Florida law
Florida Probation Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the terms that appear in Florida probation orders, violation reports and court paperwork. These explain usage; they are not statutory definitions.
- Administrative probation
- A reduced form of supervision, sometimes called non-reporting probation. The obligations of the sentence continue, but the routine requirement to report to an officer is reduced or removed. It is sometimes available where full discharge is not. More on administrative probation.
- Community control
- A form of supervision more restrictive than probation, involving closer monitoring and significant confinement to an approved residence, with movement limited to specifically authorised activities. It is not a synonym for probation, and rules written about probation do not always apply to it. More on community control.
- Early termination
- Asking the court that imposed a sentence to discharge the remaining period of supervision before its scheduled end date. It is decided by a judge and is discretionary. It ends supervision only — it does not seal or expunge the underlying record. More on early termination.
- Interstate compact
- The agreement among states under which supervision can be transferred from one to another, so a person may live in a different state while remaining under supervision. Transfer is a process with its own requirements, not something that follows automatically from moving. More on interstate transfer.
- Motion
- A written request asking a court to make a specific order. Early termination, modification of a condition and most other changes to supervision are sought by motion, filed in the existing case and served on the State. More on filing a motion.
- Probation officer
- The officer responsible for supervising a person on probation, typically with the Florida Department of Corrections. They monitor compliance, receive reports, and their assessment carries weight with a court — but they do not decide motions and cannot grant early termination.
- Restitution
- Money a court orders a defendant to pay a victim for loss caused by the offense. It is tracked separately from fines and court costs, and an outstanding restitution balance is the most common reason an early termination request fails. More on reasons for denial.
- Substantive violation
- An alleged violation based on a new criminal offense committed while under supervision, as distinct from a breach of the conditions themselves. Also called a new-law violation. Treated more seriously than a technical violation.
- Supervision
- The general term for serving a sentence in the community subject to conditions and oversight, rather than in custody. Probation, community control and administrative probation are all forms of it.
- Technical violation
- An alleged violation of a condition of supervision that is not itself a new criminal offense — a missed appointment, a failed drug test, unapproved travel, or falling behind on payments. Still capable of leading to an arrest warrant and a revocation proceeding. More on probation violations.
Your paperwork is the authority, not this page
Where a term here and the wording in your judgment, conditions of probation or violation report appear to differ, your paperwork is what governs your case. Bring it to any conversation about what is possible.