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About the Office

The Office of the General Counsel provides legal counsel and all manner of representation to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and to the regulatory, administrative, and support offices of the Department of Financial Services under the auspices of the CFO.

Additionally, the Service of Process Section, which is the centralized depository for receiving and routing all Legal Process (summons & complaints or subpoenas), is an administrative unit within the Office of the General Counsel.

While this office can advise citizens regarding the Department's legal responsibilities and authority, it is prohibited by law from giving citizens private legal advice. Citizens seeking advice about their personal legal rights should seek counsel from a private attorney.

If you do not know an attorney, you should contact The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service, at (800) 342-8011.

Rulemaking

Upcoming Rulemaking Public Meetings
Past Rulemaking Public Meetings
SERC Publications
Informational Bulletins are issued to persons or groups with a direct interest in certain agency regulations or policies. Informational Bulletins do not set new policy; they merely advise, clarify, or provide additional or the latest information about changes and updates to agency regulations or policies.

Agency Final Order

An Agency Final Order is a final administrative decision of the agency regarding a controversy in dispute. If you would like to inspect or copy an Agency Final Order issued before 2003, please contact the Department of Financial Services' Public Records Section via email at PublicRecordsRequest@myfloridacfo.com, or via telephone at (850) 413-3149.

To obtain copies of Agency Final Orders between January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2015, please visit our Final Orders application.

To obtain copies of Final Orders issued on or after July 1, 2015, please visit the Division of Administrative Hearings’ website.  As of July 1, 2015, the Division of Administrative Hearings has been statutorily designated as the official database of administrative final orders for all state agencies.

Agency Clerk An Agency Clerk is a person designated by the agency who performs various tasks such as keeping records of papers relating to requests for hearings and filing of notices of appeal of final orders issued by the agency.

Service of Process

For information about service of a Summons and Complaint, or Subpoena, please see our Service Instructions.

WHEN SERVING THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AS REGISTERED AGENT FOR AN INSURANCE COMPANY, YOU MUST USE THE DEPARTMENT’S ONLINE PORTAL. THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER WILL NOT ACCEPT SERVICE OF PROCESS AS REGISTERED AGENT THROUGH U.S. MAIL, PERSONAL SERVICE, EMAIL, FAX, OR ANY OTHER METHOD EXCEPT THE ONLINE PORTAL. Pursuant to Florida law, “Service of process submitted through the department's secure online portal upon the Chief Financial Officer as the insurer's agent pursuant to such an appointment shall be the sole method of service of process upon an authorized domestic, foreign, or alien insurer in this state.” (Fla. Stat. § 624.422(3)).

Our hours of service for hand-delivery of Departmental services, as well as for receipt of Notices of Claim delivered under Chapter 768.28, Fla. Stat., are 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

To search for information and generate reports about documents served by the Department on insurance companies as their statutory registered agent, visit our Service of Process Reports application.