Rule 9.045. Form of Documents

(a) Generally. All documents, as defined in Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.520(a), filed with the court shall comply with Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.520 and with this rule. If filed in electronic format, parties shall file only the electronic version.

(b) Line Spacing, Type Size, and Typeface. The text in documents shall be black and in distinct type, double-spaced. Text in script or type made in imitation of handwriting shall not be permitted. Footnotes and quotations may be single-spaced and shall be in the same size type, with the same spacing between characters, as the text in the body of the document. Headings and subheadings shall be at least as large as the document’s text and may be single-spaced. Computer-generated documents shall be filed in either Arial 14-point font or Bookman Old Style 14-point font.

(c) Binding. Documents file[d] in paper format shall not be stapled or bound.

(d) Signature. All documents filed with the court must be signed as required by Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.515.

(e) Certificate of Compliance. Computer-generated documents subject to word count limits shall contain a certificate of compliance signed by counsel, or the party if unrepresented, certifying that the document complies with the applicable font and word count limit requirements. The certificate shall be contained in the document immediately following the certificate of service. The word count shall exclude words in a caption, cover page, table of contents, table of citations, certificate of compliance, certificate of service, or signature block. The word count shall include all other words, including words used in headings, footnotes, and quotations. The person preparing the certificate may rely on the word count of the word-processing system used to prepare the document.

Rules Blog Notes

Rule adopted effective January 1, 2021. See In re Amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.120 & 9.210, 308 So. 3d 53, No. SC20-597 (Fla. 2020) [.pdf].

Updated with rule changes effective October 28, 2021. See In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, Florida Probate Rules, Florida Rules of Traffic Court, Florida Small Claims Rules, Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure, Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure, No. SC21-1049 (Fla. Oct. 28, 2021) [.pdf]. For more information about these changes, check out the Florida Appellate Procedure Blog.