INSTRUCTIONS FOR
REGISTRY/OFF-REGISTRY CONTRACT
Any attorney may execute a statewide JAC Court-Appointed Registry Contract (Registry Contract).
This contract will then apply to any registry or off-registry appointments received through the end of the
State Fiscal Year (June 30th). In most instances, an attorney will only need to execute a single Registry Contract
during the course of a fiscal year. Once an attorney signs the Registry Contract, the attorney may be eligible for
compensation for all court appointments, including off-registry appointments, from any circuit provided they are on
the circuit’s court-appointed registry or provide an appropriate off-registry order of
appointment (see below).
Attorneys should be aware that executing the Registry Contract does not automatically result in registry appointments.
An attorney will still need to seek inclusion in one or more circuits’ court-appointed registries in order to receive
appointments. The attorney will need to contact the appropriate local court personnel for information about how to apply
for inclusion in a court-appointed registry. A listing of each circuit court’s registry personnel can be found at:
Circuit Registry Contact List.
The Registry Contract will ONLY become valid for a particular circuit when the attorney is approved by the Chief Judge
in that circuit and JAC receives the circuit’s registry with the attorney’s information from the circuit’s registry clerk.
To be removed from a circuit registry, attorneys must contact the registry clerk in that circuit.
Please be advised that the current Registry Contracts will expire at the conclusion of the State Fiscal Year (June 30th) and
must be renewed annually. Pursuant to
s. 27.40, F.S.,
attorneys must enter into a contract with JAC in order to be included on a circuit registry for appointment as private court-appointed counsel. JAC does not assign cases to attorneys. Only the court may appoint an attorney pursuant to
s. 27.40, F.S.
A copy of the current fiscal year Registry Contract and a summary of the contract changes approved by the Commission this year can be found below:
Please note: If you are an attorney
who represents privately retained clients who have been determined Indigent for Costs (IFC), it is necessary to
execute an Attorney Contract for Due Process Services for Persons Who Are Indigent for Costs (IFC Contract).
Click here for the IFC Contract or locate it
under the Indigent for Costs tab.
Cases Involving Off-Registry Appointments:
The Registry Contract allows for circumstances where Off-Registry Appointments are necessary. Specifically, the
provision requires that off-registry orders of appointment include language finding there were no registry attorneys
available for representation or other good cause for an off-registry appointment pursuant to
s. 27.40(7)(a), F.S.
Every attorney accepting an off-registry appointment, is responsible for verifying that language justifying the
off-registry appointment is included in the order of appointment. In the event the order is insufficient to justify
an off-registry appointment, payment will be delayed until the attorney provides JAC with an appropriate order. Cases
involving off-registry appointments require contacting JAC Contracts at
contracts@justiceadmin.org to setup a MyJAC account, and
opening the case in MyJAC in the same manner as a court-appointed case.
Only a preview copy of the Registry Contract is available on JAC's website.
An executable version of the Registry Contract is available at MyJAC (JAC’s secure website) only.
First time attorneys wanting to complete a Registry Contract must contact JAC Contracts using the
secure email form;
please include your name, Bar ID, and preferred email address. Once you are added to JAC’s system, you will receive an email with instructions
on how to set up a user ID and password to access MyJAC. It is the responsibility of the attorney to ensure that
the contact/email information on file with JAC is up to date. Attorneys who have not set up a MyJAC account will
need to do so before they can execute the Registry Contract.
Additionally, all vendors obtaining payment from JAC are required to have submit a Substitute W-9 and register for
Electronic Funds Transfer/Direct Deposit (EFT) with the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS).
Prior to executing a Registry Contract, please ensure that you have filed your Substitute W-9 and Electronic Funds
Transfer (EFT) forms directly with DFS (not JAC). For more information, please contact DFS directly.
If you have not already executed the new Registry Contract and you HAVE been
approved by the Chief Judge for a circuit registry and you have received an
email from JAC advising you of an available Registry Contract, please go to
www.justiceadmin.org and log in to
MyJAC as follows:
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Next, click “Registry Contract” on the left side navigation menu of the “Welcome to MyJAC” page.
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On the following page, you must certify that you have applied for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and a Substitute
W-9 using a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) with DFS. JAC will not accept a Substitute Form W-9 filed with a
social security number. If you do not have a Substitute W-9 on file with DFS and if you do not check both certification
boxes, you will be unable to proceed.
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Next, click “Go to Registry Contract Submission.”
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On the Contract Generation and Submission page, in the “Attorney Details” box, you
may enter or verify your information, making sure to follow the proper formatting examples.
If you need to change your contact information, you may do so by clicking the box at the
top left corner of the screen.
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Under the Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and Payee
Information section, the FEIN field will auto-populate with the
FEIN JAC has on file. If the FEIN is incorrect, check the box
indicating that you wish to add/change the FEIN on file. Please
note, if an attorney’s FEIN number changes during the course of the
year, the attorney must sign a new contract.
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Next, under the Contract Review and Certification section, click “Review Draft Contract” to open, view, and close
the preview of the draft contract. You must open, view, and close the draft contract in order to proceed.
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Next, click “Review Key Contractual Provisions” to open, view, and close
the Key Contractual Provisions document. This is REQUIRED.
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Review and click the next four (4) certification checkboxes.
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Under the Contract Submission Method section, indicate whether you wish to submit
the contract electronically or by postal mail. If you choose to submit your contract
by postal mail, click the “Printable Contract for Submission by Mail” button and
follow the instructions listed on the screen.
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Please be advised that, under Florida law, an electronic signature is deemed equivalent
to a physical signature. For this reason, the attorney rather than an assistant must
be the person electronically signing the contract.
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When JAC receives the contract, you will receive an email confirming receipt to the
email address on file. Once the contract has been approved by JAC, an email
notification will be sent to you. You may view a copy of the signed contract by
logging into your MyJAC account.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Public Records Exemption Form:
Under Florida law, JAC’s records are subject to public records requests. JAC maintains
and posts on its website attorney and due process vendor contact information. Florida
law exempts certain personal information for some individuals from disclosure. However,
please know that there is no statutory exemption from a public records request for an
individual attorney or due process vendor’s compensation information. If you intend to
claim a public records exemption, please submit your completed
Attorney/Vendor Public Records Exemption Form
and supporting documents showing you qualify at
PublicRecords@justiceadmin.org.
