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Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12 913C Affidavit Of Diligent Search Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Fo

Use a Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12 913c Affidavit Of Diligent Search Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Fo template to make your document workflow more streamlined.

What Form 12.913C does

Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.913C is an affidavit used to document a diligent search for a respondent who cannot be located in a Florida family-law case. The signer identifies the case and respondent, describes information already known, records inquiries and search sources, and states the results of those efforts. The completed affidavit helps the court evaluate whether the required search was performed before further proceedings involving service or notice. signNow can upload the form, detect fields, route it for signature, and preserve the signed PDF with an audit trail; court filing rules remain separate.

Who uses Form 12.913C

Family-law attorneys

Florida family-law attorneys use Form 12.913C to document search efforts when a respondent cannot be located. They record identifying information, attempted contacts, prior addresses, and other search sources before presenting the affidavit for signature and filing according to applicable Florida court instructions.

Self-represented litigants

Self-represented litigants may use the approved form to organize a diligent-search record for a Florida family-law matter. The signer should confirm county-specific filing, service, notarization, and court requirements rather than treating electronic completion as permission to skip required filing steps.

How the Form 12.913C workflow works

The signNow workflow moves the Florida diligent-search affidavit from upload through review, signature, and documented completion.

  • Upload: Upload the approved Florida Form 12.913C document.
  • Review: Review detected fields and add required signer fields.
  • Send: Send the affidavit to the designated signer.
  • Record: Capture the signature and preserve the audit trail.

Complete Form 12.913C online

Follow these steps to prepare the Florida diligent-search affidavit while keeping factual completion separate from court filing requirements.

  • Upload form:

    Upload the Florida Form 12.913C PDF to signNow.
  • Check fields:

    Review detected fields and add missing signature or date fields.
  • Add signer:

    Enter the authorized signer’s email address and send securely.
  • Store records:

    Review, e-sign, download, and retain the completed affidavit and audit trail.
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Key features for Form 12.913C

signNow connects the Florida affidavit’s field review, signer routing, electronic signature, and record preservation in one traceable workflow.

Form upload

Upload the approved Florida Form 12.913C PDF and preserve its structure while preparing fields for the signer.

Field detection

Auto-detected fields reduce manual placement work, while review keeps the affidavit’s party, case, date, and signature information accurate.

Signer routing

Send the affidavit to a designated signer by email or controlled signing link without distributing editable copies.

Audit trail

Capture the signer’s electronic action, timestamps, and event history in an audit trail accompanying the completed affidavit.

Record export

Download the signed PDF and related completion record for review, filing preparation, and controlled archival.

Protected records

Use TLS 1.2/1.3 in transit, AES-256 at rest, and signNow’s ESIGN and UETA compliance framework for electronic records.

Recommended Form 12.913C setup

Configure the affidavit workflow for attributable signing, protected transmission, and retention of the completed Florida family-law record.

SettingRecommendation
Authentication methodEmail link with SMS verification
Signature typeElectronic signature with recorded intent
Audit trailEnable and export with signed PDF
Document retentionFirm-approved schedule and court rules
EncryptionTLS 1.2/1.3 and AES-256

What the Form 12.913C audit trail records

The audit trail documents signing events for the Florida affidavit; it does not establish that the underlying search statements are true.

01

Signer authentication:

Records the signer’s authentication event before signature activity.
02

Timestamp capture:

Captures timestamps for document actions and signature events.
03

Document history:

Associates the completed record with its signing history.
04

Tamper evidence:

Preserves evidence of changes through the signing process.
05

Event logging:

Records signer actions, invitations, reminders, and completion status.
06

Audit export:

Allows retrieval and export of the audit trail with the PDF.

Form 12.913C processing stages

The workflow has four practical stages, but Florida courts and clerks control filing deadlines and submission requirements.

01

Prepare the affidavit

Upload the approved Florida Form 12.913C PDF and verify its caption, search fields, signature area, and dates before sending.
02

Deliver to signer

Send the reviewed document through signNow email delivery or a controlled signing link to the designated signer.
03

Signer turnaround

The signer reviews the search narrative, confirms intent, and applies the required signature; turnaround depends on signer availability.
04

Complete and archive

Download the completed affidavit and audit trail, then follow the Florida clerk’s filing and retention instructions.

Best practices for Form 12.913C

Accuracy, traceability, and separate confirmation of Florida court requirements matter when preparing this diligent-search affidavit.

Verify the case caption

Use the exact case caption, party names, case number, and Florida county shown in the underlying family-law matter. Compare every typed value against the court record before signing, because signNow can preserve entered information but cannot correct an incorrect caption.

Document each search effort

Describe each search effort with enough detail to identify the source, date, result, and reason it did not locate the respondent. Preserve supporting notes separately, then attach or file them only when the court or clerk requires them.

Export the audit trail

Export the signed Form 12.913C and its signNow audit trail together. Store access-controlled copies using a retention schedule approved by the firm or agency, and confirm whether Florida court rules impose a longer period.

Confirm filing requirements

Do not assume electronic signing satisfies every Florida filing requirement. Check the applicable clerk’s instructions for notarization, service, filing format, and submission method before sending the completed affidavit to the court.

Challenges when completing Form 12.913C

  • Missing prior addresses, relatives, employers, and known contacts can make the diligent-search narrative incomplete for Florida family-law review.
  • A vague description of search efforts may not show why available directories, agencies, or personal contacts failed to locate the respondent.
  • Incorrect case numbers, party names, or county information can make Form 12.913C difficult to match with the underlying family-law proceeding.
  • Submitting the affidavit without checking local clerk instructions can create filing, notarization, or service-related delays in the Florida case.

Florida filing limits and exclusions

Confirm clerk requirement

Notarization

Court rules control

Family-law filing

ESIGN exclusion applies

Wills

Electronic process may not apply

Court orders

Security for the signed affidavit

Data in transit:

TLS 1.2/1.3 encryption

Data at rest:

AES-256 encryption

Security reporting:

SOC 2 Type II certified

Information security:

ISO 27001 certified

U.S. eSignatures:

ESIGN and UETA compliant

Signer verification:

Two-factor authentication

Troubleshooting Form 12.913C workflows

Use these answers to separate signNow workflow questions from Florida filing and family-law requirements.

Upload the current Florida Form 12.913C PDF and inspect every detected field before sending. signNow templates and audit trails help preserve the completed affidavit, but they do not verify whether search facts are accurate or legally sufficient.

Use signNow’s signer authentication options, including SMS verification where configured, to strengthen attribution. ESIGN and UETA support electronic signatures when intent, consent, attribution, and record retention are established; confirm Florida court requirements separately.

Business includes legally binding eSignatures, templates, and audit trails at $8 per user per month when billed annually. Business Premium is $15 and adds bulk send, while Enterprise is $30 and adds advanced signer authentication.

A completed signNow record can include the signed document and audit trail showing signing activity, timestamps, and related event information. Export and retain those records with the filed affidavit; signNow does not determine the Florida clerk’s retention rule.

Consumer-facing electronic records require disclosure of the right to paper, access to the electronic format, and withdrawal procedures under ESIGN, 15 U.S.C. §7001(c). Apply that disclosure when the signer is a consumer and the transaction falls within the statute.

Electronic completion does not replace court filing, service, notarization, or any in-person requirement imposed by the Florida court or clerk. Review the case-specific instructions before treating the signed Form 12.913C as ready for filing.

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