Filing for Divorce in Hendry County, Florida

Hendry County's Clerk's office lists dissolution of marriage as one of the family law case types it handles. Its website does not publish a specific filing fee. Court costs are instead collected through a third-party payment portal, with no public fee list. Call the clerk at (863) 675-5217 to confirm the current amount before you file your petition.

The Hendry County Courthouse sits at 25 E. Hickpochee Avenue in LaBelle. Hendry belongs to the Twentieth Judicial Circuit, along with Charlotte, Collier, Glades, and Lee counties. Hendry family cases follow the same circuit-wide administrative orders, including Order 1.16 on court-ordered mediation.

The Hendry Clerk's site does not list a self-help center address. If you need in-person help with forms, call ahead rather than assume walk-in hours exist. Self-represented parties can still e-file through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, regardless of local self-help staffing.

Couples with no minor children together, property already divided, and no alimony request may qualify for simplified dissolution. Any case with minor children requires both parents to complete a parenting course before a judge finalizes the divorce.

Where you file in Hendry County, FL

Divorce cases in Hendry County, FL are handled by the Twentieth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Hendry County. Because courthouse locations, hours, filing fees, and electronic filing options change over time and can differ between branches, use the Florida court clerk directory to confirm the current address and filing details for your case:

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

The Florida divorce process, step by step

Florida calls divorce "dissolution of marriage," governed statewide by Florida Statutes chapter 61. At least one spouse generally must have lived in Florida for six months before filing (Fla. Stat. 61.021). The core steps are:

1. File a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with the circuit court.
2. Serve your spouse, or, if you are filing together and agree on all terms, file jointly and skip service.
3. Exchange mandatory financial disclosure, including a Financial Affidavit (Florida Supreme Court approved family law form 12.902(b) or 12.902(c) depending on income).
4. Reach a Marital Settlement Agreement, or ask the court to decide contested issues.
5. Attend a mandatory parenting course if you have minor children and your circuit requires one, then submit your final paperwork for the judge to enter a Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.

The clerk's filing fee to open a dissolution case is generally around $409, and an application for civil indigent status is available if you cannot afford it (Fla. Stat. 57.082). Florida does not use a fixed statewide waiting period from filing to final judgment the way some states do; timing depends on your circuit's calendar, whether the case is contested, and how quickly required steps like financial disclosure are completed. Couples who agree on every term, have no minor children, and meet certain conditions may qualify for Florida's simplified dissolution of marriage process, which is faster.

Local notes for Hendry County, FL

Hendry shares duty-judge scheduling with neighboring Glades County within the Twentieth Circuit. Both counties are small compared to Lee or Collier. If you cannot find a specific answer for Hendry, check how Glades handles the same issue, or just call the clerk. That is often faster than searching further online.

Court costs route through a payment kiosk system, paychoice.civiteksolutions.com, rather than a published fee schedule. Budget extra time to confirm the exact dollar amount you owe before your filing date, especially if you plan to pay by a specific method.

FloridaLawHelp.org is a useful statewide resource for general form guidance when a county's self-help materials, like Hendry's, are limited online.

Official divorce resources in Hendry County, FL

Hendry County Courthouse handles divorce filings, located at 25 E. Hickpochee Ave., LaBelle 33935. Phone: (863) 675-5217.

E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com/. The Florida Courts E-Filing Portal is linked from the clerk's site as the authorized statewide method; the clerk's own court-costs page routes to a payment kiosk rather than a public fee schedule.

Hendry Clerk Family Law (https://www.ca.cjis20.org/About-The-Court/Locations/) can help with procedure and paperwork. The Hendry Clerk's Family Law page lists case types handled, including dissolution, name change, domestic violence and repeat violence injunctions, adoption, paternity, and support, but does not publish a self-help center address or a dissolution filing fee amount. Court costs are handled through a third-party payment portal without a public browsable fee list. Call (863) 675-5217 to confirm current fees. Admin. Order 1.16 (Court-Ordered Mediation in Circuit Civil, Family, Dependency & County Court Civil Cases) applies; see https://www.ca.cjis20.org/Documents/admin-orders.aspx.

• Twentieth Judicial Circuit - Court Locations
• Twentieth Judicial Circuit - Administrative Orders
• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• FloridaLawHelp.org

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

Hendry County, FL Divorce FAQs