What should I expect at the Broward North Regional Courthouse in Deerfield Beach?

People often assume the courthouse closest to the arrest is the one that hears the case. In Broward that is only partly true. The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit decides by written order which building hears which cases, and the deciding fact is usually the agency that wrote the citation or made the arrest, not the street where it happened. This page sets out what the circuit, the Clerk of Courts and the State Attorney publish about the North Regional Courthouse. Your notice still controls the date, time and courtroom. For the kinds of charges Mr. Mead defends, start with our criminal defense practice areas.

What happens at the North Regional Courthouse, step by step?

1. The arrest or citation. Every Broward arrest is booked in Fort Lauderdale, and a person who is not released sees a judge there first.
2. The filing. The Clerk files a misdemeanor or ordinance case at the courthouse the circuit's order assigns to the arresting agency.
3. The notice. The notice names the building, courtroom and time; for a North Regional case, that means Hillsboro Boulevard.
4. Security. Everyone passes through a metal detector, with bags and phones on the X-ray belt.
5. Court and the Clerk. Hearings are held before a county court judge; payments and case questions go to the Clerk's traffic and misdemeanor counter in Room 181.

Where is the courthouse, and when is it open?

The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit lists the North Regional Courthouse at 1600 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, with normal operating hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The circuit's own orders describe it as one of four courthouses the Broward County Board of County Commissioners has established, along with the Central Courthouse at 201 S.E. Sixth Street in Fort Lauderdale, the South Regional Courthouse in Hollywood and the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation. The circuit says its county court criminal judges and their staff sit at the Central Courthouse and at the three satellite courthouses, this one included, and it lists a North Satellite Division among its county court divisions.

Which criminal cases are heard here, and which are not?

The answer comes from Administrative Order 2021-30-CO (Amendment 2), signed on August 8, 2023 and effective September 5, 2023. It says county ordinance violations, misdemeanors and municipal ordinance violations are filed and heard at the courthouse listed for the initiating law enforcement agency. These are the agencies it assigns to the North Regional Courthouse:

Three parts of the same order matter just as much. First, cases involving a charge of DUI, which carry the prefix "MU," are filed at the Central Courthouse and assigned to county criminal judges there. So a first DUI from Deerfield Beach or Coral Springs is not heard on Hillsboro Boulevard, even though a shoplifting case from the same agency would be. Second, some nearby agencies are assigned to the Central Courthouse for misdemeanors, including BSO District 11 (Pompano Beach) and the Lighthouse Point Police Department. Third, any state agency not on the list files at the Central Courthouse.

Felonies follow a different path. They belong to the circuit court under section 26.012(2)(d), Florida Statutes, and the circuit's Administrative Order 2026-30-Crim has the Clerk randomly assign new felony cases among its circuit criminal divisions. The Clerk lists its felony counter at the Central Courthouse's North Building in Fort Lauderdale, and its listing of services at the North Regional Courthouse does not include felony services. That order also says the Clerk gives a person who bonds out a notice of the arraignment date, location and judge, and sets that arraignment 10 days from the filing of the case, not counting weekends and court holidays. Our page on the Broward Central Courthouse and Main Jail covers that building and the first day after an arrest.

Which traffic infraction hearings are held here?

Civil traffic tickets are not crimes, but many people meet this building because of one. Administrative Order 2026-07-CO, signed on February 26, 2026, sends non-camera traffic infraction hearings to the North satellite for a long list of agencies, among them BSO Districts 10 (Deerfield Beach), 11 (Pompano Beach), 15 (North Lauderdale) and 17 (Parkland), the Broward County School Board police, the Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Hillsboro Beach, Lazy Lake, Lighthouse Point, Margate and Sea Ranch Lakes police, Florida Atlantic University police, Tri-Rail, and the Florida Highway Patrol for offenses on or north of Sunrise Boulevard. Since March 2, 2026, new red light and school zone camera cases are heard at the Central Courthouse instead, while camera cases already assigned to the North satellite on March 1 stay there. The order also puts a Deputy Clerk at every traffic infraction hearing.

Whether a ticket is criminal or civil changes everything about it, and our page on telling a criminal citation from a civil one walks through the difference. The Clerk's 30-day choices for a civil ticket are compared in whether to pay or fight a traffic ticket.

What can the Clerk's offices here do?

The Clerk of Courts lists traffic and misdemeanor services, county civil services, one-stop services such as passports and marriage licenses, and circuit civil and probate filings at this courthouse. For a criminal or traffic case, the counter is Room 181.

The Clerk's Traffic and Misdemeanor Division says a criminal traffic or misdemeanor charge requires a court appearance, and so do municipal and county ordinance violations. A payment plan has to be set up in person at a service location by the defendant, with identification, and the Clerk lists a $25.00 processing fee per case. The Clerk lists its domestic violence counters at the Central Courthouse and the West Regional Courthouse, not here, so papers in an injunction case are handled elsewhere; the hearing itself is explained in what to expect at an injunction hearing.

Is there a State Attorney office in the building?

Yes. The Broward State Attorney lists its North Satellite Office at the North Regional Courthouse, 1600 West Hillsboro Boulevard, (954) 831-1250. The office says that at any of its four locations you may file a complaint, deliver court filings or speak with an on-duty prosecutor. A person with a lawyer should let the lawyer do the talking; what the prosecutor can offer a first-time offender is set out in our page on pretrial diversion in Palm Beach and Broward.

What happens at security?

