Certificate of Service — Florida

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

State of Florida

COURT CAPTION

Circuit Court (General Civil):

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE [____________________] JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,
IN AND FOR [____________________] COUNTY, FLORIDA

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Case No.: [____________________]
                                                Division: [__________________]
________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

County Court:

IN THE COUNTY COURT IN AND FOR [____________________] COUNTY, FLORIDA

________________________________________,
                              Plaintiff,

v.                                              Case No.: [____________________]
                                                Division: [__________________]
________________________________________,
                              Defendant.

(Select the appropriate court caption; delete the one not used)

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

IMPORTANT NOTE ON FLORIDA EMAIL SERVICE REQUIREMENT: Under Fla. R. Gen.
Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.516, service by email is mandatory for all attorneys
and for any party who has designated an email address for service. Self-
represented parties who have not designated an email address are served by the
methods specified in Rule 2.516(b)(1)(D).

I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the following document(s):

Document(s) Served:

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]
   (add rows as needed)

was served on [__/__/____] upon all parties and/or counsel of record as
identified below, pursuant to Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial
Administration 2.516 and Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.080, by the
method(s) indicated.

SECTION I — PARTIES / COUNSEL SERVED

Party / Counsel No. 1

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (Automatic Service) — Filed through the
Florida Courts E-Filing Portal; service is automatically generated to all
registered participants upon acceptance of the filing by the Portal.

• Portal Submission Reference No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time of Portal Acceptance: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Electronic Mail (Email) — Mandatory under Rule 2.516 — Served by email
to all designated email addresses per Rule 2.516(b)(1)(A).

• Primary email served: [________________________________]
• Secondary email served: [________________________________]
• Additional email served:[________________________________]
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• ☐ Email sent from: [________________________________] (sender's email)
• Note: Service by email is complete upon transmission (Rule 2.516(b)(1)(E)).

☐ Hand Delivery — Delivered in person to party or counsel.

• Person who received delivery: [________________________________]
• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid — Placed in U.S. Mail.

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Florida
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
• Note: Mail service adds 5 days to response periods under Fla. R. Civ. P.
  1.090(e) and Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.514(b).

☐ Certified Mail / Return Receipt Requested

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Commercial Carrier (Overnight)

• Carrier: [________________________________]
• Tracking No.: [________________________________]
• Date Tendered: [__/__/____]

☐ Service on Unrepresented Party (Rule 2.516(b)(1)(D)) — Party has not
designated an email address; served by:
☐ U.S. Mail ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Other: [________________________________]

Party / Counsel No. 2

Method of Service (check all that apply):

☐ Florida Courts E-Filing Portal (Automatic Service)

• Portal Submission Reference No.: [________________________________]
• Date/Time of Portal Acceptance: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Electronic Mail (Email) — Rule 2.516

• Email address(es) served: [________________________________]
• Date/Time Transmitted: [__/__/____] at [________] ☐ AM ☐ PM

☐ Hand Delivery

• Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
• Location: [________________________________]

☐ U.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid

• Mailed from: [________________________________], Florida
• Date Mailed: [__/__/____]

☐ Certified Mail

• USPS Tracking No.: [________________________________]

☐ Commercial Carrier

• Carrier: [________________] Tracking No.: [________________]

☐ Unrepresented Party (Rule 2.516(b)(1)(D))

• Method: [________________________________]

(Duplicate Party / Counsel block as needed for additional parties)

SECTION II — MULTIPLE-PARTY SERVICE TABLE

(Use when serving three or more parties; attach continuation sheets if needed)

SECTION III — SELF-REPRESENTED PARTY SERVICE (Rule 2.516(b)(1)(D))

A self-represented party who has not designated an email address for service is
exempt from mandatory email service. Service must be made as follows:

☐ The following self-represented party has not designated an email address
and was served by alternative means:

• Pro Se Party Name: [________________________________]
• Last Known Address: [________________________________]
• City, State, Zip: [________________________________]

• Method of Service:
  ☐ U.S. First-Class Mail — Date Mailed: [__/__/____]
  ☐ Hand Delivery — Date/Time: [__/__/____] at [________]
  ☐ Leaving at residence (clerk's door) — Date: [__/__/____]
  ☐ Email (if voluntarily designated by pro se party) — Date: [__/__/____]

• Notes regarding service attempt(s): [________________________________]

SECTION IV — FLORIDA E-FILING PORTAL NOTES

Mandatory E-Filing: Effective January 1, 2015, all Florida attorneys must
file through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal pursuant to Fla. R. Gen. Prac.
& Jud. Admin. 2.525. The Portal automatically generates service to all
designated email addresses upon acceptance of the filing.

