Welcome
The members of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Civil Unit carry out the Sheriff’s statutory responsibility for the service of process and execution of writs. These judicial process documents originate from the courts, governmental agencies and private attorneys in Florida and throughout the United States.
Please note the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is separate from the Clerk of Court. If you need to speak with the Duval County Clerk of Court, you may reach them at 904.255.2000.
In addition, this unit also enforces levies and conducts Sheriff’s sales to aid in the collection of money judgements.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office can only serve process in Duval County.
For process that is outside of the guidelines established in Chapter 48 of the Florida State Statute and the Rules of Criminal and Civil Procedure you will need to hire a Duval County Special Process Server.
Please note: The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Civil Unit does not provide legal advice or assist in the preparation of documents.
Helpful Links
How to Mail in or Drop off Documents
Mailing In Documents
Please address your envelope:
Attention: Civil Unit, 501 E. Bay Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202
(Please note the mailing address is different than the Civil Unit Window location.) ***Please read through the entire “Mailing In Documents” section. There is a schedule of civil process fees to assist with pricing questions. There is also information regarding postage and retrieving your return of service affidavit once service is complete.***
All documents sent from out of state will only be served under Florida State Statute and the Florida Rules of Criminal and Civil Procedure. If you are sending documents that must be served under your state statute, you will need to hire a Duval County Special Process Server. Additionally, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will only complete our agency's return of service affidavit, we will not complete any other return of service. Due to Public Record Law, the return of service will not list the address for service, the address where service was perfected or if an address was placed in the case style.
The party requesting service of process must furnish to the sheriff just the service packet for the person/business being served. This packet must include either the original process, a certified copy of the process, or an electronic copy of the process, which was signed and certified by the Clerk of Court. It’s preferred original documents not be sent. However, if original documents are included in the service packet, those documents will be served. Please do not send documents in the service packet that you do not intend on being served. Please do not send extra documents, just the documents that need to be served. Memos providing information on the person being served will be used for location purposes and then discarded.
With the exception of a subpoena or a motion, all documents must be signed and certified by the Clerk of Court or signed by a Judge. If your document is a motion it will need to be filed with the Clerk of Court prior to mailing. If your state does not sign and certify documents or file them until after service is completed; that fact will need to be provided in written form by your Clerk of Court or a written copy of your State Statute provided so this may be verified.
If your document requires service to a business then the document must state if the business is a Corporation, LLC, Partnership, DBA, etc. If the business is a Partnership, then one name of a partner is required. If the business is a DBA, then one business owners name is required. This information is required in order to properly serve the document under Florida State Statute.
Your document must state who is being served and an address for service; there can only be one individual or business to serve per document. Please note the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office does not serve unknown individuals or tenants. The only exception is a Writ of Possession that has an unknown in the case style. Your unknown individual or unknown tenant documents will need to be directed to a Duval County Special Process Server for service. We are also unable to serve attorneys on behalf of their client.
Please ensure the name and address for service on your eviction summons/unlawful detainer is complete and accurate, including the zip code. There will be an additional $40.00 Sheriff’s Fee per person to be served if the summons has an incorrect address for service.
If your document is a subpoena, please note the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office only serves First Degree Felony subpoenas and Civil Subpoenas that do not involve traffic cases. All other subpoenas will be mailed out for service. We encourage you to handle the service of these subpoenas, as there is no statutory reason to send those subpoenas to the Sheriff’s Office for service. Please see Florida State Statute 48.031 (3)(a) for details. If you are mailing a subpoena to a JSO employee under FSS 48.031 (3)(a), please address the envelope to that named employee. Example: “Officer Heart #12345”, and not to the JSO Civil Unit.
For subpoenas not being mailed directly to JSO employees using FSS 48.031 (3)(a), please indicate on the subpoena or memo if the charge is a First-Degree Felony or Capital case. If this information is not provided, the subpoena will be mailed out for service. Due to the volume and time frames of these documents your subpoena will need to be received by the Civil Unit a minimum of eleven business days (holidays excluded) prior to the court date. It’s strongly encouraged without delay the subpoena be sent as far in advance as possible.
If your document is not a subpoena but has a court date, it’s strongly encouraged without delay the document be sent as soon as they are issued by the court. However, all court date documents will need to be received by the Civil Unit a minimum of eleven business days (holidays excluded) prior to the court date.
