Chapter 19-2 Initiating an Appeal

19-2 Initiating an Appeal

Initiating an appeal requires that the appealing party file a notice of appeal with a caption identifying the lower court and at least one party on each side, as well as the case number in the lower court.⁵ The notice must be accompanied by a copy of the order being appealed, and must be filed with the clerk of the circuit court. If the appellant files a notice of appeal in the wrong court, it will be transferred by the clerk to the correct court.⁶ At the same time of the filing of a notice of appeal, the appellant must also pay a filing fee to the circuit court clerk, part of which is then paid by the circuit court to the applicable appellate court.⁷ If the filing fee is not timely paid, the appellate court will issue an order warning that non-payment may result in the eventual dismissal of the appeal, but the non-payment of a filing fee at the same time as a notice of appeal will not automatically result in the dismissal of an appeal because the filing fee is not jurisdictional.⁸

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Notes:

^[5] Fla. R App. P. 9.110(b) (governing final orders) and 9.130(c) (governing non-final orders) both require that the notice shall be substantially in the form prescribed by rule 9.900(c). The Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure were amended effective January 1, 2021, and Rule 9.110(d) now also requires that a notice of appeal must identify any pending motions which toll the rendition of the trial court's order being appealed.

^[6] See Alfonso v. Dep't of Envtl. Regulation, 616 So. 2d 44, 47 (Fla. 1993) (the date of filing for jurisdictional purposes is the date of filing in the incorrect court).

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