Florida Judgment Collection Laws

A Florida money judgment gives a creditor legal authority to pursue non-exempt assets. The judgment itself does not transfer any property or freeze any accounts. It is a court order establishing that a specific amount is owed of money. The creditor must then use Florida’s collection tools, including liens, garnishment, execution, and court proceedings, to actually recover that money.

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 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 framework 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.

Garnishment as a Judgment Collection Tool

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, typically 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 significant 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 on a Florida Judgment

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 cumbersome. 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 in Judgment Collection

When standard collection tools fail, the creditor can initiate proceedings supplementary under § 56.29. This is a court proceeding where the creditor can examine the judgment defendant under oath, compel testimony from third parties, and ask the court to order turnover of assets or to set aside transfers.

Proceedings supplementary give the creditor access to assets that are not easily reached through garnishment or execution. 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 directly against third-party transferees.

Asset Freezes in Florida Judgment Cases

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.

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 separate timelines (10 years for real property, five years for personal property) and 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 the lawsuit within the time allowed by Florida’s rules of civil procedure. 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

The period immediately after a judgment is the most consequential. A creditor who acts quickly 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, 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.

Judgments and Spouses

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. The person is entitled to a $1,000 exemption for a motor vehicle under § 222.25(2), and vehicles with outstanding loans often have little or no equity for the creditor to reach after the lienholder is paid. Whether a creditor can take a car depends on the vehicle’s equity, the applicable exemption, and the creditor’s cost-benefit calculation in pursuing a levy.

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.

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 occupies a unique position in Florida’s collection landscape. 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 with intent to harass, communicate with the person’s employer about the debt, or use threats of 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.

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

Asset Protection and Judgment Collection

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.

Effective asset protection means positioning assets within these exemptions before a judgment is entered. The goal is not to hide assets or defraud creditors but to take advantage of 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.