How the Florida Court System Works

Florida has one statewide court system with four levels: the Florida Supreme Court, six district courts of appeal, 20 circuit courts and a county court in every county (Florida Constitution, Article V).

Article V, section 1 of the Florida Constitution vests the judicial power in a supreme court, district courts of appeal, circuit courts and county courts, and adds that no other courts may be established by the state, any political subdivision or any municipality (Article V, section 1). County courts have original jurisdiction of all violations of municipal and county ordinances (section 34.01).

The Legislature draws the map. Article V tells it to divide Florida into appellate districts and judicial circuits that follow county lines (Article V). Section 35.01 of the Florida Statutes creates six district courts of appeal over six appellate districts made of contiguous circuits (section 35.01), and section 26.021 divides the state into 20 judicial circuits (section 26.021).

Each of Florida's six district courts of appeal covers a fixed group of judicial circuits, from the First District based in Tallahassee to the Sixth District based in Lakeland (section 35.05).

The Sixth District is the newest: it is composed of the Ninth, Tenth and Twentieth Judicial Circuits, a district added by chapter 2022-163, Laws of Florida (section 35.044). The Ninth Circuit is Orange and Osceola counties, the Tenth is Hardee, Highlands and Polk, and the Twentieth is Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee (section 26.021).

The circuit groupings come from sections 35.02, 35.03, 35.04, 35.042 and 35.043. The headquarters list comes from section 35.05, which also lets each Florida district court name branch locations and says the Legislature wants remote workplaces for judges and staff who may not live near headquarters (section 35.05). The judge counts come from section 35.06 (section 35.06).

Circuit size varies widely across Florida. Section 26.031 sets 83 circuit judges in the Eleventh Circuit (Miami-Dade County), 58 in the Seventeenth (Broward), 48 in the Ninth and only 4 in the Sixteenth Circuit, which is Monroe County and the Keys (section 26.031). Some circuits are a single county, such as the Thirteenth (Hillsborough) and the Fifteenth (Palm Beach), while the Third Circuit spans seven counties from Columbia to Taylor (section 26.021).

In Florida, a case starts in county court or circuit court depending on its type and dollar amount, goes on appeal to a district court of appeal, and reaches the Florida Supreme Court only in the categories Article V lists (Article V).

County court is the trial court for misdemeanor cases, for all violations of municipal and county ordinances and for civil actions at law up to a set limit. That limit was $15,000 for cases filed through December 31, 2019, $30,000 from January 1, 2020, and $50,000 for cases filed on or after January 1, 2023 (section 34.01). County judges in Florida may also grant an uncontested or simplified dissolution of marriage and hear homeowners association disputes concurrently with the circuit court (section 34.01).

Circuit court is Florida's general trial court. Section 26.012 gives it exclusive original jurisdiction over civil actions above the county court limit, estates of decedents and minors, guardianship, juvenile cases other than traffic, all felonies, challenges to the legality of a tax assessment, ejectment and actions over the title and boundaries of real property (section 26.012). Circuit courts also hear appeals from final orders of local government code enforcement boards in Florida (section 26.012).

District courts of appeal hear appeals that may be taken as a matter of right from final judgments of Florida trial courts, plus direct review of administrative action as the law provides. Three judges consider each case, and two must agree for a decision (Article V, section 4).

The Florida Supreme Court must hear appeals from final judgments imposing the death penalty and from district court decisions declaring a state statute or constitutional provision invalid. It may review district court decisions that conflict with another Florida appellate decision or that a district court certifies as a question of great public importance, and it answers certified questions from the U.S. Supreme Court and federal appeals courts (Article V, section 3). It also has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate admission to the practice of law and the discipline of lawyers (Article V, section 15).

Florida appellate judges and justices are appointed by the Governor from nominating commission lists and kept by retention votes, while circuit and county judges are elected (Article V, sections 10 and 11).

When an appellate seat opens, the judicial nominating commission sends the Governor not fewer than three persons nor more than six. Nominations are due within 30 days of the vacancy, and the Governor must appoint within 60 days after the list is certified (Article V, section 11). Each Florida judicial nominating commission has nine members appointed by the Governor: four Florida Bar members picked from lists of three recommended by the Bar Board of Governors, and five more, at least two of whom practice law. Terms run 4 years, and the Executive Office of the Governor provides all administrative support (section 43.291).

Merit retention means the ballot asks whether a justice or judge shall be retained in office. If a majority of voters in the court's territory vote yes, the justice or judge is retained for a term of six years; if a majority vote no, the seat becomes vacant when the term ends (Article V, section 10).

Florida circuit and county judges are elected to six-year terms. Article V let each circuit and county vote in 2000 on switching to merit selection and retention, and later petitions need signatures equal to ten percent of the votes cast in the last presidential election (Article V, section 10). When a trial judgeship opens mid-term, the Governor fills it from a nominating commission list, and an election follows for the next full term (Article V, section 11).

Eligibility is set by Article V, section 8: every Florida justice or judge must be an elector of the state and live in the court's territory, Supreme Court and district court judges need ten years as members of The Florida Bar, circuit judges need five, and no justice or judge may serve after attaining the age of seventy-five years except on temporary assignment (Article V, section 8).

The Florida Chief Justice is the chief administrative officer of the judicial system, the state pays judges and court operations, and counties pay for trial court facilities (Article V, sections 2 and 14).

The Florida Supreme Court picks its Chief Justice by majority vote, and the Chief Justice may assign justices and judges, including consenting retired judges, to temporary duty in any court. Each district court of appeal elects its own chief judge, and a chief judge in each of the 20 circuits supervises both the circuit court and the county courts in that circuit (Article V, section 2). The Florida Courts website states that it is supported by the Office of the State Courts Administrator and lists (850) 922-5081 and 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee (Florida Courts).

Under Article V, section 14, all Florida justices and judges are paid only by state salaries fixed by general law, and the state courts system, state attorneys, public defenders and court-appointed counsel are funded from state revenues. The clerks' court-related functions are funded by filing fees and service charges. Counties must fund the construction or lease, maintenance, utilities and security of trial court facilities, and the judiciary has no power to fix appropriations (Article V, section 14).

Three other offices sit inside the Florida court structure. Each judicial circuit elects a state attorney and a public defender for four-year terms, and each county has a clerk of the circuit court (Article V, sections 16 to 18). The Judicial Qualifications Commission investigates Florida justices and judges and recommends discipline or removal to the Supreme Court; its members are judges, Florida Bar members chosen by the Bar, and five non-lawyer electors appointed by the Governor (Article V, section 12).

Two Florida court changes are already written into statute: the Second District Court of Appeal is shrinking from 15 to 13 judges as seats open, and the county court civil limit will be adjusted for inflation starting July 1, 2030 (section 35.06; section 34.01).

Since July 1, 2025, each vacancy on the Second District, which is headquartered in Pinellas County, removes that judgeship until 13 judges remain, and the Chief Justice must notify the Governor, the Senate President and the House Speaker each time it happens (section 35.06).

For the county courts, the Office of Economic and Demographic Research must calculate the adjusted limit, certify it to the Chief Justice beginning January 31, 2030, and repeat every 10 years. The Florida figure is rounded to the nearest $5,000 and may not be lower than $50,000 (section 34.01).

The Florida Supreme Court website lists 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, and the phone (850) 488-0125. Its website offers email notice of opinions, which are released for the regular calendar each Thursday morning, with separate releases in expedited cases (Florida Supreme Court).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, against Article V of the Florida Constitution, the Florida Statutes sections cited and the Florida Courts and Florida Supreme Court websites.