Filing an Appeal

The defendant/appellant has 30 days from the sentence or court order date to file an appeal.

To file an appeal, first visit the Florida Bar’s website to review the Rules of Appellate Procedure. There you can view a template Notice of Appeal to file.

An appeal can be filed in one of four ways:

• By an attorney on behalf of the defendant/appellant
• By the defendant/appellant through the e-Filing Portal
  
• By the defendant/appellant in room 210 of the courthouse
• By the defendant/appellant by mail

Case Type	Clerk Filing Fee	6th District Court of Appeals Filing Fee
Traffic	$284.00
County Ordinance	$284.00
Code Enforcement	$280.00
County Civil	$103.00	$300.00
Small Claims	$103.00	$300.00
Criminal Traffic	$103.00	$300.00
Misdemeanor	$103.00	$300.00
Probate	$103.00	$300.00
Mental Health	$103.00	$300.00
Circuit Civil	$103.00	$300.00
Family	$103.00	$300.00
Criminal	$103.00	$300.00
Juvenile	$103.00	$300.00

Note that for some appeals, two separate fees are required, one to the Clerk’s Office and one to the 6th District Court of Appeals. 

In addition to the Clerk and/or 6th DCA filing fees, the defendant/appellant will incur additional fees to prepare a record on appeal. An invoice will be sent to the defendant/appellant once the amount is determined (additional fees do not apply to Code Enforcement appeals). 

Forms of Payment

• Cash, personal check, money order, cashier's check (payable to Orange County Clerk of Courts)
• MasterCard, Visa, Discover or American Express 

If filing by mail, please do not send cash. There is a $3.50 surcharge added to all credit card transactions.

Once a Notice of Appeal has been filed, an acknowledgement notice is sent to the defendant/appellant by mail.
Every appeal is unique. There is no way to estimate how long the appeals process will take.

If you are a pro se litigant, meaning to represent yourself, consider the following resources for those filing an appeal.

• The Florida Bar’s Rules of Appellate Procedure
  
• The Pro Se Appellant Handbook