Injunction for Protection (Restraining Order) in Palm Beach 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. Palm Beach County handles family law through its Unified Family Court division. You file injunction for protection petitions in person at the Main Courthouse, 205 N. Dixie Hwy., West Palm Beach.

The county also has branch courthouses in North County, South County, West County, and Royal Palm Beach that handle certain filings closer to home. For a new injunction petition, plan to go downtown to the Main Courthouse, since that's where same-day judicial review happens. The clerk's Self-Service Center offers online toolboxes for other family law matters, including its Divorce Workshop Toolbox, but an injunction still needs an in-person filing.

Whichever of the five injunction types fits your situation, domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking, filing costs nothing. Florida law bars the clerk from charging a fee, and the sheriff serves the respondent at no cost to you.

AVDA, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse, is Palm Beach County's certified domestic violence provider. It runs a 24-hour hotline at (800) 355-8547 and operates 64 emergency shelter beds and 32 transitional housing beds across the county.

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 Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach County, FL

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

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

Local notes for Palm Beach County, FL

If you're coming from a part of the county closer to a branch courthouse, call the Main Courthouse or your nearest branch before you drive out. Injunction filings are generally processed downtown, even though other family law paperwork can sometimes be handled locally.

Once a judge grants a temporary injunction and it's served, Florida law requires the return hearing be scheduled within 15 days. That's a statewide rule, and it applies in Palm Beach County the same as everywhere else.

AVDA fields more than 2,500 crisis calls a year and runs both emergency and transitional shelter beds, so it's worth contacting no matter where your injunction case stands. The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County offers income-qualified legal help for related family law matters, including custody disputes that sometimes accompany an injunction filing.

Palm Beach County's Unified Family Court division processes all five injunction types recognized under Florida law: domestic violence, which requires a spouse, former spouse, relative, or someone you live or lived with as family; repeat violence, for two incidents against someone outside that circle; and dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking, each covering its own fact pattern. Filing and service are free across all five, and the return hearing is set within 15 days by statute regardless of type. A violation of an active injunction is a separate crime, so call 911 if that happens instead of heading back to the courthouse first.

Official injunction resources in Palm Beach County, FL

Palm Beach County Courthouse (Main Courthouse) handles restraining-orders filings, located at 205 N. Dixie Hwy., West Palm Beach 33401. North County, South County, and West County branch courthouses at multiple locations handles Certain filings; the Unified Family Court division handles family law, but injunction petitions are generally filed at the Main Courthouse in West Palm Beach.

The filing fee is Free. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. Family law in Palm Beach County is handled by the Unified Family Court division; injunctions are filed in person at the Main Courthouse.

Do-It-Yourself In Court: Divorce Workshop Toolbox / Self-Service Forms (https://www.mypalmbeachclerk.com/services/self-service-center/self-service-forms) can help with procedure and paperwork. General self-service forms and toolboxes are available online; injunction petitions still need to be filed in person for same-day judicial review.

• AVDA - Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse
• Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County
• 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.

Palm Beach County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs