(1)(a) Filing fees are due at the time a party files a pleading to initiate a proceeding or files a pleading for relief. Reopen fees are due at the time a party files a pleading to reopen a proceeding if at least 90 days have elapsed since the filing of a final order or final judgment with the clerk. If a fee is not paid upon the filing of the pleading as required under this section, the clerk shall pursue collection of the fee pursuant to s. 28.246. Upon the institution of any civil action, suit, or proceeding in county court, the party shall pay the following filing fee, not to exceed:
1. For all claims less than $100..........$50.
2. For all claims of $100 or more but not more than $500..........$75.
3. For all claims of more than $500 but not more than $2,500: $170, from which the clerk shall remit $20 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.
4. For all claims of more than $2,500 but not more than $15,000..........$295.
5. For all claims more than $15,000..........$395.
6. In addition, for all proceedings of garnishment, attachment, replevin, and distress: $85, from which the clerk shall remit $10 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.
7. Notwithstanding subparagraphs 3. and 6., for all claims of not more than $1,000 filed simultaneously with an action for replevin of property that is the subject of the claim..........$125.
8. For removal of tenant action..........$180.
The filing fee in subparagraph 7. is the total fee due under this paragraph for that type of filing, and no other filing fee under this paragraph may be assessed against such a filing.
(b) The first $15 of the filing fee collected under subparagraph (a)4. and the first $10 of the filing fee collected under subparagraph (a)8. shall be deposited in the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund. By the 10th day of each month, the clerk shall submit that portion of the fees collected in the previous month which is in excess of one-twelfth of the clerk’s total budget for the performance of court-related functions to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Clerks of the Court Trust Fund. An additional filing fee of $4 shall be paid to the clerk. The clerk shall transfer $3.50 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Court Education Trust Fund and shall transfer 50 cents to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of Financial Services to fund clerk education provided by the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation. Postal charges incurred by the clerk of the county court in making service by mail on defendants or other parties shall be paid by the party at whose instance service is made. Except as provided in this section, filing fees and service charges for performing duties of the clerk relating to the county court shall be as provided in ss. 28.24 and 28.241. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all filing fees shall be retained as fee income of the office of the clerk of the circuit court. Filing fees imposed by this section may not be added to any penalty imposed by chapter 316 or chapter 318.
(c) A party in addition to a party described in paragraph (a) who files a pleading in an original civil action in the county court for affirmative relief by cross-claim, counterclaim, counterpetition, or third-party complaint, or who files a notice of cross-appeal or notice of joinder or motion to intervene as an appellant, cross-appellant, or petitioner, shall pay the clerk of court a fee of $295 if the relief sought by the party under this paragraph exceeds $2,500 but is not more than $15,000 and $395 if the relief sought by the party under this paragraph exceeds $15,000. The clerk shall remit the fee if the relief sought by the party under this paragraph exceeds $2,500 but is not more than $15,000 to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the General Revenue Fund. This fee does not apply if the cross-claim, counterclaim, counterpetition, or third-party complaint requires transfer of the case from county to circuit court. However, the party shall pay to the clerk the standard filing fee for the court to which the case is to be transferred.
(d) The clerk of court shall collect a service charge of $10 for issuing a summons or an electronic certified copy of a summons, which the clerk shall deposit into the fine and forfeiture fund established pursuant to s. 142.01. The clerk shall assess the fee against the party seeking to have the summons issued.
(e) Of the first $200 in filing fees payable under subparagraph (a)5., $195 must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the State Courts Revenue Trust Fund, $4 must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of Financial Services and used to fund the contract with the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation created in s. 28.35, and $1 must be remitted to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Administrative Trust Fund within the Department of Financial Services to fund audits of individual clerks’ court-related expenditures conducted by the Department of Financial Services. By the 10th day of each month, the clerk shall submit that portion of the filing fees collected pursuant to this subsection in the previous month which is in excess of one-twelfth of the clerk’s total budget to the Department of Revenue for deposit into the Clerks of the Court Trust Fund.
(2) A party reopening any civil action, suit, or proceeding in the county court shall pay to the clerk of court a filing fee set by the clerk in an amount not to exceed $25 for all claims of not more than $500 and an amount not to exceed $50 for all claims of more than $500. For purposes of this section, a case is reopened after all appeals have been exhausted, or time to file an appeal from a final order or final judgment has expired. A reopen fee may be assessed by the clerk for any motion filed by any party at least 90 days after a final order or final judgment has been filed with the clerk in the initial case. A reservation of jurisdiction by a court does not cause a case to remain open for purposes of this section or exempt a party from paying a reopen fee. A party is exempt from paying the fee for any of the following:
(a) A writ of garnishment;
(b) A writ of replevin;
(c) A distress writ;
(d) A writ of attachment;
(e) A motion for rehearing filed within 10 days;
(f) A motion for attorney’s fees filed within 30 days of the entry of the judgment or final order;
(g) A motion for dismissal filed after a mediation agreement has been filed;
(h) A motion to withdraw by attorneys;
(i) Stipulations and motions to enforce stipulations;
(j) Responsive pleadings; or
(k) Motions for contempt.