All fees for service are governed by Florida State Statute 30.231 and are non-refundable. Fees are collected according to document type and per party to be served. For example: a summons and complaint is $40.00 per person to serve. If you are a City or State Agency, each document is $20.00 per person to serve.
If in addition to your documents, you have a notice or order that has a court date then there is an additional Sheriff’s Fee required for the service of that document. For example, if you have a summons and complaint along with a notice with a court date then your cost will be $80.00. If you are a City or State Agency, your cost will be $40.00.
If your document is a Writ of any kind, the cost for service is $90.00 per person.
Writs of Attachment require an information sheet with the person’s name, race, sex and date of birth. If your Writ of Attachment was not issued in Duval County, proof from your local Sheriff’s Office that the Writ of Attachment has been entered into their local database is required. If you are a City or State Agency, the cost is $70.00. If you have an order or notice with a court date in addition to your writ, there is an additional $40.00, or $20.00 Sheriff’s Fee required for the service of those documents.
For additional detail on fees for service please see the “Schedule of Civil Process Fees” section.
If you have been declared indigent for cost your indigency form is required. If a disposition was reached on your case after you were declared indigent, a new indigency form, approved, signed, and certified by your Clerk of Court will be required.
If you are an attorney or appointed counsel representing an indigent client, a copy of the order signed by the Judge declaring the client indigent is required.
Mailed payments can only be in the form of a money order, cashier’s check or business check. The payment must be written out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, abbreviations such as JSO are not permitted.
Documents for service not properly issued or those with incorrect fees or incorrect payee on the check will be returned.
If your documents were not filed in the Florida Fourth Circuit (Duval, Clay or Nassau County, Florida), then a self-addressed envelope large enough to fit all your documents, that has the same amount of postage it cost to send your documents will be required. This is to cover the cost of your documents being returned to you in the event they cannot be processed, or the person being served could not be located (Not Found). It is not the responsibility of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to cover the cost of returning your documents. If the postage requirement is not met, service packets that result in a Not Found will not be mailed back. If your documents cannot be processed and need to be returned in full and the postage requirement is not met your documents may not be returned. If your documents were served, the envelope will simply be mailed back to you if there is not a need for our office to retain the envelope and postage.
Unless there has been an individual discussion, companies sending documents on behalf of filers from all courts of issuance, are required to send a self-addressed envelope large enough to fit the documents. The envelope must have the same amount of postage it cost to send the documents. If the documents are successfully processed, the envelope will be retained for future documents that need to be returned in full.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will only mail out return of service affidavits for Injunctions, Writs of Attachment and Mental Health documents that were filed outside the Florida Fourth Circuit (Duval, Clay and Nassau County Florida).
It’s your responsibility to track the progress of your document by using our public search website. This link “Document Status Information” can be found above in the Welcome section of this page. Once our office receives and processes your documents, the tracking can begin.
Please allow fifteen to twenty days for the postal service to deliver your document to our office. After that please allow two business days for our office to process your document. If you searched for your document and the document cannot be located:
- You may have placed incorrect information into the system for searching.
- Your document may have not been received yet.
- Your document may have been received but has not been processed.
Once your document has been processed you can see if we are attempting to serve the individual/business, or if the document has been closed the return of service will be shown.
You may view, save and or print the return of service once the document is closed. It’s your responsibility to provide the return of service to your Clerk of Court. If your case was filed in the Florida Fourth Circuit (Duval, Clay or Nassau County, Florida), then our office will e-file your return of service with the Clerk of Court.
Lastly, if for some reason (not a Duval address, proper payment was not provided etc.) your document could not be processed, a memo stating the reason for the return will be mailed back with your documents. Please remember to include the required proper sized envelope and required postage for documents filed outside the Florida Fourth Circuit. Once your document is placed into our system, the return memo will be visible when searching for your document.
For additional detail on fees for service please see the “Schedule of Civil Process Fees” section.
How to Bring in Documents
The Civil Unit Public Window is located inside the Duval County Courthouse at 501 W. Adams Street, 5th Floor, Room 5141, Jacksonville, FL 32202. The window is open Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., excluding holidays and special events. There is a limit of 10 documents per customer, if you have more than 10 documents you will need to mail your documents to our office. ***Please read through the entire “Bringing In Documents” section. There is a schedule of civil process fees to assist with pricing questions. There is also information regarding postage and retrieving your return of service affidavit once service is complete.***
All out of state documents will only be served under Florida State Statute and the Florida Rules of Criminal and Civil Procedure. If your documents must be served under your state statute, you will need to hire a Duval County Special Process Server. Additionally, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will only complete our agency's return of service affidavit, we will not complete any other return of service. Due to Public Record Law, the return of service will not list the address for service, the address where service was perfected or if an address was placed in the case style.