Administrative Order 2025-38-Gen, signed on October 3, 2025, names the North Regional Courthouse among Broward's courthouses and designates them all as secure facilities. Except for listed officials and on-duty officers, no one may bring a firearm or weapon inside, and the notice the order requires at each entrance says that applies even to weapons that are legally authorized. Everyone enters through an authorized entrance and passes through a magnetometer. People other than courthouse employees and licensed attorneys remove their belts, and bags, purses, phones and other electronic devices go on the X-ray belt or are inspected by hand. Pocket knives, ammunition and fireworks are among the prohibited items the order lists. A person who refuses screening is denied entry, and illegal weapons or contraband found in a search are seized, with law enforcement called. A concealed weapon license does not change this; the state's carry rules are covered in carrying a concealed gun without a license.

What changes the answer?

• The arresting agency. AO 2021-30-CO (Amendment 2) assigns misdemeanor and ordinance cases by initiating agency, so two arrests a mile apart can go to different buildings.
• A DUI charge. Paragraph 4 of the same order sends DUI cases, prefix MU, to the Central Courthouse.
• A felony. Felonies are circuit court cases (s. 26.012(2)(d)), assigned among circuit criminal divisions under AO 2026-30-Crim.
• Misdemeanor only. County court hears misdemeanors not tied to a felony (s. 34.01(1)(a)); a related felony moves the whole case to circuit court.
• Camera or officer. Under AO 2026-07-CO, new camera tickets are heard at the Central Courthouse, while officer-written tickets from north Broward agencies come here.
• When the case was filed. Cases filed before September 5, 2023 stay with the courthouse assigned at filing, under paragraph 3 of the misdemeanor order.

A worked example

For example, picture a hypothetical Coconut Creek police arrest for misdemeanor retail theft at a store in that city. The person is booked in Fort Lauderdale, released on bond, and the case is filed at the North Regional Courthouse because the order lists Coconut Creek police there. The client arrives early for the metal detector, leaves a pocket knife at home and goes to the courtroom on the notice, where a county judge takes up the case. Now change one fact: the same officer arrests the same person for a first DUI. That case carries the MU prefix and is filed at the Central Courthouse downtown, so the date and the building are different. A retail theft charge is explained on our shoplifting and retail theft page. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction.

Common mistakes people make

• Driving to Deerfield Beach for a DUI date that the circuit's order puts at the Central Courthouse.
• Assuming a Pompano Beach misdemeanor is heard here; BSO District 11 misdemeanors are filed downtown.
• Bringing a pocket knife or any weapon, licensed or not, to the security line.
• Paying a criminal citation at the counter as if it were a civil ticket.
• Missing the date; what follows is explained in what happens if you miss court in Florida.

What to do this week

1. Read the notice for the building, courtroom and time.
2. Check which agency wrote the citation, and whether the charge is a DUI.
3. Decide with a lawyer whether you must attend, using our page on whether you have to go to your arraignment.
4. Leave anything that looks like a weapon at home, and plan for the metal detector.
5. Bring the notice, your ID and any receipts from the Clerk.

Questions people ask before a North Regional Courthouse date

Charges often heard here

• Suspended-license charges are explained in driving while license suspended.
• A disorderly conduct charge is covered in disorderly conduct in Florida.
• A first marijuana case is covered in marijuana possession.
• Maximum sentences are in penalties by degree of crime.

Ways a misdemeanor can end

• A dismissal is explained in dropping charges before trial.
• A withheld adjudication is explained in adjudication withheld.
• Clearing the record later is covered in sealing or expunging, step by step.

Frequently asked questions

What is the address of the North Regional Courthouse?

The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit lists it at 1600 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, with normal operating hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Are DUI cases heard at the North Regional Courthouse?

Under AO 2021-30-CO (Amendment 2), DUI cases with the MU prefix are filed at the Central Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale and assigned to county criminal judges there. Check your notice, which controls.

Where do I pay a ticket or misdemeanor fine here?

At the Clerk's Traffic North counter, Room 181, weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., excluding holidays.

Are Pompano Beach cases heard here?

Non-camera traffic infraction hearings from BSO District 11 (Pompano Beach) are, under AO 2026-07-CO. Misdemeanors from that district are filed at the Central Courthouse.

Can I file an injunction paper here?

The Clerk lists its domestic violence counters at the Central Courthouse and the West Regional Courthouse, not at North Regional.

Is first appearance held here?

No. The State Attorney lists First Appearance Court in Courtroom 04155, West Wing, of the courthouse at 201 SE 6th Street in Fort Lauderdale, and the Sheriff says the Main Jail next door holds the Central Intake Bureau that books arrests for all Broward agencies.

Which nearby courthouses and cities do we also cover?

The building sits in the city covered by our Deerfield Beach DUI and criminal defense page. Coral Springs police cases are filed here too, and that city has its own page on Coral Springs DUI and criminal defense. To the south, our page on Pompano Beach cases explains why that city's misdemeanors go downtown. Across the county line, Boca Raton cases are heard at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach. Felony and jury matters in Palm Beach County are covered on our page about the main courthouse in West Palm Beach. Downtown Fort Lauderdale is covered on our Fort Lauderdale page.

How can Mr. Mead help with a North Regional Courthouse case?

Mr. Mead has defended criminal cases in South Florida for more than three decades, from his office at 370 W. Camino Gardens Blvd., Suite 333, Boca Raton, and he represents clients in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Martin counties. He can confirm which building your case belongs in, explain what the first date involves, and talk through your options before you walk in. The first consultation is free, and you can call 24 hours. His background is on the firm overview page.

Every case is different, and no result can be promised. If you have a misdemeanor, ordinance or traffic date in Deerfield Beach, a confidential call to (561) 362-6677 is a sound first step.

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