(3) If a nonindigent party fails to pay accrued costs, the judge shall have power to deny that party the right to file any new case while such costs remain unpaid and, likewise, to deny such litigant the right to proceed further in any pending case.
(4) In criminal proceedings in county courts, costs shall be taxed against a person in county court upon conviction or estreature pursuant to chapter 939.
(5) Upon the institution of any appellate proceeding from the county court to the circuit court, including any appeal filed by a county or municipality, the clerk shall charge and collect filing fees as provided in s. 28.241(2) from the party or parties instituting the appellate proceedings. If the party is determined to be indigent, the clerk shall defer payment of the fee.
(6) A charge or a fee may not be imposed upon a party for responding by pleading, motion, or other paper to a civil or criminal action, suit, or proceeding in a county court or to an appeal to the circuit court.
(7) For purposes of this section, the term “party” includes a county or municipality filing any civil action.
(8) From each attorney appearing pro hac vice, the clerk must collect a fee of $100 for deposit into the General Revenue Fund.
Cited 4 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 2010 WL 4340822
...BACKGROUND On June 3, 2010, the trial court granted summary judgment and declared unconstitutional sections of the Florida Statutes that direct portions of civil action filing fees to the general revenue fund. Specifically, the trial court ruled that provisions of sections 28.24(1)(a), 28.241(a)(2)(d), 28.241(2), 34.041(1)(b), and 28.2455, Florida Statutes (2009), are unconstitutional and void....
...ellate courts into the general revenue fund. See §§ 28.241(l)(a)l.a.; 28.241(l)(a)2.d.; 28.241(2), Fla. Stat. (2009) ($80 of each civil litigant’s filing fee in circuit court and appellate courts must be deposited into the general revenue fund); § 34.041(l)(b), Fla....
Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2008 WL 108786
...The issue concerns the proper interpretation of section 28.241(1)(b), Florida Statutes (2005), which permits a clerk of court to charge a fee of up to $50 for "reopening" a circuit court case when the case has been "previously reported as disposed of." See also § 34.041(2), Fla....
...1.070(i) because Small Claims Rule 7.110(e) provides for dismissal of a claim for failure to prosecute after 6 months of inactivity. Court’s Commentary 1972 Amendment. The payment of costs of service by certified or registered mail from the filing fee is authorized by section 34.041(1), Florida Statutes; chapter 72-404, Laws of Florida....
...Henderson: As Chairman of the Suwannee County Commission and Clerk of Court for Suwannee County, you have both asked for my opinion on substantially the following question: Is the Clerk of Court required to charge the county for services provided under sections 28.24 , 28.241 , 34.041 , 34.171 , and 43.28, Florida Statutes, when the clerk operates as a fee officer? In sum: As a fee officer, the Clerk of Court for Suwannee County is required to charge the county for services provided under sections 28.24 , 28.241 , 34.041 , and 43.28, Florida Statutes....
...se were valid obligations of the board. While this audit resolved the issue of payment on the majority of contested charges, questions remain about whether the clerk may validly charge the county for services rendered under sections 28.24 , 28.241 , 34.041 , 34.171 , and 43.28, Florida Statutes....
...xceed $200." Thus, the Clerk of Court for Suwannee County, who is a fee officer, is required by section 28.241 (2), Florida Statutes, to charge the county as described in that subsection for services rendered by the state through the clerk's office. Section 34.041 , Florida Statutes This statutory section provides service charges and costs for the county court system and is the counterpart to section 28.241 , Florida Statutes, above, relating to the circuit courts. Pursuant to section 34.041 (1), Florida Statutes, with certain exceptions, "service charges for performing duties of the clerk relating to the county court shall be as provided in ss. 28.24 and 28.241 ." Further, the statute states that "[a]ll filing fees shall be retained as fee income of the office of the clerk of circuit court." 11 Under the clear language of sections 34.041 and 28.241 , Florida Statutes, a clerk of court who is a fee officer is required to charge the county for both county court and circuit court service charges or filing fees and shall retain those moneys as income of that office. An exception to this requirement exists for criminal proceedings filed in county courts. Section 34.041 (3), Florida Statutes, states that: "In criminal proceedings in county courts, costs shall be taxed against a person in county court upon conviction or estreature pursuant to chapter 939....
