Requirements & Information

Private attorneys representing a party involving the Department of Revenue / Title IV-D Child Support in Sarasota and DeSoto Counties must follow these procedures prior to confirming and noticing a hearing date:

• Hearings 60 minutes or less may be scheduled on the Child Support Hearing Officer's regular DOR/IV-D docket calendar by contacting DOR. In Sarasota DOR hearings are scheduled every Tuesday and the first Thursday of each month. In DeSoto County DOR hearings are scheduled two Wednesdays each month.
• Hearing dates and times must be cleared with the Office of the Attorney General, Counsel for the Department of Revenue before it is confirmed and noticed. Notices in DOR cases shall be provided to counsel for the Department, the individual Petitioner and the individual party himself or herself if not represented by counsel. The Department does not represent the individual party.
  Contact Information for the Office of the Attorney General is as follows:
  Phone: (727) 825-7600
  Email: Office of the Attorney General
• Hearings greater than 60 minutes must be scheduled by providing the pleading at issue that has already been filed with the Clerk of Court and by e-mailing the office of the Hearing Officer with the request for hearing time to include: the case number, the name of the pleading, the date it was filed, and total hearing time required and adequate for both parties. The e-mail must copy the opposing party and the Office of the Attorney General. Upon receiving the request, the office of the Hearing Officer will provide date & time options to the parties with a deadline for responding. Failure to respond by the deadline provided will result in the release of potential hearing date & times. After all parties have agreed upon a date and time for hearing the Office of the Hearing Officer will schedule the hearing on JACS and the moving party will prepare the notice of hearing. The Hearing Officer will advise if the hearing may be conducted on Zoom or will be heard in Court.

Private attorneys seeking to schedule a child support matter in Sarasota County and the Department is not involved must follow these procedures:

• Attorneys may request hearing time by emailing the office of the Hearing Officer and by providing the pleading at issue that has already been filed with the Clerk of Court and with the request for hearing time to include: the case number, the name of the pleading, the date it was filed, and total hearing time required and adequate for both parties. The e-mail must copy the opposing party or counsel.
• Upon receiving the request, the office of the Hearing Officer will provide date & time options to the parties with a deadline for responding. Failure to respond by the deadline will result in the release of potential hearing date & times.
• Once the parties have agreed to a date and time the office of the Hearing Officer will schedule the matter on JACS and the party that filed the motion will prepare the notice of hearing.
• The Hearing Officer will advise if the hearing may be conducted on Zoom or will be heard in Court.
• No order of referral is required for child support unless attorney fees and costs are an issue.
• Consult the applicable judge's requirements regarding Mediation to ensure compliance before scheduling a matter with the Hearing Officer.

A party to a child support case who is not represented by an attorney may request a hearing before the Child Support Hearing Officer by doing the fallowing

• File a motion or petition with the Clerk of Court for the county where your child support case is located (Sarasota or DeSoto).
• Every motion or petition filed must be accompanied by a signed and dated copy of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Family Division Rules of Courtroom Etiquette.
• If your motion or petition concerns more than one child support case you must file the motion or petition in every case in which you are seeking relief.
• Send a copy of the motion or petition to the other party and to the Department of Revenue if they are involved in the case along with verification you have done so. If the petition seeks to modify child support, it must be served by formal process (the Sheriff's Office or a private process server) on the opposing party. Proof of service must be filed in the court file.
• File a "Form C" with the Clerk of Court to inform the Office of the Child Support Hearing Officer that you are requesting a hearing.
• You will be contacted by mail or e-mail if you have provided an email address regarding your request.

Department Of Revenue Addresses

Sarasota: 100 Paramount Drive, Suite 100, Sarasota, FL 34232
DeSoto: 10 South DeSoto Avenue, Suite D, Arcadia, FL 34266
Statewide: Phone Number 850-488-5437

• Scheduling hearings on JACS is done Solely by the Hearing Officer's Office
• Notices of Hearing must be served on all parties. The Department does not represent the individual party.
• Telephone Appearances (other than Zoom) must be requested in a written motion submitted in advance of the hearing with notice to all parties. The motion must contain the party's name, address, court case number, date and time of the hearing, the reason for the request and the phone number where the party seeking to appear by phone can be reached on the date and time of the hearing. The Court will then determine whether the request will be granted or denied after considering the type and length of the proceeding, the timeliness of the request and any other good cause in accordance with Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2. 530 and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure 12.451. If the request is granted the Court reserves the right to terminate any such appearance due to a party's inappropriate language or other improper conduct during the hearing.
• Continuances must be requested in a written motion submitted in advance of the hearing with notice to all parties. See Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.545 and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure 12.460.
• Motions to Vacate an Order issued in a Child Support Enforcement proceeding must be in a written motion with notice to all parties and must be filed within 10 days of the date of entry of the order with the Clerk of Court with copies sent to the assigned Circuit Judge and to the Child Support Hearing Officer simultaneously.
• Emergency Hearings must be submitted to the Hearing Officer in a written motion with notice to all parties.
• The 12^th Judicial Circuit's Standards of Professionalism and the 12^th Judicial Circuit's Rules of Etiquette all apply in Child Support Enforcement hearings whether in person or conducted on Zoom.

• Employees of the Court and Clerk of Court are not permitted to give legal advice or help fill out forms.
• It is your responsibility to select the correct forms and properly complete them.
• Family Division forms are available on line under Self-Help: Family Law Forms; at the Family Court section of the Sarasota Clerk of Court website or at the Forms section of the DeSoto Clerk of Court website.
• The Judge Lee E. Haworth Self Help Center and Law Library at the Silvertooth Judicial Center, 2002 Ringling Blvd., First Floor, Sarasota, FL 34237 is open by appointment only. Call (941) 861-8191 to arrange an appointment. The Self Help Center/Law Library is closed Saturdays and Sundays, as well as court holidays.
• If you do not file a Form C the Court will not know that you have filed a motion or petition and are requesting a hearing.
• If you do not file at signed and dated copy of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Family Division Rules of Courtroom Etiquette your case may not be scheduled for a hearing until that document is filed.