County seat
Punta Gorda
Florida law is the same in every county. What changes in Charlotte County is where you go: which office records a power of attorney, which courthouse takes an eviction complaint, and where a will is deposited after a death. The offices, fees and statutes below were read from the Clerk's and the Legislature's own pages on October 25, 2026.
Punta Gorda is the county's only incorporated city, and the courts sit there, at the Charlotte County Justice Center on East Marion Avenue. Most residents live across the harbor in Port Charlotte, where the Clerk keeps a second office in the Murdock Administration Building on Murdock Circle. Documents can be recorded at either office. Eviction complaints and probate filings go to the court divisions at the Justice Center. A third office, the Mac V. Horton West County Annex in Englewood, is open two mornings a week.
The Clerk publishes a one-page fee sheet for landlord-tenant cases: $185 to file an eviction, $10 to issue each summons, $40 for the Sheriff to serve each defendant and $90 for the Sheriff to execute a writ of possession. The Clerk forwards the summons to the Sheriff but suggests landlords deliver it themselves to avoid delay.
Florida's signing rule is statewide: the principal signs before two witnesses and a notary (§ 709.2105(2)). Nothing is filed with the county when the document is signed, and a durable power of attorney keeps working during the principal's incapacity because of the words it carries (§ 709.2104), not because of any registration.
Recording comes up when the agent uses the power to sign a deed or a mortgage. Under § 695.01(1), a conveyance made under a power of attorney is good against creditors and later buyers only if the power of attorney itself is recorded, before their rights arise, in the Official Records of the county where the property is. In Charlotte County those records are kept by the Charlotte County Clerk of the Circuit Court & County Comptroller:
Recording fees are set statewide by § 28.24 and posted by every clerk at $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, plus $1 for each name indexed beyond four. The Charlotte County Clerk of the Circuit Court & County Comptroller also accepts electronic recording through its approved vendors, which is how title companies and attorneys usually record.
Guides: Why Do I Need a Power of Attorney in Florida? · Durable vs. Non-Durable Power of Attorney Explained
A Florida will is signed before two witnesses (§ 732.502) and is not filed anywhere during the testator's lifetime. Probate is handled by the circuit court, and the venue is the county where the person was domiciled (§ 733.101(1)(a)). Within 10 days of learning of a death, whoever holds the original will deposits it with the clerk of that county (§ 732.901(1)); no probate case needs to be open to deposit it. In Charlotte County the deposit and the probate filings go to:
Probate filing fees are set by § 28.2401: $395 for formal administration, $340 for summary administration of an estate of $1,000 or more, $230 for an estate under $1,000, and $230 for disposition of personal property without administration, before the few dollars of statutory service charges each clerk adds. Florida Probate Rule 5.030 requires an attorney for formal administration unless the personal representative is the only interested person; summary administration and disposition without administration are commonly filed by the family.
Assets held in a revocable living trust are administered by the trustee under Chapter 736 rather than through the probate case, which is the reason the trust is paired with a will in many Florida estate plans.
Guides: Why Do I Need a Simple Will in Florida? · What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Florida?
A Florida living will and a designation of health care surrogate are signed before two adult witnesses, at least one of whom is neither the signer's spouse nor a blood relative (§§ 765.202, 765.302). No notary is required and nothing is filed with the county: there is no registry at the Charlotte County Clerk of the Circuit Court & County Comptroller or anywhere else in Charlotte County. The document works by being in the right hands, so copies go to the surrogate, the alternate and the treating physician, and the original stays where family can find it.
Guides: Why Do I Need a Healthcare Directive in Florida? · Living Will vs. Healthcare Surrogate: What's the Difference?
The notice is statewide. For unpaid rent it is the three-day notice under § 83.56(3), which counts neither the day of delivery nor Saturdays, Sundays and court holidays; for other lease violations it is one of the seven-day notices under § 83.56(2). The notice is delivered to the tenant, not filed. Once the notice period runs out without payment or move-out, the landlord files a complaint for possession in the county court of the county where the premises are located (§ 83.59(2)). In Charlotte County eviction complaints are filed with the Clerk at:
The Clerk's fee sheet for landlord-tenant cases: eviction filing $185, each summons $10, Sheriff's service $40 per defendant, Sheriff's execution of a writ of possession $90.
The county court filing fee for a removal of tenant action is $180 by statute (§ 34.041(1)(a)8.); with the statutory add-on, clerks post it at $185 for possession only, and the fee rises with the amount of back rent claimed as damages. The Clerk charges $10 to issue each summons (§ 28.241(1)(d)), and the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office $40 to serve each one (§ 30.231(1)(a)). After judgment the Clerk issues a writ of possession to the Sheriff, who posts a 24-hour notice at the property before restoring possession; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays do not pause that 24 hours (§ 83.62(1)). The Sheriff's fee to execute the writ, $40 plus the $50 seizure fee in § 30.231(1)(b), is posted at $90.
A landlord's agent who is not an attorney may file the complaint but take no other step in the case (§ 83.59(2)). The complaint can also be filed through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which self-represented landlords use as well as attorneys. Security deposit claims follow their own statewide clock: the notice of intention to impose a claim goes by certified mail within 30 days after the tenant leaves (§ 83.49(3)(a)).
Guides: How to Serve a 3-Day Notice in Florida (Step by Step) · The Florida Eviction Timeline: What Happens After the 3-Day Notice · Why Do I Need a Simple Will in Florida?
The same offices serve every address in the county, including:
Not for the document to take effect. A Florida power of attorney is signed before two witnesses and a notary (§ 709.2105(2)) and nothing is filed when it is signed. Recording matters when an agent signs a deed or mortgage with it: § 695.01(1) makes that conveyance good against creditors and later buyers only if the power of attorney is recorded first, in the Official Records of the county where the property is. In Charlotte County the Charlotte County Clerk of the Circuit Court & County Comptroller records it at Recording, Justice Center, 350 E. Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda, FL 33950. Clerks post the statewide recording fee at $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page (§ 28.24).
In the county court of the county where the rental is located (§ 83.59(2)). In Charlotte County eviction complaints are filed with the Clerk at County Civil, Charlotte County Justice Center, 350 E. Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda, FL 33950. The complaint can also be filed through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal. The Clerk's fee sheet for landlord-tenant cases: eviction filing $185, each summons $10, Sheriff's service $40 per defendant, Sheriff's execution of a writ of possession $90.
The statutory filing fee for a removal of tenant action is $180 (§ 34.041(1)(a)8.), which clerks post at $185 for a possession-only case after the statutory add-on; claiming back rent as damages raises the fee by the amount claimed. The Clerk charges $10 to issue each summons (§ 28.241(1)(d)) and the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office $40 to serve each tenant (§ 30.231(1)(a)). The Sheriff's fee to execute a writ of possession, $40 plus the $50 seizure fee in § 30.231(1)(b), is posted at $90.
To the Clerk of the county where the person lived (§§ 732.901(1), 733.101(1)(a)), within 10 days of learning of the death, whether or not a probate case is opened. In Charlotte County that is the Probate, Charlotte County Justice Center, 350 E. Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda, FL 33950.
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Legacy Legal AI is a technology platform, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. This page states where Charlotte County's offices are and what the Florida Statutes say; it does not say which document, if any, fits a particular person. For that question, consult a licensed Florida attorney. An optional review by attorneys from the Liu Estate Law Group, PLLC, available by appointment in St. Petersburg, Florida is available at checkout.
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Start my free documentFacts checked against these sources on October 25, 2026. Offices move and fees change by statute; the Clerk's page is the authority on the day you file.