Orlando, Florida Process Servers

An "Orlando" address on your papers doesn't always mean the City of Orlando. Walt Disney World sits in Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, and many addresses with an Orlando mailing city are in unincorporated Orange County. For a process server in Orlando, that rarely changes the job, since the whole metro area runs through one court system. It does matter when the papers name a city or when you're picking a branch courthouse.

Process server Orlando: the Ninth Circuit

Orange and Osceola counties make up Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit. Its chief judge runs a certified process server program under Administrative Order 2014-27-01. A server certified in the Ninth Circuit can serve initial process in cases filed in Orange County, alongside the sheriff and sheriff-appointed special process servers (Fla. Stat. § 48.021 and § 48.27). Ask for the server's certification number when you hire.

The Orlando courthouse and branches

Orange County Courthouse
425 North Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801

The Clerk of Courts handles small claims at the downtown courthouse and at three branch offices: Apopka, Ocoee and Winter Park, each of which also handles evictions (Clerk locations). Florida county courts hear small claims up to $8,000. See how to serve small claims forms.

How many attempts will a process server make in Florida?

Florida law doesn't set a required number of attempts. It's set by your agreement with the server, so ask how many attempts are included and at what times of day. Two Florida rules shape the schedule: service on a Sunday is generally void (Fla. Stat. § 48.20), and the summons must be served within 120 days after the complaint is filed (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.070(j)). More is on the Florida process serving laws page and in our guide to service of process deadlines.

Hospitals and other large workplaces

The large national registered agents use South Florida or Tallahassee for their Florida offices, not Orlando. Find the defendant's agent on Sunbiz and read what an agent for service of process is.

A server can serve an employee at work, but a lawsuit against the employer itself generally goes to its registered agent. Two of the city's biggest employers are its hospital systems:

AdventHealth Orlando
601 East Rollins Street
Orlando, FL 32803

Orlando Regional Medical Center (Orlando Health)
52 West Underwood Street
Orlando, FL 32806

Theme park workers are usually easier to reach at home than at a backstage gate.

Serving papers on the City of Orlando

Orlando City Hall
400 South Orange Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801

Under Fla. Stat. § 48.111, start with any registered agent the city has designated before serving an official, and call ahead to confirm who accepts service. An Orlando process server can check for a designated agent, deliver the papers at City Hall and give you a return of service that names who took them.

Central Florida coverage

Process servers in Orlando, FL generally cover all of Orange County; compare Orange County, Florida process servers. See also our Tampa and Jacksonville pages and how much it costs to hire a process server.

This is a general summary, not legal advice.