Hillsborough County FL Court Records Search

Independent court-record guide: Public-Court-Records.us is an independent educational website. It is not the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller, Florida’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit, a Florida court, law-enforcement agency, PACER, background-check company, law firm, or government agency. This guide explains official court-record access routes and does not certify, alter, seal, expunge, remove, or determine the legal effect of any court record. Verify time-sensitive case information directly with the Clerk or court.

Hillsborough County court records search: HOVER is the main portal, but your access level changes what you can see

The official online starting point for most Hillsborough County court records is HOVER — Hillsborough Online Viewing of Electronic Records, operated by the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller.

HOVER is more than a simple name-search screen. It separates anonymous users, registered public users, attorneys of record and self-represented litigants. It also distinguishes electronic documents from paper court files, allows certain public documents to be requested for redaction review, provides a court-date lookup limited to specified case types, and offers electronically certified court documents through Clerk eCertify.

HOVER checked: August 30, 2026 Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Hillsborough County, Florida Copy & certification fees checked

HOVER’s four access situations

Which Hillsborough court handled the case?

Hillsborough County is Florida’s entire Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. Circuit Court and County Court operate within the county but handle different kinds of cases.

Hillsborough Court Record Route Finder

Use these expandable routes before searching. They do not collect names or personal information.

Criminal court case

Use HOVER. Search by party name, case number, Uniform Case Number or citation number. When you open the case, check Charges, Events, Hearings, Warrants, Bonds and Disposition instead of relying on one allegation.

Open HOVER

Civil lawsuit

Use HOVER and narrow by court type/case type if necessary. Circuit Civil currently covers claims over $50,000; County Civil handles qualifying county-level civil matters.

Divorce or Family Law case

Family Law cases are not available to anonymous users in the same way as ordinary public civil/criminal cases. Use the appropriate registered or role-based HOVER access.

Probate, estate, guardianship or trust

Use HOVER with the access level allowed for the record. The Clerk states that many Probate, Guardianship and Trust records can be viewed electronically, but access remains governed by Florida’s electronic-court-record security rules.

Traffic citation

Use HOVER’s citation-number search when the citation is known. For qualifying upcoming Traffic hearings, HOVER’s Court Date Lookup can also be useful.

Upcoming court date

Use HOVER Court Date Lookup when the case type is Traffic, Criminal or Injunction and the hearing falls within the tool’s current 30-day search window.

Deed, mortgage or lien

Use Hillsborough Official Records instead of HOVER. Court cases and recorded property instruments are separate Clerk databases.

Search Official Records

Federal lawsuit or bankruptcy

Use PACER. Hillsborough County federal matters are handled through federal courts in the Middle District of Florida and are not maintained in HOVER.

Open PACER

How to search Hillsborough County court records by name in HOVER

HOVER provides a specific Search by Party or Business Name route. Use it when the case number or citation number is unknown.

1. Open HOVER. Confirm that the site identifies the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller.
2. Select Case Search. Anonymous users can perform qualifying limited searches without logging in.
3. Select Search by Party or Business Name.
4. Enter the most accurate legal name available. Avoid beginning with unnecessary broad variations.
5. For a business, search the business name rather than forcing it into a person-name format.
6. If the name produces too many results, switch strategy. Use a known case number, citation, Uniform Case Number, filing period, court type or case type where available.
7. Review the search-result row. HOVER can display Case Number, Citation, Case Style, Case Status, Filed Date and Case Type.
8. Use the case-information icon to open the detailed file.
9. Confirm the person before reading further. Check the case style, case number, court/case type, filing date, party role, attorney information and lawful demographics where displayed.
10. Review the Events/Documents tab. This tells you which docket events exist and whether an image is public, restricted, undergoing redaction, available by request or absent.
11. For criminal matters, open Charges and Disposition. Do not equate the charge with the final result.
12. For an official copy, move to Clerk eCertify or the Clerk’s Court Records Copy Request process.

Use a case number when you have one

A case number is normally more precise than a common-name query.

HOVER currently offers:

The Clerk’s eCertify instructions also note that letters in a case number can be entered in upper or lower case and that dashes are not required for the HOVER case-number search.

Why the Uniform Case Number is useful

Florida’s Uniform Case Number is designed to identify the case more consistently than a party-name search. If a judgment, notice, citation, attorney communication or prior court document gives you the UCN, use that before running broad name searches.

What appears after you open a Hillsborough HOVER case?

HOVER’s detailed Case Information page can expose multiple record layers depending on case type and access level.

