Injunction for Protection (Restraining Order) in Alachua County, Florida

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. Florida's statewide hotline is 1-800-500-1119.

Alachua County, home to Gainesville, handles injunction for protection filings at the Alachua County Courthouse, 201 East University Avenue. Filing is free for all five injunction types: domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Compare that to the $408 fee for a standard dissolution here.

A judge can sign a temporary injunction the same day, without notifying the respondent first, if the petition shows immediate and present danger. That order lasts up to 15 days. State law requires the full hearing to happen before it expires.

Peaceful Paths is the certified domestic violence center for Alachua, Bradford, and Union Counties. Reach it at 352-377-8255 locally,.

How an injunction for protection works in Florida

An injunction for protection against domestic violence (Fla. Stat. 741.30) is for someone you have a close relationship with, such as a spouse or former spouse, someone you live with or used to live with as a family, a co-parent, or a close relative. Florida has related injunctions for repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking that may apply instead if the relationship does not fit the domestic violence category.Florida uses the same statewide forms in every county, including Alachua County, FL. The basic steps are:

1. File a Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Domestic Violence (Florida Supreme Court approved family law form 12.980(a)) at the courthouse. There is no filing fee.
2. A judge reviews your petition, often the same day, and can grant a temporary injunction that lasts until your hearing.
3. The other person is served with the paperwork and can respond.
4. You attend a full hearing, generally within about 15 days of a temporary injunction.
5. If the judge grants a final injunction, it can last a fixed term or until further order of the court, and can be extended.

An injunction for protection can do more than order someone to stay away. It can set temporary time-sharing with children, require the other person to leave a shared home, and require them to surrender firearms. Local domestic violence advocates and the clerk's office can help you fill out the forms, often at no cost.

Where to file in Alachua County, FL

Injunction requests in Alachua County, FL are filed with the Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, Alachua County. Because courthouse locations, hours, and local domestic violence resources change over time, confirm current details using the Florida court clerk directory:

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

Local notes for Alachua County, FL

The Eighth Judicial Circuit's Self-Help Center sits in Room 413 of the Family and Civil Justice Center and serves six counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union. Gainesville residents use the same procedural help staff as callers from the smaller surrounding counties.

Once a judge signs the order, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office serves the respondent at no cost to the petitioner. The clerk pays for that service directly.

Gainesville is the largest population center in this part of North Central Florida, and its courthouse tends to see more family filings than its rural neighbors. Bringing a complete petition can help move things along.

Because Gainesville is the largest city in this part of North Central Florida, the Alachua County Courthouse handles a heavier volume of family filings than most of the five smaller counties, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union, that share its Eighth Circuit Self-Help Center.

A petitioner moving between Alachua and those five neighboring counties will find the same statewide injunction rules apply everywhere, even though certified domestic violence center coverage differs by county: Peaceful Paths in some, Another Way, Inc. in others.

Peaceful Paths offers more than a hotline. It also runs a shelter and ongoing advocacy services for survivors. That can matter for someone weighing whether to leave home before or after filing the injunction paperwork.

The Gainesville courthouse's family filing counter is separate from the circuit's regional self-help office. File an urgent injunction there directly, rather than at Room 413.

Official injunction resources in Alachua County, FL

Alachua County Courthouse handles restraining-orders filings, located at 201 East University Avenue, Gainesville 32601.

The filing fee is $0. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Statewide e-filing portal applies, though most injunction petitioners in Alachua County file in person at the Gainesville courthouse for same-day judicial review.

Eighth Judicial Circuit Self-Help Center (https://circuit8.org/self-help/) can help with procedure and paperwork. Family and Civil Justice Center, Room 413, (352) 548-3781, serving Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union Counties. Staff assist with procedure and hearing-setting but do not give legal advice or select forms.

• Eighth Judicial Circuit - Self-Help Center
• Fla. Stat. 741.30 - Domestic Violence Injunction
• Form 12.980(a) - Petition for Injunction Against Domestic Violence
• Peaceful Paths

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

Alachua County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs