Purge Child Support

Purging an inmate’s child support payment

If a Pinellas County Jail inmate has been arrested for failure to pay child support, the inmate can purge the child support payment, or have someone else purge the child support payment, in order to facilitate the inmate's release.


Cash/Check/Money Order

Child support purges are accepted in the full amount of the purge using cash, cashier’s check, money order or traveler's checks. In order to pay a purge, you will need to present a valid photo ID. All bank checks, traveler's checks and money orders must be made payable to the Clerk of the Circuit Court. No personal checks or surety bonds will be accepted. This payment must be on a separate check or money order if a bond is being posted at the same time.


Credit or Debit Card

The Pinellas County Jail is now accepting payments for child support purges through the GovPayNow program. Payments are accepted in the full amount of the purge.

Make sure to have the inmate’s information ready before proceeding to GovPayNow. This information is available in the “Who’s In Jail” function on the sheriff’s office website, or through the Clerk of the Circuit Court.

  • The defendant’s name
  • The defendant’s docket number
  • The case number

The Pay Location Code is 6343 for inmate bond payments.
The Pay Location Code is 6143 for inmate child support purges.

There are three ways to pay with a credit or debit card:

Important Notice

F.S. 903.286 requires the Clerk of the Court to withhold from the return of a cash bond posted on behalf of a criminal defendant by a person other than a bail bond agent, sufficient funds to pay any unpaid court fees, court costs, and criminal penalties. This means that if the defendant for whom you are posting bond owes costs and penalties, those fees will be taken out of the bond money you posted. You may receive only a portion or none of the posted bond money even though the defendant makes all timely court appearances.

F.S. 903.26(2)(b) states that if a defendant fails to appear at the time, date, and place of required appearance, the bond money will be forfeited.


Questions?

Contact Inmate Records at 727-464-6415.