Florida Statute 39.503 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title V
JUDICIAL BRANCH

Chapter 39
PROCEEDINGS RELATING TO CHILDREN

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39.503 Identity or location of parent unknown; special procedures.—

(1) If the identity or location of a parent is unknown and a petition for dependency or shelter is filed, the court shall conduct under oath the following inquiry of the parent or legal custodian who is available, or, if no parent or legal custodian is available, of any relative or custodian of the child who is present at the hearing and likely to have any of the following information:

(a) Whether the mother of the child was married at the probable time of conception of the child or at the time of birth of the child.

(b) Whether the mother was cohabiting with a male at the probable time of conception of the child.

(c) Whether the mother has received payments or promises of support with respect to the child or because of her pregnancy from a man who claims to be the father.

(d) Whether the mother has named any man as the father on the birth certificate of the child or in connection with applying for or receiving public assistance.

(e) Whether any man has acknowledged or claimed paternity of the child in a jurisdiction in which the mother resided at the time of or since conception of the child, or in which the child has resided or resides.

(f) Whether a man is named on the birth certificate of the child pursuant to s. 382.013(2).

(g) Whether a man has been determined by a court order to be the father of the child.

(h) Whether a man has been determined to be the father of the child by the Department of Revenue as provided in s. 409.256.

(2) The information required in subsection (1) may be supplied to the court or the department in the form of a sworn affidavit by a person having personal knowledge of the facts.

(3) If the inquiry under subsection (1) identifies any person as a parent or prospective parent, the court shall require notice of the hearing to be provided to that person.

(4) If the inquiry under subsection (1) fails to identify any person as a parent or prospective parent, the court shall so find and may proceed without further notice.

(5) If the inquiry under subsection (1) identifies a parent or prospective parent, and that person’s location is unknown, the court shall direct the petitioner to conduct a diligent search for that person before scheduling a disposition hearing regarding the dependency of the child unless the court finds that the best interest of the child requires proceeding without notice to the person whose location is unknown.

(6) The diligent search required by subsection (5) must include, at a minimum, inquiries of all relatives of the parent or prospective parent made known to the petitioner, inquiries of all offices of program areas of the department likely to have information about the parent or prospective parent, inquiries of other state and federal agencies likely to have information about the parent or prospective parent, inquiries of appropriate utility and postal providers, a thorough search of at least one electronic database specifically designed for locating persons, a search of the Florida Putative Father Registry, and inquiries of appropriate law enforcement agencies. Pursuant to s. 453 of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. s. 653(c)(4), the department, as the state agency administering Titles IV-B and IV-E of the act, shall be provided access to the federal and state parent locator service for diligent search activities.

(7) Any agency contacted by a petitioner with a request for information pursuant to subsection (6) shall release the requested information to the petitioner without the necessity of a subpoena or court order.

(8) If the inquiry and diligent search identifies a prospective parent, that person must be given the opportunity to become a party to the proceedings by completing a sworn affidavit of parenthood and filing it with the court or the department. A prospective parent who files a sworn affidavit of parenthood while the child is a dependent child but no later than at the time of or before the adjudicatory hearing in any termination of parental rights proceeding for the child shall be considered a parent for all purposes under this section unless the other parent contests the determination of parenthood. If the known parent contests the recognition of the prospective parent as a parent, the prospective parent may not be recognized as a parent until proceedings to determine maternity or paternity under chapter 742 have been concluded. However, the prospective parent shall continue to receive notice of hearings as a participant pending results of the chapter 742 proceedings to determine maternity or paternity.

(9) If the diligent search under subsection (5) fails to identify and locate a parent or prospective parent, the court shall so find and may proceed without further notice.

History.—s. 10, ch. 94-164; s. 5, ch. 97-276; s. 64, ch. 98-403; s. 18, ch. 99-2; s. 27, ch. 99-193; s. 21, ch. 2000-139; s. 10, ch. 2008-245; s. 8, ch. 2017-151.

Note.—Former s. 39.4051.

F.S. 39.503 on Google Scholar

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Amendments to 39.503

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 39.503

Total Results: 12 | Sort by: Relevance | Newest First

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In Re Tb, 819 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).

Cited 18 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 1396027

...If the Department again petitions to terminate J.T.'s parental rights, the court should carefully consider the possibility of relative placement as the least restrictive means of protecting T.B. from harm. Reversed and remanded. BLUE, C.J., and WHATLEY, J., Concur. NOTES [1] See § 39.503(5),(6), Fla....

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Just. Admin. Com'n v. Peterson, 989 So. 2d 663 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008).

Cited 17 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2008 Fla. App. LEXIS 11220, 2008 WL 2811999

...If a child has been legally adopted, the term "parent" means the adoptive mother or father of the child. The term does not include an individual whose parental relationship to the child has been legally terminated, or an alleged or prospective parent, unless the parental status falls within the terms of s. 39.503(1) or 63.062(1)....

...Therefore, we grant the petition for writ of certiorari and quash the circuit court's order. NORTHCUTT, C.J., and KELLY, J., concur. NOTES [1] The child's mother's parental rights have not been terminated, and there is no pending motion to terminate her parental rights. [2] Neither section 39.503(1), relating to identifying and locating an unknown parent, nor section 63.062(1), Florida Statutes (2006), relating to persons whose consent is required for adoption, is applicable to the circumstances of this case.

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In Re Jdc, 819 So. 2d 264 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).

Cited 13 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2002 WL 1393880

...e Department may proceed accordingly. If the Department offers J.P.C. a case plan and he fails to comply, the Department may again petition to terminate his parental rights. Reversed and remanded. BLUE, C.J., and WHATLEY, J., Concur. NOTES [1] Under section 39.503, Florida Statutes (2000), the Department is required to perform a diligent search for a prospective parent. See § 39.503(5), (6)....

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In Re Tj, 59 So. 3d 1187 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011).

Cited 6 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2011 WL 1485994

...cient, essentially waiving such objections, based on an admirable decision not to interfere with an adjudication which would benefit an unfortunate child without expense to the Department. Nor are the affidavits of diligent search insufficient under section 39.503, Florida Statutes (2010), as determined by my colleagues....

...to the person whose location is unknown" if that is in the best interest of the child. My colleagues have not referred to this portion of the statute, but have instead determined (without consideration of the "best interest" requirement expressed in section 39.503(5)) that T.J....

...parent must be notified of all proceedings involving a child: (1) Unless parental rights have been terminated, all parents must be notified *1196 of all proceedings or hearings involving a child. ... § 39.502(1), Fla. Stat. (2010) (emphasis added). Section 39.503 provides that where, as here, a parent's whereabouts are currently unknown, the court "shall direct the petitioner to conduct a diligent search for that person before scheduling a disposition hearing regarding the dependency of the child unless the court finds that the best interest of the child requires proceeding without notice." § 39.503(5), Fla. Stat. (2010). While by definition a diligent search is one conducted by the Department of Children and Family Services, a licensed child-caring agency, or a licensed child-placing agency [9] , under section 39.503(5), it appears that the court below could direct a non-department petitioner to conduct a search....

...ternational University's College of Law, Immigrant Children's Justice Clinic. Neither of these affidavits meets the minimum legal requirements set forth in Chapter 39 and are not, as the court below recognized, legally sufficient. More specifically, section 39.503(6) sets forth the minimum requirements necessary to constitute a diligent search....

...have information about the parent...., inquires of appropriate utility and postal providers, a thorough search of at least one electronic database specifically designed for locating persons, and inquires of appropriate law enforcement agencies. ... § 39.503(6), Fla....

...In this respect the affidavit is woefully inadequate. The affidavit also does not state which department program offices the petitioner contacted to inquire about T.J.'s father and it fails to state which, if any, utility providers it has contacted, all as required by section 39.503....

...no inquiry was made of the "federal agencies likely to have information [about the father]." See In re T.R.F., 741 So.2d 1184, 1186 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) ("We conclude that neither [of petitioner's] affidavit[s] complied with the requirements of section 39.4051(6) [now 39.503]....

...ies likely to have information about the father, utility and postal providers, or appropriate law enforcement agencies."). In short, the affidavits filed by the petitioner in this case failed as a matter of law to satisfy the minimum requirements of section 39.503....

