Lee County
Founded in 1887, Lee County is located in southwest Florida. It encompasses 781.0 square miles of land area and is home to over 760,000 people. The county is named for a confederate general in the American Civil War - Robert E. Lee.
There is a county court and a circuit court in Lee County. These two courts make up the trial court system in the county. The county court has limited jurisdiction over certain types of criminal and civil cases. Violations of county and municipal ordinances, juvenile traffic cases, civil and equity cases where the amount in dispute is less than $15,000, exclusive of costs, interests, and attorney fees are heard in the county court
The county court in Lee County shares jurisdiction with the circuit court in some landlord-tenant and homeowners' associations cases. Also, the court handles uncontested divorce and civil dissolution cases.
The Lee County circuit court handles cases beyond the jurisdiction of the county court, such as felony cases. The court handles civil cases such as general civil claims where the amount in controversy exceeds $15,000, exclusive of costs, interest, and attorney fees. Probate matters, trusts, estates, guardianships, divorce, child custody, mental health, and juvenile cases are handled in the circuit courts.
The Lee County clerk of the circuit court maintains court records for the court actions in the county. While the clerk maintains public and confidential court records, only public records are open to members of the public. You can obtain certified court record documents by visiting the office of the clerk of the circuit court at:
Lee County Justice Center
1700 Monroe Street
Fort Myers, FL 33902
The office of the clerk of the circuit court also maintains a court records inquiry portal which allows public viewing of certain court records under the Supreme Court Administrative Order AOSC 18-16. Through the portal, users can pay for certain electronically certified court documents. There is an $8 per document for certified documents which are delivered via email. The court records inquiry portal allows users to search case information by party name, case number, citation number, and filing number in the following case types:
- Adult-felony
- Circuit civil
- County civil
- County ordinance
- Criminal traffic
- Domestic relations
- Detention hearing
- Guardianship
- Juvenile delinquency
- Juvenile dependency
- Mental health
- Misdemeanor
- Municipal ordinance
- Parking ticket
- Probate
- Small claims
- Traffic infraction