The party requesting service of process must furnish to the sheriff just the service packet for the person/business being served. This packet must include either the original process, a certified copy of the process, or an electronic copy of the process, which was signed and certified by the Clerk of Court. It’s preferred original documents not be provided. However, if original documents are included in the service packet, those documents will be served. Please do not provide documents in the service packet that you do not intend on being served. Please do not provide extra documents, just the documents that need to be served. Memos providing information on the person being served will be used for location purposes and then discarded.
With the exception of a subpoena or a motion, all documents must be signed and certified by the Clerk of Court or signed by a Judge. If your document is a motion it will need to be filed with the Clerk of Court prior to mailing. If your state does not sign and certify documents or file them until after service is completed; that fact will need to be provided in written form by your Clerk of Court or a written copy of your State Statute provided so this may be verified.
If your document requires service to a business then the document must state if the business is a Corporation, LLC, Partnership, DBA, etc. If the business is a Partnership, then one name of a partner is required. If the business is a DBA, then one business owners name is required. This information is required in order to properly serve the document under Florida State Statute.
Your document must state who is being served and an address for service; there can only be one individual or business to serve per document. Please note the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office does not serve unknown individuals or tenants. The only exception is a Writ of Possession that has an unknown in the case style. Your unknown individual or unknown tenant documents will need to be directed to a Duval County Special Process Server for service. We are also unable to serve attorneys on behalf of their client.
Please ensure the name and address for service on your eviction summons/unlawful detainer is complete and accurate, including the zip code. There will be an additional $40.00 Sheriff’s Fee per person to be served if the summons has an incorrect address for service.
If your document is a subpoena, please note the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office only serves First Degree Felony subpoenas and Civil Subpoenas that do not involve traffic cases. All other subpoenas will be mailed out for service. We encourage you to handle the service of these subpoenas, as there is no statutory reason to send those subpoenas to the Sheriff’s Office for service. Please see Florida State Statute 48.031 (3)(a) for details. If you are mailing a subpoena to a JSO employee under FSS 48.031 (3)(a), please address the envelope to that named employee. Example: “Officer Heart #12345”, and not to the JSO Civil Unit.
For subpoenas not being mailed directly to JSO employees using FSS 48.031 (3)(a), please indicate on the subpoena or memo if the charge is a First-Degree Felony or Capital case.
Criminal Subpoenas for JSO employees, the computation of time, five (5) business days or seven (7) calendar days, not including the date you are bringing the subpoena to the Public Civil Window must be met.
First Degree Felony subpoenas for individuals other than JSO employees, a minimum of eleven business days (holidays excluded) is required to attempt proper service. It’s strongly encouraged without delay the subpoena be provided as far in advance as possible.
If your document is not a subpoena but has a court date, it’s strongly encouraged without delay the document be brought as soon as they are issued by the court. However, all court date documents will need to be received by the Civil Unit a minimum of eleven business days (holidays excluded) prior to the court date.
All fees for service are governed by Florida State Statute 30.231 and are non-refundable. Fees are collected according to document type and per party to be served. For example: a summons and complaint is $40.00 per person to serve. If you are a City or State Agency, each document is $20.00 per person to serve.
If in addition to your documents, you have a notice or order that has a court date then there is an additional Sheriff’s Fee required for the service of that document. For example, if you have a summons and complaint along with a notice with a court date then your cost will be $80.00. If you are a City or State Agency, your cost will be $40.00.
If your document is a Writ of any kind, the cost for service is $90.00 per person.
Writs of Attachment require an information sheet with the person’s name, race, sex and date of birth. If your Writ of Attachment was not issued in Duval County, proof from your local Sheriff’s Office that the Writ of Attachment has been entered into their local database is required. If you are a City or State Agency, the cost is $70.00. If you have an order or notice with a court date in addition to your writ, there is an additional $40.00, or $20.00 Sheriff’s Fee required for the service of those documents.
For additional detail on fees for service please see the “Schedule of Civil Process Fees” section.
