Child Support in Washington County, Florida

Child support cases in Washington County, Florida go through two different doors. The Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program handles administrative establishment and enforcement. The Fourteenth Judicial Circuit family division at the Washington County Courthouse in Chipley handles anything filed as part of a court case. Washington County, anchored by Chipley, sits between Bay and Holmes Counties in the central Panhandle. The Fourteenth Judicial Circuit also covers Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, and Jackson Counties, so its family court administration and mediation program serve all of them, not just Washington.

The math behind a Florida support order stays the same in every county. Fla. Stat. 61.30 sets the income shares guideline, and Form 12.902(e), the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, is where that math gets calculated. To fill it out, each parent completes a Family Law Financial Affidavit: the short Form 12.902(b) for income under $50,000 a year, or the long Form 12.902(c) at or above that. All of it, including the worksheet, becomes part of the court record, whether the Department of Revenue or a parent started the case.

Expect a dissolution filing fee of about $397.50, based on the clerk's packet PDFs rather than a confirmed current fee schedule. A Form 12.904 petition for support alone, filed outside a divorce, may carry its own separate fee; call the clerk to confirm the amount. File electronically through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com, which covers every circuit including the Fourteenth, or file in person at the clerk's office in Chipley. If you cannot afford the fee, ask the clerk to waive it with an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status under Fla. Stat. 57.082.

Start at the clerk's 14th Circuit Family Law Forms page (https://jud14.flcourts.org/family-law/family-law-forms) for local forms and steps. The clerk's dissolution packet PDFs cover Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties under the same 14th Circuit forms. Enforcement steps like income withholding, license suspension, or locating a non-paying parent go through the Department of Revenue Child Support Program, not the clerk's office. Call 850-488-KIDS (5437) or use the eServices portal at childsupport.floridarevenue.com.

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 Washington 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 Washington County, FL

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

Local notes for Washington County, FL

The Washington County Courthouse at 1293 Jackson Ave, Chipley, FL 32428 handles family law filings for Washington County. The clerk's family law line there is (850) 638-6285. The Fourteenth Circuit's website does not publish a current administrative order naming who presides over Washington County child support hearings; call the clerk's family law staff before your hearing date to find out.

Mediation and remote hearing options both run through the Fourteenth Circuit's own pages, covering family mediation and video-conferencing. Check with the clerk's office or your judicial assistant to see which applies to your Washington County hearing. A contested support matter typically goes to mediation first when the court orders it.

The Department of Revenue does not list a separate local Child Support address for Washington County; its contact page points everyone, regardless of county, to the same statewide number, 850-488-KIDS, and the eServices portal. A Supplemental Petition for Modification of Child Support, Form 12.905(b), goes in the same county where the original order was entered, not automatically wherever a parent later moves. Modification generally requires a substantial change in circumstances under Fla. Stat. 61.30. Washington's dissolution packet PDFs are dated from prior years and shared with several neighboring clerks in the same circuit, so treat the listed fee as a starting point, not a current figure. Chipley sits roughly midway between the coast at Panama City and the farmland further east, a small town built around timber and agriculture rather than tourism.

Official child support resources in Washington County, FL

Washington County Courthouse handles child-support filings, located at 1293 Jackson Ave, Chipley 32428. Phone: (850) 638-6285.

The filing fee is $397.50. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; covers all circuits and case types including family law.

14th Circuit Family Law Forms (https://jud14.flcourts.org/family-law/family-law-forms) can help with procedure and paperwork. The clerk's own dissolution packet PDFs cover Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties under the same 14th Circuit forms.

• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• Florida DOR Child Support Program
• Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet
• Washington County Clerk of Court
• 14th Circuit Family Law Forms
• 14th Judicial Circuit Family Law

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

Washington County, FL Child Support FAQs