Jury duty excuse request: a letter the court can say yes to

To the Jury Office, Florida court named on my summons

Juror number: [number printed on the summons]

I ask to postpone my jury service because a medical condition prevents me from serving on the reporting date. I am available from January 11, 2027 and will serve on any date the court gives me after that.
I can provide a note from my doctor.

I understand that the court decides on this request and that I must report as summoned until I receive its answer.

Name, address, phone:
Date and signature:

Pick the right request

Ask to be excused when you cannot serve at all, or not for a long time: a lasting illness, sole care of a young child, a disability that the court cannot accommodate. Ask to postpone when the problem is the date: an exam, a surgery, a trip booked months ago, a busy season at work. Courts grant postponements more readily, and many allow one without any document. If you are unsure, ask to be excused and add that you would accept a later date: the court then has an easy way to say yes.

The proof courts usually ask for

For health, a signed note from a licensed provider stating that you cannot serve on the dates, or at all, and why in general terms. For caregiving, a statement of who depends on you and why no one else can step in; some courts accept your word, others ask for details. For students, a current schedule from the school. For financial hardship, recent pay records or tax papers showing what a week away would cost. For travel, the booking showing it predates the summons. The court that summoned you may publish its own list; follow it when it does.

Age: often no letter at all

Where the law sets an age exemption, reaching that age is the whole ground. 0 jurisdictions exempt people by law above an age between 65 and 80; 39 let them ask. The questionnaire usually has a box or a line for it. The mini-tool above checks your state and age; the age page lists them all with the law.

Filing and following up

Use the channel your summons names: the juror portal, the mailed questionnaire, or the jury office by phone for urgent cases. Keep a copy of what you sent and the confirmation. A request does not suspend the summons by itself, so you still report on the date unless the court answers. If the request is refused, you can usually still ask to postpone. Never pay anyone to file an excuse for you; courts do not charge for it, and the federal courts warn about callers who ask for money or personal numbers in their name (uscourts.gov).

What we leave out

There is no "magic phrase". Requests that rely on claimed prejudice, invented emergencies or exaggerated symptoms ask the court to rule on something false, and a false statement in a juror questionnaire can be punished. This tool only writes requests based on facts you can document.

After the answer arrives

A granted excuse usually comes as a letter, an email or a status change on the portal; keep it until the date has passed, together with a copy of what you sent. A refusal is not the end: many courts offer a postponement instead, and you can renew a hardship request closer to the date if your situation changes, again with proof. Without any answer by the week before your reporting date, call the jury office rather than assume the request was granted. Until the court confirms, the summons stands and the date remains yours.