HOVER’s document icons tell you what to do next

Some sensitive civil and criminal document images require in-person viewing

HOVER’s user-role guidance states that images for some criminal and civil cases involving sexual abuse may not be viewable remotely because of the sensitive nature of the case and required redaction processes.

If the Events or Judgments tab contains no remotely available image in one of these situations, the Clerk directs users to an in-person viewing route rather than treating the absence as a technical failure.

Anonymous users cannot search every case type the same way

HOVER explicitly states that anonymous users may view non-confidential/non-sealed indexes, progress dockets and redacted images except Family Law, Probate and Juvenile cases.

That produces a Hillsborough-specific troubleshooting rule:

How to register as a general HOVER user

Hillsborough’s general public registration process is more formal than simply creating a username and password.

1. Open HOVER and choose the registration option.
2. Select Registered User if you are an ordinary member of the public rather than an attorney of record or self-represented party seeking role-based access.
3. Provide a valid name, email address and mailing address.
4. Complete the Clerk’s Registration Agreement to View Records Online.
5. Print, sign and date the form.
6. Submit the signed form using the Clerk’s current authorized method.
7. The Clerk currently allows registered-user forms to be presented at Edgecomb Courthouse, Brandon Regional Service Center or Plant City Courthouse.
8. The current registration instructions also permit submission by email to hover@hillsclerk.com.
9. After approval, use the account only for the access level assigned to that user role.

Paper court files: Hillsborough lets you order them before visiting

This is one of HOVER’s most useful local features.

When a case still has a physical paper file, HOVER can display a Paper Court Records Exist — Click Here to Order for Viewing option.

How to order a paper file for viewing

1. Search and open the court case in HOVER.
2. Open the Case Information page.
3. Go to the Events or File Location area.
4. Look for the Paper Court Records Exist / Order Paper File button.
5. Select the location where you want to view the file.
6. Hillsborough’s current Preorder Case Files page identifies the Tampa Edgecomb Courthouse and Plant City Courthouse as the paper-file viewing locations.
7. Enter the requested name and email address.
8. Remember that the Clerk warns the submitted name and email address will be publicly available.
9. Select Order Paper File Viewing.
10. Wait for the Clerk’s email telling you that the file is ready.

How long will the Clerk hold the paper file?

The current Preorder Case Files instructions state that ordered paper files are held for 10 business days from the date the file is received at the viewing location.

If you are not a party to the case, the Clerk asks users to allow approximately 4 business days for the request because additional time may be required for redaction.

Hillsborough Court Date Lookup has very specific limits

HOVER has a dedicated Court Date Lookup, but it is not a universal calendar for every Hillsborough court case.

The current search requires:

• Last Name;
• First Name or first initial;
• a hearing occurring within the next 30 days;
• a case type of Traffic, Criminal or Injunction;
• a hearing located in Hillsborough County.

The results can identify:

• defendant;
• hearing date;
• hearing location;
• case number;
• hearing description;
• judicial officer.

Exact Court Date Lookup workflow

1. Open HOVER.
2. Select Court Hearing Lookup.
3. Enter the person’s Last Name.
4. Enter the First Name / first initial requested by the live form.
5. Select Search.
6. Review only hearings within the tool’s stated 30-day coverage.
7. Open the underlying case for more context.
8. For an important appearance, verify the hearing again close to the date because court scheduling can change.

HOVER also has a court calendar search

HOVER’s calendar area supports fields for:

• Court;
• Division;
• Date;
• Judge;
• Session.

Results can display Case Number, Hearing Time, Plaintiff/Plaintiff Attorney, Defendant/Defendant Attorney and cancellation information.

This is different from the 30-day defendant-focused Court Date Lookup and can be useful when you already know the division, judge or hearing date.

How to get a free non-certified copy

The Hillsborough Clerk states that non-certified copies of remotely available court documents can be viewed and printed through HOVER at no charge.

1. Open the correct HOVER case.
2. Open Events/Documents.
3. Select a remotely viewable public document.
4. Review the image.
5. Print or save the non-certified copy if that is all you need.

How Hillsborough eCertify works

The Clerk offers electronically certified court documents through HOVER. These are self-validating, tamper-evident PDFs delivered by email.

The Clerk’s current eCertify guide notes that a new official Clerk seal became effective January 7, 2025. Electronically certified documents issued before that date remain valid.

