The clerk of court is not the judge and not the prosecutor. The clerk keeps the file, takes the money, and runs the public record. Almost everything you need in the first week of a case, your next court date, what you were actually charged with, what you owe and whether you can pay it over time, comes from the clerk rather than from anyone else.
These are the direct links for all six counties I practice in, checked rather than copied from a search engine. Clerk sites reorganize often and old links keep ranking after they die, which is exactly how people end up on a lookalike payment site.
Pinellas County
| Clerk homepage | mypinellasclerk.gov |
| Search your case | Records Inquiry, no registration for most records |
| Pay fines and costs | traffic, parking, and criminal case balances |
| Traffic and parking | driving school elections run through the e-payment portal |
| Payment plans | criminal and juvenile page |
| Hearing search | find the date and time of a setting |
| Office wait times | check before you drive over |
Where to go in person
Pinellas County Justice Center, 14250 49th Street North, Clearwater. This is the criminal courthouse. Criminal court records, criminal customer service, jury service.
Clearwater Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Clearwater. Civil, family, probate, official records. Not criminal.
St. Petersburg Branch, 545 1st Avenue North, Room 153, St. Petersburg. Takes traffic citation payments and injunction filings. Not a criminal records counter.
North County Service Center, 3165 McMullen Booth Rd., Clearwater. Takes traffic, criminal and misdemeanor fines and costs.
Pinellas runs free Self Help Centers where you can get attorney assistance by appointment, at the Clearwater Courthouse (Room 114) and the St. Petersburg Judicial Building (Room 103). The clerk is also currently warning about a traffic citation text scam and a juror fine phone scam. The clerk will not call or text you demanding payment.
See also: Pinellas County.
Hillsborough County
| Clerk homepage | hillsclerk.com |
| Search your case | HOVER, Hillsborough Online Viewing of Electronic Records |
| Pay fines and costs | note the 3.5 percent online surcharge; cash is taken at Amscot |
| Traffic | citations, options and deadlines |
| Elect driving school | the election itself |
| Request a court hearing on a citation | instead of just paying it |
| Which division is my case in | address-based lookup, Tampa or East division |
| Representing yourself | forms, e-filing and legal aid links |
Where to go in person
George E. Edgecomb Courthouse, 800 E. Twiggs Street, Tampa. The downtown criminal courthouse. Also open weekends and holidays 7 to 10 a.m. for restraining orders.
Plant City Courthouse, 301 North Michigan Ave, Room 1071, Plant City. Full service including criminal and traffic.
Brandon Regional Service Center, 311 Pauls Drive, Suite 110, Brandon. Criminal and traffic, civil, family, probate. Closes at 4 p.m.
Pat Collier Frank Courthouse, 419 Pierce Street, Room 140, Tampa. Recording, passports, marriage licenses. Not criminal or traffic.
The clerk’s phone line is answered 24 hours a day, every day, which is unusual and genuinely useful if you are trying to confirm a court date at night.
See also: my guide to that courthouse and Hillsborough County.
Pasco County
| Clerk homepage | pascoclerk.com |
| Search your case | runs on the state Civitek system |
| Pay fines and costs | traffic and court costs |
| Apply for a payment plan | note the service fee per case plus a down payment |
| Legal Resource Center | staffed self-help at both judicial centers |
| E-filing | including for people representing themselves |
Where to go in person
Robert D. Sumner Judicial Center, 38053 Live Oak Avenue, Dade City. East Pasco court operations: hearings, trials, jury duty, traffic tickets, fines and costs.
West Pasco Judicial Center, 7530 Little Road, New Port Richey. West Pasco court operations: hearings, trials, jury duty, traffic tickets, fines and costs.
East Pasco Government Center, 14236 6th Street, Dade City. Non-court business only. Marriage, passports, recording.
West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Drive, New Port Richey. Non-court business only.
Pasco is the county people most often get wrong, because it splits court business from non-court business across different buildings in the same towns. If your matter is a case, you want a Judicial Center, not a Government Center. Pasco is one of only two counties here that publishes direct division numbers: criminal records is (352) 521-4489 in Dade City and (727) 847-8962 in New Port Richey; traffic is (352) 521-4542 and (727) 847-8031.
See also: my guide to that courthouse and Pasco County.
Manatee County
| Clerk homepage | manateeclerk.com |
| Search your case | search by name, case number or citation number |
| Today’s hearings by judge | docket view with weekly and monthly options |
| Online services and payments | fines, payment plans and financial recovery |
| Pay a citation | traffic |
| Traffic department | options, deadlines and the election form |
| Public records request |
Where to go in person
Manatee County Judicial Center, 1115 Manatee Avenue West, Bradenton. Every department including criminal and traffic works from this one address. Open 8:30 to 4:30.
Manatee publishes direct division numbers: criminal is (941) 741-4019 and traffic is (941) 741-4060. Driving school is not an online election here. You pay the fine, complete the option form, and file it with the clerk within thirty calendar days, then send the certificate to the traffic division.
See also: my guide to that courthouse and Manatee County.
