Court Services

Unified Family Court

Paternity

For more information, see Chapter 742 of the Florida Statutes.

Petitions for Paternity

Filing Fee for Petition for Paternity: See Fees & Costs for the current filing fee.

Forms and Instructions

Forms are available from the following sources:

• Forms and instructions may be purchased from the Clerk & Comptroller's Self Service Center.
• Download some forms for free from the www.flcourts.org.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER ON EVERY DOCUMENT YOU FILE WITH THE COURT.

About Paternity

Any woman who is pregnant or has a child, any man who has reason to believe that he is the father of a child, or any child may bring proceedings in the circuit court to determine the paternity of the child when paternity has not been established by law or otherwise.

• The proceedings must be in the circuit court where the petitioner resides or the county where the respondent resides.
• The court shall determine the issues of paternity and ability to support the child.
• Other fees or costs, such as medical, hospital/childbirth expenses, or attorney fees, may be awarded.
• The court may order an appropriate parenting plan and time-sharing schedule.

Parties may be required to submit to scientific testing to show a probability of paternity (see Florida Statute 742.12).