Frequently Asked Questions


The Hillsborough On-line Viewing of Electronic Records (HOVER) provides remote viewing of court records maintained by the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, as authorized by the Florida Supreme Court. On this site, attorneys of record, self-represented litigants (Pro Se) and the general public will have access to search case indexes and view case progress dockets and images not sealed or made confidential by Florida Rules of Judicial Procedure or court order.
HOVER is available to the attorneys of record and self-represented litigants (Pro Se) on a case, registered users and anonymous users.
You may not have a compatible Internet browser or your access to the Internet may be constrained by a firewall established by your firm or agency.
If you forget your User Name, on the Log In screen, click Forgot User Name. You will receive a message with your User Name.
If you forget your Password, on the Log In screen, click Forgot Password. You will be instructed to enter your User Name and you will receive an email with instructions on resetting your Password. Please note that you may change your Password at any time by clicking "Change Password". You will be required to reset your password every 90 days.
As a Registered User of HOVER, you agree to certain responsibilities, including "to insure that only Registered User has knowledge of the assigned login ID and password". Please read the Registration agreement carefully.
The case may be sealed or you did not enter the case number correctly.
The Florida Supreme Court has determined the appropriate level of access for each category of user. These access levels are in accordance with Florida Supreme Court Orders that protect confidential information. The Clerk is required to comply with these access levels and uses certain security protocols to protect confidential information and documents. The “Attorney of Record” and a self-represented litigant (Pro Se) will see most case details and the latest version of the court document images, except for those marked as Confidential or Sealed.
Typically, once the document is filed and accepted by the Clerk, it will be available in a reasonable amount of time.
A Self-Represented Litigant (Pro Se) is one who represents oneself in a court proceeding without the assistance of a lawyer.
A Registered User is one who has entered into a subscription agreement to have remote viewing of certain records not sealed, or made confidential by the Court.
You may contact the Clerk’s Office through email or by calling 813-307-7180.
You can send the Clerk’s Office a notification about any image that has an issue, whether the inadvertent display of confidential information or some other issue. Processes have been put into place to ensure confidentiality of court document images pursuant to Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.505. You may contact the Clerk’s Office through email or by calling 813-307-7180.
To determine if the court file you want to view is in paper format:
  • Access the court case by performing a Case Search.
  • Click the order file button to access the Case Information
  • Go to the Events or File Location tab
    • If you see the order File button on the Events tab this means the court file is in paper format and can be ordered to view at our Tampa, Plant City, Brandon or Southshore location.
    • Click the Paper Court Records Exist button to be taken to the File Location tab to order the court file.
  • Select the location where you would like to view the court file
  • Enter your name
  • Enter your email address
    • By entering your name and email address we will be able to notify you when the court file is ready to be viewed
    • Disclaimer: Name and email addresses entered will be publicly available
  • Click the Order Paper File Viewing button
  • You will be notified by email address, if provided, when the court file is ready to be viewed.
  • We are currently working on expanding information related paper file availability and if the order file button is not showing, you may Email us at filesordered@hillsclerk.com with the case number included and we can let you know the current location and availability of the file.
  • Electronic court records are viewable through HOVER, based on your User Role. The below Legend contains the definition of the image icons that are used
    document availability