Injunction for Protection (Restraining Order) in Bradford 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.

Bradford County residents file an injunction for protection at the Bradford County Courthouse, 945 N. Temple Ave, in Starke. None of the five injunction types, domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking, carries a filing fee, unlike Bradford County's $408 dissolution filing fee.

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, and Florida law requires the full hearing to happen before it expires.

Peaceful Paths, the certified domestic violence center covering Bradford, Alachua, and Union Counties, is reachable at 352-377-8255.

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 Bradford 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 Bradford County, FL

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

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

Local notes for Bradford County, FL

Bradford County shares the Eighth Judicial Circuit's Self-Help Center with Alachua, Baker, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union Counties. It sits in Room 413 of the Family and Civil Justice Center in Gainesville, so a Starke resident traveling for procedural help ends up at the same office serving the wider region.

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

Bradford shares Peaceful Paths with Alachua and Union Counties, so callers from all three reach the same 24-hour hotline and shelter network rather than a Bradford-only service.

The Bradford County Sheriff's Office also patrols the smaller unincorporated communities around Starke. A petitioner living outside town limits is served by the same agency as one living downtown, so there is no separate municipal police handoff to worry about.

Bradford's clerk fee-schedule PDF, last updated in 2014 according to its own footer, is still the live document linked from the site today. That's a reminder to confirm current numbers by phone rather than relying solely on an older PDF, for anything beyond the injunction filing fee itself, which state law fixes at zero regardless of any local document's age.

A petitioner unsure which of the five 12.980 forms applies to a specific situation can ask the Starke courthouse counter directly for guidance on which petition to use. Staff there can also confirm current business hours before a resident makes the drive from Lawtey, Brooker, or Hampton.

Official injunction resources in Bradford County, FL

Bradford County Courthouse handles restraining-orders filings, located at 945 N. Temple Ave, Starke 32091.

The filing fee is $0. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Statewide e-filing portal applies, though most petitioners in Bradford County file in person at the Starke 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, Gainesville, (352) 548-3781, explicitly serves Bradford County along with Alachua, Baker, Gilchrist, Levy, and Union.

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

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

Bradford County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs