Your Sheriff’s Office is responsible for serving a great many types of paperwork generated by the court system. The Florida Statutes under Statute 30.15 outline the powers, duties and obligations of the Sheriffs in Florida. This statute begins by stating that Sheriffs, in their respective counties, in person or by deputy, shall:
- Execute all process of the Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and Boards of County Commissioners of this state, to be executed in their counties.
- Execute such writs, processes, warrants, and other papers directed to them, as may come to their hands to be executed in their counties.
These first two duties and obligations of the Sheriff are accomplished by the Judicial Process Division which is primarily made up of the criminal process and the civil process sections.
The Civil Process section is supported by six full-time deputies, one full-time civilian process server and one part-time special process server in the field and three clerical personnel in the office that process 1000 plus subpoenas, summons, writs, domestic violence injunctions and other civil papers per month. Civil paperwork can be picked up/served at the Civil Process Office, Courthouse Annex in Shalimar or the North District Office in Crestview.
NOTE* Effective January 1, 2007 the Sheriff’s Office will no longer mail a Sheriff’s Return Of Service to the plaintiff without a stamped self addressed envelope.
Out of State Process
Enforceable Foreign Process must be “domesticated” in the State of Florida before it can be executed. The only exception pertains to domestic violence or protection orders. Please call if you have any questions regarding Out of State Service of Process, or our Return of Service.
Service of Process Fees
These fees are fixed and NON-REFUNDABLE per Florida Statute 30.231
We only accept Cash (exact change only), Check or Money Order
| SUMMONS, SUBPOENAS, NOTICE OF HEARING, ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE, WRIT OF GARNISHMENT, ETC |
$40.00 |
| ENFORCEABLE WRITS These include: Writ of Possession, Replevin and Enforceable Orders of the Court |
$90.00 |
Executions
Effective October 1, 2001 and pursuant to Florida Statute Chapter 55, the Sheriff no longer dockets and indexes Writs of Execution.
A Writ of Execution is a document that is the result of civil lawsuit in which a judgment was rendered and commands the Sheriff to “levy on the goods and chattels of the defendant”. The Sheriff does not supply forms for a Writ of Execution. If you have questions regarding what documents are required please call our office before delivery of the Writ of Execution packet.
| TO CERTIFY AN EXISTING WRIT OF EXECUTION PROCESSING FEE FOR SHERIFF’S LEVY |
$40.00 |
| LEVY FEE | $50.00 |
| OTHER FEES ASSOCIATED WITH SHERIFF’S LEVY TO INCLUDE: | |
| PREPARE ADVERTISEMENT OF SALE | $40.00 |
| CONDUCT SALE | $40.00 |
| PREPARE BILL OF SALE, DEED OR SATISFACTION | $40.00 |
| NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S LEVY | $40.00 |
| RELEASE OF SHERIFF’S LEVY | $40.00 |
| LEVY DEPOSITS | |
| VEHICLES, BOATS, ETC. | $2,000.00 per vehicle, boat, aircraft, etc.* |
| REAL PROPERTY | $2,000.00 per parcel |
| PERSONAL PROPERTY | ***Call For Estimate |
| BUSINESS INVENTORY | ***Call For Estimate |
*Deposit amounts can vary depending on the quantity and size of the items being levied upon.
**A complete inventory list will need to be reviewed by the Civil Process Division before an amount is determined.
The Sheriff is allowed under Florida Statute 30.231 to charge a “reasonable fee” for the service of process. Any extended civil standby may require an off duty Deputy and can be scheduled with our off duty coordinator. Please check with the Civil Process staff in advance if this is an issue.
Plaintiffs or Attorney’s are required to provide the original or certified copy and a copy for service. Also please provide as much information as possible on the individual being served, address, place of employment etc., so they can be located and the documents served in a timely manner. Civil Process personnel cannot give legal advice or recommend an attorney.
The Civil Process section is located at the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters, 50 2nd Street in Shalimar, Florida 32579. Office hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information or questions for the Civil Process section please call 850.651.7414 or e-mail us civil-process@sheriff-okaloosa.org.
We only accept Cash (exact change only), Check or Money Order
