Florida Fact Information Sheet (Form 1.977)

A fact information sheet is a sworn financial disclosure that a judgment debtor must complete and deliver to the judgment creditor after a Florida court enters a money judgment. The form, designated as Form 1.977 under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, requires the debtor to disclose personal information, employment details, income, bank accounts, real property, vehicles, and recent asset transfers under penalty of perjury.

The fact information sheet is the creditor’s first and most efficient tool for identifying assets available to satisfy a judgment. It eliminates the need for the creditor to conduct blind asset searches by requiring the debtor to provide the information directly. What the debtor discloses on Form 1.977 shapes the creditor’s entire collection strategy, from deciding whether to pursue wage garnishment to identifying bank accounts available for levy.

When the Fact Information Sheet Is Required

Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.560(c) requires the judge to include an enforcement paragraph in any final judgment if the prevailing party requests it. The court has no discretion to deny this request. Once included, the paragraph orders the judgment debtor to complete Form 1.977 under oath and deliver it to the creditor’s attorney within 45 days of the final judgment.

The 45-day deadline runs from the date the judgment is entered, not from the date the debtor receives notice. If the judgment is satisfied in full or post-judgment discovery is otherwise stayed within that period, the obligation to complete the form is suspended. Otherwise, the deadline is mandatory.

A creditor can also request a standalone court order requiring Form 1.977 at any point during the life of the judgment, even if the enforcement paragraph was not included in the original final judgment. The court can order the debtor to complete the form within 45 days or such other reasonable time as it determines.

What the Form Requires

Form 1.977 for individuals collects the following categories of information: the debtor’s full legal name, aliases, residence address, and Social Security number; the debtor’s employer, position, rate of pay, and average paycheck; all checking, savings, and investment accounts, including account numbers and institution names; all real property owned or being purchased, with deed or mortgage details; all vehicles, including automobiles, boats, motorcycles, and aircraft; and whether the debtor has transferred any property worth more than $100 to any person within the preceding year.

The form also requires the debtor to attach supporting documents. These include the debtor’s last pay stub, the three most recent statements for every financial account, motor vehicle registrations and titles, deeds or titles to real property, and the debtor’s last two years of federal tax returns.

A separate version of Form 1.977 exists for corporations and other business entities. The business version requires disclosure of all officers, directors, members, or partners, along with the names of any shareholder or member holding 5% or more equity. It also requires three years of state and federal tax returns, all bank statements for the preceding three years, all canceled checks for the preceding 12 months, and board resolutions passed within the prior two years.

Spouse-Related Disclosure

The standard fact information sheet asks for limited spousal information, including the spouse’s name, address, employer, and income. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.560(d) authorizes expanded spousal discovery when the creditor shows a proper predicate for obtaining separate income and asset information about the judgment debtor’s spouse.

Creditors pursue spousal financial information for two reasons. The first is to determine whether the debtor transferred assets to the non-debtor spouse in a manner that could constitute a fraudulent transfer. The second is to evaluate whether the debtor qualifies as head of household for purposes of the wage garnishment exemption, which depends in part on the household’s overall financial picture.

A debtor whose spouse has significant separate assets or income should anticipate that the creditor will request the expanded spousal portion.

Delivery Rules

The completed Form 1.977 and all attachments must be mailed or hand-delivered to the judgment creditor or the creditor’s attorney. The form is not filed with the clerk of court. This is a critical distinction that the form itself emphasizes in bold type.

The reason is privacy. The fact information sheet contains Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, tax returns, and other sensitive financial data. Filing it with the clerk would make that information part of the public court record. By directing delivery only to the creditor or creditor’s counsel, the rules keep the debtor’s financial details out of public view.

After delivering the completed form, the debtor must file a notice of compliance with the clerk of court and serve a copy on the creditor or the creditor’s attorney. The notice of compliance confirms that the debtor has satisfied the obligation without disclosing the substance of the financial information in the court file.

Penalties for Noncompliance

Failure to complete and deliver the fact information sheet within the court-ordered deadline can result in a finding of contempt. The enforcement sequence follows a predictable escalation.

The creditor first files a motion to compel, asking the court to order the debtor to complete the form by a new deadline. If the debtor misses that deadline, the creditor files a motion for an order to show cause, requiring the debtor to appear in court and explain the failure. If the debtor cannot provide a satisfactory explanation, the court may hold the debtor in civil contempt.

Civil contempt for failure to complete a fact information sheet can result in a writ of bodily attachment, which is effectively an arrest warrant. Courts in Florida have sentenced debtors to jail time for noncompliance, with the ability to purge the contempt by completing the form within a specified period. A Hillsborough County order, for example, provides for five days of incarceration with a 20-day purge window to complete and deliver the form.

Providing false information on the fact information sheet carries separate consequences. Because the form is signed under oath, intentional misstatements or omissions can expose the debtor to perjury charges.

Repeated Requests

The fact information sheet is not a one-time obligation. Florida law does not limit the number of times a creditor can require the debtor to complete Form 1.977 during the life of a judgment. A Florida judgment is enforceable for 20 years, and the debtor’s financial circumstances can change substantially over that period.

Courts apply a general reasonableness standard to repeated requests. A creditor that demands a new fact information sheet every few months without cause may face pushback, but annual requests or requests triggered by a material change in the debtor’s circumstances are routinely approved.

How Creditors Use the Information

The disclosures on Form 1.977 directly inform the creditor’s collection strategy.

Bank account information enables the creditor to seek a writ of garnishment to freeze and levy the debtor’s accounts. Employment and income details reveal whether wage garnishment is viable and whether the debtor may claim head-of-household protection. Real property disclosures allow the creditor to record the judgment as a lien in each county where the debtor owns non-homestead property. Vehicle and personal property information identifies assets that can be levied through a writ of execution.

The transfer disclosure is particularly significant from an asset protection standpoint. If the debtor reports transferring property worth more than $100 to another person within the preceding year, the creditor can investigate whether the transfer was a fraudulent conveyance. Transfers made after the creditor’s claim arose, for less than reasonably equivalent value, or while the debtor was insolvent are vulnerable to avoidance.

The fact information sheet is one component of a broader post-judgment discovery framework. Rule 1.560(a) authorizes judgment creditors to use any discovery method available under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, including interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and depositions of the debtor or third parties. Creditors frequently supplement the fact information sheet with targeted discovery aimed at specific assets or transactions identified in the debtor’s initial disclosures.