Designated Email Addresses: Under Rule 2.516(b)(1)(A), an attorney must
maintain a primary designated email address and may designate up to two
secondary addresses. Service must be sent to ALL designated addresses.
Failure to serve all designated addresses may be grounds to challenge service.

Effective July 1, 2025: New signature block requirements and margin/font
requirements apply to documents filed through the e-portal. Confirm compliance
with the most current version of the Florida Rules of General Practice and
Judicial Administration before filing.

Completion of Email Service: Service by email is "complete upon
transmission" (Rule 2.516(b)(1)(E)), but if transmitted after 5:00 p.m., it is
deemed served on the next court day.

SECTION V — TIME COMPUTATION / MAIL RULE

Under Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.090(e) (incorporating Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin.
2.514(b)), when a party must act within a prescribed period after service:

• Service by U.S. Mail: add 5 additional days to the response period.
• Service by email or e-filing portal: add 0 additional days (complete
  upon transmission); however, if served after 5:00 p.m., service is deemed
  complete on the next court day.

Example: A 20-day response period triggered by mail service becomes
25 days from the date of mailing.

DECLARATION

I HEREBY CERTIFY under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

DATED this [____] day of [________________________________], [________].

_____________________________________________
[________________________________]
Florida Bar No.: [____________________]
[________________________________] (Firm Name)
[________________________________] (Street Address)
[________________________________] (City, State, Zip)
Telephone: ([____]) [____]-[________]
Facsimile:  ([____]) [____]-[________]
Primary Email:   [________________________________]
Secondary Email: [________________________________]
Attorney for [________________________________]

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. Mandatory Email Service. Florida Rule 2.516 mandates service by email for
all Florida-licensed attorneys. You must serve ALL designated email addresses.
Confirm the current designated addresses by checking the Florida Bar's online
directory or the most recent pleading filed by opposing counsel.

2. Multiple Designated Email Addresses. Rule 2.516(b)(1)(A) allows up to
three addresses (one primary, two secondary). The certificate must reflect service
on all designated addresses.

3. E-Filing Portal Auto-Service. The Florida Courts E-Filing Portal generates
automatic email notification to all participants upon filing acceptance. Many
practitioners still include a separate Certificate of Service as a best practice
and to document service on non-portal parties. Local administrative orders may
require it. Check your circuit's administrative orders.

4. Non-Lawyer / Unrepresented Party Exception. Rule 2.516(b)(1)(D): A party
who is not represented by counsel and who has not designated an email address for
service need not be served electronically. Use U.S. Mail or hand delivery.

5. Five-Day Mail Rule. Florida's additional time for mail service is 5 days
(not 3), per Rule 1.090(e). Calendar response deadlines carefully.

6. Local Circuit Rules. Some circuits (e.g., 11th Judicial Circuit — Miami-
Dade; 15th Judicial Circuit — Palm Beach; 13th Judicial Circuit — Hillsborough)
have supplemental administrative orders addressing e-filing and service. Always
check the local circuit's administrative orders in addition to the statewide rules.

7. Non-Party Service. When simultaneously serving non-parties (e.g.,
mediators, GALs, experts), list them separately with the applicable method.
Non-parties generally do not receive portal auto-service.

8. Certificate Placement. The Certificate of Service may be included at the
bottom of the document being served or filed as a separate attachment. Confirm
local practice or any standing order requirements.

Sources and References

• Florida Rule 2.516 (Service of Pleadings and Documents): https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/219094/file/RULE-2-516-Jan2014.pdf
• Florida Courts E-Filing Portal: https://myflcourtaccess.flcourts.org/
• Florida Bar — Rule 2.516 Overview: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-news/amendments-concerning-email-service/
• Tallahassee Bar Article on Rule 2.516: https://tallahasseebar.org/articles/18