Injunction for Protection (Restraining Order) in Columbia 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.

Columbia County's certified domestic violence center is Another Way, Inc., which covers this part of North Central Florida. Its 24-hour hotline, 1-866-875-7983, is worth calling before or after a courthouse visit.

To file an injunction for protection, go to the Columbia County Courthouse, 173 NE Hernando Avenue, in Lake City. Petitioning costs nothing, whether the case involves domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking. Florida law bars the clerk from charging a fee.

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

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 Columbia 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 Columbia County, FL

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

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

Local notes for Columbia County, FL

Columbia County's clerk does not run its own self-help center for family filings. The Divorce page on columbiaclerk.com points out to a parenting-course vendor and the Florida Bar rather than hosting local packets, so a petitioner should expect to bring a printed 12.980 form from flcourts.gov or ask the clerk's counter directly for one.

Once the order is signed, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office serves the respondent at no charge to the petitioner. The clerk covers that cost directly.

Columbia is one of seven counties in Another Way, Inc.'s service area, alongside Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, and Suwannee, so the same hotline and shelter network covers Lake City and the surrounding rural communities.

Columbia County's population center around Lake City means its courthouse handles a steadier volume of family filings than some of its smaller Suwannee Valley neighbors. Still, the underlying injunction process, free filing, same-day ex parte review, and a 15-day hearing deadline, is identical no matter the county's size.

A petitioner who calls the Columbia County Courthouse ahead of a visit can confirm current hours and which floor or department handles injunction filings specifically, since the clerk's own website does not spell this out in detail.

Anyone who wants a general overview of the injunction process before arriving at the Lake City courthouse can consult Florida Courts Help, a statewide resource maintained separately from any single county's clerk website.

Official injunction resources in Columbia County, FL

Columbia County Courthouse handles restraining-orders filings, located at 173 NE Hernando Avenue, Lake City 32055.

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

The self-help center can help with procedure and paperwork. columbiaclerk.com's Divorce page links out to a third-party parenting-course vendor and the Florida Bar, but does not host a dedicated self-help center or family law forms page of its own.

• Fla. Stat. 741.30 - Domestic Violence Injunction
• Form 12.980(a) - Petition for Injunction Against Domestic Violence
• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
• Another Way, Inc.

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

Columbia County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs