Florida Appeals Tracker: How Many Appeals Reach the District Courts of Appeal Each Week
Direct Answer
From June 29, 2026 to September 27, 2026, Florida's six District Courts of Appeal docketed 5,059 new cases, of which 3,960 were notices of appeal, about 305 a week. 45.9% came from criminal cases. In civil-side appeals (civil, family, probate, agency and workers' compensation), the appellant had no lawyer of record in 50.2% of cases, and both sides had a lawyer in 47.1%.
Last updated September 29, 2026. Data window June 29, 2026 to September 27, 2026. Source: Florida courts' public ACIS docket, compiled by Legal Tank.
Florida Appellate Filings at a Glance
Counts for the 13 complete weeks from June 29, 2026 to September 27, 2026. A notice of appeal starts an appeal from a lower court or agency order; original proceedings are petitions such as certiorari, mandamus, prohibition and habeas corpus filed directly in the appellate court.
3,960
notices of appeal filed across the six District Courts of Appeal, plus 1,099 original proceedings.
305
notices of appeal per week on average, statewide.
4DCA
had the most notices of appeal (781); 3DCA had the fewest (515).
45.9%
of all new appellate cases came from criminal matters; civil was 36.2% and family 10.1%.
50.2%
of 2,237 civil-side appeals had an appellant with no lawyer of record.
47.1%
of civil-side appeals had a lawyer of record on both sides.
Appeals Filed per Week in Florida
Statewide, notices of appeal ranged from 195 in the week of September 7, 2026 to 371 in the week of July 20, 2026. Weeks that contain a public holiday are drawn lighter, because the clerks' offices close and fewer filings are docketed. Hover or tap a bar for its count.
Notices of appeal per week, all six District Courts of Appeal
Weekly Notices of Appeal by District (same scale)
First District Court of Appeal
745 notices, 57 per week
Second District Court of Appeal
634 notices, 49 per week
Third District Court of Appeal
515 notices, 40 per week
Fourth District Court of Appeal
781 notices, 60 per week
Fifth District Court of Appeal
757 notices, 58 per week
Sixth District Court of Appeal
528 notices, 41 per week
| Week starting | 1DCA | 2DCA | 3DCA | 4DCA | 5DCA | 6DCA | All notices | All new cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 29Independence Day (observed) | 48 | 42 | 20 | 60 | 49 | 27 | 246 | 305 |
| Jul 6 | 65 | 51 | 54 | 43 | 45 | 42 | 300 | 385 |
| Jul 13 | 59 | 47 | 53 | 70 | 61 | 44 | 334 | 409 |
| Jul 20 | 58 | 79 | 44 | 64 | 63 | 63 | 371 | 452 |
| Jul 27 | 60 | 43 | 48 | 61 | 77 | 43 | 332 | 419 |
| Aug 3 | 60 | 52 | 25 | 51 | 57 | 43 | 288 | 378 |
| Aug 10 | 79 | 58 | 47 | 65 | 64 | 48 | 361 | 443 |
| Aug 17 | 47 | 40 | 39 | 66 | 53 | 52 | 297 | 379 |
| Aug 24 | 68 | 58 | 33 | 82 | 65 | 49 | 355 | 434 |
| Aug 31 | 63 | 42 | 55 | 56 | 50 | 32 | 298 | 398 |
| Sep 7Labor Day | 36 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 40 | 21 | 195 | 257 |
| Sep 14 | 64 | 67 | 36 | 61 | 69 | 19 | 316 | 432 |
| Sep 21 | 38 | 31 | 36 | 53 | 64 | 45 | 267 | 368 |
| Total | 745 | 634 | 515 | 781 | 757 | 528 | 3,960 | 5,059 |
Weeks run Monday to Sunday by the filing date in Eastern time. "All new cases" adds original proceedings and any other case type the docket opened that week.
Filings in Each Florida District Court of Appeal
Florida has six intermediate appellate courts, each hearing appeals from the circuit and county courts in its territory. The First District also hears all workers' compensation appeals and many appeals from state agencies based in Tallahassee, which is why many of its cases have no county of origin.
Notices of appeal by district
| District | New cases | Notices of appeal | Original proceedings | Civil-side notices | Already closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1DCA | 933 | 745 | 188 | 340 | 9.9% |
| 2DCA | 798 | 634 | 164 | 316 | 11.4% |
| 3DCA | 667 | 515 | 152 | 417 | 15.1% |
| 4DCA | 967 | 781 | 186 | 505 | 19.2% |
| 5DCA | 1,000 | 757 | 243 | 379 | 7.5% |
| 6DCA | 694 | 528 | 166 | 280 | 7.5% |
"Already closed" is the share of the window's new cases the docket showed as closed on the pull date, for example cases dismissed or transferred soon after filing. It is not a disposition rate.
What Kinds of Cases Florida Appellate Courts Receive
Each case in the Florida Appellate Case Information System carries a three-part classification: the proceeding (notice of appeal from a final or non-final order, or an original proceeding), the lower tribunal (for example Circuit Civil or County Small Claims) and a subtype. We group the lower tribunal into broad areas; the tables use the docket's own labels.
All new cases by area of law
All new cases by proceeding type
Top Case Categories (ACIS classification)
| Classification | Cases | Share of all new cases |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Civil, Other | 776 | 15.3% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Criminal, Judgment and Sentence | 730 | 14.4% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Criminal, 3.850 Summary | 292 | 5.8% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Family, Other | 291 | 5.8% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Criminal, 3.800 Summary | 265 | 5.2% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Administrative, Other | 209 | 4.1% |
| Original Proceedings, Circuit Criminal, Habeas Corpus | 199 | 3.9% |
| Notice of appeal, Non Final, Circuit Civil, Other | 194 | 3.8% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, County Civil, Other | 166 | 3.3% |
| Original Proceedings, Circuit Criminal, Mandamus | 136 | 2.7% |
| Original Proceedings, Circuit Criminal, Belated Appeal | 126 | 2.5% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Criminal, Other | 107 | 2.1% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, County Small Claims, Other | 107 | 2.1% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, County Civil, Landlord/Tenant/Eviction (Residential) | 104 | 2.1% |
| Original Proceedings, Circuit Civil, Certiorari | 101 | 2.0% |
Top Civil-Side Appeal Categories
| Classification | Appeals | Share of civil-side appeals |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Civil, Other | 776 | 34.7% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Family, Other | 291 | 13.0% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Administrative, Other | 209 | 9.3% |
| Notice of appeal, Non Final, Circuit Civil, Other | 194 | 8.7% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, County Civil, Other | 166 | 7.4% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, County Small Claims, Other | 107 | 4.8% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, County Civil, Landlord/Tenant/Eviction (Residential) | 104 | 4.6% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Civil, Foreclosure | 82 | 3.7% |
| Notice of appeal, Non Final, Circuit Family, Other | 78 | 3.5% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Circuit Probate, Probate | 59 | 2.6% |
| Notice of appeal, Final, Workers Compensation, Workers Compensation | 30 | 1.3% |
| Notice of appeal, Non Final, County Civil, Other | 26 | 1.2% |
"Other" is the docket's own subtype for cases that do not fit a narrower label, so Circuit Civil, Other covers most contract, tort, insurance and property disputes.
Self-Represented Appellants in Florida Civil Appeals
For every civil-side notice of appeal in the window, we read the docket's party list and checked whether any appellant, and any appellee, had a named attorney of record. Of 2,237 appeals, 50.2% had no lawyer of record for the appellant, and a lawyer appeared for both sides in 47.1%. In 11.6%, neither side had a lawyer listed.
We count representation by attorney of record rather than by the clerk's pro se flag because the districts do not set that flag the same way. In this pull the flag appeared on 40.9% of appeals statewide, and the Second District Court of Appeal did not set it on any appellant, even where no lawyer was listed.
Representation in civil-side appeals (n = 2,237)
Appellant without a lawyer of record, by district
Representation by Area of Law
| Area | Appeals | Appellant without a lawyer | Counsel on both sides | Appellant counsel only | Neither side has a lawyer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil | 1,508 | 44.5% | 53.0% | 2.5% | 9.5% |
| Family | 399 | 60.4% | 35.3% | 4.3% | 23.8% |
| Probate and guardianship | 79 | 41.8% | 51.9% | 6.3% | 11.4% |
| Administrative agency | 221 | 77.4% | 22.6% | 0.0% | 5.9% |
| Workers' compensation | 30 | 23.3% | 76.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Appeals from final orders | 1,882 | 52.3% | 45.2% | 2.5% | 12.6% |
| Appeals from non-final orders | 355 | 39.2% | 57.2% | 3.7% | 6.5% |
The last two rows split the same appeals by the order appealed: final judgments versus non-final (interlocutory) orders. Areas with fewer than about 50 appeals move a lot from one refresh to the next.
