Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.525

FILING

sha256 7f6ea13523047bfb5bd5bec54174956e… · retrieved 8/16/2026, 9:15:37 PM · The Florida Bar consolidated ed. eff. 07-01-2026 (pinned Gen-Prac-Jud-Admin-Rules-07-01-26.pdf; the compilation's own ledger runs through SC2025-0725, eff. 7-1-26) · verified 8/16/2026 by gl3-furniture-identical-reload

RULE 2.525. 	FILING
(a) 	Official Court File. The official court file is a set of
electronic documents docketed and stored in a computer system

 

 
maintained by the clerk under this rule. Documents in the official
court file are originals for all purposes except as otherwise provided
by statute or rule.
(b) 	Portal Filing.
(1) 	Attorneys must file through the portal or other
designated electronic court filing facility according to its
instructions.
(2) 	An unrepresented party who is not a member of The
Florida Bar or an attorney admitted pro hac vice may elect to file
through the portal or other designated electronic court filing facility
by registering with the portal or designated electronic court filing
facility according to its instructions. Once the election is made, it
may not be withdrawn without leave of court.
(3) 	No other method of filing is permitted except as
provided in subdivision (c) of this rule or otherwise authorized by
the Florida Courts Technology Standards.
(c) 	Documents Submitted to Clerk for Filing.
(1) 	A paper document may be submitted to the clerk for
filing, which the clerk will convert to electronic format, if the:
(A) 	document is submitted for filing by an
unrepresented party who has not elected to participate
electronically in accordance with subdivision (b)(2) or who has
obtained leave of court to withdraw the election;
(B) 	document is submitted for filing by a judge,
magistrate, clerk, or other court official;
(C) 	document is accepted for filing by a judicial
officer in open court or in chambers, in which case the judicial
officer must note the date of receipt on the document and submit it
to the clerk for filing;

 

 
(D) 	filing of the original paper document is
required by order, rule, or statute; or
(E) 	court so orders.
(2) 	Unless prohibited by order, rule, or statute, after
conversion to an electronic form, the clerk will dispose of paper
documents submitted for filing or return them to the filer if the filer
provides a self-addressed postage-prepaid envelope to the clerk at
the time of submission.
(d) 	Notarized and Verified Documents. If a document is
sworn, notarized, or verified, the jurat or other act of verification
may either be electronically created as permitted by law and in
accordance with the Florida Courts Technology Standards, or may
initially be committed to paper, scanned, and filed, either as part of
an electronically filed document or with a cover page containing the
style of the case, name of the document, and certificate of service.
(e) 	Filed Date and Time . A successfully filed document’s file
date and time is the earlier of the date and time:
(1) 	stamp applied to the document by the portal or
other designated electronic court filing facility;
(2) 	applied to the document by the clerk’s manual
stamp for documents filed under subdivision (c)(1)(A) or (c)(1)(B); or
(3) 	applied to the document pursuant to subdivision
(c)(1)(C).
(f) 	Docketing by Clerk; Unsuccessful Filing Attempt;
Noncompliant Electronic Documents; Corrections Queue. When
a document is submitted for filing under subdivision (b) or (c), the
clerk is obligated to make it part of the official court file and index it
in the progress docket of the case unless subdivision (f)(1) applies.
(1) 	A submitted document will be placed into a
correction queue and will not be docketed only if it:

 

 
(A) 	filed after a case number is assigned and lacks
a correct case number and the correct case number cannot be
reliably and easily identified;
(B) 	lacks a case style or has the wrong case style;
and
(C) 	consists of multiple documents filed as 1
document;
(D) 	consists of a multi-page document filed as
separate documents;
(E) 	is a proposed order, unless it is filed under a
notice of filing for purposes of preserving a record;
(F) 	is illegible, corrupt, or blank; or
(G) 	is barred by order of court or is otherwise
incapable of being filed in the clerk’s case maintenance system.
(2) 	If subdivision (f)(1) applies and the relevant case can
be identified, the clerk, portal, or other designated electronic court
filing facility will immediately notify the filer and all persons initially
served with that document specifying the reason the filing was
unsuccessful and has been placed in the correction queue. The filer
will be responsible for notifying a party participating in paper form
under subdivision (c) of this rule. If the relevant case cannot be
determined, the clerk will notify the person who submitted the
document. The clerk, portal, or other designated electronic court
filing facility will hold the document in the correction queue for an
additional 30 days from the date the filer was notified of the
unsuccessful filing. During those 30 days, the person who
submitted it may:
(A) 	file a new document that remedies the reasons
stated in the notice but is otherwise substantially identical, which if
successfully filed, relates back to the date of the unsuccessful filing
attempt and permits disposal of the document in the correction
queue;

 

 
(B) 	file a motion for review of the clerk’s action,
attaching a copy of the document, in which case the clerk, portal, or
other designated electronic court filing facility must hold the
document until the motion is decided by the court; or
(C) 	take no action under subdivisions (f)(2)(A) or
(f)(2)(B), thereby abandoning the document.
(3) 	Except for the reasons set forth in subdivision (f)(1)
of this rule, the clerk will docket all documents submitted for filing.
The clerk may note if it appears a document was not submitted in
compliance with rules of procedure in its associated docket entry, at
which point the court may strike the noncompliant document.
Court Commentary
2025 Amendment. This rule prohibits docketing of proposed
orders unless they are submitted under a notice of filing for the
purpose of preserving a record. This prohibition is required because
a proposed order submitted for a judge’s signature is not intended
to be filed and docketed until signed by the judge.
1997 Amendment. Originally, the rule provided that the
follow-up filing had to occur within ten days. In the 1997
amendment to the rule, that requirement was modified to provide
that the follow-up filing must occur “immediately” after a document
is electronically filed. The “immediately thereafter” language is
consistent with language used in the rules of procedure where, in a
somewhat analogous situation, the filing of a document may occur
after service. See, e.g., Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.080(d) (“All
original papers shall be filed with the court either before service or
immediately thereafter.”) (emphasis added). “Immediately thereafter”
has been interpreted to mean “filed with reasonable promptness.”
Miami Transit Co. v. Ford, 155 So.2d 360 (Fla.1963).
The use of the words “other person” in this rule is not meant
to allow a nonlawyer to sign and file pleadings or other papers on
behalf of another. Such conduct would constitute the unauthorized
practice of law.

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