Sarasota County
| Clerk homepage | sarasotaclerk.com |
| Search your case | ClerkNet. Choose General Public User Access for immediate entry |
| Criminal court | what the criminal division handles |
| Traffic tickets | options and deadlines |
| Get a ticket dismissed or elect school | carries the option form and the payment plan request |
| Submit traffic documents | school certificates and proof of compliance |
| Traffic payment scams | read this before paying anyone |
| Request court records |
Where to go in person
Sarasota County Historic Courthouse, 2000 Main Street, Sarasota. Criminal court and traffic. Customer service Room 102, public access records Room 103. Street level access is from the Ringling Boulevard entrance only.
South County Courthouse, Venice, 4004 S. Tamiami Trail, Venice. Full service branch including criminal and traffic. Jury reporting is next door at 4000 S. Tamiami Trail.
Sarasota changed payment vendors recently, so old links still circulating in search results no longer work. Start from the clerk’s own traffic page rather than from a search engine, and be wary of any site that is not sarasotaclerk.com asking you to pay a Sarasota citation.
See also: my guide to that courthouse and Sarasota County.
DeSoto County
| Clerk homepage | desotoclerk.com |
| Search your case | runs on the state Civitek system; traffic from 1995 forward |
| Civil traffic | payment and the driving school election affidavit |
| Misdemeanor and criminal traffic | |
| Felony | |
| Zoom hearings | the clearest appearance guidance any of the six clerks publishes |
| Jury service | postponement form; requests due at least five business days ahead |
| Public records request |
Where to go in person
DeSoto County Courthouse, 115 East Oak Street, Room 101, Arcadia. One office, all matters. Open 8:30 to 4:30 and closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch, which catches people who drive in from out of county.
DeSoto is the one clerk of the six that publishes real appearance guidance for remote hearings, and it is worth reading even if your case is elsewhere. It covers how to name yourself on screen, muting, dress and conduct, and the rule that exhibits must go in at least three working days before the hearing through the statewide filing portal.
See also: my guide to that courthouse and DeSoto County.
Two things worth knowing before you click anything
Nobody from the clerk will call, text or email you demanding payment. Pinellas and Sarasota both currently publish scam warnings, covering a traffic citation text scam and a phone scam where someone claims you missed jury duty and owes a fine. A real unpaid obligation shows up in your case file, which you can check yourself using the search links above. If you are ever unsure, start at the clerk domain listed here and navigate from there rather than following a link someone sent you.
Paying a traffic ticket is a conviction. Paying online is the fastest way to resolve a citation and, for some offenses, the worst one, because payment is an admission and the points and insurance consequences follow. Before you pay anything, it is worth knowing whether you had the option to elect school, request a hearing, or get the citation dismissed. Every county above has a page for exactly that, linked in its table.
Common questions
What does the clerk of court actually do?
The clerk keeps the file, takes the money and runs the public record. Your next court date, what you were charged with, what you owe and whether you can pay it over time all come from the clerk. The clerk is not the judge and not the prosecutor, and does not decide anything about your case.
How do I find my next court date?
Search your case on your county’s clerk site using the links above. Most of the six let you search by name or case number without registering. Pinellas also publishes a hearing search, and Manatee publishes a docket view showing hearings by judge. If the record and a notice you received disagree, call the clerk and confirm rather than guessing.
Should I just pay my traffic ticket online?
Understand what paying does before you do it. Paying a citation is an admission, and the conviction, the points and the insurance consequences follow from it. For some offenses that is the worst available outcome. Every county above has a page explaining whether you can elect driving school, request a hearing, or seek dismissal instead.
How do I know a payment website is legitimate?
Start at the clerk domain listed on this page and navigate from there, rather than following a link someone sent you or a search result. Pinellas and Sarasota both currently publish scam warnings, covering a citation text scam and a phone scam about missed jury duty. Nobody from the clerk will call, text or email demanding payment.
Do I go to the courthouse or the government center?
In Pasco this catches people out, because court business and non-court business are split across different buildings in the same towns. If your matter is a case, you want a Judicial Center, not a Government Center. In the other counties, check the in-person list above, because several have branches that take traffic payments but do not handle criminal records.
Can the clerk tell me what to do about my case?
No. Clerk staff are helpful and are not permitted to give legal advice. They can tell you what is in your file, what you owe and when you are due in court. They cannot tell you whether to take an offer or whether paying a citation will cost you your license.
What the clerk cannot do for you
Clerk staff are helpful and they are not allowed to give legal advice. They can tell you what is in your file, what you owe and when you are due in court. They cannot tell you whether to take an offer, whether paying a citation will cost you your license, or whether a charge can be reduced. That line is real and it is not them being unhelpful.
If you want to know what happens to your case rather than where it is filed, that is the conversation to have with a lawyer. My guides to each courthouse cover the practical side, parking, entrances, which floor and what to wear, and the know your judge page covers how to find the published procedures for whoever is hearing your case.
If you are looking at a court date and are not sure what you are walking into, call or text me at (727) 761-4318. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