If you have been declared indigent for cost your indigency form is required. If a disposition was reached on your case after you were declared indigent, a new indigency form, approved, signed, and certified by your Clerk of Court will be required.
If you are an attorney or appointed counsel representing an indigent client, a copy of the order signed by the Judge declaring the client indigent is required.
Forms of payment accepted at the Public Civil Window are cash (no bills larger than $20.00 unless you are paying with exact change), money order, cashier’s check, business check, personal check, or credit/debit card. Your driver’s license or ID must match the information on your personal check or credit/debit card. All written payments must be made out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; abbreviations such as JSO are not permitted.
Documents for service not properly issued or those with incorrect fees or incorrect payee on the check will be returned.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will only mail out return of service affidavits for, Injunctions, Writs of Attachment and Mental Health documents that were filed outside the Florida Fourth Circuit (Duval, Clay and Nassau County Florida).
It’s your responsibility to track the progress of your document by using our public search website. This link “Document Status Information” can be found above in the Welcome section of this page and will also be provided on your receipt from the Public Civil Window.
Once your document has been processed you can see if we are attempting to serve the individual/business, or if the document has been closed the return of service will be shown.
You may view, save and or print the return of service once the document is closed. It’s your responsibility to provide the return of service to your Clerk of Court. If your case was filed in the Florida Fourth Circuit (Duval, Clay or Nassau County, Florida), then our office will e-file your return of service with the Clerk of Court.
Schedule of Civil Process Fees
| Summons, Notices, Orders, Subpoenas etc. |
$40.00
|
| If you are a City, State, or Federal Agency including the Clerk of Court, the fees for Civil Summons, Notices, Orders, Subpoenas, etc. |
$20.00 |
| Foreign Process (Process Issued Outside of the State of Florida) |
| Will only be processed and attempted under Florida statute and prepared on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Return of Service. |
$40.00 |
| |
| All Domestic violence, Repeat, Date, Sexual and Stalking and Cyberstalking Injunctions |
$0.00 |
| Writs |
$90.00 |
| Replevin* |
$90.00 |
| Certified Break Order for a Writ of Replevin |
$200.00 |
| If you are a City, State, or Federal Agency including the Clerk of Court, the fees for service of Writs |
$70.00 |
| All other process |
$90.00 |
Executions*
(Advance Deposit For Levy, Pursuant to F.S. 30.231) |
| For each automobile, small truck, motorcycle, small boat |
$2500.00 |
| For each large truck, bus |
$3000.00 |
| Other large equipment or items will be determined by supervisor or enforceable writs officer in the civil unit |
TBD |
| Real property (each parcel)(legal description 15 lines or less) |
$1500.00 |
| Real property (each parcel)(legal description 15 lines or more) |
TBD |
| Business |
TBD |
* Additionally, beyond the first hour, expenses incurred for officer subsequently scheduled to stand-by or conduct a levy will be $46.00 per hour per officer. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office reserves the right to determine the number of officers required for standby. Most often, two officers will be required.
Note: Fees are payable upon receipt of civil process. Fees are non-refundable, per Florida Statute 30.231(4). Fees are per document type and per party to be served.
Contact Information for JSO's Civil Unit
Injunctions
If you are with the Clerk of Court or a Sheriff’s Office outside the State of Florida needing to send an injunction document, please call the Civil Unit at 904.255.2470. The Civil Clerk will advise how you can electronically send your document.
If you are outside the State of Florida and your Clerk of Court or Sheriff’s Office does not send injunction documents on your behalf, please call 904.255.2470 for our fax number.
If you are attempting to check the status of an Injunction, the officer assigned the document will call the filing party at the number that was provided on the information sheet. Due to safety and Public Record Law, Injunction information will not be discussed or provided by the Civil Clerk when calling the Civil Unit.
If you currently know where the individual can be located for service and you have your copy of the Injunction, then you may call the non-emergency number at 904.630.0500 chose option #6, to have a patrol officer come out and serve the Injunction.
If you are providing additional location information for service, please call 904.255.2470; the Civil Clerk will take the information, but no further information will be discussed or provided.
Writ of Possession Procedures
The plaintiff or plaintiff's agent will provide the Civil Unit with the following:
- Two copies of the writ of possession that have been signed and sealed by the Clerk of Court. The name and phone number of the person the officer is scheduling the eviction with will need to be written on one of the two copies. Please note the Civil Unit will not make copies; please ensure proper copies are provided.
