Does the state of Florida accept newspaper divorces and how do I go about getting started?

There is no such thing as a newspaper divorce. A divorce is a court proceeding. What you are talking about is service by publication and that is allowed when all other means of serving the other party with divorce papers have failed.

You start the process by finding a lawyer.

Have to remember that phrase "newspaper divorces". Kind of catchy.

Sorry, you can't get divorced through a newspaper notice. You can start the divorce proceedings in the Clerk of Court's office by paying the filing fee and then trying to get the other party served. If service cannot be done such as you don't know the person's current home address, you ask the Clerk exactly what publication and what to state in the notice in the publication and how many times it must be run in that publication. Then once the notice has been in that particular publication so many times and you get the "proof of publication" from the newspaper you take that to the Clerk's Office for the next step. You don't really need a lawyer but it does help if you have kids, real estate, bank accounts, etc. but if you have none of these items the divorce can be handled by yourself. Go to the Clerk of Court's office and speak to them. Be prepared to pay the filing fee for divorces. A few years ago it was $200, now who knows how much they want to charge for a divorce. Each county is different fee wise as well.