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Circuit Civil Cases (Damages over $50,000)

Circuit Civil cases are non-criminal cases in which individuals or businesses sue for damages exceeding $50,000. Cases involving claims of $50,000 or less are under the jurisdiction of the County Civil Courts.

Examples of Circuit Civil lawsuits include bond validations, car bonds, personal property bonds, declaratory judgments, ejectment, eminent domain, injunctions, petitions, quiet title, replevin, and tax-related cases such as contest of tax assessments, enforcement of a tax warrant and IRS liens.

Attorneys must e-File for all Circuit Civil cases. Self-represented litigants may e-File or mail documents to room 3.2300 (3rd floor) of the Main Courthouse.

Civil Cover Sheet with Instructions - Form 1.997

The Circuit Civil Department also handles:

Appeals are handled by the Appellate Division.

For information about the courts, including but not limited to setting hearings and judicial schedules, please visit the 15th Judicial Circuit’s webpage.

Confidential Information Within Court Filing

All filers of circuit civil, county civil and small claims court documents are solely responsible for ensuring that confidential information is redacted or is identified for redaction.

Any court filings made in a Florida court that contain confidential information that has not been redacted must be accompanied by a Notice of Confidential Information – a form that lists exemptions to public records laws, including adoption records, Social Security or bank account numbers, HIV test results or information identifying victims of sexual offenses. Learn more.

Users of the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal will be required to designate whether case-initiating documents contain confidential information when filing in Circuit Civil, County Civil and Small Claims cases.

Publication

The Clerk’s office does not forward Notices of Action and Notices to Creditors for non-indigent parties to a newspaper for publication. Once the Clerk issues your Notice of Action, you are responsible for arranging service with a newspaper of general circulation in Palm Beach County.
The newspaper must have a print circulation. Once you receive the proof of publication from the newspaper, you must file the proof with the Clerk’s office in order for your case to proceed.

Civil Differentiated Case Management

The Fifteenth Judicial Circuit has implemented Differentiated Case Management plans. Visit the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit's website for more information, forms, and administrative orders related to Differentiated Case Management.

Suggestion of Bankruptcy

When filing a Suggestion of Bankruptcy over the counter,  a Notice of Filing must be included.

Foreign Subpoenas

Pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act, parties requesting that the clerk issue a subpoena for a foreign case should submit the following to the Clerk’s Circuit Civil Division:

  • Notice of Taking Deposition or for Production of Documents
  • A copy of the foreign subpoena
  • An unissued Florida-styled subpoena that incorporates the terms used in the foreign subpoena and contains the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all counsel of record and any party not represented by counsel in the proceeding.
  • $7 fee made payable to Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County.

Mail the above listed items to the attention of the Circuit Civil Division at P.O. Box 4667, West Palm Beach, Florida, 33402 along with a self-addressed stamped return envelope. Foreign subpoenas can also be issued over the Circuit Civil department counter.

Letters Rogatory or Commissions from the foreign court are no longer required.

Please use one of the following Florida-styled subpoenas for your submission:

Car Bonds (F.S. 559.917)

This process may be used to assist someone who has been given a price for automobile repair work, and was then charged a higher rate when the work was completed.

  • A cash bond, in the form of cash or a cashier’s check payable to Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Palm Beach County, must be posted with the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller’s office for the invoice amount.
  • A certificate will be issued to the customer to enable the customer to retrieve their vehicle.
  • The shop owner will have 60 days to file a petition to obtain payment for said repairs.
  • There is no filing fee for this procedure.

Ejectment (F.S. Chapter 66)

A petition for ejectment may be filed when an adult person will not voluntarily vacate your home. This process may be used to remove a person or persons who do not hold title to that property.

Court Registry

The Court Registry holds funds deposited with the Clerk while a legal action is pending with the Court.

Contact the Circuit Civil Department

The Circuit Civil department is open Monday-Friday (except designated holidays) from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Main Courthouse
205 N. Dixie Hwy.
3rd Floor, Room 3.2300
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
(561) 355-2986

Mailing Address
P.O. Box 4667
West Palm Beach, FL 33402-4667

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