- Non-Refundable fee of $90.00. Forms of payment accepted at the Public Civil Window are cash, money order, cashier’s check, business check, personal check or credit/debit card. Your driver’s license or ID must match the information on your personal check or credit/debit card. All written payments must be made out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; abbreviations such as JSO are not permitted.
- Commercial Writs of Possession, if the address has more than one suite number/letter and there is more than one outside door that has to be accessed to execute the Writ of Possession then there will be a $90.00 fee per suite. Additional copies of the Writ of Possession will be required as well. Example: Suite 1-3, the total cost $270.00 total copies of the Writ of Possession six.
- Residential Writs of Possession, if there is a separate location listed on the Writ of Possession such a detached garage and the structure is located away from the residence then there will be an additional $90.00 fee to execute the Writ of Possession. Additional copies of the Writ of Possession are required as well. Example: Apt 201, garage 11-C, total cost $180.00 total copies of the Writ of Possession four.
- Duplicate Writs of Possession- if a duplicate Writ of Possession is received and not realized before processing occurs, the writ will be closed out as un-executed, duplicate will be noted, and the return of service will be E-Filed with the Clerk of Court; the Sheriffs fee will not be refunded.
- Mailed payments can only be in the form of a money order, cashier’s check or business check. The payment must be written out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, abbreviations such as JSO are not permitted.
- Please ensure the address on your writ of possession is complete and accurate; including the zip code. There will be an additional $90.00 Sheriff’s Fee if the writ has an incorrect address for service.
Appointments will be made on a first come, first served basis.
The Civil Clerk will prepare the appropriate paperwork and place the Writ of Possession package in the Officers box. Please do not ask the clerk when the officer will complete your eviction or call to ask because the clerk does not know this information. The assigned officer may post the premises the following day or shortly thereafter and will schedule the eviction with the plaintiff or plaintiff's agent as soon as possible, taking into consideration statute limitations and workload.
On the scheduled day and time of eviction, the plaintiff or the plaintiff's agent will meet the officer at the premises and the officer will turn possession of the premises over to this person. If the Plaintiff or Plaintiffs Agent has to re-schedule the appointment there will be a $92.00 re-schedule fee. The only responsibility the officer has is to remove persons from the premises and maintain the peace. If the officer is required to stand by, there may be additional fees required at a rate of $46.00 per hour, per officer, or any part thereof after the first hour.
Upon delivering possession of the premises to the plaintiff or his agent, the officer will provide the plaintiff or his agent with a copy of the Writ of Possession. The date, time and the officer's signature or initials will be noted on the writ. The officer will e-file the return of service with the Clerk of Court.
Disclaimer: This is not to be considered as legal advice, but only to be used as a guideline
Document Status Information
If you are looking for service status information on a document, please choose the Civil Process Search link.
For best results when searching a document, search by name or control number (if you have it). Searching with the case number in most instances should return document information.
Injunction, Writ of Attachment, and Mental Health information will not be provided in this search.
If your document was received but could not be processed, a memo stating the reason for the return will be mailed back with your documents. You may also view this memo on the search link above.
If your document cannot be located:
- You may have placed incorrect information into the system for searching.
- Your document may have not been received yet.
- Your document may have been received but has not been processed
Return of Service Affidavit - It’s your responsibility to track the progress of your document by using our public search website. You may view, save and or print the return of service once the document is closed.
If your case was filed in the Florida Fourth Circuit (Duval, Clay or Nassau County Florida), the return of service will be e-filed with the Clerk of Court.
For cases filed outside the Florida Fourth Circuit, it’s your responsibility to provide the return of service to your Clerk of Court.
Location and Times
After you have read through the above information, if you have additional questions, please call the Civil Unit at 904.255.2470, open Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m, excluding holidays and special events. You may also visit the public window at the Duval County Courthouse located at 501 W. Adams Street, 5th Floor, Room 5141, Jacksonville, FL 32202.
You may also mail your civil documents with the service fee* to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Attention: Civil Unit, 501 E. Bay Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202 (Please note: This is a different address than above)
Special Process Server Application Renewal
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office does not appoint new Special Process Servers. If you are an existing Special Process Server in Duval County and need to renew your appointment please download and fill out the form.
If you have a question or complaint regarding a Duval County Special Process Server, please contact the Process Server Coordinator at 904.255.2470.
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