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Agency Clerk

About the Agency Clerk

The Agency Clerk is the Department’s designated office to receive official filings under Florida’s Administrative Procedures Act (except for cases involving public benefits), retain the official record of administrative hearings (except for public benefits cases), maintain copies of Department orders (except for public benefits cases), receive petitions for declaratory statements, for rulemaking and for variance from or waiver of rule requirements.

Department Orders

Department orders rendered on or after July 1, 2015 are available via the Florida Agency Indexed Orders page on the Division of Administrative Hearings’ website at https://www.doah.state.fl.us/FLAIO/. Orders rendered before then may be available via a public records request or by contacting the Agency Clerk via one of the methods identified below.

Documents Received by the Agency Clerk

The following documents are to be filed with the Agency Clerk:

  • Petitions for administrative hearings (except for cases involving public benefits – those are filed with the Office of Appeal Hearings). Please note: When a Department notice provides a local address for filing a hearing request, filing at the location designated in the Department notice is considered the same as filing with the Agency Clerk.
  • Exceptions to recommended orders issued by administrative law judges or DCF hearing officers (except for Office of Appeal Hearings hearing officers – they issue final orders);
  • Petitions for waiver of or variance from DCF rules, (including those affecting public benefits);
  • Petitions for declaratory statements, (including those affecting public benefits);
  • Petitions to initiate rulemaking, (including those affecting public benefits);
  • Notices of appeal from any DCF final order (including final orders issued by Office of Appeal Hearings hearing officers).
  • Applications for determination of civil indigent status (for waiver of the appellate filing fee)

The Agency Clerk is located within the Department’s Office of the General Counsel and can be contacted at the following address, phone or fax numbers or email address.

Agency Clerk
Department of Children and Families
2415 North Monroe Street
Suite 400
Tallahassee, Florida 32303
Phone: (850) 488-2381
Fax: (850) 922-3947
Email: @email

Documents addressed to the Agency Clerk must be filed with the Agency Clerk through one of the following methods:

  • By physical delivery to the above address by hand-delivery, courier or US Mail.
  • By email to the above email address.
  • By facsimile transfer to the above fax number.

Filings will be accepted at the above address from 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m. on business days.  The filing date for a document transmitted by electronic mail or by facsimile shall be the date the agency receives the complete document. Any document received by the Agency Clerk after 5:00 p.m.  shall be filed as of 8:00 a.m. on the next regular business day.

You are responsible for ensuring that any document that you submit to the Agency Clerk (physically or electronically) is actually received by the Agency Clerk no later than the applicable deadline.  Any late receipt due to delivery or transmission problems may result in dismissal of your request.

Please note: When a Department notice provides a local address for filing a hearing request, receipt at that address is considered receipt by the Agency Clerk, and the foregoing conditions shall apply.

The Agency Clerk is not Authorized

The Agency Clerk is not authorized to accept communications concerning:

  • Any pending applications or accounts for public benefits (Financial Assistance, Medical Assistance, Social Services, or Food Stamp Program Benefits).  Communications about such subjects must be in accordance with the ACCESS Florida webpage.  Communications about such subjects received by the Agency Clerk will be returned to the sender.
  • Reports of child abuse or neglect or abuse or neglect of the elderly or vulnerable adults. Communications about such subjects must be reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-962-2872 or online via the Florida Abuse Reporting Portal.  Communications about such subjects received by the Agency Clerk will be returned to the sender.
  • Hearings regarding eligibility for an amount of public benefits. Any person seeking a hearing on such matters must submit their request to the Department’s Office of Appeal Hearings.  Requests for hearings on such matters received by the Agency Clerk will be returned to the sender.

The Agency Clerk is not authorized to accept service of process, subpoenas or other similar court documents issued to the Department or its personnel.

About the Office of Appeal Hearings

The Office of Appeal Hearings employs full time hearing officers to conduct hearings for cases involving eligibility for an amount or type of Financial Assistance, Medical Assistance, Social Services, or Food Stamp Program Benefits. These hearings are generally referred to as "Fair Hearings" in federal regulations. Filings concerning such matters are to be made with the Office of Appeal Hearings and not the Agency Clerk.

Statement of Agency Organization and Operation

The Department’s Statement of Agency Organization and Operation is provided through the Department’s main web page, www.myflfamilies.com, which provides information on the agency head, the agency’s organizational units and subunits and the manner by which publications, documents, forms, applications for licenses and similar certifications or rights granted by the agency may be obtained.