Enforcing Foreign Judgments in Florida

A creditor who obtains a money judgment in another state cannot use that state’s courts to collect from assets located in Florida. The creditor must first domesticate the judgment by converting it into a Florida judgment through a statutory filing process. Once domesticated, the foreign judgment carries the same enforcement power as any judgment originally entered by a Florida court.

Florida uses two separate statutory frameworks depending on where the judgment originated. Judgments from other U.S. states, federal courts, and U.S. territories are domesticated under the Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (FEFJA), codified at §§ 55.501–55.509. Judgments from foreign countries are recognized under the Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act at §§ 55.601–55.607. The procedures, defenses, and timelines differ between the two.

Domesticating U.S. State Judgments Under FEFJA

The FEFJA process does not require filing a new lawsuit. The creditor records a certified copy of the foreign judgment in the official records of any Florida county where the debtor resides or owns property. At the same time, the creditor must record an affidavit listing the debtor’s name, Social Security number if known, and last known address, along with the creditor’s own address.

After recording, the clerk mails notice to the debtor by registered mail. No enforcement action can begin until 30 days after the clerk mails that notice. This 30-day window gives the debtor an opportunity to challenge the domestication.

Once the 30-day period passes without objection, the clerk records a certificate confirming that no objection was filed. At that point, the foreign judgment has the same effect as a Florida judgment. The creditor gains access to every Florida collection tool—liens on real and personal property, writs of garnishment, sheriff’s levy, proceedings supplementary, and discovery in aid of execution.

Foreign Country Judgments

Judgments from courts outside the United States follow a separate and more demanding process. The creditor must file the judgment along with a certified English translation if the original is in a foreign language, and the judgment amount must be converted to U.S. dollars.

Florida courts are not constitutionally required to recognize foreign country judgments the way they must recognize sister-state judgments under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. Instead, recognition is discretionary and governed by § 55.605, which lists specific grounds for non-recognition. A Florida court must refuse recognition if the foreign court’s legal system does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures compatible with due process.

A Florida court may refuse recognition if the foreign court lacked personal jurisdiction over the debtor, the debtor did not receive adequate notice, the judgment was obtained by fraud, the claim conflicts with Florida public policy, or the judgment conflicts with another final judgment.

The debtor has 30 days after service of notice to file an objection. If an objection is filed, the court conducts a hearing and enters an order granting or denying recognition. If no objection is filed, the clerk records a certificate of non-objection and the judgment becomes enforceable.

Statute of Limitations for Enforcement

The 20-year enforcement period is the most significant legal issue for both creditors and debtors in foreign judgment cases. The Florida Supreme Court resolved a long-standing conflict among Florida appellate courts in Patrick v. Hess (2017), holding that Florida’s 20-year statute of limitations under § 95.11(1) applies to any foreign judgment properly recorded under FEFJA.

The 20-year clock starts from the date the original judgment was entered in the other state—not from the date of domestication in Florida. A creditor who obtained a judgment in Arizona in 2010 and domesticated it in Florida in 2015 has until 2030 to enforce it, not 2035.

This rule creates a significant advantage for creditors. Many states impose much shorter enforcement periods. Arizona allows five years, California ten, and New York twenty. A creditor facing a short deadline in the originating state can extend its enforcement window to 20 years simply by domesticating the judgment in Florida before the original judgment expires. The judgment must be valid and enforceable in its home state at the time of domestication. A creditor who waits until the judgment has already expired in the originating state cannot revive it by filing in Florida.

There is one critical distinction. The 20-year period applies only when the creditor uses the FEFJA recording process. If the creditor instead files an independent lawsuit in Florida to enforce the foreign judgment, the five-year statute of limitations under § 95.11(2)(a) applies. This is a trap for creditors who choose the wrong procedural path, but it is also an important defense for debtors who can show the creditor failed to follow FEFJA procedures.

Debtor’s Grounds for Challenge

A debtor who receives notice of a domesticated foreign judgment is not without defenses. The 30-day objection window allows the debtor to challenge the domestication on several grounds.

The most common challenge is that the court that entered the original judgment lacked jurisdiction over the debtor. If the debtor was never properly served in the originating state, never resided there, and had no minimum contacts sufficient to support personal jurisdiction, the judgment may be void. A void judgment is not entitled to full faith and credit and cannot be domesticated.

The debtor can also argue that the judgment is not final—that an appeal is pending or that the judgment has been satisfied, modified, or vacated in the originating state. Fraud in obtaining the original judgment is another ground for challenge, though the burden of proof on the debtor is substantial.

Filing the objection within 30 days does not permanently block enforcement. The court will conduct a hearing and make a determination. If the debtor fails to file within 30 days, the right to challenge is not forfeited entirely, but the debtor must then bring a separate action—a more expensive and uncertain path.

What Happens After Domestication

Once a foreign judgment is domesticated in Florida, the creditor has access to the same enforcement tools available for any Florida judgment. The creditor can record the judgment as a lien on real property in any county where the debtor owns non-homestead real estate. The creditor can file a Judgment Lien Certificate with the Department of State to lien the debtor’s personal property statewide. The creditor can serve writs of garnishment on the debtor’s banks and employer, conduct discovery in aid of execution to locate assets, and pursue proceedings supplementary to reach assets held by third parties.

Florida’s exemption laws apply to domesticated judgments in the same way they apply to Florida-originated judgments. The debtor’s homestead, qualified retirement accounts, tenants by the entireties property, head of household wages, life insurance cash values, and annuity contracts all retain their protected status. A debtor whose assets are primarily exempt may be effectively judgment proof regardless of where the original judgment was entered.

Asset Protection Implications

Domestication transforms a distant legal problem into an immediate Florida collection threat. A debtor who assumed an out-of-state judgment had limited practical impact because the creditor was located far away may face an unpleasant surprise when the creditor domesticates the judgment and begins garnishing local bank accounts.

The 20-year enforcement window after domestication gives creditors a long runway. A debtor who is currently judgment proof because assets are primarily exempt should not assume the judgment will simply go away. Creditors can monitor the debtor’s financial situation over two decades and resume collection whenever non-exempt assets appear. Planning that maximizes Florida’s exemptions remains the most effective response to a domesticated foreign judgment.