Current eCertify charges

Fees checked against the Hillsborough Clerk eCertify instructions on August 30, 2026. Review the shopping-cart total before payment because the purchase is document-specific and payment-provider charges can change.

Exact eCertify workflow for court records

1. Open HOVER.
2. Search the correct case. A login is not required for qualifying anonymous searches; restricted case types require the appropriate access role.
3. Open Case Information. The Clerk’s guide directs users to select the magnifying-glass/view icon from the results.
4. Open the Events tab.
5. Find the document you want certified. A shopping-cart icon in the Certify column indicates that the document can be selected for electronic certification.
6. Open the certification confirmation. Check the document description and number of pages before adding it.
7. Understand the all-pages rule. HOVER eCertify does not allow buying only selected pages from a multi-page event document; the entire document is included in the electronic certification purchase.
8. Add the document to your cart.
9. Review the cart carefully. The Clerk’s guide warns users to verify every selected document because eCertify purchases are non-refundable.
10. Enter the required contact information and correct delivery email.
11. Continue to MyFloridaCounty for payment. The payment site calculates the current processor fee separately.
12. Submit payment after reviewing the final total.
13. Watch for two emails. One is the payment receipt and the second contains the certified-document download link.
14. Download the document within 30 days. The Clerk’s current guide states that eCertify download links remain available for 30 days.

How to authenticate a Hillsborough eCertified document

Hillsborough eCertified PDFs contain a cover sheet that allows the recipient to verify certification.

The Clerk’s current process supports:

• an unalterable certification message when opened in a compatible PDF reader;
• a clickable authentication link on the certification cover page;
• a QR code that can be scanned from a paper or electronic copy.

Need only selected pages from a larger court document?

Hillsborough’s eCertify system charges for every page in the selected event document and does not let users purchase only selected pages electronically.

The Clerk’s guidance says individual page purchases can be made in person or by mail.

Before paying for a large electronic document, check its page count in the certification cart.

If the document is not imaged online

The Clerk provides a separate Request Copies of Court Documents form when the required record is not imaged or available for viewing through HOVER.

The current request form asks for information including:

• requester’s name;
• phone number;
• email;
• mailing address;
• preferred contact method;
• case number;
• case style;
• document name;
• document filing date.

General Hillsborough Clerk copy fees

The Clerk’s general fee schedule currently lists:

These are general Clerk fees and are not a substitute for the eCertify calculation shown above. Always check the service-specific total before submitting payment.

Court-record request vs ordinary county public-record request

The Hillsborough Clerk separates judicial court records from other county/administrative public records.

Under Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.420(m), the Clerk states that requests for access to judicial-branch records must be in writing and directed to the custodian.

Court records and Official Records are separate Hillsborough databases

Hillsborough Official Records go back much farther than modern electronic court files

The Clerk’s Official Records Library states that its earliest recorded-document holdings date back to 1836 and include microfilmed and electronically imaged documents.

That historical coverage belongs to Official Records. Do not automatically apply the same 1836 date to ordinary Circuit/County Court case-document availability in HOVER.

Some Official Records images cannot be displayed publicly online

The Clerk identifies categories restricted from normal public internet display under Florida law, including certain:

• military discharge records;
• death certificates;
• court records governed by Florida Family Law rules;
• juvenile materials;
• probate-related court records subject to statutory internet-display limits.

Authorized entities can have separate subscription access where Florida law permits it. General public users should not attempt to circumvent these limits.

Family Law has additional Hillsborough-specific restrictions

The Clerk’s Family Law guidance states that many electronic Family Law records can be accessed through HOVER using the appropriate access role.

However, the Clerk specifically notes that Civil Sexual Violence Injunction cases are not currently searchable/viewable through HOVER in the normal way. Case progress dockets are handled through a separate route identified by the Clerk.

Probate and guardianship files may require extra redaction time

The Hillsborough Clerk’s Probate, Guardianship and Trust guidance states that authorized users who cannot view a file online can view or pick up the file at Tampa Edgecomb or Plant City locations.

The Clerk asks users to allow approximately four business days when redaction processing is required before an on-site file becomes available.

How to read a Hillsborough criminal court record correctly

Common-name identification checklist

Hillsborough County is large enough that common names can produce multiple unrelated court cases.

• compare complete name;
• check middle name or initial where available;
• confirm case number;
• check case style;
• confirm filing date;
• identify case type;
• identify Circuit vs County Court;
• check party role;
• compare attorney information;
• use demographic data only where lawfully displayed and necessary;
• read final disposition;
• do not identify the person if meaningful uncertainty remains.

