duistatelaws.com Key takeaways
- One office — the State Attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit — handles felony, misdemeanor and criminal traffic intake for the county.
- The clerk lists a Central Courthouse at 201 S.E. 6th Street plus North, South and West regional courthouses.
- Most clerk counters run 8am to 3:30pm, Monday to Friday — passports and domestic violence keep different hours.
- The State Attorney’s Misdemeanor Diversion Program decides eligibility at arraignment, and is supervised by Broward Sheriff’s Office Probation.
- That program is for first time offenders; the felony route, Pre-Trial Intervention, is run by the Florida Department of Corrections.
- 10 days to request review of the suspension; the request does not stay it.
from the date you were served with the notice to demand a hearing from Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The request goes to the department, not to the court, and no judge in Broward County will make it for you. Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)3.
Florida charges DUI under section 316.193, and the ladder — including the 0.15 enhancement and the rule that a DUI cannot be resolved by withholding adjudication — is on the Florida DUI law page.
Broward County is the second Florida county on this site, and it is organised differently from Miami-Dade. The clerk spreads court business over four courthouses; the State Attorney is a single circuit-wide office with satellite locations; and the diversion decision that can end a first-time case happens at the arraignment, not weeks later.
The same diagram as a table
| Step | Criminal case — decided by a court | License case — decided by a state agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest and booking, hour 0 | Notice of suspension served, day 0 |
| 2 | Charge filed by the prosecutor | Deadline to demand a hearing: 7 to 30 days in the eight states on this site that use an agency hearing |
| 3 | First court setting, on a date the court picks | Hearing held if the request was filed — whether the suspension waits for the ruling is set by each state's statute |
| 4 | One or more pretrial settings | Suspension takes effect automatically with no hearing |
| 5 | Trial, plea or dismissal | — |
| Clock | Weeks to months. No filing deadline runs against the driver. | Counted in days from the notice, and fixed by statute. |
Where a Broward County case is handled
The clerk of courts publishes a directory of divisions, buildings, floors and room numbers. The Central Courthouse is the Judicial Complex at 201 S.E. 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale, and the directory splits it into a West Building, an East Building, a North Building — where the felony counter sits, 1st floor, Room 1882 — and a midrise on South East 3rd Avenue. Outside the city, the clerk lists three regional courthouses.
Central Courthouse — Judicial Complex
- Hears
- The county’s central courthouse, in two buildings plus a midrise
- Building
- Judicial Complex, West, East and North Buildings
- Address
- 201 S.E. 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
- Detail
- The clerk lists its divisions by floor and room; the felony counter is in the North Building, 1st floor, Room 1882
- Hours
- Most clerk counters Monday to Friday, 8am to 3:30pm
- Phone
- 954-831-6565
- Why it matters
- The State Attorney is in the same complex, Suite 07150.
North Regional Courthouse
- Hears
- A regional courthouse listed by the clerk
- Building
- North Regional Courthouse
- Address
- 1600 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
- Detail
- Listed with its own clerk’s counters
- Hours
- Most counters Monday to Friday, 8am to 3:30pm
South Regional Courthouse
- Hears
- A regional courthouse listed by the clerk
- Building
- South Regional Courthouse
- Address
- 3550 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33021
- Detail
- Listed with its own clerk’s counters
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8am to 3:30pm
West Regional Courthouse
- Hears
- A regional courthouse listed by the clerk
- Building
- West Regional Courthouse
- Address
- 100 North Pine Island Road, Plantation, FL 33324
- Detail
- Listed with its own clerk’s counters
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 8am to 3:30pm
Most counters in the directory — administration, appeals, archives, circuit civil, county civil at each regional courthouse, felony — are listed as Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 3:30pm, excluding holidays. Not all: passports run 7:30am to 4:30pm at the Central Courthouse, and the central domestic violence counter runs 8:30am to 7:00pm with filings stopping at 5:00pm. Check the directory for the counter you actually need.
The State Attorney’s office for the 17th Judicial Circuit sits inside the same Judicial Complex, in Suite 07150, and lists 954-831-6955. It describes its statutory job broadly: providing the personnel and procedures for the orderly, efficient and effective investigation, intake and processing of all felony, misdemeanor, criminal traffic, juvenile and specially enumerated civil cases, referred by law enforcement, by other agencies and by members of the public. A DUI is a criminal traffic case, and it lands there. The office also lists north, west and south satellite offices alongside its main office.
Not sure which court your case is in?
Enter the ZIP code where the arrest happened and the full form opens with it filled in.
First appearance, and the ten days that are already running
Florida works differently from most states on this site. The officer suspends the license at the roadside on the department’s behalf and the suspension runs from the date the notice is issued; the same notice doubles as a ten-day permit. Within those 10 days you can ask the department to review the suspension, and under section 322.2615(9) the request does not stay it. The first 72 hours explainer sets Florida against the other five states.
