In Re: Amendments to Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration

Supreme Court of Florida
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No. SC2024-1403
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IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULES OF GENERAL
PRACTICE AND JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION.

December 18, 2025

PER CURIAM.

In 2021, Chief Justice Canady issued an administrative order

establishing the Workgroup on Judicial Practices in the Trial Courts

to review the implementation of trial judges’ procedures for practice

within their individual courtrooms to determine whether the

instructions were accessible, understandable, and consistent with

court rules and law. See Fla. Admin. Order No. AOSC21-57.

During its review, the Workgroup determined that there was

confusion regarding the distinction between local rules and

administrative orders. The Court then asked the Local Rule

Advisory Committee (LRAC) to review the Workgroup’s report and

determine whether the rules should be amended to provide

clarification.
In response to the Court’s referral, the LRAC filed a report

proposing amendments to Florida Rules of General Practice and

Judicial Administration 2.120 (Definitions), 2.140 (Amending Rules

of Court), and 2.215 (Trial Court Administration).1 The Court

published the proposal, three comments were received, and the

LRAC filed a response which included an updated proposal based

on the comments.

We now amend rules 2.120, 2.140, and 2.215. First, we

amend the definitions in rule 2.120 to expressly explain that chief

judges may issue administrative orders to establish rules of practice

or procedure as long as they are not inconsistent with the

constitution, court rules, local court rules, or this Court’s

administrative orders. And the definitions in rule 2.120 are

amended to clarify that local court rules address matters required

by the Florida Constitution, general law, rules of court, or supreme

court opinions to be adopted in local court rules. Next, we amend

rule 2.215 to simplify the process for the promulgation of local

1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.; see
also Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.140(d).

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court rules. Finally, we amend rule 2.140 consistent with our

amendments to rule 2.215.

The Court hereby amends the Florida Rules of General

Practice and Judicial Administration as reflected in the appendix to

this opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring; deletions

are indicated by struck-through type. The amendments to the rules

shall become effective January 1, 2026, at 12:02 a.m.

It is so ordered.

MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, COURIEL, GROSSHANS,
FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur.

THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.

Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration

Judge Ross Bilbrey, Chair, Local Rules Advisory Committee,
Tallahassee, Florida, and Bart Schneider, Staff Liaison, Office of the
State Courts Administrator, Tallahassee, Florida,

for Petitioner

Michael Robert Ufferman, Chair, Rules of General Practice and
Judicial Administration Committee, Tallahassee, Florida, Hon.
Santo DiGangi, Past Chair, Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration Committee, West Palm Beach, Florida, Joshua E.
Doyle, Executive Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida,
and Kelly Noel Smith, Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee,
Florida; John K. Londot and M. Hope Keating of Greenberg Traurig,
P.A., on behalf of Florida Association of Court Clerks, Inc. d/b/a

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Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers, Tallahassee, Florida; and
Thomas D. Hall of The Mills Firm, PLLC, Tallahassee, Florida,

Responding with comments

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APPENDIX

RULE 2.120. DEFINITIONS
The following terms have the meanings shown as used in
these rules:

(a) [No Change]

(b) Local Court Rule:

(1) A rule of practice or procedure for circuit or county
application only that, because of local conditions, supplies an
omission in or facilitates application of a rule of statewide
application and does not conflict therewith.

(2) A rule that addresses other matters that are required
by the Florida Constitution, general law, rules of court, or a
supreme court opinion to be adopted by or in a local court rule.

(c) Administrative Order: A directive, necessary to administer
properly the court’s affairs but not inconsistent with the
constitution or with court rules and administrative orders entered
by the supreme courtthat may include rules of practice or
procedure, issued to administer the court’s affairs. An
administrative order issued by a chief judge must not be
inconsistent with the constitution, court rules, local court rules, or
with administrative orders entered by the chief justice of the
supreme court.

RULE 2.140. AMENDING RULES OF COURT
(a)–(g) [No Change]

(h) Local Court Rules Proposed by Trial Courts. The
foregoing procedures shall not applyset forth in this rule are
inapplicable to local court rules proposed by a majority of circuit
and county judges in the circuit. The chief justice of the supreme

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court may appoint a Local Rule Advisory Committee to consider and
make recommendations to the court concerning local court rules
and administrative orders submitted pursuant to rule 2.215(e).