Why a Hillsborough County court record may not appear online

1. Wrong spelling or party name. Retry using the accurate legal name.
2. Known number not used. Search by Case Number, Uniform Case Number or Citation Number instead.
3. Wrong court/case type. Try the date range / court type / case type search route.
4. Family or Probate case. Anonymous access may be insufficient; use authorized registered access.
5. Juvenile case. Public internet access is heavily restricted.
6. Sealed case. HOVER’s FAQ says a Case Not Found result can occur because the case is sealed or because the case number was entered incorrectly.
7. Document awaiting redaction. Use HOVER’s request-viewing workflow when the icon permits it.
8. Paper court file. Check the File Location tab and preorder the file.
9. No paper-file button. Email filesordered@hillsclerk.com with the case number.
10. Document not imaged. Use the Clerk’s Court Records Copy Request form.
11. Appeal. Move to Florida ACIS.
12. Federal case. Move to PACER.

HOVER troubleshooting: cache, JavaScript and pop-ups

HOVER itself identifies several technical issues that can interfere with record access.

Hillsborough court-service locations

Hillsborough’s Thirteenth Judicial Circuit has several court buildings

The Thirteenth Judicial Circuit currently identifies major court facilities including:

• George E. Edgecomb Courthouse — 800 E. Twiggs Street;
• Criminal Courthouse Annex — 401 N. Jefferson Street;
• Plant City Courthouse — 301 N. Michigan Avenue;
• 700 East Twiggs — 700 E. Twiggs Street;
• Pat Collier Frank Courthouse — 419 Pierce Street.

A record search does not tell you automatically which building a particular hearing will use. Check the hearing location in HOVER or the judge/division information before traveling.

Hillsborough Clerk 2026 holiday closures can affect an in-person record visit

The Clerk publishes a yearly closure schedule. For 2026, published closures include multiple state/court holidays throughout the year.

A Hillsborough-specific exception occurred on March 2, 2026, when the Plant City Courthouse was closed in lieu of the Plant City Strawberry Festival Parade while other Clerk locations remained available.

Appeals from Hillsborough County go to Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal

The Florida Second District Court of Appeal currently hears appeals from the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit — Hillsborough County, along with the Sixth and Twelfth Circuits.

For appellate docket research, use Florida’s Appellate Case Information System (ACIS).

ACIS supports:

• Case Search;
• Party Search;
• Oral Argument Search;
• Document Search;
• Publication Search.

How to search the Hillsborough appeal

1. Save the Hillsborough trial-court case number from HOVER.
2. Open Florida ACIS.
3. Use Case Search if you know the appellate number.
4. Use Party Search when the appellate number is unknown.
5. Where available, use Originating Court Case Number to connect the appeal to the Hillsborough trial case.
6. Open the appellate docket.
7. Review the appellate filings, orders and available documents.
8. Return to HOVER for the underlying Circuit/County Court trial record.

Federal Hillsborough County cases use PACER, not HOVER

Federal civil, criminal and bankruptcy cases are not maintained by the Hillsborough Clerk merely because the parties or events are located in Tampa or elsewhere in Hillsborough County.

The federal starting point is PACER and the Middle District of Florida.

PACER search workflow

1. Open PACER.
2. Create or sign in to your PACER account.
3. If you know the case is in the Middle District of Florida, search that federal court.
4. If you do not know the federal court, use PACER Case Locator.
5. Search the party name.
6. Confirm the court and case number before opening a long docket.
7. Use the case number for repeat searches to reduce unnecessary billable search pages.

Current PACER pricing

HOVER is not a statewide criminal-history database

Court record vs jail record in Hillsborough County

Responsible use and FCRA boundary

Public-Court-Records.us is not a Consumer Reporting Agency and should not be used as an FCRA consumer-reporting service for:

• employment screening;
• tenant or housing screening;
• credit eligibility;
• insurance eligibility;
• other decisions governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

A public name match also does not prove identity. Use the official case details, not a copied snippet or commercial aggregator, and do not publish protected information simply because another website exposed it.

