How to Open a New Florida Civil Case in the E-Filing Portal

To open a new Florida civil case safely, obtain the responsible lawyer’s written direction for the destination, division, case type and subtype, initiating parties, party roles, relief, approved filing set, signer authority, privacy treatment, summons and service plan, fees, and timing before data entry begins.

Portal menus do not decide jurisdiction, venue, claim classification, amount, party status, legal sufficiency, or which proceeding should be initiated. Staff may enter and verify approved information, but must hold unresolved legal or strategic choices for the responsible lawyer and current statewide, case-type, and destination authority.

Use only the registered user’s approved access and credential controls. Rule 2.511 permits entry by the registered user, by another person using that user’s credentials at the user’s direction, or as otherwise expressly permitted by the E-Filing Authority; acts remain the registered user’s personal acts, subject to Rule 2.515(b)(1)(B). This does not permit general, shared, or unsupervised access.

Under Rule 2.515, filing generally constitutes the filer’s signature. The filer represents filing-and-service compliance, signer authorization, and proper protection of confidential or sensitive information; each signer separately represents reading, support, no improper delay, and the existence and accuracy of identified legal authorities. Preserve the filer, signer, and server roles rather than treating Portal entry as a clerical signature shortcut.

Use the Portal’s current E-Filing Map and the destination clerk’s current instructions to confirm that the selected county, court, case type, and subtype can be initiated through the ordinary new-case path. Availability is not uniform for every specialized or criminal matter, and local options, labels, required fields, summons handling, and fees can differ.

Enter Case Initiation only after the destination is approved. If an expected option is missing, differently labeled, or inconsistent with the written instruction, stop and obtain direction rather than choosing the closest-sounding category.

Build a party register before typing into the Portal. For each person or entity, preserve the verified name, authorized role, address and other required data, source, Filed On Behalf Of direction, and any privacy or safety hold. Compare the completed Portal party list back to that register.

Do not infer an entity name, legal capacity, party role, representative status, service address, or missing party from informal correspondence. If a required role is unavailable, use the approved clerk-escalation path instead of forcing another role or copying filer information into a party field.

For an applicable civil action, current Rule 1.100(d) requires Form 1.997 with the initial complaint or petition, and the form’s instructions identify exceptions for small claims, probate, and family cases. Domestic and juvenile matters use the applicable family-court cover-sheet path. The responsible lawyer controls which form and categories apply.

Rule 1.100(d) requires the clerk to accept the initiating complaint or petition if the cover sheet is omitted, but proceedings are abated until a properly executed sheet is filed; the clerk completes it for a self-represented party. Form 1.997 supplies reporting data and does not replace or supplement the pleadings or service required by law.

When the Portal generates a civil cover sheet from entered data, open it and compare it with the approved source record. Automation does not make a wrong case category, amount, remedy, cause count, related-case answer, jury-demand answer, sexual-abuse indicator, party name, or signature certification correct.

Begin the live initiation only after the linked pre-Portal checklist has cleared the exact upload copies. Map each approved complaint, petition, cover sheet, notice, summons-related item, exhibit, or other document to the authorized Portal description and preserve the filename, page count, version evidence, and intended order.

Keep separate documents separate and one multi-page document together unless current controlling instructions require another treatment. Confirm upload completion and preview each file when available. Current Technology Standards version 4.0 sets a 50-megabyte limit for a single trial-court submission and also governs searchable text, accessibility, OCR, and prohibited document elements; recheck the live standards and destination instructions before release.

Rule 2.516 generally governs service of filed documents, but its first-pleading exception directs service of original process to the statutes and rules that govern process. Rule 1.070 separately addresses issuance and service of summons or other process. A Portal e-service selection, receipt, or email does not by itself issue a summons or complete formal service on a new defendant or respondent.

On commencement, Rule 1.070 directs the clerk or judge to promptly issue signed and sealed summons or other authorized process and deliver it for service. It calls for as many writs as directed when there are multiple defendants, requires a copy of the initial pleading with personal service, and requires proof of service to be made promptly. Those are separate checkpoints, not outcomes created by paying a Portal summons fee.

Rule 1.070(j) currently uses a 120-day service period with notice, dismissal, extension, and other branches. Treat 120 days as a lawyer-verified source checkpoint—not a staff-calculated deadline or automatic conclusion. Reconcile any permitted Portal recipients and certificate language as instructed, then preserve a separate summons and service-of-process register. The lawyer decides who must be served, by what authority and method, and when; staff tracks issuance, delivery, returns, failures, and follow-up without declaring service legally sufficient.

Review the fee calculation produced by the approved destination and case selections. Confirm filing fees, additional fees, summons quantity, convenience fees, and the authorized payment, waiver, or exemption route. Stop on an unexpected amount instead of altering a case type, subtype, amount range, party, or summons count to force a familiar total.

The Portal FAQ explains that summons options and payment handling vary by county; some counties support electronic entries while others use different or paper handling. Follow the current destination instructions and preserve what was requested, paid, refunded, or still owed.

On Review and Submit, compare the destination, case selections, parties, Filed On Behalf Of entry, documents, confidentiality options, e-service selections, summons entries, fees, payment, and filer identity with the approved initiation manifest. Submit only after every variance is resolved and the designated final reviewer authorizes release.

Save the immediate Filing ID, receipt acknowledgment, timestamp, payment record, submitted files, and service selections, but do not invent a case number or equate Filing Received with completed clerk processing or docketing. Technology Standards version 4.0 identifies the receipt acknowledgment timestamp as the official filing date and time, while Rule 2.525(e) applies its filed-date rule to a successfully filed document. Preserve the timestamp without treating it as legally meaningless or as proof of clerk completion.

Rule 1.050 says a civil action is deemed commenced when the complaint or petition is filed, subject to its ancillary-proceeding exception. The responsible lawyer controls any conclusion about successful filing, commencement, timeliness, relation back, or legal effect.

Monitor My Submissions, designated email, and the clerk record through the required completion state. Capture the assigned Uniform Case Number, Processing Completed or Filed status as applicable, stamped copies, official docket, fee result, and clerk communications, then reconcile them to the submission before closing the filing task. Technology Standards version 4.0 still describes broader correction-queue grounds and a five-business-day hold, but current Rule 2.525(f), effective later, controls with its exclusive seven grounds and additional 30-day period after notice; follow the current rule and the lawyer-approved correction path.

After successful clerk processing, update the authoritative matter record with the assigned case number, exact caption, court and division, filed copies, receipts, service status, fees, and unresolved clerk issues. Build downstream tasks from the filed record and lawyer-approved sources, not from memory or the initial draft caption.

Assign the summons and original-process workflow, docket monitoring, judge and division verification, case-management requirements, and deadline work to named owners. Staff may calendar lawyer-approved dates with preserved sources and verification; staff should not calculate legal deadlines or decide the effect of service, rejection, transfer, or a correction without direction.