Volusia County Court Cases

What Volusia County Court Is

Florida's trial court system has two levels. The Circuit Court is the general-jurisdiction court for Volusia County. It handles felonies, family law, probate, guardianship, juvenile matters, and larger civil cases. The County Court sits below it. It is the limited-jurisdiction trial court, and it handles the smaller but more frequent legal matters that come up in everyday life. Both courts are part of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, which covers Volusia, Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns counties.

County Court judges in Volusia are county judges, not circuit judges. The Seventh Judicial Circuit includes 44 judges in total, 27 circuit judges and 17 county court judges. County judges are elected and serve four-year terms. They preside over the classes of cases that fall within County Court's statutory jurisdiction, which is defined by the Florida Constitution and Florida Statutes rather than by local rule. When a defendant convicted in County Court wants to appeal a ruling, the case goes up to the Circuit Court sitting in its appellate capacity, not directly to the Fifth District Court of Appeal. The Fifth District handles appeals from Circuit Court decisions.

Users from other states sometimes search for a "District Court" when they mean the local trial court. In Florida, that label belongs to the federal system or to the appellate Districts Courts of Appeal. The local trial courts are the Circuit Court and the County Court. If the matter involves a misdemeanor charge, a traffic ticket, or a small-dollar civil claim, the answer is almost always the County Court.

Volusia County Court vs Circuit Court

The difference between the two courts matters when you are looking for a case. A felony arrest record lives in Circuit Court. A misdemeanor arrest record lives in County Court. Filing a small-claims suit goes to County Court. Suing for damages above the County Court civil limit goes to Circuit Court. Knowing which side of the line your case is on saves time. The table below covers the key differences.

For a full picture of Circuit Court divisions, judge assignments, and how felony and family cases work, see the Volusia County Circuit Court page.

Types of Cases in Volusia County Court

County Court jurisdiction in Florida covers several distinct areas. Most people who appear before a county judge are there for a misdemeanor charge, a traffic citation, or a civil money dispute. Landlord-tenant cases make up a large share of the civil docket. The categories below cover the main types found in Volusia County Court records.

Misdemeanor Criminal

Second-degree and first-degree misdemeanors under Florida law. Common examples include petty theft, simple battery, driving with a suspended license (first offense), disorderly conduct, and trespassing. These cases go through arraignment, motion practice, and either a plea or trial in County Court. Criminal records from these cases are public unless sealed or expunged.

Criminal Traffic

Some traffic offenses carry criminal consequences and may be processed in County Court depending on the charge level. Driving under the influence (DUI) charges are typically filed in Circuit Court when they reach felony level, but first-time and second-time DUI charges without aggravating factors may be handled at the county level. Check the specific case type to confirm which court has it.

Non-Criminal Traffic Infractions

Speeding tickets, red-light violations, equipment violations, and other civil traffic infractions are not criminal cases. They are civil matters in County Court. Most residents encounter these through a mailed citation or a stop by law enforcement. The Clerk's Citation Inquiry portal covers non-criminal violations from January 1, 1990 to present.

Small Claims

Civil money disputes under the County Court's jurisdictional dollar limit go through the small-claims division. Small-claims cases are designed to let individuals and businesses resolve lower-dollar disputes without attorneys, though parties may bring counsel. Common examples are debt collection disputes, security deposit cases, and contract disagreements.

Landlord-Tenant

Eviction actions and related landlord-tenant disputes are heard in County Court. A landlord seeking to remove a tenant for non-payment of rent or lease violation files in the county civil division. These are among the most frequent County Court filings in Volusia County. Tenants can file defenses and counterclaims in the same action.

County Civil

Other civil matters within the County Court's civil jurisdictional limit fall under general county civil. Breach of contract, civil debt, property damage claims below the civil limit, and similar matters are filed here rather than in Circuit Court.

Note: Criminal traffic cases involving a felony-level charge, such as a third or subsequent DUI, vehicular homicide, or fleeing and eluding, are filed in Circuit Court rather than County Court.

Citation Inquiry for Volusia County Court

For non-criminal traffic matters, the Volusia County Citation Inquiry portal is the direct tool. It covers violation information from January 1, 1990 to the present. You do not need a case number to start. A last name and first name will return matching citations. If you have the citation identification number from the ticket itself, entering that gets you directly to the record.

The Citation Inquiry result shows detailed information about the violation, the statute cited, the current status of the citation, and account or payment data. This is a separate tool from the Case Inquiry portal, which covers criminal, civil, and family cases. Use Citation Inquiry for a traffic ticket; use Case Inquiry for a misdemeanor criminal charge.

For more on traffic records, including the difference between a court traffic record and a state driver record, see the traffic court records page.

How to Search Volusia County Court Cases

County Court cases are stored in the same system as Circuit Court cases. The Clerk of the Circuit Court maintains both. For any case beyond a simple traffic infraction, the right tool is the Clerk's Case Inquiry portal. County civil cases and misdemeanor criminal cases both fall under "County Civil" and "Criminal" case types in the search interface. Use the steps below to find a County Court case by name or case number.

1. Go to the Clerk Search Records page at clerk.org. It is the central starting point for all Volusia court record searches.
2. Choose Case Inquiry. The portal covers Circuit Civil, County Civil, Family Law, Probate, and Criminal case records.
3. Accept the public-use disclaimer. The Clerk states the tool is for personal public informational use, is not the official record, and that certified copies may be purchased separately.
4. Enter the party's name or the case number in the search fields. For a name search, set the Case Type dropdown to "County Civil" for civil and landlord-tenant matters, or to "Criminal" for misdemeanor cases.
5. Review the result list. Open a case to see the case detail and docket tabs. Many public document images appear on the docket tab automatically. Some must be reviewed and released by the Clerk before they show online.
6. For a traffic citation specifically, go back to the Search Records page and use Citation Inquiry instead. It is a different tool with its own search fields and covers non-criminal violations from 1990 forward.
7. For a scheduled court event, use the Civil Event or Criminal Event inquiry. Those tools show upcoming hearings and schedules by case type, judge, or location rather than a full case file.

The Clerk schedules maintenance Thursday nights between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Plan searches around that window. Online data is informational and not the official record; certified copies must be requested from the Clerk and carry a fee.

The Clerk of the Circuit Court Serves Both Courts

One thing that confuses many people is that both the County Court and the Circuit Court are served by the same Clerk. In Florida, the Clerk of the Circuit Court is the official record custodian for both trial courts in the county. Laura E. Roth serves as Clerk of the Circuit Court for Volusia County. The Clerk's office records filings, maintains dockets, collects fees and fines, and provides public access at its counters and online portals.

The Clerk operates from the main courthouse in DeLand and from the Steven C. Henderson Judicial Center in Daytona Beach. The Daytona Beach location handles criminal misdemeanor counters along with child support, family law, general civil, marriage, probate, recording, and traffic. The S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona handles criminal felony and jury matters. For a County Court misdemeanor case, the Daytona Beach Henderson location is closer for East Volusia residents than the DeLand courthouse. For county civil or small-claims matters, both locations serve filings and record requests.

Public access terminals in the Clerk's offices let anyone search records at no charge. Staff-run searches cost $2 per name per year. Standard copies are $1 per page and certification adds $2. Sending a mailed request requires the case identifying details, the correct fee, and a return envelope addressed to you.

For full details on the Clerk's office, departments, forms, and fees, see the Clerk of the Circuit Court page.

Public Access to Volusia County Court Records

Florida's public-records framework starts from openness. Article I, section 24 of the Florida Constitution makes public-records access a state constitutional right. Florida Statute 119.01 sets the general policy that records are open unless exempted by law. Florida Statute 119.07 requires custodians to allow inspection and copying at reasonable times. Florida Statute 119.0714 addresses exemptions specific to court files.

Judicial branch records operate under an additional layer. Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.420 governs what the Clerk can display and what must be kept confidential. Some documents are confidential by category: juvenile records under Florida Statutes 985.04 and 39.0132, adoption records under 63.162, and mental health clinical records under 394.4615. Sealed and expunged criminal records are restricted after a court order under Florida Statutes 943.0585 and 943.059.

For most County Court case types, the public record is available. A misdemeanor case, a small-claims judgment, a landlord-tenant eviction order, and a traffic infraction record are all generally open. If a case does not appear in the portal, it may not be indexed yet, may have been sealed or expunged, or the search terms may not match the record exactly. The Clerk can confirm how access works for a specific case, though it cannot disclose sealed contents. See the court records page for a broader look at access rules across all Volusia court record types.

Municipal Ordinance and Parking Matters

Florida's county and circuit court system is the main state trial court framework. Most criminal and civil matters go through County Court or Circuit Court. Municipal ordinance violations and parking tickets, however, may follow a different path depending on the city. Some municipal governments handle their own code and parking enforcement through a local process. Others file those matters into County Court. There is no single statewide rule that applies to every city in Volusia County.

If you received a citation from a city code enforcement officer or a municipal parking authority and cannot find it in the Clerk's Citation Inquiry portal, the issuing city may be processing the matter through city channels rather than through the county court system. Cities like Daytona Beach, Deltona, Port Orange, and others each have their own code and parking enforcement structures. Contact the city that issued the citation to confirm where the case is held and how to pay or contest it.

Criminal charges, even those arising from municipal ordinance violations that are classified as misdemeanors, generally go through the county court system rather than a standalone municipal court. Florida does not have a separate municipal court tier for criminal matters. If a municipal ordinance violation rises to the level of a criminal charge, it lands in County Court.

Related Volusia County Court Record Searches

County Court cases are one part of the broader Volusia court record system. For felony charges, family law, and probate matters, the right page is Volusia County Circuit Court. For traffic tickets specifically, including the Citation Inquiry portal fields and the distinction between a court traffic record and a state driver record, see Volusia County traffic court records. The court records page covers how to search all Volusia case types in one place. The Clerk of the Circuit Court page has the full office profile, forms, and fees.