What to do after you find the Hillsborough case

Official Hillsborough and Florida sources reviewed

• Hillsborough Online Viewing of Electronic Records (HOVER) — official court-record portal and search routes.
• HOVER Frequently Asked Questions — access levels, sealed-case troubleshooting, paper-file orders, copies and technical help.
• HOVER User Role Summary — anonymous, registered, attorney and Pro Se access rules.
• HOVER Case Information — Parties, Events, Charges, Hearings, Financial, Warrants, Bonds, Appeals, Disposition and File Location fields.
• HOVER Court Date Lookup — current 30-day Traffic, Criminal and Injunction hearing search.
• Hillsborough Preorder Case Files — paper-file workflow, four-business-day redaction guidance and ten-business-day holding period.
• Obtaining Copies of Court Documents — free non-certified online copies and manual copy-request form.
• Hillsborough Clerk eCertify — electronically certified document process and current fee components.
• Hillsborough eCertify User Guide — case-search steps, certification cart, payment, delivery and authentication workflow.
• Hillsborough Clerk Fees and Fines — current copy and record-service charges.
• Hillsborough Clerk Public Records Requests — Rule 2.420(m) judicial-record request procedure and custodian contact information.
• Hillsborough Clerk Family Law — Family file access and Civil Sexual Violence Injunction limitation.
• Probate, Guardianship and Trust — HOVER access and redaction timing.
• Hillsborough Circuit Civil — current Circuit Civil jurisdiction and file-viewing route.
• Hillsborough County Civil — County Civil file-access procedure.
• Hillsborough Clerk Service Options and Locations — Edgecomb, Plant City, Brandon and Pat Collier Frank location details and current office hours.
• Florida Thirteenth Judicial Circuit — official Hillsborough court-building directory.
• Florida Second District Court of Appeal — confirms Hillsborough/Thirteenth Circuit appellate jurisdiction.
• Florida Appellate Case Information System — statewide appellate Case, Party, Oral Argument, Document and Publication searches.
• PACER — federal case access.

Research review date: August 30, 2026. HOVER access permissions, Clerk fees, court schedules, paper-file locations, eCertify vendor fees and federal PACER pricing can change. Recheck transaction-sensitive or hearing-sensitive information at the official source.

Frequently asked questions about Hillsborough County court records

1. What is the official Hillsborough County court records search?

The official online court-record system is HOVER, which stands for Hillsborough Online Viewing of Electronic Records. The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller operates HOVER for searches by case number, Uniform Case Number, citation, party/business name, court/case type and qualifying hearing information.

2. Can I search Hillsborough County court records by name without an account?

Yes, anonymous users can search qualifying non-confidential/non-sealed case indexes and view progress dockets and redacted images. However, HOVER states that anonymous access excludes Family Law, Probate and Juvenile cases, which can require different access authorization.

3. Why does HOVER say Case Not Found?

HOVER’s FAQ says a case can return Case Not Found because the case is sealed or because the case number was entered incorrectly. Also check whether you are using the correct access role and whether the case should be searched by party name, Uniform Case Number, citation or another route.

4. How do I know whether a Hillsborough court file is still on paper?

Open the case in HOVER and check Events or File Location. If HOVER displays the Paper Court Records Exist / Order Paper File option, the file can be preordered for viewing. The Clerk currently identifies Tampa Edgecomb and Plant City as paper-file viewing locations.

5. How long does Hillsborough keep a preordered paper court file available?

The Clerk’s current Preorder Case Files guidance says paper court files are held for 10 business days from the date they are received at the viewing location. If the requester is not a party, the Clerk asks users to allow about four business days for redaction processing.

6. Can I print Hillsborough court documents online for free?

Yes. The Clerk states that non-certified copies of remotely available Hillsborough court documents can be viewed and printed through HOVER at no charge. Certification is a separate paid service.

7. How much does a Hillsborough eCertified court document cost?

The Clerk’s current eCertify pricing includes $1 per page, a $2 Clerk certification fee per document, a $6 eCertify vendor fee per document, and a current 3.5% credit-card processing fee charged by MyFloridaCounty. Review the live cart before payment.

8. How do I find a Hillsborough County court date?

HOVER Court Date Lookup searches upcoming hearings within the next 30 days for Traffic, Criminal and Injunction case types in Hillsborough County. It requires a last name and first-name/initial search. Other case types or later hearings should be checked in the case docket or HOVER calendar.

9. Are Hillsborough deeds and mortgages searched in HOVER?

No. HOVER is the court-case system. Deeds, mortgages, liens, easements and other recorded instruments belong in Hillsborough Official Records. The same Clerk operates both systems, but they serve different record types.

10. Can Public-Court-Records.us be used for employment or tenant screening?

No. Public-Court-Records.us is not a Consumer Reporting Agency and should not be used as an FCRA consumer-reporting service for employment, tenant, housing, credit, insurance or similar eligibility decisions.