Injunction for Protection (Restraining Order) in Seminole 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.

SafeHouse of Seminole has operated as Seminole County's Survivor Services Center since 1995. Its 24-hour hotline, 407-330-3933, is worth calling before or after a courthouse visit.

An injunction for protection is filed at the Seminole Civil Courthouse, 301 N. Park Avenue, Sanford, phone (407) 665-4300, or by mail to PO Box 8099, Sanford, FL 32772, though an urgent case should be brought in person. None of the five injunction types, domestic violence, repeat violence, dating violence, sexual violence, or stalking, carries a filing fee, unlike Seminole County's $408 dissolution filing fee plus $10 per summons.

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 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 Seminole 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 Seminole County, FL

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

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

Local notes for Seminole County, FL

The Dorothy Guess Self-Help Center, run through the Clerk's office, offers both English (prose-shc@seminoleclerk.org, 407-665-4300) and Spanish-language assistance (SeminoleSelfhelp@flcourts18.org, 407-665-4554) for family law forms, along with referrals to low-cost attorney consultations.

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

Sanford's courthouse serves the whole county. Seminole's other communities, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Winter Springs, and Oviedo, all route through the same Park Avenue location for an injunction filing.

Seminole County's suburban geography, spanning Sanford, Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Winter Springs, and Oviedo, funnels through the single Seminole Civil Courthouse for an injunction filing, so there is no branch office to choose between, regardless of which part of the county a petitioner calls home.

A petitioner moving between Seminole and neighboring Brevard County within the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit would find both share the same statewide injunction rules, even though Brevard spreads its filings across five courthouse locations while Seminole concentrates everything in Sanford.

SafeHouse of Seminole's services go beyond its hotline to include shelter and survivor advocacy, a fuller range of support than a single phone number conveys, and services built specifically around this county rather than shared regionally.

Official injunction resources in Seminole County, FL

Seminole Civil Courthouse handles restraining-orders filings, located at 301 N. Park Avenue, Sanford 32771. Phone: (407) 665-4300.

The filing fee is $0. E-filing is available through https://www.myflcourtaccess.com. E-filing via the portal is preferred; self-represented parties may still file in person at the Seminole Civil Courthouse or by mail (PO Box 8099, Sanford, FL 32772).

Dorothy Guess Self-Help Center (https://flcourts18.org/sem-family-pro-se/) can help with procedure and paperwork. Run through the Clerk's office; assists with family law forms and low-cost attorney consultations. prose-shc@seminoleclerk.org or 407-665-4300; Spanish-language help via SeminoleSelfhelp@flcourts18.org, 407-665-4554.

• Eighteenth Judicial Circuit - Seminole Family Pro Se
• Fla. Stat. 741.30 - Domestic Violence Injunction
• Form 12.980(f) - Petition for Injunction Against Repeat Violence
• SafeHouse of Seminole

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

Seminole County, FL Injunction for Protection FAQs