Pinellas County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Pinellas County is located on the west central coast of Florida and is the most densely populated county in the state having 3,491 residents per square mile. It is known as the seventh most populous county in Florida and 959,918 people call Pinellas County home. Its county seat is Clearwater and comprises a two-tiered court system which are the Circuit Courts and County Courts which ensure that the application of the rule of law are strictly followed and run the court system in keen and dynamic ways.

Pinellas County belongs to the Sixth Judicial Circuit. The Circuit Courts handle felony cases, civil, and non-criminal infractions, mental health, alimony, dating violence, and juvenile matters. The CircuitCivil Court is subdivided into Civil, Probate and Guardianship, Criminal, and Family Divisions. The Family Division presides over family litigations such as dissolution of marriage and further has a unified family court while the Civil Division settles contract disputes. The Probate and Guardianship Court settles allegations of abuse, mental health cases, exploitation of the elderly, validity and execution of wills, and makes decisions regarding the need for guardianship for incapacitated issues on automobile negligence, contract dispute, and product liability. The Criminal Division has jurisdiction over actions that involve the administration of criminal justice. Cases adjudicated in the Criminal Court are fraud, burglary, capital, and non-capital murders to mention a few. The Pinellas County Justice Center is in Clearwater, The Clearwater Courthouse is in Clearwater, the Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center is in Dade City, The West Pasco Judicial Center is in Richey, St. Petersburg Judicial Building is located in St. Petersburg. The County Courts have divisions as well. The County Civil Division handles simplified divorce processes and landlord-tenant cases. The County Criminal Division presides over county ordinance violations and misdemeanors. Traffic Division settles civil and criminal cases, and small claims hear civil claims where the amount in controversy is $8,000 or less.

In the overall statistical reference guide for Florida, during the fiscal year 2022-2023, Pinellas County Circuit Courts filed 37,843 cases and terminated 34,174 cases. In the County Courts, there were 111,655 cases on deck for FY 2022-2023, and at the end of the year, 73,613 cases were solved. The Pinellas Circuit Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller is entrusted with the duty of maintaining and protecting the integrity of court records. The clerk's office provides an E-recording portal where the public can file court cases and record legal documents online. The public has free access to court records on the Public View Court Records website. Court records pertaining to abuse victims, adoption, and juvenile records are kept private from the public.

The Circuit Courts and County Courts of Pinellas County are constitutionally grounded to handle a wide range of cases for the public. Disputes are solved through proven legal methods using mediation and reconciliation.