Electronic viewing of many court records, indexes and dockets as well as non-confidential document images is currently available on our Hillsborough Online Viewing of Electronic Records (HOVER) site.

If you are authorized under Florida Rules of Judicial Administration to view a court file but are unable to view in online and/or you need a copy, you may view or pick up a copy of the file at our Tampa Edgecomb or Plant City locations. To allow adequate time for redaction processing, it may take four business days for your file to be available for on-site viewing and/or pick-up. We suggest that you pre-order the file for onsite viewing or pick-up by completing the Order Form for Circuit Criminal files.

The Clerk's Office receives the initial paperwork from the Hillsborough County Jail after a felony arrest. The Felony Department prepares the official court file, including the original arrest document as well as any release forms. This information is also forwarded to the Office of the State Attorney. The State Attorney then reviews the case and makes the determination on whether or not to file formal charges.

When formal charges are filed with the Clerk's Office you will be notified by mail of an arraignment date. If you bonded out of jail, your bail bond agent will be notified as well. All notices will be sent to the address that was provided at the time of arrest.

If you move, it is your responsibility to notify the Clerk's Office of your new address by using the Designation of Current Mailing and E-Mail Address Form.

An arraignment is a hearing where a defendant is advised of the formal charges filed by the State Attorney and is allowed to enter a plea to the charges. At the arraignment, a pre-trial date and possibly a trial date will be set.

The Felony Department of the Clerk's Office cannot change your court date. Please contact your attorney to help you with this issue.

Effective July 31, 2017 the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office will continue to collect the cash bonds posted on behalf of the defendant, but will transmit the monies to the Clerk of the Circuit Court (Clerk). The Clerk will be responsible for processing the distribution of the cash bonds post disposition.  More information is available in the Cash Bond Depositor Instructions.

See Felony Fees for more information.

Mail: PO Box 3360, Tampa, FL 33601-3360

Email: Contact us

Phone: (813) 276-8100

In person: Downtown Tampa, Plant City, Brandon, Ruskin (Southshore). See wait times. Make appointment to file cases in Tampa.

Find out more about virtual, online and Zoom court hearings