The Broward County Clerk of Courts keeps every court file in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, collects filing fees and traffic fines, issues marriage licenses and runs free online case search from browardclerk.org. You can handle most routine business from your phone, and anything that needs an in-person visit can be done at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale or one of three regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood and Plantation.
The essentials in numbers
Broward is Florida’s second most populous county, and its clerk’s office is sized to match. A few facts worth knowing before you start:
- 1 elected clerk. Brenda D. Forman has held the office since January 2017, winning re-election in 2020 and again in 2024. The office is a constitutional one, separate from the judges and separate from county government.
- 4 courthouses. One central location downtown plus North, South and West regional courthouses. Not every service is offered at every building.
- $0 to look up a case. Online case search is free. You pay only for copies, certified copies and filings.
- $1 per page for plain copies and $2 per document to certify, under Florida statute. Those figures are set in Tallahassee, so they are the same whether you are in Broward, Miami-Dade or Palm Beach.
- 30 days to respond to a Broward traffic citation before the clerk reports it to the state and your license is at risk.
Everything else in this guide builds on those five points.
What the clerk does and does not do
The clerk is the record keeper and cashier for the entire court system in Broward County. Judges decide cases; the clerk files, stamps, stores and indexes every document those cases produce, collects the money and reports to the state.
In practice that covers:
- Filing and maintaining civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, mental health and traffic cases
- Accepting fines, fees, court costs, bonds and restitution payments
- Issuing marriage licenses and performing civil ceremonies
- Managing jury summonses and juror check-in
- Producing certified copies and record searches
- Running the Clerk’s Case Search portal and the Finance and Payment pages online
Here is the part that trips up newcomers from other Florida counties. In most of the state the clerk also records deeds, mortgages, liens and other official records. In Broward, that job belongs to the Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury Division, a county department at the Governmental Center on South Andrews Avenue. If you need a copy of a deed or want to search property records, you are at the wrong window at the courthouse. The same division handles tax deeds and county tax collection.
Two more lines to draw clearly:
- Child support payments go through the Florida State Disbursement Unit, not the clerk. The clerk keeps the court order; the SDU moves the money.
- Criminal background checks for employment or immigration come from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The clerk can give you the court file for a specific Broward case, which is a different product.
You will also see “Broward clerk” used loosely for the County Commission’s recording clerk and for the clerical staff of private law firms. None of those is the Clerk of Courts. If a website asks you to pay a “clerk” to pull Broward court records, remember that the real search is free.
The four courthouse locations
| Courthouse | Address | What you can do there |
|---|---|---|
| Central Courthouse (main office) | 201 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale 33301 | Every division, jury check-in, marriage licenses, records, all payments |
| North Regional Courthouse | 1600 W Hillsboro Blvd, Deerfield Beach 33442 | Traffic, county civil and misdemeanor matters, marriage licenses, payments |
| South Regional Courthouse | 3550 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood 33021 | Traffic, county civil and misdemeanor matters, marriage licenses, payments |
| West Regional Courthouse | 100 N Pine Island Rd, Plantation 33324 | Traffic, county civil and misdemeanor matters, marriage licenses, payments |
Circuit civil, felony, family, probate and juvenile files live at the Central Courthouse. If your case has a circuit-level case number, plan on downtown Fort Lauderdale unless the clerk’s website says otherwise for your specific task.
Counter hours run weekdays during normal business hours, generally opening around 8 a.m. and closing by late afternoon, with no weekend service. The exact window differs slightly by division and has shifted in recent years, so confirm on the Locations page at browardclerk.org or by calling the main line at (954) 831-6565 before you drive. Courthouses close on court holidays, which follow the Florida Supreme Court’s schedule rather than the federal one.
Quick steps: look up a Broward court case
Quick steps: search Broward court records online
- Go to browardclerk.org and open Case Search.
- Accept the public records disclaimer.
- Search by name, case number or citation number.
- Filter by court type (civil, criminal, traffic, family).
- Open the case to see the docket and hearing dates.
- Click any document listed as viewable to read it.
- Order certified copies if you need them for another agency.
What you need
- Full name of a party, or the case number
- Date of birth to narrow common names
- Citation number for traffic tickets (printed on the ticket)
- Credit or debit card for copies or payments
- Government photo ID for in-person records requests
Searching online
The Clerk’s Case Search replaced the old eCaseView system and works on a phone. Civil, criminal, traffic, family, probate and juvenile indexes are all there, though what you can actually open varies. Most civil and traffic documents display on screen. Criminal case images are more restricted, and family, juvenile, mental health and adoption records are sealed by rule or statute, so you will see a docket line but not the filing.
Court records in Florida are public under Rule 2.420, with exceptions for things like Social Security numbers, bank accounts and minors’ names. If a document shows blank boxes where you expected data, that is redaction, not a missing page.