On the criminal side, first appearance comes first. The State Attorney’s office describes a First Appearance Court with its own victim advocate coverage, and says victims may address the court by Zoom. Nothing about the license is decided there.
| What happened | First time | With a prior | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the test | 6 months | 1 year | Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)1.b. |
| Refused the test | 1 year | 18 months | Fla. Stat. § 322.2615(1)(b)1.a. |
Diversion, and when it is decided
The penalties are statewide and are on the Florida DUI law page. What Broward adds is a diversion structure the State Attorney publishes, with one detail that changes how early a case has to be worked.
The Misdemeanor Diversion Program, the office says, gives first time offenders an opportunity to accept responsibility immediately, seek rehabilitation and divert their cases from the criminal court system. It is administered and supervised by Broward Sheriff’s Office Probation for the circuit. The sentence that matters: eligibility requirements and approval for entry will be determined at arraignment. That puts the decision at the first setting rather than weeks into the case.
For felonies the route is different again: Pre-Trial Intervention, operated by the Florida Department of Corrections, for first-time felony offenders charged with a qualifying third-degree felony. The office also lists two employment-focused pre-trial diversion programs run with outside partners, each with its own eligibility list.
What the office does not publish is a list of which charges its misdemeanor program accepts. This page does not fill that gap by guessing; the eligibility decision, as the office says, is made at arraignment.
DUI cases across Broward County
One circuit, one State Attorney, four courthouses.
| Situation | County | Where the case goes |
|---|---|---|
| A misdemeanor DUI anywhere in Broward County | Broward | The State Attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit prosecutes |
| Clerk business on a criminal or traffic case | Broward | The Central Courthouse or one of three regional courthouses |
| A first-time offender at arraignment | Broward | Misdemeanor Diversion Program eligibility is decided there |
The State Attorney’s office is one office for the whole circuit, with a main office in the Judicial Complex and north, west and south satellite offices.
The clerk’s directory is organised by division rather than by city, so the courthouse for a given case is the one on the paperwork. For Florida’s other county on this site, see Miami, where the State Attorney publishes breath-test discovery online.
Common questions about Fort Lauderdale DUI cases
Which courthouse handles a Fort Lauderdale DUI?
The clerk lists the Central Courthouse, the Judicial Complex at 201 S.E. 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale, along with North Regional in Deerfield Beach, South Regional in Hollywood and West Regional in Plantation. The paperwork names the one for your case.
Who prosecutes a DUI in Broward County?
The Office of the State Attorney for the 17th Judicial Circuit, in Suite 07150 of the Broward County Judicial Complex, 954-831-6955. It states that it handles intake and processing of all felony, misdemeanor and criminal traffic cases, among others.
When is diversion decided in Broward?
At arraignment. The State Attorney states that eligibility requirements and approval for entry into the Misdemeanor Diversion Program will be determined at arraignment. The program is administered and supervised by Broward Sheriff's Office Probation.
Is the Misdemeanor Diversion Program open to DUI charges?
The office describes the program as being for first time offenders but does not publish a list of qualifying charges, so this page does not say either way. Eligibility is determined at arraignment.
What are the clerk's hours?
Most counters are listed as Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 3:30pm, excluding holidays, but not all: passports at the Central Courthouse run 7:30am to 4:30pm, and the central domestic violence counter runs 8:30am to 7:00pm with filings stopping at 5:00pm.
How long do I have to challenge the suspension?
Ten days. In Florida the suspension starts when the notice is issued, the notice doubles as a ten-day permit, and under section 322.2615(9) asking for review does not stay the suspension.
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Submitting this request does not create an attorney–client relationship.
More for Florida
- Florida DUI law — the full penalty matrix, the statutes, and the rules on priors and interlock
- Miami — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- St. Petersburg and Pinellas County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Lakeland and Polk County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Orange County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Panama City and Bay County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Naples and Collier County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- St. Augustine and St. Johns County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Key West and Monroe County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Sarasota — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Tampa and Hillsborough County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Port St. Lucie and St. Lucie County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Refusing a breathalyzer — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- How long it stays on your record — three records, three clocks
- SR-22 insurance after a Florida suspension — what the filing certifies and how long it runs
- Ignition interlock providers and costs in Florida — what the device costs and who installs it
Sources
- Broward County Clerk of Courts, hours and locations — read September 27, 2026
- Broward County Clerk of Courts, traffic and misdemeanor division — read September 27, 2026
- Office of the State Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit, about the office — read September 27, 2026
- Office of the State Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit, diversion programs — read September 27, 2026
- Office of the State Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit, first appearance court — read September 27, 2026
- Fla. Stat. § 316.193(1)(b)–(c) and the rest of the Florida statutes cited on this page — read in force 2026
Court addresses, hours and phone numbers were read from each court’s or office’s own published page on September 27, 2026. Those change without notice; confirm before you rely on them. No judge is named anywhere on this page, because a roster is exactly the kind of detail that goes stale silently.