Definitions used
- Appellant without a lawyer of record
- No appellant has a named attorney of record in the docket on the pull date. This is the self-represented measure; it includes every appellant the clerk flagged pro se, plus unflagged appellants with no lawyer listed.
- Counsel on both sides
- An appellant and an appellee each have a named attorney of record.
- Appellant has counsel, no appellee counsel listed
- An appellant has a named attorney of record, but no appellee has one listed on the pull date (often because appellee counsel has not yet appeared).
- Neither side has a lawyer of record
- Neither side has a named attorney of record.
- Clerk's pro se flag
- Secondary measure: at least one appellant carries the clerk's pro se flag. Not every district sets this flag.
Lower-Court County Mix in Each District
The docket records the originating court for each case. For notices of appeal whose originating court names a county, these are the counties that sent the most appeals to each district. Shares are of the district's notices with a county on record; agency and workers' compensation appeals have none.
First District Court of Appeal
590 of 745 notices name a county; 33 counties seen
Second District Court of Appeal
610 of 634 notices name a county; 7 counties seen
Third District Court of Appeal
500 of 515 notices name a county; 2 counties seen
Fourth District Court of Appeal
758 of 781 notices name a county; 6 counties seen
Fifth District Court of Appeal
736 of 757 notices name a county; 14 counties seen
Sixth District Court of Appeal
512 of 528 notices name a county; 10 counties seen
How This Florida Appeals Data Is Built
Source. Every number comes from the Florida State Courts' Appellate Case Information System (ACIS), the public docket behind the ACIS public case search. No login is needed. We query its public case list for each of the six District Courts of Appeal with a filing-date range, then read the public party list for each civil-side notice of appeal. Requests are paced at about one per second. This pull made 2,250 requests and finished on September 29, 2026.
Window. 13 complete Monday to Sunday weeks, June 29, 2026 to September 27, 2026, by filing date converted to Eastern time. The current partial week is left out so every bucket covers seven days.
What counts. "New cases" is every case the docket opened in the window. "Notices of appeal" are cases classified NOA Final or NOA Non Final. "Civil-side appeals" are notices of appeal from civil, county civil, small claims, family, probate, guardianship, administrative agency and workers' compensation tribunals, leaving out prisoner litigation, criminal, juvenile and all original proceedings. That gave 2,237 civil-side appeals.
Privacy. The published dataset holds counts only. No case numbers, case titles, party names or attorney names are stored or shown.
Limitations. Representation is a snapshot on the pull date: in newly filed appeals, appellee counsel often has not appeared yet, so "counsel on both sides" understates the eventual figure, and a few very new appeals show no appellant lawyer only because the notice was filed before counsel was entered. Business entities generally cannot appear without a lawyer in Florida courts, so an entity appellant with no lawyer listed is almost always a case where counsel has not been entered yet; we do not try to separate those out. Confidential matters, especially juvenile dependency and termination of parental rights cases, may not be fully visible in the public docket. A case filed and then reclassified keeps only its current classification. The county is read from the originating court name, so cases without one are not assigned. Thirteen weeks is a short window; treat district and area differences under about 50 cases as noisy.
Refresh. The dataset is rebuilt by rerunning the same script, which rewrites every figure on this page. The last updated date at the top of the page is the date of the most recent pull.
Cite This Data
You are welcome to quote, chart or republish these figures with a link to this page.
Suggested citation
Legal Tank. (September 29, 2026). Florida Appeals Tracker: District Court of Appeal Filing Statistics [Data set, June 29, 2026 to September 27, 2026]. Compiled from the Florida Appellate Case Information System. https://legaltank.org/florida-appeals-tracker
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<a href="https://legaltank.org/florida-appeals-tracker">Florida Appeals Tracker (Legal Tank)</a>
Behind each of these filings is an initial brief that has to meet the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure on content, length and formatting. If you have an appeal pending in one of these courts, our appellate brief drafting team prepares briefs you or your counsel review and file. We do not appear in court or represent parties.
This page reports public docket statistics for general information and is not legal advice. Legal Tank is not a law firm.