What a Broward Court Docket Shows
A Broward court docket is the running event list inside a case file. It is sometimes called the progress docket. Each line is a short, date-stamped record of one event, such as a complaint filed, an order issued, a hearing set, a bond posted, or a final disposition. The docket is held by the Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts as part of the official court file.
The Broward Clerk Case Search shows the docket inside each case detail page. A user finds a case by party name, business name, case number, or citation, then clicks into the case to read the docket. The Clerk's notice on the site says the data does not constitute the official court record, but the docket is the same one used by the court for hearings.
Progress Docket vs Document Image
The progress docket is the event list. The document image is the actual PDF of the underlying filing. Two layers, two access rules. A user can often read the progress docket online while the document image stays off-limits because Florida's access standards treat the docket as a public index and the document as a separately controlled item.
The Clerk states that Domestic Violence, Family, Guardianship, Mental Health, and Probate electronic court records require an Attorney of Record or Registered User account before any document image can be opened. That rule does not block the docket entry itself for most case types, so a public search may still show the timeline.
Broward Court Docket Event Glossary
Docket entries use short codes. A reader who does not know the codes can misread a case. The glossary below covers the most common Broward docket terms.
- Complaint
- The opening pleading in a civil case.
- Information
- The charging document filed by the State Attorney in many Florida criminal cases.
- Indictment
- The charging document returned by a grand jury.
- Arraignment
- The criminal hearing where charges are read and the defendant enters a plea.
- Motion
- A written request asking the judge to order something.
- Order
- The judge's written decision or directive.
- Capias
- Florida warrant-like order from the court, often after failure to appear.
- Alias capias
- A replacement or follow-up capias when earlier process did not succeed.
- Bond Estreated
- Bond forfeiture after a failure to appear.
- Disposition
- The final or current outcome of a charge or case.
- Withhold Adjudication
- Florida disposition where the court does not formally adjudicate guilt despite plea or finding.
- ROR
- Release on recognizance, a release without monetary bond.
Sample Broward Court Docket Entries
The fields below appear on most Broward case detail and docket pages. Sealed or confidential information is redacted under Florida Rule 2.420.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket Date | The date the event was filed or entered. |
| Event Type | Complaint, motion, order, hearing set, hearing held, plea, disposition. |
| Party / Filer | The party that filed the event when shown. |
| Document Link | PDF link when the document is viewable for the user's access level. |
| Hearing Detail | Date, time, courtroom, judge, hearing type when an event is a hearing. |
| Status / Disposition | Pending, disposed, dismissed, adjudicated, withhold, or sealed. |
| Financial Ledger | Fees, fines, costs, restitution, payment status in criminal and traffic files. |
Which Broward Courts Publish Dockets Online
Broward dockets sit across the Clerk's system for every court division in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. The same portal returns dockets from the Circuit Court and the County Court. Civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic, and misdemeanor cases all use the same case search interface. The court hierarchy page on the Florida Courts site lays out the relationship between trial and appellate dockets.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal handles Broward appeals. Appellate dockets are kept by the appellate clerk and are not in the trial-court case search. A Broward case that goes up on appeal will show a notice of appeal on the trial docket, and the appellate docket lives in the Fourth DCA system.
How to Read a Broward Court Docket
Reading a docket is a four-step process. First, identify the case type from the prefix. Second, find the most recent disposition entry. Third, work backward through hearings and orders to see how the case moved. Fourth, check for a capias, bond estreated, or warrant-related entry that may still be open.
- Pull the case in the Clerk's case search by name or case number.
- Confirm the case type and court division from the prefix and the case header.
- Scroll to the bottom of the docket list to see the most recent event.
- Read backward through hearing settings, orders, motions, and pleas.
- Watch for capias, warrant, FTA, VOP, or bond estreated entries that signal an open issue.
- Click any document link to open the filing. Documents are restricted for some case types.
- Buy an electronic certified court document at $8.00 if a court-ready copy is needed.
Criminal Docket Entries in Broward County
Criminal dockets in Broward run heavier than civil dockets. A felony case in Circuit Criminal opens with an arrest or a State Attorney filing. The docket then runs through arraignment, plea, motions, hearings, trial, and sentence. A misdemeanor case in County Criminal moves faster but uses the same structure. Bond entries, capias entries, and probation events are common in both.
Capias and bench warrants are docketed events. A capias issued entry after a failure to appear is a sign of an open law enforcement order. A capias recalled or quashed entry is a sign the court withdrew the order. A bond estreated entry signals bond forfeiture. For a deeper walkthrough of the warrant side, see the Broward warrant records page.
Civil Docket Entries in Broward County
Civil dockets in Broward move from complaint to final judgment. The Circuit Civil docket carries cases above $50,000 and equitable matters. The County Civil docket carries small claims, evictions, and lower-value civil suits. The Clerk's case search visible civil case types include Distress for Rent and Eviction, PIP Small Claims, Removal of Tenant, Removal of Tenant and Damages, Removal of Tenant Non-Residential, Removal of Tenant Residential, SC Distress and Damages, Small Claims, Administrative Appeal, Certiorari Appeal, County Court Appeal, and Bond Validation.
A typical civil docket runs through complaint, summons issued, service return, answer, motions, scheduling order, mediation, hearings, and final judgment. Lis pendens, writs of possession, and satisfactions of judgment often follow in real-property and collection cases.
Probate, Family, and Domestic Violence Docket Restrictions
Family, probate, guardianship, mental health, and domestic violence dockets carry tighter rules. A docket entry can show on the public search while the underlying document image needs registered access. The Clerk's records-request page is clear on this and routes registered access through the Attorney of Record and Registered User accounts.
Divorce document images filed after 2002 are not online under a Florida Supreme Court order. The docket can still show what was filed. Mental health and guardianship docket entries often carry confidential field redactions that hide medical detail, financial detail, and minor-child detail. For more on those record types, see Broward probate records and marriage and divorce records.
Certified Docket Copies in Broward County
For a court-ready copy of a Broward docket, order an electronic certified court document from the Clerk. The fee is $8.00 per document, paid online by credit card. Plain paper copies in person cost $1.00 per page. Certification adds $2.00 per document. A records search runs $2.00 per year searched. Documents over 100 pages are not sold as online certified documents and need an in-person or records-by-request route.
Note: An electronic certified court document from the Broward Clerk never expires, but a receiving agency may set its own age limit for an acceptable certified copy.