Name searches return every Broward case tied to that name since the index was computerized, which for some divisions reaches back into the 1980s. Older paper files still exist but have to be pulled from storage. Ask the records desk and expect a wait of several business days.
Searching in person
Public terminals sit in the records areas at the Central Courthouse. Staff cannot interpret a document for you or tell you what to file, but they will show you how to locate a file and order copies. Bring the case number if you have it. Without one, the counter search uses the same index you see online, so there is rarely a reason to make the trip just to look something up.
Fees you will actually pay
Florida sets court fees by statute, so the schedule below applies across South Florida. Broward may add small local surcharges to some filings, and the legislature revisits fees periodically. Treat these as the starting point and confirm the current figure on the clerk’s Fees page before you write a check.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Online case search | Free |
| Plain copy of a court document | $1 per page |
| Certified copy | $2 per document plus copy charge |
| Small claims, amount up to $100 | $55 |
| Small claims, $100.01 to $500 | $80 |
| County civil, $500.01 to $2,500 | $175 |
| County civil, $2,500.01 to $15,000 | $300 |
| Circuit civil, over $15,000 | $400 |
| Residential eviction (possession only) | $185 |
| Dissolution of marriage | $408 plus local surcharge |
| Marriage license | Around $86, reduced with a Florida premarital course |
Paying online adds a card processing fee charged by the payment vendor, usually a percentage of the transaction. Paying at the counter, you can use cash, money order, cashier’s check or card. Personal checks are accepted for some filings and refused for others, so bring a backup method.
If you cannot afford a filing fee, the clerk accepts an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status. Approval waives or defers the fee based on income. The form is on the Florida Courts website and at the clerk’s counters, and the clerk decides it, not a judge.
Traffic tickets: the most common reason people contact the clerk
A Broward traffic citation gives you 30 days from the date it was issued. Inside that window you have three choices.
| Option | What happens | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Pay the civil penalty | Points go on your record; case closes | Fine amounts vary by offense and school zone |
| Elect driver improvement school | Pay the fine plus a small election fee, finish a state-approved course, no points | Allowed once per 12 months, five times lifetime |
| Request a hearing | Case set before a hearing officer or county judge | You can be found guilty and pay more, including court costs |
You can pay or elect school online through the clerk’s Traffic page using the citation number. Hearings are requested online or at any of the four courthouses. Camera tickets and parking citations issued by cities are not clerk matters until they are contested and escalate to a Uniform Traffic Citation.
Ignore the 30 days and the clerk reports you to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which suspends your license. Reinstating means paying the original fine, a late fee and a separate reinstatement fee to the state. That one missed deadline routinely turns a $150 ticket into a $400 problem.
Criminal traffic charges such as DUI or driving while license suspended are different. Those get a court date, a judge and an arraignment, and the clerk’s role is limited to keeping the file and collecting whatever the judge orders.
Filing a case or document
Attorneys must file through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. If you represent yourself you can use the portal too, after creating a free account, and most people should. The portal time-stamps your filing, routes it to the Broward clerk and lets you pay the fee by card in one session.
Paper filing is still accepted at the Central Courthouse and, for county-level matters, at the regional courthouses. Bring the original plus the number of copies your case type requires, and have cash or a card ready. Filings dropped at the counter are stamped the day they are received, which matters when you are up against a statute of limitations.
Quick steps: file a small claims case in Broward
- Download the Statement of Claim form from the Florida Courts site.
- Fill in the defendant’s full legal name and a service address.
- Attach copies of contracts, invoices or photos.
- Create a Florida Courts E-Filing Portal account or go to a courthouse.
- Pay the filing fee tied to your claim amount.
- Pay the sheriff or a process server to serve the defendant.
- Watch Case Search for your pretrial conference date.
A note on hearings. Setting a hearing is the judge’s business, handled through the judicial assistant for your assigned division, not the clerk. The clerk’s docket will show the date once it is set, and many Broward divisions still hold routine hearings by Zoom. Check the Seventeenth Circuit’s website for each judge’s procedures.
Jury duty and the scam that targets Broward residents
Jurors in Broward report to the Central Courthouse. Your summons tells you the date, and the clerk’s Jury page lets you confirm, postpone once or claim an exemption. Call the night before, or check online, because many groups are released without reporting.
Good to know
Nobody from the clerk, the sheriff or a judge will ever phone you to say you missed jury duty and must pay a fine by gift card, wire transfer or Bitcoin to avoid arrest. That call is a scam, and it circulates in Broward every few months. Hang up, then report it to the Broward Sheriff’s Office non-emergency line.
Missing a real summons does carry consequences, but they come by mail in the form of an order to show cause, and you deal with them by appearing in court, never by paying a stranger over the phone.
