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

If you're in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. Florida's statewide hotline is 1-800-500-1119. In Broward County, injunction for protection petitions go through the Family division at the Central Courthouse, 201 SE 6th Street, in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Broward's clerk doesn't publish a single, separately branded self-help center page the way some counties do. Instead, general Self Service Forms are available through the clerk's Online Services menu, and family law filings, including injunctions, are handled by the Family division in person. That in-person step matters most for an injunction, because a judge needs to review your petition without delay.

Filing costs nothing. That rule applies across all five injunction types: domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Florida law forbids the clerk from charging a fee, and the Broward Sheriff's Office serves the respondent at no cost.

Women In Distress of Broward County is the county's certified domestic violence center. Confirm its current hotline number directly on the organization's site or through 211, since the exact figure isn't published here.

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 Broward 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 Broward County, FL

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

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

Local notes for Broward County, FL

Bring photo ID to the Central Courthouse. If you have current information about where the respondent can be reached, bring that too, since it helps with service. Family division staff can hand you the correct form among the five injunction types, but they can't advise you on what to write or how a judge might rule.

Once a temporary injunction is granted and served, Florida law requires the return hearing be scheduled within 15 days. That deadline applies statewide, regardless of county size.

Legal Aid Service of Broward County provides income-qualified legal help for family law matters that can accompany an injunction case, such as custody or support. Women In Distress runs shelter and advocacy services independently of the court schedule, so reaching out doesn't require having already filed anything.

Broward County's Family division handles all five of Florida's injunction forms: domestic violence, which requires a spouse, former spouse, relative, or someone you live or lived with as family; repeat violence, covering two incidents against someone outside that circle; and dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking, each built around its own fact pattern. Every type carries the same statewide protections: free filing, free service by the sheriff, and a return hearing within 15 days. A violation of an active injunction is a separate crime under Florida law, so the right response is 911, not a new petition.

Official injunction resources in Broward County, FL

Broward County Courthouse (Central Courthouse) handles restraining-orders filings, located at 201 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale 33301.

The filing fee is Free. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; injunctions are filed in person at the Central Courthouse for same-day judicial review.

Broward Clerk Self Service Forms (https://www.browardclerk.org) can help with procedure and paperwork. No dedicated self-help center URL was located; the clerk offers general Self Service Forms through its Online Services menu. Family filings are handled through the Family division at the Central Courthouse.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline (Women In Distress' own site was unreachable for verification)
• Legal Aid Service of Broward County
• Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida
• Fla. Stat. 741.30 (injunction statute)

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

Broward County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs