Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Pasco and Pinellas Counties Document Format Requirements

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Format

PAPER

An order or judgment requiring the clerk to insert a sale date must be submitted as a hard-copy package containing sufficient copies and stamped addressed envelopes for the service list.

Any order or judgment which requires a sale date be filled in by the clerk, must be submitted as a hard copy package with sufficient copies and stamped addressed envelopes to the service list.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Orders must be submitted through JAWS in PDF format.

Submit orders via JAWS in PDF format.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Format

PDF_A

Unopposed proposed orders must generally be submitted in PDF/A format and provided to opposing counsel and any self-represented litigant.

Unopposed proposed orders, unless directed otherwise by the Court, must be submitted in PDF/a format and provided to opposing counsel and any self-represented litigant.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Format

DOCX

All contested proposed orders must be submitted in Word format and provided to opposing counsel and any self-represented litigant.

All contested proposed orders, must be submitted in Word format and provided to opposing counsel and any self-represented litigant.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Format

PAPER

An order or judgment requiring the clerk to insert a sale date must be submitted as a hard-copy package containing sufficient copies and stamped, addressed envelopes for the service list.

Any order or judgment which requires a sale date be filled in by the clerk, must be submitted as a hard copy package with sufficient copies and stamped addressed envelopes to the service list.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Orders containing blanks are prohibited from JAWS submission, will be rejected there, and must instead be mailed to the judge.

FILL IN ORDERS PROHIBITED: Any orders that have blanks to fill in will be rejected in JAWS. These must be mailed to the Judge.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Format

PDF

The proposed trial orders submitted to JAWS after party agreement must be in PDF format.

After all parties agree, upload the proposed trial orders to JAWS in PDF format for Judge Hamilton’s review and signature.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Format

PDF

Agreed-upon orders submitted through JAWS must be in PDF format.

Submit AGREED UPON orders only via JAWS in PDF format.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Three days before the hearing, the parties must deliver the evidence and witness list to the St. Petersburg Judicial Building in filing-ready, redacted binders; digital delivery requires court permission and emailed items are not accepted.

2. 3 DAYS PRIOR TO HEARING: Deliver all evidence including the witness list to the St. Petersburg Judicial Building. The parties will deliver documentary evidence in binders. They will not be in digital format without court permission. The files delivered to the Court must be ready for immediate filing with the Clerk of Court and therefore must be redacted. *EMAILED ITEMS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Counsel must pre-mark all evidence before its intended use.

ALL evidence is to be pre-marked in advance of its intended use by counsel.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed order

Format

PDF

Proposed orders must be submitted through JAWS in PDF format unless at least one party is pro se.

Proposed orders must be submitted via JAWS in PDF format, unless one or more parties are Pro Se.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026CRITICAL

Applies to

Proposed order

Format

DOCX

Competing proposed orders must be emailed to the Judicial Assistant in Word format with a cover letter identifying the parties' disagreement.

Competing proposed orders must be submitted to the Judicial Assistant via email in word format, along with a cover letter containing a statement identifying the disagreement of the parties as to the proposed order.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Exhibits must be labeled using the specified party-and-number format.

Exhibits must be labeled in the following format: Petitioner/Plaintiff 1 or Respondent/Defendant A.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

An exhibit index should accompany submissions and identify the submitting party, exhibit number, description, and identification or admission status.

An index of exhibits should accompany any submission, which index should include for each exhibit, the party submitting the exhibit, the number of the exhibit, a brief description of the exhibit, and a space for the Court to indicate whether or not the exhibit was identified and admitted.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Format

PDF

Upload the completed trial order to JAWS as a PDF with all parties associated.

The trial order should be completed and uploaded into JAWS as a pdf with all parties associated.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Paper copies of case law and other legal authority are accepted but not preferred, and pertinent portions should be highlighted.

Paper copies of case law and other legal authority are accepted but not preferred. Pertinent portions should be highlighted.

Checked and corrected to match the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Lengthy submissions should be divided into separately stapled or otherwise separated subparts, including cases and exhibits.

PLEASE break up lengthy submissions into subparts (cases, exhibits, etc.) that are stapled or otherwise divided.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Competing unagreed orders must be redlined to make differences easy to identify.

Please redline to easily identify differences.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

A JAWS proposed-order submission should contain two separate uploads.

JAWS submissions of proposed orders to the court should consist of two uploads:

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Only the proposed order or judgment for signature should be placed in the second JAWS location, and its document title must be completed.

The order or judgment to be reviewed and signed, and nothing else, goes in second location where the title of the document must be filled in.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Format

DOCX

When proposed-order disagreements cannot be resolved, each side should submit the order in Word format using track changes and may use comments to explain particular language.

If there are disagreements/objections over a proposed Order, the parties must attempt to work them out before requiring further Court intervention. If the disagreements as to the form of the Order cannot be worked out, each side should submit an Order in Word format with track changes. The parties may place reasoning for particular language using the comments feature.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Format

PAPER

The identified pre-trial materials must be supplied in hardcopy when applicable.

Additionally, at least 5 business days prior to trial, please provide Judge Berlin with copies of the following via hardcopy (if applicable): Equitable Distribution Worksheet Child Support Guidelines Proposed Parenting/Timesharing Plans Any case law to be used at trial

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

Envelopes and orders must not be stapled together.

** Do not staple envelopes and Orders together.

Checked against the court's document on Oct 1, 2026WARNING

The required ADA notification in every Notice of Hearing must use 14-point font.

All notices of hearing must contain the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) notification required by Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.540, as stated below in a 14 font.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

All documents which include the notice of hearing, the motion to be heard and any responses shall be provided with the case law (CASE LAW IS TO BE HIGHLIGHTED as to the specific portions the attorney will refer to WITHIN THAT CASE and want the Judge to consider. DO NOT HIGHLIGHT IN THE MOTION WHERE THE CASES ARE CITED) and pre-marked evidence IN A BINDER TABBED AND INDEXED TO THE COURT as soon as possible via mail or courier.

Summary: Hearing materials must include the notice, motion, responses, case law with the relevant portions highlighted, and pre-marked evidence in a tabbed and indexed binder.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF

All documents are to be uploaded as PDF Documents.

Summary: Documents uploaded for agreed orders must be submitted in PDF format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

The physical courthouse address must not be listed on the Notice of Hearing.

Summary: The physical courthouse address must not appear on a telephonic Notice of Hearing.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF_A

Courtesy copies must be submitted in PDF/a format.

Summary: Courtesy copies of legal authority must be submitted in PDF/A format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Civil cases

Format

PDF

All documents are to be uploaded as PDF Documents.

Summary: All documents uploaded to JAWS must be in PDF format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF

All documents are to be uploaded as PDF documents.

Summary: Documents submitted for JAWS upload must be in PDF format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF

The cover letter, (with any motion, stipulation and exhibits) should be uploaded in the Include Cover Letter section as one pdf file.

Summary: The cover letter and any motion, stipulation, and exhibits must be combined into one PDF in the Include Cover Letter section.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

The order or judgment to be reviewed and signed goes in the Document Title section by itself. Title the document and then upload the order in the “browse” section.

Summary: The proposed order or judgment must be titled and uploaded by itself in the Document Title section’s browse area.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Any stipulations may be uploaded with the explanatory cover letter uploaded separately. The order must be uploaded separately from the cover letter.

Summary: A stipulation may accompany the explanatory cover letter, but the proposed order must be uploaded separately from the cover letter.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

Format

PDF

All documents are to be uploaded as PDF documents.

Summary: Documents submitted through JAWS must be uploaded in PDF format.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.CRITICAL?

You must also upload an explanatory cover letter.

Summary: A proposed order submitted through JAWS must be accompanied by an explanatory cover letter.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

This shall be red-lined and/or comments added in so that it is easy for the Court to see where the disagreements are.

Summary: A proposed case management conference order must be redlined or annotated with comments identifying the parties' disagreements.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Format

PDF ?

Be sure to include a separate cover letter.

Summary: A separate cover letter must accompany the proposed trial order submitted for review and signature.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Courtesy copies may be submitted to the court by e-mail to section15@jud6.org, with the case number and motion or matter to be heard noted in the subject line.

Summary: The subject line of an email submitting courtesy copies must identify the case number and the motion or matter to be heard.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Courtesy copies may be submitted to the court by U.S. mail or hand- delivered to the judicial office, with the case number and motion or matter to be heard noted in the subject line of an accompanying cover letter.

Summary: A cover letter accompanying mailed or hand-delivered courtesy copies must identify the case number and relevant motion or matter in its subject line.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

JAWS submissions of AGREED orders to the court should consist of two uploads:

Summary: Agreed orders submitted through JAWS should use two uploads: the order or judgment alone in one location and all supporting materials in a single document in the other location.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

It should never be necessary to make a duplicate upload. These create many problems.

Summary: A duplicate upload is unnecessary and should not be made for JAWS submissions.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

The parties should not use binders thicker than 3 inches.

Summary: Evidence binders should not exceed three inches in thickness.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Everything but the proposed order goes in the upload location labeled “Cover Letter” - namely, the information that shows the judge why the order should be signed (i.e., cover letter and motion or stipulation, plus exhibits if necessary). These are all uploaded as one single document.

Summary: The cover letter, motion or stipulation, and any necessary exhibits should be combined into one PDF for the JAWS upload location labeled “Cover Letter.”

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

It should not be necessary to make a duplicate upload. This may create many problems.

Summary: A duplicate JAWS upload should be avoided because it may cause problems.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

Civil cases

Format

PDF ?

** Do not submit Orders with a page only for the Judges signature or the page with only the Certificate of Service.

Summary: An order may not include a separate page containing only the judge's signature or a separate page containing only the Certificate of Service.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.WARNING?

The physical courthouse address must not be listed on the Notice of Hearing.

Summary: The physical courthouse address may not appear in a telephonic Notice of Hearing.

Not confirmed. Read the court's wording below.INFO?

Parties may also submit unredacted copies of evidence to the Court if the parties want the Court to see unredacted versions VIA HARDCOPY.

Summary: Parties may submit unredacted evidence to the Court by hard copy if they want the Court to consider the unredacted versions.