Injunction for Protection (Restraining Order) in Gulf 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.

Gulf County residents file for an injunction for protection at the Gulf County Courthouse, 1000 Cecil G. Costin, Sr. Blvd, Room 148, in Port St. Joe. The Clerk's Family Law page walks through the process in general terms, but it does not host the forms online. Petitioners either buy a packet at the office or bring one from flcourts.org.

Filing is free for all five injunction types: domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Florida law bars the clerk from charging a 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.

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 Gulf 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 Gulf County, FL

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

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

Local notes for Gulf County, FL

Gulfclerk.com does not host its own injunction forms or publish a fee schedule, so someone filing here should plan to either purchase a packet at the courthouse counter or bring a printed 12.980 petition from flcourts.org.

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

Gulf County sits within the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, alongside Bay, Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington Counties. The circuit's domestic violence page offers a litigant checklist and videos, but it does not name a specific certified shelter online, so the statewide hotline is the most direct route to a current local referral.

The county stretches along the coast from Port St. Joe toward Wewahitchka, so the single Port St. Joe courthouse serves a spread-out population. Travel time is worth planning for, on top of the paperwork itself.

Gulfclerk.com also does not publish filing fees for other case types, so a petitioner should not expect the same level of published detail here as in a larger Fourteenth Circuit county like Bay. A phone call to the Clerk's office fills that gap.

Official injunction resources in Gulf County, FL

Gulf County Courthouse handles restraining-orders filings, located at 1000 Cecil G. Costin, Sr. Blvd, Room 148, Port St. Joe 32456.

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

Gulf County Clerk Family Law (https://www.gulfclerk.com/family-law/) can help with procedure and paperwork. Explains dissolution of marriage, domestic violence, and other family matters but does not host forms directly; directs self-represented litigants to purchase packets at the Clerk's office or use the flcourts.org forms page.

• Gulf County Clerk - Family Law
• Fla. Stat. 741.30 - Domestic Violence Injunction
• Form 12.980(n) - Petition for Injunction Against Dating 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.

Gulf County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs