Injunction for Protection (Restraining Order) in Bay 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.

File injunction for protection cases in Bay County at the Bay County Courthouse, 300 E 4th St, in Panama City, (850) 747-5100. The Clerk's Family Law page and a separate fees page cover the process. The fee for an injunction itself is always zero, unlike dissolution filings, which run $397.50 here.

Florida law bars a filing fee for any of the five injunction types: domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking. A judge can sign a temporary injunction the same day, without notifying the respondent first, if the petition shows immediate and present danger.

That temporary order lasts up to 15 days, and state law requires a full hearing before it expires. The Bay County Sheriff's Office then serves the order on the respondent at no cost to the petitioner.

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 Bay 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 Bay County, FL

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

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

Local notes for Bay County, FL

The Fourteenth Judicial Circuit's domestic violence page for Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties offers a Domestic Violence Checklist for Litigants and three instructional videos. It does not name a specific certified local shelter. Call the statewide hotline, 1-800-500-1119, to get connected to current local shelter and advocacy resources in Bay County.

Once a judge signs the order, the Bay County Sheriff's Office serves the respondent. This costs the petitioner nothing. The clerk covers that expense directly instead of billing whoever filed.

Bay County includes both Panama City and the much larger tourist population around Panama City Beach. The courthouse in downtown Panama City is the single filing point, regardless of which part of the county someone lives in or is staying in.

Bay County's population is concentrated around Panama City and the tourist-heavy beaches to the west. Its courthouse processes a higher volume of family filings than most of its Fourteenth Circuit neighbors: Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington.

A petitioner staying temporarily in the Panama City Beach area, rather than living in Bay County full time, should still file at the same downtown Panama City courthouse. Injunction jurisdiction follows where the parties are located, not tourist-season residency.

Official injunction resources in Bay County, FL

Bay County Courthouse handles restraining-orders filings, located at 300 E 4th St, Panama City 32401. Phone: (850) 747-5100.

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

Bay County Clerk Family Law (https://www.baycoclerk.com/court-divisions/family-law/) can help with procedure and paperwork. Bay County Clerk Family Law page; the clerk also publishes a separate fees-and-costs page for family law filings, and offers TurboCourt for interactive simplified dissolutions. Clerk's Office phone: (850) 747-5100/5101.

• Bay County Clerk - Family Law
• Fla. Stat. 741.30 - Domestic Violence Injunction
• Form 12.980(a) - Petition for Injunction Against Domestic Violence
• Fourteenth Judicial Circuit - Domestic Violence

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

Bay County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs