Florida Judgment Collection Laws

A Florida money judgment gives a creditor legal authority to pursue the other person’s non-exempt assets, but the judgment itself does not transfer property or freeze accounts. The creditor must use Florida’s collection tools—liens, garnishment, execution, proceedings supplementary, and court proceedings to actually recover money.

Florida provides some of the strongest debtor protections in the country. Every collection tool described on this page has a corresponding exemption or defense, and the interaction between the two determines how a judgment is resolved in practice. Most money judgments against individuals are settled for less than their face value when the person’s assets are well positioned within Florida’s exemptions.

How Judgment Collection Begins

Collection does not start the moment a judgment is entered. Florida law provides a 10-day window after entry during which either party can request a rehearing. Most creditors wait for this period to expire before beginning collection, though nothing prevents a creditor from recording the judgment as a lien immediately. The lawsuit itself, from complaint through discovery to final judgment, can take months or years, and the decisions made during that period affect which assets are still reachable once collection begins.

The creditor’s first step is typically requiring the person to complete a fact information sheet, a sworn financial disclosure listing assets, income, bank accounts, real property, and business interests. The information in this form guides the creditor’s collection strategy. Failing to complete the form or making false statements can result in contempt sanctions.

The creditor’s collection options depend entirely on what the fact information sheet and other discovery reveals. A person with unprotected bank accounts faces immediate garnishment. Someone whose assets fall within Florida’s exemption categories presents a much harder target.

Judgment Liens

Recording a certified copy of a judgment in a county’s official records creates a lien on all non-homestead real property the person owns in that county. The creditor must record separately in each county where the person holds real estate. A real property judgment lien lasts 10 years and can be extended for an additional 10 years by re-recording before expiration.

For personal property, the creditor files a judgment lien certificate with the Florida Department of State. This lien encumbers non-exempt personal property statewide and lasts five years, renewable for another five. Judgment lien renewal requires strict compliance with statutory procedures, and a lien that lapses before renewal loses its priority.

A judgment lien does not by itself transfer property to the creditor. It prevents the owner from selling or refinancing encumbered property without addressing the lien. The lien also establishes the creditor’s priority relative to other creditors. First to record is first in line.

How Garnishment Works

Garnishment is the most common collection tool and typically the creditor’s most productive one. A writ of garnishment directs a third party holding the person’s money, usually a bank or employer, to freeze and turn over those funds.

Bank account garnishment freezes all accounts where the person’s name appears. The account holder then has 20 days to claim any applicable exemptions. Wage garnishment is a continuing process: a single writ served on the employer captures 25% of disposable earnings each pay period until the judgment is satisfied.

Florida provides strong garnishment protections. Head-of-household wages are fully exempt from garnishment if the person provides more than half the support for a dependent. Social Security income, retirement distributions, and annuity payments are also exempt. Property held jointly by married couples as tenants by the entireties cannot be garnished for the individual debt of one spouse.

Execution and Levy

A writ of execution authorizes the county sheriff to seize non-exempt personal property, including vehicles, equipment, inventory, and valuables, and sell it at public auction. The execution and levy process requires the creditor to identify specific property for the sheriff to seize.

Execution is less common than garnishment because personal property often has limited resale value and the process is expensive. The sheriff must physically locate and take possession of the property, store it, advertise the sale, and conduct the auction. After deducting costs, the remaining proceeds go to the creditor. The person can claim Florida’s $1,000 personal property exemption ($5,000 if not claiming homestead) to protect household goods and personal effects.

Proceedings Supplementary

When standard collection tools fail, the creditor can initiate proceedings supplementary under § 56.29. This court proceeding allows the creditor to examine the judgment defendant under oath, compel third-party testimony, and ask the court to order asset turnover or set aside transfers.

Proceedings supplementary are the most powerful creditor remedy under Florida law because they reach assets that garnishment and execution cannot. The creditor can implead third parties who received the person’s property and pursue fraudulent transfer claims within the same proceeding. Courts can enter money judgments against third-party transferees, reverse fraudulent conversions, impose charging liens on partnership or LLC interests, pierce corporate veils, and appoint receivers to take possession of the person’s property.

Creditors who cannot collect through garnishment or proceedings supplementary sometimes file an involuntary bankruptcy petition to access the broader recovery powers available to a bankruptcy trustee, including the ten-year lookback for self-settled trust transfers.

Asset Freezes

A creditor can obtain a pre-judgment or post-judgment asset freeze by petitioning the court. An asset freeze prohibits the person from transferring, selling, or dissipating specific property while the creditor pursues collection. Post-judgment freezes typically require the creditor to show that the person is concealing or depleting assets. Under state law, the creditor must post a bond to compensate the person if the freeze turns out to be unwarranted—a requirement that deters many creditors from pursuing this remedy.

Post-Judgment Interest

Florida judgments accrue post-judgment interest at a rate set quarterly by the Chief Financial Officer under § 55.03. The rate is calculated by averaging the Federal Reserve Bank of New York discount rate and adding 400 basis points. Interest adjusts annually on January 1 for each existing judgment. At recent rates, a $200,000 judgment grows by roughly $16,000 to $20,000 per year, compounding the financial exposure over the judgment’s 20-year life.

How Long Judgments Last

A Florida judgment is enforceable for 20 years from the date of entry under § 55.081. The judgment cannot be renewed after 20 years, but judgment liens operate on shorter timelines. Real property liens last 10 years; personal property liens last five. Both must be independently renewed to maintain the creditor’s priority.

The statute of limitations for debt governs the deadline for filing the original lawsuit, not the judgment’s enforcement period. A five-year-old debt that produces a judgment on the last day before expiration becomes a 20-year obligation.

Default Judgments

A default judgment is entered when the defendant fails to respond to a lawsuit within Florida’s procedural deadlines. Default judgments carry the same enforcement power as judgments obtained after a full trial. The person can move to vacate a default judgment by showing excusable neglect, a meritorious defense, and due diligence, but the motion must be filed promptly.

What Happens After a Judgment Is Entered

A creditor who acts quickly after a judgment is entered can garnish bank accounts, record liens, and send the fact information sheet before the person has time to respond. The timeline for what happens when a judgment is entered and for each collection tool determines how much time is available to prepare.

How Creditors Find Assets

Florida law gives judgment creditors extensive discovery tools to locate assets. Beyond the fact information sheet, creditors can subpoena bank records, depose the judgment defendant and family members, request copies of tax returns and financial statements, and search public records for real property, vehicle titles, and business filings. Asset searches conducted through third-party services can reveal accounts the person assumed were private. Social media posts are also a common source of financial information for creditors investigating a person’s assets and lifestyle.

How a Judgment Affects a Spouse

A judgment against one spouse does not automatically become a judgment against the other. However, the creditor may attempt to reach marital assets depending on how they are titled. How a judgment affects a spouse depends on whether the assets are held as tenants by the entireties and whether the non-judgment spouse has any independent liability.

Can a Creditor Take Your House?

Florida’s homestead exemption is among the strongest in the country, protecting a person’s primary residence from forced sale by most judgment creditors. A creditor generally cannot take a Florida homestead, though exceptions exist for mortgage foreclosure, property taxes, and contractor liens.

Can a Creditor Take Your Car?

A judgment creditor can seize a person’s vehicle through a writ of execution directed to the county sheriff, but Florida law limits the practical value of vehicle seizure as a collection tool. Florida protects $5,000 of motor vehicle equity under § 222.25(1), and most financed vehicles have little or no equity left once the lienholder is paid. Whether a creditor can take a car depends on the vehicle’s equity, the exemption amount, and whether pursuing a levy is worth the likely recovery.

Becoming Judgment Proof

A person is effectively judgment proof when substantially all assets and income fall within Florida’s exemption categories. Being judgment proof does not eliminate the judgment; it remains on the public record and accrues interest. But it deprives the creditor of any practical collection remedy and creates powerful leverage for settlement. Florida is one of the hardest states to collect a judgment, and few states match the combination of unlimited homestead, uncapped wage protection, and broad tenancy by the entirety coverage.

Settling a Judgment

A creditor facing an effectively judgment-proof individual has strong incentives to accept a negotiated payment rather than continue spending money on fruitless collection. Settling a judgment for less than its face value is the most common resolution when the person’s assets are well protected. The settlement amount depends on the person’s exemption posture, the judgment’s age, and the creditor’s assessment of future collectibility.

Enforcing Out-of-State Judgments

A judgment entered in another state must be domesticated in Florida before the creditor can use Florida’s collection tools. Enforcing foreign judgments in Florida requires filing the judgment with a Florida court under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. Once domesticated, the judgment carries the same weight as a Florida judgment, but Florida’s exemptions, including homestead, apply to protect Florida assets.

Deficiency Judgments

A deficiency judgment arises when collateral sold at foreclosure or repossession does not cover the full debt. Florida allows deficiency judgments on residential mortgages, vehicle loans, and commercial debt, each with different rules for valuation, timing, and limitation periods. Once entered, a deficiency judgment becomes a standard money judgment subject to all the same collection tools.

Federal Judgment Collection

Federal agencies collecting civil judgments operate under the Federal Debt Collection Procedures Act, which grants broader powers than state law, including pre-judgment asset freezes without bond and 20-year judgment liens. State exemptions generally apply to federal civil judgments, but the overlap is imperfect and certain federal remedies have no state-law equivalent.

IRS Tax Debt Collection in Florida

The IRS has collection powers that go beyond what any private creditor can do in Florida. Federal tax liens attach to nearly every asset the person owns, including property that would be exempt from private creditors. IRS collection in Florida operates under rules that partially override homestead protection, pierce tenants-by-the-entireties ownership, and bypass head-of-household wage exemptions through administrative garnishment.

SBA Debt Collection

Small Business Administration loan defaults follow a specific collection chain from lender to SBA to the U.S. Treasury. SBA debt collection involves the Treasury Offset Program, which intercepts tax refunds and Social Security payments, and administrative wage garnishment that bypasses Florida’s head-of-household exemption entirely.

Debtor Rights Under Florida Collection Law

Florida’s Consumer Collection Practices Act (§ 559.55–559.785) and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act impose strict limits on how creditors and collectors pursue debts. The FCCPA is broader than the federal statute because it applies to both original creditors and third-party debt collectors, while the FDCPA covers only third-party collectors and debt buyers.

Collectors cannot contact people before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., call repeatedly to harass, discuss the debt with the person’s employer, or threaten violence or criminal prosecution. They cannot misrepresent the amount owed or falsely claim to be attorneys. A person who receives a collection communication has 30 days to dispute the debt in writing, after which the collector must cease contact until it provides verification.

FCCPA violations give the person a private cause of action: actual damages, statutory damages up to $1,000, punitive damages, and attorney fees (§ 559.77). These counterclaims are settlement leverage in their own right. Someone who can demonstrate that a collector engaged in prohibited conduct may offset the collection claim or negotiate a more favorable resolution.

How Collection Tools, Exemptions, and Settlement Interact

Every collection tool described above has a corresponding defense under Florida law. The homestead exemption defeats real property liens and execution. The head-of-household exemption defeats wage garnishment. Tenants-by-the-entireties ownership defeats garnishment of joint accounts and seizure of jointly held property. Retirement accounts, annuities, and life insurance are statutorily exempt from all creditor claims.

Consider a married person in Florida with two minor children who has a $50,000 credit card judgment entered against them. The creditor garnishes their joint bank account held as tenants by the entireties—the garnishment fails because the judgment is against only one spouse. The creditor then garnishes wages, but the person earns less than their spouse, cannot claim head-of-household status, and loses 25% of take-home pay.

Rather than endure an ongoing garnishment, the person negotiates a lump-sum settlement for half the judgment amount. The creditor accepts because a lump sum now is more valuable than years of incremental wage deductions.

Effective asset protection means positioning assets within these exemptions before a judgment is entered. The goal is not to hide assets but to use the legal protections Florida provides. A person whose assets are properly structured transforms a 20-year judgment from a serious threat into a manageable problem that can be resolved through negotiation on favorable terms.