Florida Injunction for Protection Against Stalking: Free to File, With No Expiry Date
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Florida · Last updated October 22, 2026
In Florida the court order that fits a harassed stranger, neighbour or coworker is an injunction for protection against stalking, free to file and with no expiry date written into the statute. It is a civil court order telling someone you are not related to, and not in a domestic relationship with, to stop harassing or contacting you and to stay away. Know the limit first. Florida has no general harassment injunction. The route runs through the stalking offence, where the person willfully, maliciously and repeatedly follows, harasses or cyberstalks you, and "harass" means a course of conduct that causes you substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose (Fla. Stat. 784.0485; 784.048). A single incident, or conduct that falls short of that threshold, has no route here, and the court decides whether your facts meet it. If the person is a spouse, ex-spouse, relative or someone you live or have lived with as family, this is the wrong order and you want the domestic violence injunction instead (Fla. Stat. 741.30). The terms stay in effect until modified or dissolved (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(6)(b)), and a temporary order made without notice lasts at most 15 days. This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
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Who is harassing you?
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How long does a Florida injunction for protection against stalking last?
The statute sets no end date. The terms of the injunction remain in effect until modified or dissolved, and either party may move at any time to change or dissolve it (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(6)(b)). A temporary injunction granted without notice lasts for a fixed period not exceeding 15 days.
Does it cost anything to file for a stalking injunction in Florida?
No. The clerk of court may not assess a filing fee for a petition for protection against stalking, notwithstanding any other law (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(2)(a)). The statute also allows the clerk to seek reimbursement from the state for a limited service fee, so the petitioner is not billed.
Do I have to be related to the person to get a Florida stalking injunction?
No relationship is required. A person who is the victim of stalking has standing to file a verified petition in the circuit court (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(1)(a)). Spouses, relatives and household members may instead use the domestic violence injunction under section 741.30, which is the separate track for those relationships.
What conduct counts as stalking for a Florida injunction?
Willfully, maliciously and repeatedly following, harassing or cyberstalking another person (Fla. Stat. 784.048(2)). Harassing means a course of conduct aimed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose. A one-time incident does not make a course of conduct.
Florida stalking injunction rules at a glance
Florida answers harassment with an injunction for protection against stalking under section 784.0485, and the word stalking does real work. The petition rests on the offence defined in section 784.048, which already contains "harasses" and "cyberstalks" as defined terms, so a repeated pattern of unwanted contact, including online contact, can qualify without any threat or physical act. The order directs a person you are not domestically related to, to stop contacting you and stay away. Two features set Florida apart. The clerk may not charge a filing fee, and the injunction carries no statutory expiry, remaining in force until a court modifies or dissolves it. The price of that breadth is the entry test: you need a course of conduct causing substantial emotional distress, not a single bad episode.
A Pinellas County boat club treasurer and a stream of anonymous posts
A Pinellas County boat club treasurer falls out with a former friend over a missing deposit. Over four months the friend creates new social media accounts, posts about the treasurer's home and daily routine, and sends dozens of messages from different numbers. Nothing is threatened and no one touches her. The route to look at is the stalking injunction, because the pattern is repeated, aimed at her, and plausibly serves no legitimate purpose. She files Form 12.980(t) in her home circuit, pays no filing fee, and asks for a temporary injunction. If the court grants one without notice, it lasts no more than 15 days before a full hearing. Whether her facts meet the threshold is for the judge to decide.
Relevant Laws
Fla. Stat. 784.0485 (injunction for protection against stalking)
Creates the cause of action for an injunction for protection against stalking and provides that the offense of stalking includes cyberstalking. Subsection (1)(a) gives standing to a victim of stalking, or the parent or guardian of a minor child living at home. Subsection (2)(a) bars a filing fee. Subsection (5) covers the ex parte temporary injunction of up to 15 days. Subsection (6)(b) provides that the terms remain in effect until modified or dissolved.
Fla. Stat. 784.048 (stalking; definitions; penalties)
Defines the offense the injunction is keyed to. A person who willfully, maliciously and repeatedly follows, harasses or cyberstalks another person commits stalking. Harass means a course of conduct directed at a specific person which causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose, and a course of conduct is a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, which evidences a continuity of purpose.
Fla. Stat. 784.046 (action by victim of repeat violence, dating violence or sexual violence)
The separate injunction for repeat violence, which requires two incidents of violence or stalking by the respondent, one within six months of filing. Violence is defined to include assault, battery, sexual battery, stalking and aggravated stalking, among other offences. The section also covers dating violence and sexual violence injunctions, which are not general harassment routes.
Fla. Stat. 741.30 (domestic violence injunction)
The domestic violence injunction, the order a petitioner uses when the person harassing them is a family or household member. A petitioner in that relationship uses this section rather than section 784.0485, which is the routing this page relies on. Its terms likewise remain in effect until modified or dissolved.
Fla. Stat. 741.28 (domestic violence; definitions)
Defines family or household member as spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who presently reside together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married.
Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.980(t), Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Stalking
The Florida Supreme Court approved petition. Its instructions explain that stalking means the repeated following, harassment or cyberstalking of one person by another. The companion forms are 12.980(u), the temporary injunction, and 12.980(v), the final judgment of injunction after notice.
Regional Variances
Florida civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Injunction for protection against stalking, including cyberstalking, under Fla. Stat. 784.0485. Florida has no general harassment injunction, so this stalking-keyed order is the reachable route for a harassed person with no family or household tie to the respondent.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
Any victim of stalking, or the parent or legal guardian of a minor child living at home, has standing (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(1)(a)). No relationship is required. Family or household members, as defined in section 741.28, belong on the domestic violence track under section 741.30.
The standard
The petitioner must be the victim of stalking (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(6)(a)): willful, malicious and repeated following, harassing or cyberstalking. Harassing means a course of conduct causing substantial emotional distress with no legitimate purpose (Fla. Stat. 784.048). A single incident is below it.
Temporary order
A temporary injunction may be granted without notice, effective for a fixed period not exceeding 15 days. The full hearing is set no later than the date the temporary injunction ceases to be effective (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(5)).
Duration
No fixed term. The terms of the injunction remain in effect until modified or dissolved, and either party may move at any time to modify or dissolve it (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(6)(b)). A judge's final judgment form may describe a set period, but the statute does not require one.
Renewal
The statutory text sets no expiry, so there is no statutory renewal step for an order that stays in effect until modified or dissolved. If a particular order states a specific period, ask the clerk about the court's extension procedure.
Court and form
Circuit court, on Florida Supreme Court Approved Form 12.980(t), with companions 12.980(u) for the temporary injunction and 12.980(v) for the final judgment. Venue is where the petitioner lives, where the respondent lives, or where the stalking occurred (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(1)(f)).
Filing fee
None. The clerk of court may not assess a filing fee to file a petition for protection against stalking (Fla. Stat. 784.0485(2)(a)).
Service
The respondent must be served with the petition and notice of hearing. Ask the clerk's office how service is arranged in your county, since the process runs through the court and law enforcement rather than through the petitioner personally.
Firearm provision and violation
This page does not summarise any firearm term or the specific consequences of violating the order. Read the text of your own order and the statute, and report any breach to law enforcement. A violation is a matter for the court, and no order can guarantee safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Dealing With Debt Collectors in Florida (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Florida: A Lien Certificate Sells First, the Clerk's Auction Comes Two Years Later
Expunging a Criminal Record in Florida (2026)
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