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For immediate assistance, please call the Florida Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-500-1119
Laws & Legislation
The Florida State Courts has a Self-Help Center for Family Law Rules and Forms
The Florida Administrative Code is now online in a searchable format.
Domestic Violence Statutes and Laws
Legal Definitions Used in Florida Law
Title XLIII - Domestic Relations, Chapter 741 - Marriage, Domestic Violence (see excerpt below)
741.28 Domestic violence; definitions.--As used in ss. 741.28-741.31:
(1) "Department" means the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
(2) "Domestic violence" means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.
(3) "Family or household member" means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.
(4) "Law enforcement officer" means any person who is elected, appointed, or employed by any municipality or the state or any political subdivision thereof who meets the minimum qualifications established in s. 943.13 and is certified as a law enforcement officer under s. 943.1395.
More About Florida State Legislation
To find out more about the Florida legislation that relates to domestic violence, please visit the Florida Legislature's Online Sunshine website. You can search bills by bill number and find out where they are in the Senate and House.
More About Federal Legislation
To learn more about Federal legislation, visit the Thomas Legislative Information, a service of the Library of Congress.