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If your CSEHO recuses, the case does not go back into random assignment — it moves automatically to the next numbered division, and Division 6 wraps around to Division 1.
Applies to Title IV-D child support enforcement proceedings in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit (Hillsborough County). Effective June 1, 2026.
• Duties of Child Support Enforcement Hearing Officers Handling Title IV-D Matters Child Support Enforcement Hearing Officers (hearing officers) will serve under the direction of the administrative judge of the Family Law Division. All proceedings under Title IV-D involving the establishment, modification and enforcement of support orders, foreign child support orders, and determination of arrears including those owed to the state and public assistance debt owed to the state, wi ll be heard by the hearing officers. The hearing officers may also establish paternity in cases where paternity is uncontested. Contested paternity cases and disputes involving custody, v1s1tation and property wi ll not be heard by the hearing officers. Disputes involving custody, visitation and property will not be filed within the Title IV-D case but instead must be filed as a separate action. These issues will not be litigated in the Title IV-D case. • Powers of Hearing Officers In addition to the general powers set forth in Rule 12.491 , the hearing officers will have the power to: A. Hear contested income deduction orders and recommend entry of appropriate orders in accordance with Florida Statutes section 6 1.1301 ; B. Conduct all hearings involving the establishment, modification or enforcement of child support, spousal support, and maintenance obligations, as well as an-ears (including those owed to the state and public assistance debt owed to the state), and recommend entry of appropriate orders in such cases; C. Take testimony and establish a record at the hearing; D. Accept voluntary acknowledgments of paternity, child support, spousal support, and maintenance obligations, an-ears, and public assistance debt owed to the state and recommend entry of stipulated orders determining paternity or setting the amount of support, maintenance, or arrearages to be paid; E. Prepare and recommend entry of default orders if the obligor does not respond as required by law; and F. Perform such other and related functions as the chief judge may from time to time direct concerning the determination of paternity or enforcement of child support obligations. • Flexibility of Case Assignments The assignment of a case to a specific CSEHO Division does not preclude any other hearing officer from disposing of a case. Hearing officers may assist each other if the assigned hearing officer is unavailable or if the assigned hearing officer requests assistance. • Disqualification of Hearing Officer A. Recusal If a hearing officer determines it is necessary to disqualify herself or himself from a proceeding, the hearing officer will serve a Notice of Recusal on all parties, have the Notice filed with the clerk, and arrange to have the Notice brought to the attention of the family law judge who is assigned to the division in which the case is pending. The matter will be rescheduled with another hearing officer as follows: If the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 1 serves a Notice of Recusal, the case is automatically reassigned to and must be rescheduled with CSEHO Division • If the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 2 serves a Notice of Recusal, the case is automatically reassigned to and must be rescheduled with CSEHO Division • If the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 3 serves a Notice of Recusal, the case is automatically reassigned to and must be rescheduled with CSEHO Division • If the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 4 serves a Notice of Recusal, the case is automatically reassigned to and must be rescheduled with CSEHO Division • If an order is entered granting a motion to disqualify the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 2, the case will be reassigned to CSEHO Division • If an order is entered granting a motion to disqualify the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 3, the case will be reassigned to CSEHO Division • If an order is entered granting a motion to disqualify the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 5, the case will be reassigned to CSEHO Division • If an order is entered granting a motion to disqualify the hearing officer assigned to CSEHO Division 6, the case will be reassigned to CSEHO Division l . • Judicial Assignment All recommended orders entered by the hearing officers, all orders approving stipulations prepared by the Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement, and all requests by the Department of Revenue, Child Supp01t Enforcement for the entry of a writ of bodily attachment for failure to pay a previously ordered purge will be reviewed and disposed of by the judge assigned to Title IV-D Child Support Enforcement Division "Y." If the judge assigned to Title IV-D Child Support Enforcement Division " Y" is absent from the courthouse, recommended orders, orders approving Department of Revenue, Child Support Enforcement, stipulations, and requests for entry of a writ of bodily attachment will be reviewed and disposed of by the family law judge who is assigned to the division in which the case is pending. If such judge is absent from the courthouse, the matter will be reviewed by the family law judge present in the courthouse whose division next follows in alphabetical sequence the division in which the case is pending. If the judge assigned to Title IV-D Child Support Enforcement Division "Y" enters an order of disqualification, the clerk will reassign the case to the family law judge who is assigned to the division in which the case is pending.
Duties of Child Support Enforcement Hearing Officers Handling Title IV-D Matters Child Support Enforcement Hearing Officers (hearing officers) will serve under the direction of the administrative judge of the Family Law Division. All proceedings under Title IV-D involving the establishment, modification and enforcement of support orders, foreign child support orders, and determination of arrears including those owed to the state and public assistance debt owed to the state, wi ll be heard by the hearing officers. The hearing officers may also establish paternity in cases where paternity is uncontested. Contested paternity cases and disputes involving custody, v1s1tation and property wi ll not be heard by the hearing officers. Disputes involving custody, visitation and property will not be filed within the Title IV-D case but instead must be filed as a separate action. These issues will n
Reviewer note: | Set to in_review 2026-07-26: the order's subject looks practitioner-facing but the extracted text captured only recitals or an effective date, not the operative ORDERED section. This is an extraction defect, not a judgement that the order is unimportant — it needs re-extraction before it goes back on the published surface. | Re-extracted 2026-07-26 from the numbered paragraphs following the order's ORDERED clause, replacing a first pass that had captured recitals and the effective date. 10 further paragraph(s) were left out because their OCR is too corrupt to quote. Text layer cleaned 2026-09-08 (Phase 3e): running page headers/footers removed; wording untouched. Verbatim from the operative section of this order, re-extracted 2026-07-26; whitespace normalised only. [moved from the text 2026-09-14]
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.