A Florida arrest warrant is a written command signed by a judge. Knowing what it must contain, and what a failure to appear adds to an existing charge, is the starting point for anyone who believes one exists.
Call (813) 588-6602No obligation · Written for Tampa · Hillsborough County
Six boxes, about thirty seconds. You pick when to be called back, and that is when the phone rings.
Or call (813) 588-6602Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.121(a) sets the requirements. An arrest warrant must be in writing and in the name of the State of Florida, set forth substantially the nature of the offense, command that the person against whom the complaint was made be arrested and brought before a judge, and specify the name of the person to be arrested or, where the name is unknown, designate the person by any name or description permitting identification with reasonable certainty, including a photograph where reasonably available. It must state the date when issued and the county where issued, and be signed by the judge with the title of office, with electronic signature permitted in the circumstances the rule describes. Subdivision (a)(7) requires that for offenses where a right to bail exists, the warrant set the amount of bail or other conditions of release, and the return date.
Subdivision (b) provides that no arrest warrant is dismissed, and no person in custody discharged, because of a defect as to form, and that the judge may amend the warrant to remedy such a defect.
Florida Statute 901.15 lists the circumstances in which a law enforcement officer may arrest without a warrant. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.125 addresses the alternative, a notice to appear issued in lieu of physical arrest for a misdemeanor of the first or second degree, a violation, or an ordinance triable in the county, subject to the exceptions in the rule. Where an arrest occurs without a warrant, the nonadversary probable cause determination in Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.133 applies, requiring that determination before a judge within 48 hours from the time of arrest for a defendant in custody, with only the limited extraordinary-circumstance continuances the rule permits.
Florida Statute 843.15 provides that a person released under chapter 903 who willfully fails to appear before any court or judicial officer as required forfeits any security given, and commits a felony of the third degree where released in connection with a felony charge or pending appeal after conviction of any offense, or a misdemeanor of the first degree where released in connection with a misdemeanor charge. Florida Statute 901.31 addresses failure to obey a written promise to appear: a person who willfully fails to appear as required by a written notice to appear may be fined not more than the fine of the principal charge or imprisoned up to the maximum sentence of imprisonment of the principal charge, or both, regardless of the disposition of the charge on which the person was originally arrested.
Administrative Order S-2024-030 of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit assigns first appearance hearings for all criminal matters to Criminal Division "O," conducted through audiovisual devices and electronically recorded, along with felony bond and release motions in matters not yet assigned to a division.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office publishes arrest records online and states that the data reflects only the circumstances of an arrest, bears no connection to guilt, innocence, or dismissal, and may not reflect charging decisions by the State Attorney. It provides an error correction form for factual errors and a separate process requiring fingerprinting where identity theft is claimed, and it states that final dispositions come from the Clerk of the Circuit Court. An online listing is a starting point, not a legal record.
This page presents general information about Florida warrant and failure-to-appear statutes and local administrative orders. It is not legal advice and assesses no warrant. Anyone who believes a warrant exists should consult a licensed Florida attorney before taking any action.
Florida Arrest Warrants and Failure to Appear in Tampa. Call (813) 588-6602 and a Tampa lawyer reviews the claim and the deadline that applies. Nothing is signed on that call.
Call (813) 588-6602Administrative Order S-2025-063 of the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit adopts the statewide uniform bond schedule for Hillsborough County without change, effective January 1 through December 31, 2026. The order states the schedule applies only to the booking officer and does not bind a judge. It also excludes a long list of arrests: capital, life, first- and second-degree felonies, homicide, felony battery, domestic battery by strangulation, and domestic violence under Florida Statutes 741.28. The list continues with stalking, robbery, burglary, carjacking, kidnapping, trafficking in a controlled substance, and violation of a protective injunction. It reaches anyone on pretrial release, probation or community control at the time of a felony arrest, and anyone arrested three or more times in the preceding six months.
Why it matters: It decides whether anyone can be bonded out at the jail counter or has to wait for a judge. For every excluded charge there is no pre-first-appearance release, and the judge then makes an individualized determination under Florida Statutes 903.011(6) and 903.046 and Rule 3.131. Prior supervision status and recent arrest history change the answer even when the charge itself is minor.
Source: fljud13.org
The Hillsborough County Clerk of Court states that after a felony arrest the county jail sends the initial paperwork to the Clerk's felony department. That department prepares the official court file, including the original arrest document and any release forms, and forwards it to the Office of the State Attorney. The State Attorney then determines whether to file formal charges. Once charges are filed with the Clerk, the defendant is notified by mail of an arraignment date, sent to the address provided at the time of arrest, and the bail bond agent is also notified if the defendant bonded out. The felony department cannot change a court date once notice has gone out.
Why it matters: An arrest is not a filed charge, and the gap between them is where people assume a case has gone away. The notice that resumes it goes to whatever address was recorded at booking, so anyone who moved, or who gave a temporary address, can miss a court date they never saw. Missing it does not pause the case.
Source: hillsclerk.com
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.130 requires that every arrested person not already released in a lawful manner be taken before a judicial officer within 24 hours of arrest, in person or by electronic audiovisual device at the court's discretion. At that hearing the judge must state the charge, provide a copy of the complaint, and advise the person of the right to remain silent and the right to counsel. Rule 3.133 sets a separate 48-hour limit for a nonadversary probable cause determination when the defendant is in custody.
Why it matters: In Hillsborough County that hearing is normally run by video link from the county jail, and release conditions are addressed at it. Rule 3.130(c)(2) also requires the judge to allow a defendant who is hiring counsel reasonable time to send for that lawyer and, on request, to have an officer carry a message to a named lawyer inside the county at no cost. That makes the first day after an arrest the point at which counsel matters most.
Source: flcourts.gov
No obligation · Written for Tampa · Hillsborough County