...emanding this cause to the trial court for further proceedings. I join in that portion of Judge Wells' opinion which affirms the trial court's determination that the affidavits of diligent search did not satisfy the requirements of Florida Statutes, section 39.503....

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Bb v. Pjm, 933 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006).

Cited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2006 WL 1373243

...so far as [they] are known." See §§ 39.301(15) & 39.401(4), Fla. Stat. (emphasis added). If the identity of a parent is unknown when a dependency petition is filed, the court is required to make its own inquiry to discover the parent's identity. See § 39.503, Fla. Stat. If the identity of a parent is discovered, but his or her location is unknown, DCF is required to conduct a diligent search to determine the parent's whereabouts. See § 39.503(5), Fla....

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A.S., the Father v. Dep't of Child. & Families, J.A., & Guardian Ad Litem Prog., 162 So. 3d 335 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015).

Cited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 4764

...63.062(1). If a child has been legally adopted, the term “parent” means the adoptive mother or father of the child. The term does not include . . . an alleged or prospective parent, unless the parental status falls within the terms of s. 39.503(1) or s....

...(2014) (emphasis added). When reading the definition of “parent” in conjunction with that of “abandonment,” we conclude that a prospective parent cannot abandon a child under Chapter 39, unless the prospective parent’s status falls within the terms of sections 39.503(1) or 63.062(1).4 See Heart of Adoptions, Inc. v. J.A., 963 So. 2d 189, 198 (Fla. 2007) (“As with any case of statutory construction, we begin with the ‘actual language used in the statute.’”) (quoting Borden v. East-European Ins. Co., 921 So. 2d 587, 595 (Fla. 2006)). 4 Section 39.503, Florida Statutes (2014), illustrates the proper procedure a trial court should follow when the identity or location of a parent is unknown and a dependency petition has been filed....

...prospective parent, then DCF can proceed with a petition for termination of parental rights without concern that the TPR could be later undermined by the appearance of a prospective parent seeking to establish his or her parental rights. Neither section 39.503(1) nor section 63.062(1) is applicable to the instant case, and there is no evidence that DCF ever utilized section 39.803 to locate A.S....

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In Re Amendments to Fl. Rules of Juv. Proc., 992 So. 2d 242 (Fla. 2008).

Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 33 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 754, 2008 Fla. LEXIS 1635, 2008 WL 4346502

...After considering the Committee's proposals and reviewing the relevant legislation, we amend the rule and forms as proposed by the Committee. The amendments to rule 8.225 and forms 8.962, 8.963, and 8.968 are in response to amendments to sections 39.502(17), 39.503(6), 39.504, Florida Statutes, made by chapter 2008-245, sections 9-11, Laws of Florida....

...disposition in dependency cases. Those forms also are modified to incorporate suggestions made by the Office of the State Courts Administrator that the Committee was considering prior to the statutory changes. Consistent with a requirement added to section 39.503(6), Florida Statutes, form 8.968 is amended to state that, when the Department of Children and Family Services made its diligent search to determine the residence of a parent or prospective parent, it conducted a thorough search of at least one electronic database specifically designed for location of persons....

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B.B. v. P.J.M., 933 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006).

Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 8011

inquiry to discover the parent’s identity. See § 39.503, Fla. Stat. If the identity of a parent is discovered

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E.K. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 874 So. 2d 720 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 8019, 2004 WL 1252690

conducted an inquiry of the mother pursuant to section 39.503(1) regarding the father’s identity. E.K. received

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J.P.C. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 819 So. 2d 264 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 9191

BLUE, C.J., and WHATLEY, J., Concur. . Under section 39.503, Florida Statutes (2000), the Department is

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J.T. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 819 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002).

Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2002 Fla. App. LEXIS 9167

remanded. BLUE, C.J., and WHATLEY, J., Concur. . See § 39.503(5),(6), Fla. Stat. (1997). . Section 39.806(l)(d)

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In the Interest of T.J., 59 So. 3d 1187 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011).

Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 5568

502(1), Fla. Stat. (2010) (emphasis added). Section 39.503 provides that where, as here, a parent’s whereabouts

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