child Support
• Florida Child Support Program Payments

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

Manatee County, FL Child Support FAQs