Franklin County Municipal Court Operations During COVID-19 Pandemic

Updated November 25, 2020: Administrative Order 26-2020, Administrative Order 23-2020 has been rescinded and replaced with the following orders. All traffic arraignments held in courtroom 1A or 1B and eviction hearings held in courtroom 11B shall continue to be heard at the Columbus Convention Center until March 31, 2021. Face covering, screening for temperatures and symptoms remain in full force and effect per Administrative Order 09-2020. Please read the full administrative order for details regarding:

  • Traffic arraignment
  • Evictions
  • Weddings
  • Filings with the Clerk of Court
  • Criminal arraignment
  • Self-Help Resource Center
  • Jury service
  • Entrance into facilities

Updated October 23, 2020: Administrative Order 21-2020, The Judges have issued Administrative Order 21-2020 to state the Court's uniform procedures for eviction cases in which Tenants seek to claim protection under the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's recent order.

Updated September 11, 2020: Administrative Order 19-2020, The Clerk of Court may receive any civil filing, including complaints for restitution of premises, by way of a "drop box" installed on the premises of the Franklin County Municipal Court. Please read the full administrative order for additional details and information.

Updated September 4, 2020: CDC temporarily halts evictions until 2021. Order from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Temporary halt in residential evictions to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Effective September 4th - December 31st, 2020. For more information, refer to the following links from the CDC via Federal Register and Ohio Supreme Court:

Updated August 21, 2020: Administrative Order 17-2020, effective 8-19-2020: All traffic arraignments held in courtroom 1A or 1B and eviction hearings held in courtroom 11B shall continue to be heard at the Columbus Convention Center until December 31, 2020. Face covering, screening for temperatures and symptoms remain in full force and effect per Administrative Order 09-2020. Please read the full administrative order for details regarding:

  • Traffic arraignment
  • Evictions
  • Weddings
  • Filings with the Clerk of Court
  • Criminal arraignment
  • Self-Help Resource Center
  • Jury service
  • Entrance into facilities

Updated August 21, 2020: Additional information about courtrooms 1A, 1B, and 11B being heard at the Columbus Convention Center from until December 31, 2020 can be found on this page regarding the Columbus Convention Center.

Updated August 3, 2020: Electronic Filing services are currently expanding. Attorneys may now register and file: subsequent filings on Criminal and Traffic cases; new case and subsequent filings on Record Sealing cases. For more information visit: Electronic Filing.

Local Rules Notice

Proposed Amendments to Local Court Rules – The Judges of the Franklin County Municipal Court have given notice of their intent to amend Local Rule 8 regarding the Specialized Docket Standards. The text of the proposed amendment may be found here. To submit a comment regarding the proposed amendment, please email your comment to Gene Edwards at edwardsg@fcmcclerk.com by the close of business on November 27, 2020.

Self Help Resource Center

The Franklin County Municipal Court's Self Help Center is open to the public. However, we strongly encourage everyone to utilize the webchat feature on the Self Help Center website if they do not need to come to the Courthouse. Center staff are available to answer legal questions and then any other questions that come up that we can help find answers for (For example, help with accessing unemployment, benefits, etc.) via the chat function on the Self Help Center website.

Please come visit the website! For more information and to chat with the Self Help Center, please visit www.fcmcselfhelpcenter.org