Committee Notes
[No Change]

RULE 2.215. TRIAL COURT ADMINISTRATION

(a)–(d) [No Change]

(e) Local Court Rules and Administrative Orders.

(1) Local court rules as defined in rule 2.120 may be
proposed by a majority of the circuit and county judges in the
circuita chief judge after consulting other judges in the circuit. The
chief judges must notify theany local bar association within the
circuit of the proposal, after which theythe chief judge must permit
a representative of the local bar, and may permit any other
interested person, to be heard orally or in writing on the proposal
before submitting it to the supreme court for approval. When a
proposed local court rule is submitted to the supreme court for
approval, the following procedure applies.

(A) Local court rule proposals must be submitted by
a chief judge to the clerk’s office in the supreme court in January of
each year. The supreme court may accept emergency proposals
submitted at other times.

(B) The clerk of the supreme court must submit all
local court rule proposals to the Supreme Court Local Rules
Advisory Committee by February 15 of each yearwithin 20 days of
receipt from the chief judge. At the same time, the clerk of the
supreme court must send copies of the proposed rules to the
appropriate committees of The Florida Bar impacted by the local
court rule along with a notice indicating a date when comments
must be filed. The Florida Bar committees, any interested local bar

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associations, and any other interested person must submit any
comments or responses that they wish to make to the Supreme
Court Local Rules Advisory Committee on or before March 15 of
that yearby the time set forth in the notice.

(C) The Supreme Court Local Rules Advisory
Committee must meet on or before April 15 to consider the
proposals and any comments submitted by interested parties. The
committee must transmit its recommendations to the supreme
court concerning each proposal, with the reasons for its
recommendations, within 1575 days after its meetingreceiving the
proposal from the supreme court clerk.

(D) The supreme court must consider the
committee’s recommendations and may resubmit the proposals
with modifications to the committee for editorial comment only. The
supreme court may set a hearing on any proposals or consider
them on the recommendations and comments as submitted. If a
hearing is set, notice must be given to the chief judge of the circuit
from which the proposals originated, the executive director of The
Florida Bar, the chair of the Rules of General Practice and Judicial
Administration Committee of The Florida Bar, any local bar
associations, and any interested persons who made comments on
the specific proposals to be considered. The supreme court must act
on the proposals promptly after the recommendations are received
or heard.

(E)-(F) [No Change]

(2) Any judge or member of The Florida Bar who believes
that an administrative order promulgated under subdivision (b)(2)
of this rule is a court rule or a local rule as defined in rule 2.120,
rather than an administrative order, may apply to the Supreme
Court Local Rules Advisory Committee for a decision on the
question. The decisions of the committee concerning the
determination of the question must be reported to the supreme
court, and the court must follow the procedure set forth in
subdivision (D) above in considering the recommendation of the
committee.A challenge to an administrative order on the ground

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that it is inconsistent with a constitution, court rules, local court
rules, or with administrative orders entered by the chief justice of
the supreme court must be made either by a petition for an
extraordinary writ or an objection before the trial court in a pending
case in which the administrative order applies.

(3) The chief judge of the circuit must publish current
administrative orders on the circuit court’s website and retain
copies of the current, vacated, or rescinded administrative orders to
be available for inspection as a public record and provided to any
requesting party on payment of the cost of duplication. The chief
judge must direct a review of all local administrative orders on an
annual basis to ensure that the set of copies maintained by the
clerk remains current and does not conflict with supreme court or
local court rules.

(4) [No Change]

(f) – (j) [No Change]

Committee Notes

[No Change]

Court Commentary

1996-2002 Court Commentary. [No Change]

2025 Court Commentary. The definitions of local court rules and
administrative orders were amended to allow rules of practice and
procedure to be issued in administrative orders from trial court
chief judges instead of being issued by the local court rules
approval process.

Criminal Court Steering Committee Note

[No Change]

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