Lee County Court Records

Lee County court records are legal documents created and filed by the court clerk in a civil, criminal, traffic, family, or probate court proceeding. Court records in this county typically comprise petitions, expert witness reports, transcripts, electronic files, notices, affidavits, warrants, docket entries, orders, and verdicts.

Lee County Court records are legal documents that help file and keep track of petitions, motions, orders, and judgments issued by the court. Owing to their public nature, they are a means of transparency and ensuring that judges and other court staff follow due protocol and that persons awaiting trial are not unnecessarily delayed or prejudiced.

Are Court Records Public in Lee County?

Yes. In line with the Florida Sunshine Law and Rules of Judicial Administration, all records and papers created, filed, and maintained by a public agency in the exercise of their duty shall be publicly available for inspection and copying. These laws are, however, subject to certain restrictions. Rule 2.420(c) (Public Access to Judicial Branch Records) states that the following records of the Courts in Florida shall be confidential:

• Copies of arrest or search warrants returned to the judges
• All records designated as confidential under federal or state laws
• A court record labeled as confidential to protect sensitive information, prevent injury or damage
• To comply with public policy under federal or state laws
• Bank information
• Adoption records
• Health records
• Grand jury records
• Birth records and part of death records
• Guardianship reports.

Lee County Court Records Search

Researchers and other interested persons can perform a Lee County Court Records Search using the following resources:

• The office of the clerk of the courthouse where the case was filed.
• The Lee County Court Records Search website
• Florida Courts Online Public Dockets
• Third-party court records search databases.

Lee County Court Records Search by Name

Interested persons can lookup the Lee County Court Records by name online. The Clerk of Courts case management tool allows users to search by first, last, and middle name, case number, citation number, and hearing dates.

Researchers may find court records on any of the following case types: felony, appeals, circuit, civil, ordinance criminal traffic, domestic relations, guardianship, misdemeanors, municipal ordinances, parking tickets, probate, small claims, and traffic infraction cases. Family law, juvenile, custody, and mental health-related case records are only available to specific registered user groups. The general public cannot access them.

Court case information on court websites is often redacted to protect confidential information. Researchers who want to obtain complete or certified copies of court records must:

• Schedule an appointment (where applicable)
• Visit the specific courthouse with a state-issued means of identification and details about the record they wish to receive (name of the party, case number, hearing date, etc.).
• Pay all required search, certification, and copying fees.

Alternatively, interested persons can pay for electronically certified documents. These documents cost $8 each and will be delivered to the requester via mail.

Lee County Courts

The Lee County court system consists mainly of trial courts with specialized divisions. The circuit court has original jurisdiction over civil disputes over $50,000, juvenile cases, probate and family law matters, property-related suits, and criminal trials for felonies committed within the county. County courts adjudicate misdemeanors, traffic, and other simple offenses, small civil claims, and civil disputes under $50,000.

Below is the contact information of courts in Lee County, Florida.

Lee County Justice Center
2075 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
Ft. Myers, FL 33901
Phone: (239) 533-5000

Lee County Administration Court
200 Maine Avenue
Fort Myers, FL 33905
Phone: (239) 533-9197

Lee County Circuit Court
1700 Monroe Street
Fort Myers, FL 33901
Phone: (239) 533-1717

Lee County Circuit Court Case Search

The Lee County Circuit Court has original jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters and can sit over various issues. The court can also hear appeals from lower courts in the county and review and reverse judgments made in error. The circuit court handles civil cases and disputes over $50,000, family law matters, criminal prosecution for felonies, guardianship, juvenile delinquency and dependency, mental health, and probate-related matters.

Per Florida Sunshine Laws and the Rule of Judicial Administration, the public can view and request copies of court records. The court records inquiry website offers limited access to users depending on the category of the searcher and the nature and confidentiality of the records. There are no fees required to view or access court records online. Interested persons may also submit an electronic request for court records and information unavailable on the court inquiry site.

Interested individuals may also lookup court records by scheduling a visit to the office of the Lee County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller.

The following fees apply to electronic and physical requests for copies of court papers:

• E-Certification: $2 statutory fee plus $6 e-Certify fee per document
• Search Fee: $2
• Certification of Documents: $2 per page
• Copies of Documents: $1 per page.

Lee County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller
2075 Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
Fort Myers, FL33901
Phone: (239) 533-5000

Cape Coral Branch - Lee County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller
1039 Southeast 9th Place, 2nd Floor
Cape Coral, FL 33990
Phone: (239) 533-5000

Lee County District Court Records

The Lee County Circuit Court is one of the courts classified under Florida’s Sixth District Court of Appeal. As a District Court of Appeal, this court reviews the decisions of lower trial courts to correct prior judgments made in error to protect citizens' rights to fair hearing, ensure transparency and consistency in the application of the law, and ensure proper administration of justice. Florida District Appellate Court records can be accessed through the Florida Online Public Dockets search website.

Lee County Criminal Records

The Central Records Division of the Lee County Sheriff's Office maintains all criminal reports and records generated in the county. These records are open for public inspection per the Florida Sunshine Law. It includes access to background checks, traffic incident reports, and criminal offense reports.

