Requirements and Information
Last updated: June 20, 2022
All hearings before the Child Support Hearing Officer are scheduled on the JACS solely by the Hearing Officer's office.
If you are a private attorney representing a party in a proceeding involving the Department of Revenue/Title IV-D Child Support (Sarasota or DeSoto county), you MUST follow these procedures prior to confirming/noticing a hearing date:
Specially Set DOR/IV-D Hearings are to be scheduled as follows:
If you are a private attorney seeking to schedule a child support matter before the Hearing Officer and the Department of Revenue is not involved in your case (Sarasota County only), you must follow these procedures:
At this time, all hearings before the Child Support Hearing Officer are scheduled on the JACS solely by the Hearing Officer's office.
For all Title IV-D hearings, the notice of hearing/trial shall be provided to all parties to the child support case. This includes:
(See “Note On Zoom Hearings”)
Pursuant to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 12.460, continuances are governed by Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.545(e). A motion for continuance must be in writing except as provided in 2.545(e). If the parties enter into a written stipulation for a continuance, a signed copy of the stipulation must be emailed or mailed to the Office of the Child Support Hearing Officer prior to the scheduled hearing. The Hearing Officer will determine then if a hearing is required.
Pursuant to Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.491(f), any party affected by an order issued in a Child Support Enforcement proceeding may move to vacate the order by filing a motion within ten (10) days from the date of entry of the order. The motion must be filed in the Clerk’s Office and a copy of the motion must be sent simultaneously to the assigned Circuit Judge and to the Child Support Hearing Officer.
Requests for emergency hearing time must be in writing and submitted to the Hearing Officer with a copy sent to the opposing party/parties.
Review the Local Rules of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit's website.
All attorneys are expected to adhere to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit’s Standards of Professionalism, located on the Circuit’s website. All parties are expected to adhere to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Family Division Rules of Courtroom Etiquette and the Rules for Parties in Child Support Cases, posted both inside and outside the courtroom.
Failure to comply with these standards may result in the continuation of your matter.
A party to a child support case who is “self-represented” (not represented by an attorney) may request a hearing before the Child Support Hearing Officer by doing the following:
Sarasota DOR Office: 100 Paramount Drive, Suite 100, Sarasota, FL 34232
DeSoto DOR Office: 10 S. DeSoto Avenue, Suite D, Arcadia, FL 34266
Statewide phone number: (850) 488-5437
Free to the public
Silvertooth Judicial Center, 2002 Ringling Blvd., First Floor, Sarasota, FL 34237 Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. (Closed for lunch from 12 p.m.-1 p.m.); Closed Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays Phone: 941-861-8191; Email: Sarasota Self Help Center