...The provisions of s. 28.241 (2) shall not apply to criminal proceedings in county court." Thus, while a clerk of court who is a fee officer is authorized to make and retain service charges for criminal cases filed in circuit court, the exception provided in section 34.041 (3), Florida Statutes, would prohibit the collection and retention of fees in county criminal court cases....
...rida Statutes, relating to budget officers do not apply to this situation. In sum, it is my opinion that, as a fee officer, the Clerk of Court for Suwannee County is required to charge the county for services provided under sections 28.24 , 28.241 , 34.041 , and 43.28, Florida Statutes....
...Stat., was amended by s. 12, Ch. 99-277, Laws of Florida. This amendment relates to the fees charged for civil actions filed relating to public guardianships. 10 See , Op. Att'y Gen. Fla. 78-136 (1978), and State ex rel. Buford v. Spencer, 87 So. 634 (Fla. 1921). 11 Section 34.041 (1), Fla....
...salaries. Aside from the county court judge's salary, however, the reasonable expenses of operating a county court are paid by the county, s. 34.171 , id.; and, in return, all filing fees collected in county court are remitted monthly to the county. Section 34.041 (1), id....
...unty court judge pursuant to s. 703.05 , F.S., should be paid to the clerk of the circuit court, acting as clerk of the county court, to be remitted to the county in which such county court is located, as are the county court filing fees pursuant to s. 34.041 (1), supra....
Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2014 WL 1227172
...). Respondent, the Chief Judge of the Sixth Circuit, asserts that the petitions raise a point of possible statutory conflict but maintains that because the litigants initiated appellate proceedings from the lower court to the circuit court, sections 34.041(5), 28.241(2), and 28.246(4), Florida Statutes (2012), require the deferral — not waiver — of the filing fees....
...57.081 may not be included in the calculation related to a payment plan established under this section.”). Section 28.241(2) provides that in circuit court appellate proceedings, “[i]f the party is determined to be indigent, the clerk shall defer payment of the fee.” See also § 34.041(5) (“Upon the institution of any appellate proceeding from the county court to the circuit court, including any appeal filed by a county or municipality, the clerk shall charge and collect filing fees as provided in s....
...Except where otherwise provided by law, the service charge due the clerk pursuant to s. 28.24 (14), F. S., for receiving money into the registry of court is earned and thus payable upon receipt of such money into the registry of court. Except as otherwise provided by s. 34.041 , F....
...the duties of county court clerk, a circuit court clerk will be a salaried budget officer." Although the language of one of the statutes relied upon has been repealed, the other statutes relied upon are still applicable and govern the question. See s. 34.041 , F....
...S., could not be determined, and thus was not payable, until such funds were disbursed. AS TO QUESTION 5: Section 28.231 , F. S., provides that the clerk of the county court shall receive as compensation for similar services the same charge as provided for the clerk of the circuit court. However, s. 34.041 (1), F....
...28.231 , specifically prescribes the filing fees for civil actions in the county court and provides further that: "Except as provided herein, service charges for performing duties of the clerk relating to the county court shall be as provided in ss. 28.24 and 28.241 ." Section 34.041 (3), F....
...However, the county court clerk is entitled to the service charges prescribed by ss. 28.24 and 28.241 (3), F. S., in matters connected with criminal proceedings, such as searching the record, and reporting to the Comptroller the payroll of jurors and grand jury witnesses. Attorney General Opinion 074-320. Section 34.041 (4), F....
...S., shall also apply to institution of appellate proceedings from the county court to the circuit court. Thus, the fees set forth in ss. 28.24 and 28.241 , F. S., relating to the clerk of the circuit court shall also apply to similar services performed in the county court, except as otherwise provided by s. 34.041 , F....
...procedure
for invoking the Rules of Civil Procedure when a plaintiff wishes to seek
damages in excess of $8,000. Such a procedure would set a bright line as
to the shift in potential damages and could take into account a mechanism
for complying with section 34.041, Florida Statutes (2020), which provides
for varying filing fees depending on the amount of the claim at issue.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings
consistent with this opinion.
GROSS, MAY and...
from the filing fee is authorized by Fla.Stat. § 34.041(1), F.S.A., Florida Laws, ' Ch. 72-404. RULE 7
This Florida statute resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a Jacksonville, Florida personal injury and workers' compensation attorney. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.