To lookup criminal records, visit the Public Records Request Portal or the Lee County Sheriff's Office in person during business hours. For physical or online searches, requestors must provide the case number, date, location of the incident, and names of the arrested persons. The Sheriff’s Office charges search fees for time spent finding and producing the requested record. Fees can be paid in cash, by business check, or by money order.

Central Records Division
14750 Six Mile Cypress Parkway
Fort Myers, FL 33912
Phone: (239) 477-1350

Concerned persons may also find Lee County Arrest Records on the Lee County Sheriff’s Office Arrest Search website. Researchers may retrieve Lee Arrest records and information on individuals recently arrested and released from official custody or county jails.

Lee County Criminal Court Case Lookup

Interested persons may lookup Lee County criminal court records at the county courthouse where the case was adjudicated or at the Lee County Court Records inquiry site. Researchers may also find criminal court case information through third-party sites.

Get Lee County Civil Court Records

Lee County Civil Court Records are records relating to matters between private individuals-unlike criminal court case records where the state is the prosecutor.

Civil court records are documents on cases involving tort claims, evictions, settlement claims, property disputes, contract disputes, intellectual property infringement, foreclosures, adoption, child custody, divorce, and other family law matters.

Civil court records are available at the clerk’s office in the case where the case was filed or online via the Lee County Circuit Court Records Search website. However, members of the public may not be able to obtain confidential court records in family law cases.

Lee County Family Court Records

The Lee County Circuit Court has an in-house Family Courts division. The family court handles child custody, dissolution of marriage, adoption, child support, paternity disputes, etc. Online information on family records is mainly restricted. Only a specific category of people may successfully retrieve such records. For example, parents, legal representatives, law enforcement agencies, and judicial officers. Authorized parties may retrieve Lee County Family Court Records from the Florida Department of Health or the Lee County Circuit Court.

Lee Dissolution of Marriage Records

Dissolution of Marriage Records may be ordered from the Bureau of Vital Statistics or the Circuit Court Clerk's Office. After a marriage has been dissolved, the Circuit Court Clerk transfers all related documents to the Bureau of Vital Statistics for permanent filing. To obtain a Florida Dissolution of Marriage Certificate, the requestor must be one of the spouses, their legal representative, or be significantly related to either spouse.

The Bureau of Vital Statistics allows walk-in or mail-request services. All requests attract a $5 search and single copy fee, $4 for extra copies, $10 for same-day services, and a $1 shipping and handling fee. The fee is payable by cash, check, money order, Visa, or MasterCard for walk-in requests and by cash check or money order for mail requests.

Mail requests must include information about the records (Full name of both spouses as contained in the record, date of dissolution, and the county where the dissolution was granted) and information about the requesting party (Applicants full name, mailing address, phone number, signature, and nature of the relationship to person on dissolution of marriage record).

The Bureau of Vital Statistics
1217 North Pearl Street
Jacksonville, FL 32202.

Mail Address:

Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics
P.O. Box 210
Jacksonville, FL 32231-0042.

Lee County Marriage and Divorce Records

Lee County Divorce records are dissolution of marriage records and can be obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics or the circuit court clerk. The Bureau of Vital Statistics permits walk-in and mail-request services. Individuals can get a copy of their Lee County Marriage Certificate on the Lee County Circuit Court’s Official Records search page. A search may be performed by name, document type, case number, file number, book and page, and filing date range.

Lee Birth and Death Records

The Florida Department of Health is the official custodian of Lee County Birth and Death Records. Anyone may obtain Lee County Death certificates that do not include the cause of death. For Lee County Birth Certificates, only parents, legal representatives, legal guardians, and the person named on the record who must be above 18 can obtain this record. Birth and death records are helpful in issues of inheritance claims, tracing family lineage, and applying for government-issued means of identification and social security numbers.

Mailing Address

Bureau of Vital Statistics
83 Pondella Road
North Fort Myers, FL 33903
Phone: (239) 332-9572

Lee County Probate Court Records

Probate courts oversee a deceased person's will to ensure all their creditors are paid, and legal heirs receive personal and real estate. Probate court records include wills, codicils, petitions, inventories, appraisals, accounts, decrees, and orders. The Lee County Circuit Court has original jurisdiction over probate matters. Interested persons can obtain Lee County Probate Records from either the Circuit Court Clerk's Office, the court’s inquiry website, or by submitting a records request online.

Lee County Property Records

Lee County Property Records include property information, deeds, mortgages, tax records, easements, liens, maps, plats, and foreclosures. The Lee County Property Appraiser and the county court clerk are the custodians of property records. Property records maintained by the Clerk of the Court are available for public viewership at the Official Records Search Page.

Property information in the custody of the Property Appraiser includes STRAP/Folio ID, the property owner’s details, property address and description, appraisal records, and property tax records. Individuals can search by name, parcel, owner/company’s name, street number, postal code, and property description.

Lee County Court Records Online

Researchers may use third-party search applications as an alternate means to find Lee County Court Records. Third-party websites like courtrecords.us are privately owned and are not associated with government agencies. These sites compile information from multiple sources in a single database. This option is convenient when a searcher wishes to find records of various courts in one place.

Anyone may find public records on these sites. Unlike other search sources, third-party search tools have less rigid search criteria. Users can lookup court records by name only. However, third-party sites do not offer free record searches, and users may have to pay per search or periodically. Also, because they are not government-affiliated, the information on their platforms may be incomplete or inaccurate.