Pinellas County Probate Court Guide

This guide explains how probate and guardianship cases actually move through the Sixth Judicial Circuit in Pinellas County: the new ZIP-code-based section assignment effective December 8, 2025, the administrative orders currently in force, and the filing mechanics that control the calendar. Every order cited links to the court’s official PDF on jud6.org.

The courthouse and the Clerk

Pinellas probate is filed with the Clerk at the Clearwater Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Clearwater, FL 33756 — (727) 464-3267, mypinellasclerk.org — but heard in either Clearwater or St. Petersburg depending on section assignment (below). Filing runs through the statewide E-Portal.

Your section is decided by a ZIP code — your attorney’s

Under AO 2025-035 PI-CIR (effective December 8, 2025), every Probate Division case — estates, guardianships, incapacity, Baker Act, Marchman Act, risk protection, expedited medical intervention — is assigned by the ZIP code of the petitioner’s attorney (or of the petitioner, if unrepresented):

• North-county and listed Pasco ZIPs → Probate Standard Section 3 in Clearwater
• South-county, Manatee and Sarasota ZIPs → Probate Standard Section 4 in St. Petersburg
• Unlisted ZIPs are balanced between the two sections, reviewed semi-annually to equalize workload

Current administrative orders governing probate & guardianship

These are the administrative orders currently in force that govern probate, guardianship and mental-health practice in Pinellas County — the county-specific PI-CIR orders plus the circuit-wide PA/PI orders. Each links to the official PDF on jud6.org.

Verified against the circuit’s published administrative orders as of August 11, 2026. Superseded orders are removed automatically when the court replaces them. Click a subject to jump to the explanation.

The orders, explained

What each order actually requires, in plain terms:

2015-055 PI-CIR — After-hours Baker Act / Marchman Act procedures (Pinellas)

Baker Act (ch. 394) and Marchman Act (ch. 397) petitions filed in Pinellas after 4:00 p.m. fall under modified after-hours procedures. For families in crisis: file before 4:00 p.m. or expect next-day processing.

Read the full order (official PDF) →

2019-056 PA/PI-CIR — General magistrates

Appoints the Sixth Circuit’s general magistrates under Rule 1.490, Probate Rules 5.095 and 5.697, and § 744.369(2) — the provision covering judicial review of guardianship reports. The appointment list lives in an appendix the court can amend without reissuing the order, so the names change; the structure doesn’t. Practically: much of the routine review of guardianship accountings and plans in Pasco and Pinellas runs through magistrates, and consenting to a magistrate is often the faster path for uncontested matters.

Read the full order (official PDF) →

2023-038 PI-CIR — Electronic filing in Pinellas County

Attorneys must e-file in all divisions, but the order lists documents that may be scanned and e-filed only if the original is also submitted to the Clerk — wills, codicils and separate writings identifying devises of tangible property among them. E-filing the scan does not satisfy § 732.901’s 10-day original-will deposit requirement. This is the most common trap for out-of-county filers in Pinellas probate.

Read the full order (official PDF) →

2024-025 PA/PI-CIR — Guardianship & guardian advocate procedures

The Sixth Circuit’s operational master order for guardianships and guardian advocacy. The provisions that most affect families and counsel:

• Background checks: professional and non-professional guardians may be required to submit to credit and criminal checks at any time, and professional guardians must file proof of registration with the Office of Public and Professional Guardians with their petition.
• Every proposed guardian files an Application for Appointment and an Oath of Guardian along with the petition; guardians must keep a current phone number and email on file with the Clerk.
• The Clerk generates a filing schedule and hands it out with the Letters of Guardianship — the deadlines for the inventory, plans and accountings arrive in your hand the day you are appointed — and the Clerk conducts the statutory audit of initial, annual and final reports.

Read the full order (official PDF) →

2025-035 PI-CIR — Assignment of probate cases (master order)

The master assignment order, effective December 8, 2025. All Probate Division cases — estates, guardianship, incapacity, ch. 393 proceedings, Baker Act, Marchman Act, § 790.401 risk protection, and expedited medical intervention petitions — are assigned by ZIP code: north-county (and listed Pasco) ZIPs to Probate Standard Section 3, Clearwater; south-county, Manatee and Sarasota ZIPs to Probate Standard Section 4, St. Petersburg. The controlling ZIP is the petitioner’s attorney’s — or the petitioner’s own if unrepresented. Unlisted ZIPs are distributed evenly and rebalanced semi-annually by the court’s administrative office. Companion guardianship petitions follow the incapacity petition into the same section.

Read the full order (official PDF) →

2026-006 PA/PI-CIR — Confidentiality of examining committee & guardian ad litem reports

In every incapacity proceeding the court appoints a three-member examining committee within five days of the petition — one psychiatrist or physician, plus two members drawn from psychology, gerontology, nursing, social work and related fields (§ 744.331(3)). This 2026 order governs the confidentiality of, and access to, those committee reports and guardian ad litem reports. For families: the medical and functional detail in these reports is not a public record you can simply pull — access follows the order’s procedures.

Read the full order (official PDF) →

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information about court procedure, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Administrative orders change; always confirm the current order on the circuit’s website before relying on it.