Marriage licenses
Any of the four courthouses will issue a Florida marriage license. Both parties appear with valid photo ID and Social Security numbers, pay the fee and sign. Florida residents who have not taken a state-registered premarital course wait three days before the license is valid; the course also cuts the fee. Out-of-state couples skip the waiting period. The license is good for 60 days anywhere in Florida, and the clerk’s deputy clerks will perform a short civil ceremony on site for an additional charge. Confirm the ceremony schedule for the regional locations, since downtown handles the most volume.
Getting there and parking
The Central Courthouse sits on SE 6th Street between South Andrews Avenue and the New River, just south of the Broward County Governmental Center. A county-run parking garage adjoins the courthouse and charges by the hour; surface meters on nearby streets are cheaper but fill by 8:30 a.m. on weekdays. Jurors receive separate parking instructions with their summons.
By transit, Broward County Transit routes along Andrews Avenue and Broward Boulevard put you within a few blocks, and the Central Bus Terminal downtown is roughly a ten-minute walk. The Brightline Fort Lauderdale station is about three-quarters of a mile north, which makes a Miami-Dade or Palm Beach resident’s trip to a Broward hearing reasonably painless.
The regional courthouses have free surface parking, which alone makes them worth choosing when your matter can be handled there.
Local tip
For traffic payments, hearing requests and marriage licenses, the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation is usually the shortest wait, with free parking right outside. Save downtown for felony, family, probate and circuit civil matters that only the Central Courthouse handles.
Expect airport-style screening at every entrance. Weapons, including pocket knives, are refused and there is no storage, so leave them in the car. Phones are allowed in public areas; some judges restrict them in courtrooms.
Common problems and how to fix them
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Case search shows no results | Name spelled differently on the file, or wrong court type filter | Try last name only, remove the filter, or search by citation or case number |
| Document listed but will not open | Restricted record type or not yet scanned | Request the document at the records counter with ID |
| Online payment rejected | Case already sent to collections or license suspension stage | Call the traffic division; you may need to pay by other means |
| Certified copy not accepted by another agency | Agency wants an exemplified or apostilled copy | Ask for the specific certification; apostilles come from the Florida Secretary of State |
| Deed or mortgage not found at courthouse | Official records are held by the county, not the clerk | Search Broward County Records, Taxes and Treasury |
| Hearing missing from docket | Not yet set by the judge’s office | Contact the judicial assistant for your division |
Message from the clerk, and what to expect next
Clerk Forman’s office has leaned on self-service for years, and the trend is clear: fewer reasons to stand in line, more done through browardclerk.org and the statewide e-filing portal. Recent changes have focused on the Case Search platform, expanded online payment options and online jury management. Hours at the regional courthouses have been adjusted more than once, which is why this guide avoids quoting them to the minute.
For a reader, the practical impact is simple. Check the website first, call second, visit third. When you do visit, the regional courthouses handle more every year, and the downtown courthouse is reserved for the cases that need it.
The clerk’s site also posts events and workshops, including occasional expungement clinics and self-help days run with the Broward County Bar Association and Legal Aid Service of Broward County. Those are worth watching if you are trying to seal a record or navigate a family case without a lawyer.
When to get help
When to get help
Call (954) 831-6565 for hours, fees and where to go. For help filling out forms, visit the Seventeenth Circuit’s Self-Help Center at the Central Courthouse, which charges a modest fee per session. For legal advice, contact Legal Aid Service of Broward County if your income qualifies, or the Broward County Bar Association’s lawyer referral service if it does not. Clerk staff cannot give legal advice by law.
Hire an attorney when money or custody is on the line, when you have been served with a lawsuit worth more than a small claim, or when a criminal charge carries jail time. Pulling your own records and paying your own ticket is reasonable; defending a felony or contested divorce alone is not.
FAQ
How do I check if someone has a case in Broward County?
Use the free Case Search at browardclerk.org and search by name. You will see civil, criminal, traffic and family cases indexed under that name, with case numbers, filing dates and upcoming hearings.
Is the Broward County Clerk of Courts the same as the Broward County Clerk?
For court purposes, yes; both phrases refer to the elected Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Court. Deeds and other official records, however, are handled by Broward County’s Records, Taxes and Treasury Division, which is a separate county office.
Can I pay a Broward traffic ticket at the Hollywood or Deerfield Beach courthouse?
Yes. All four courthouses accept traffic payments and hearing requests, and the regional locations have free parking. You can also pay online with the citation number.
How long does it take to get certified copies?
If the document is already scanned, you can usually walk out with certified copies the same day. Older paper files pulled from storage take several business days. Mail-in requests take longer and need a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Does the clerk’s office help with expungement?
The clerk files the petition and collects the fee once you have a Certificate of Eligibility from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. FDLE comes first, and the clerk cannot issue it for you.
Where do I confirm current hours and fees?
The Locations and Fees pages at browardclerk.org are the authoritative source, and the main line at (954) 831-6565 can confirm anything that has changed. Hours, fees and holiday closures all shift over time, so verify before you go.
