For Self-Represented Litigants
Representing yourself? See what the court expects — from the official source.
Most people lose procedural battles, not legal ones — a missed conferral, a wrong format, a blown deadline. BenchPath puts the court's actual requirements in clear, everyday terms, cited to the official source, for free.
These guides cover Florida procedure only. Texas self-help guides will follow official-source research and review, covered counties first; Texas court rules and judge procedures are already searchable from the Texas hub.
What kind of case?
Traffic tickets
Contest an infraction; hearing procedures
Small claims
Up to $8,000 — pretrial conference is mandatory
Eviction & landlord-tenant
Deadlines move fast — days, not weeks
County civil
Debt claims, contracts, disputes up to $50,000
Criminal — misdemeanor
First appearance, arraignment, and the public defender
Criminal — felony
Circuit court prosecution — counsel at every stage
Divorce & family
Financial disclosure, parenting, support
Domestic violence injunctions
No filing fee; hearing within days
Probate & estates
Formal and summary administration, creditor deadlines
Guardianship
Incapacity, appointment, guardian advocates
Juvenile & dependency
Shelter hearings, case plans, appointed counsel
Appeals
The 30-day jurisdictional deadline, record, and briefs
01
Find your court and case type
Pick your county and what your case is about. BenchPath shows the rules published for the court, case category, and event you select — statewide, circuit, county, and judge-specific — each linked to the official source.
02
Follow the checklist
Every rule comes with a clear, step-by-step checklist drawn from the cited source — the filing, format, service, and deadline requirements the court publishes. Print it and take it with you. BenchPath doesn't choose a motion or form for your situation.
03
Know your judge
A Premium Judge Intelligence Report shows how your division actually operates — conferral requirements, proposed-order formats, hearing procedures — before you walk in.
Writing with AI?
Your AI can draft the motion. It can't tell you how this judge wants it filed.
Millions of self-represented litigants now draft with AI tools — and courts reject those filings for procedural reasons the AI never saw: a missing conferral certificate, a proposed order in the wrong file format, an uncoordinated hearing date, a courtesy copy nobody delivered. BenchPath is the missing procedural layer: verified, judge-specific requirements with the official source attached, so what you file actually lands.
Before you draft
Pull the rules and format requirements for your county and division.
Before you file
Run the checklist — certificates, formats, service, portal quirks.
Before you appear
Read the judge report — hearing procedure, remote vs. in-person, what to bring.
When to talk to a lawyer
If the other side has counsel, if children, your home, your immigration status, or your safety are at stake, if you face criminal exposure, or if a deadline already passed — procedural information is not enough. Florida's bar referral service and local legal aid offices exist for exactly this. BenchPath shows you what the court has published about what it requires; it will never tell you what to argue.
Not legal advice
BenchPath provides procedural information from official public sources with verification dates and confidence levels. It is not a law firm, provides no legal advice or strategy, and creates no attorney–client relationship. Verify urgent deadlines with the clerk or judicial assistant.