Garnishment Time Limits in Florida

Florida’s garnishment statute imposes strict procedural deadlines on every party in a garnishment case. A writ of garnishment against a bank account automatically dissolves if the creditor fails to act within six months. The debtor must respond within 20 days or risk losing the right to contest the freeze. A writ can dissolve automatically when a deadline passes, with no motion and no ruling from the judge.

Chapter 77’s deadlines cut both ways. A creditor that lets the six months lapse loses the frozen funds, and a debtor who files a claim of exemption late forfeits the exemption itself.

The Six-Month Rule for Bank Garnishments

A bank garnishment writ expires automatically if the creditor does not file a dismissal or motion for final judgment within six months. Once that deadline passes, the writ dissolves automatically—the bank must release all frozen funds, and no further action under that writ is valid.

The six-month clock starts on the date the writ is filed, not the date the bank receives or processes it. The writ dissolves by operation of the statute, and the garnishee is discharged from further liability under it. Florida courts read Chapter 77 strictly and refuse to add terms the legislature left out. The Third District applied that rule in Akerman Senterfitt v. Value Seafood, where a creditor let six months pass without moving for final judgment and its writs dissolved automatically.

Extension to Twelve Months

The creditor has one opportunity to extend the writ by an additional six months, for a maximum total of twelve months. Extending requires two steps: serving a notice of extension on both the bank and the debtor, and filing a certification of that service with the court.

Both steps must be completed before the initial six-month period expires. A creditor who serves the notice but does not file the certification—or files the certification but does not properly serve the notice—has not extended the writ. If either step is missing when the six months run out, the writ dissolves and cannot be extended afterward.

Litigation Does Not Toll the Clock

The six-month deadline does not pause when the garnishment case involves active litigation. If the debtor files a Claim of Exemption, the creditor objects, and the court schedules a hearing that takes months to resolve, the clock keeps running throughout.

A creditor facing an exemption dispute must manage both tracks at once: litigating the exemption and ensuring a motion for final judgment is filed within six months (or twelve months if properly extended). Missing the deadline means the entire garnishment is lost, and the creditor must start over with a new writ.

Continuing Writs for Wage Garnishment

A continuing writ of wage garnishment reaches wages the debtor has not earned yet. Under § 77.0305 the court directs the writ to the debtor’s employer, which must hold back part of every check as the wages come due.

The writ remains in effect until the judgment is satisfied, the debtor leaves the employer, or a court orders otherwise.

Deadlines for the Debtor

The debtor must file and serve a motion to dissolve the writ within 20 days. The clock starts on the date shown on the creditor’s certificate of service. A motion filed after 20 days is stricken as an unauthorized nullity, and the case moves into a default posture against the debtor. In practical terms, the debtor loses the right to challenge the creditor’s allegations and may be unable to prevent a final judgment of garnishment.

The Notice to Defendant starts a 20-day clock the day it arrives. Within that window the debtor must file a sworn Claim of Exemption and Request for Hearing. The completed form goes to the clerk of the court that issued the writ. Section 77.041 sets no procedure for filing it late. A court can strike a claim filed after the deadline, even where the funds were plainly exempt. A debtor who receives a garnishment notice should respond within the first week.

Filing the claim on time puts the creditor on a clock of its own. A hand-delivered claim gives the creditor 8 business days to answer it under oath, and a claim sent by mail allows 14. If that window closes with no sworn answer, the clerk must dissolve the writ without holding a hearing.

The Creditor’s Five-Day Service Obligation

Once the bank’s answer reaches the creditor, the creditor has five days to send the debtor a copy and a notice explaining the right to move for dissolution. The debtor then has 20 days to act. If the time for the bank’s answer expires without one, the five-day clock starts then. The creditor must serve these documents on the debtor at the debtor’s last known address and any other address the bank’s answer discloses. Service also goes to any other person the answer names as having an ownership interest in the account, including any joint account co-owner.

Failure to comply with this five-day service requirement is a procedural defect that can result in dissolution of the writ. The debtor’s 20-day clock also never starts, because it runs from the certificate of service on the notice the creditor failed to send.

Repeated Garnishments

The expiration of one writ does not prevent the creditor from filing a new one. A bank garnishment freezes whatever is in the account when the writ is served, plus deposits that arrive before the bank answers (§ 77.06(1)). Each writ is a separate proceeding. If the first writ dissolves or expires, the creditor can obtain a fresh writ as long as the underlying judgment remains enforceable.

A Florida judgment stays enforceable for 20 years after the clerk enters it. The creditor has those same 20 years to sue on the judgment under § 95.11(1), and a timely suit produces a new judgment with its own 20-year life. Over that period the creditor can issue new writs one after another, each one reaching whatever the bank holds until it answers.