Domesticating and Enforcing Foreign Judgments in Florida

A creditor who wins 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—convert 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 systems 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) 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.

How Does FEFJA Domestication Work?

FEFJA domestication does not require filing a new lawsuit. The creditor records a certified copy of the foreign judgment (sometimes called an exemplified copy, authenticated by the issuing court’s clerk and presiding judge) in the official records of any Florida county where the debtor resides or owns property. At the same time, the creditor records 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 before any collection begins.

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: real and personal property liens, writs of garnishment, sheriff’s levy, proceedings supplementary, and post-judgment discovery.

One practical detail that catches creditors off guard: FEFJA domestication does not create a new Florida judgment. It converts the existing foreign judgment into one that Florida courts will enforce. A creditor who instead files a brand-new lawsuit in Florida to enforce the foreign judgment does get a new Florida judgment, but that approach is slower, more expensive, and subject to a different statute of limitations.

How Long Can a Domesticated Judgment Be Enforced in Florida?

Florida’s 20-year enforcement period is the single most important legal issue in foreign judgment cases. The Florida Supreme Court resolved a long-standing conflict among 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 when the original judgment was entered in the other state, not when it was domesticated in Florida. A creditor who won an Arizona judgment in 2010 and domesticated it in Florida in 2015 has until 2030, not 2035.

This rule creates a meaningful advantage for creditors. Many states impose much shorter enforcement periods—Arizona allows five years, California ten. A creditor facing a short deadline in the originating state can extend its enforcement window 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.

The 20-year period also survives home-state expiration after domestication. Consider a Georgia judgment entered in 2009 and domesticated in Florida seven years later. That judgment remains enforceable through 2029, even though Georgia’s own 10-year limit expired in 2019. Once FEFJA domestication is complete, the Florida clock controls.

The Five-Year Trap: Filing a Lawsuit Instead of Using FEFJA

A creditor who files an independent Florida lawsuit to enforce a foreign judgment, rather than recording it under FEFJA, triggers a five-year statute of limitations under § 95.11(2)(a). The common-law action does produce a new Florida judgment if successful, but the creditor must file within five years of the original judgment date.

This is a trap for creditors who choose the wrong procedural path. A creditor with a seven-year-old judgment who files a new Florida lawsuit instead of using FEFJA will have the case dismissed as time-barred. From the debtor’s perspective, this distinction is a defense worth raising. If the creditor bypassed FEFJA and filed a lawsuit instead, the five-year clock may have already run.

How Are Foreign Country Judgments Handled in Florida?

Judgments from courts outside the United States follow a separate and more demanding process under §§ 55.601–55.607. 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. Recognition is discretionary. 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 also refuse recognition if the foreign court lacked personal jurisdiction, the debtor did not receive adequate notice, or the judgment was obtained by fraud. Recognition can also be denied if the claim conflicts with Florida public policy or the judgment conflicts with another final judgment. These discretionary grounds give debtors more room to fight a foreign country judgment than a sister-state judgment.

The debtor has 30 days after service to file an objection. If an objection is filed, the court conducts a hearing. If no objection is filed, the clerk records a certificate and the judgment becomes enforceable.

What Defenses Does a Debtor Have?

A debtor who receives notice of a domesticated foreign judgment can challenge it during the 30-day objection window 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, 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 misses the 30-day window, the right to challenge is not entirely forfeited, but the debtor must then bring a separate action, a slower and more expensive path with less favorable procedural posture.

What Collection Tools Does the Creditor Gain 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. That lien lasts 10 years and can be re-recorded for an additional 10 years before it expires. The creditor can also file a Judgment Lien Certificate with the Department of State to lien the debtor’s personal property statewide.

The creditor can also garnish the debtor’s bank accounts and wages, conduct post-judgment discovery to locate hidden assets, and use 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.

How Does a Domesticated Judgment Affect Asset Protection Planning?

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 far away faces a different reality when the creditor domesticates the judgment and begins garnishing local bank accounts.

The 20-year enforcement window gives creditors a long runway. A debtor who is currently judgment proof because assets are primarily exempt should not assume the judgment will go away on its own. Creditors can monitor the debtor’s financial situation over two decades and resume collection whenever non-exempt assets appear. An inheritance, a business sale, or a retirement account rollover into a non-exempt form can reopen the collection window years after the original judgment.

Planning that maximizes Florida’s exemptions remains the most effective response to a domesticated foreign judgment. For debtors with assets exceeding what exemptions cover, structuring before a judgment is domesticated is substantially easier than structuring after. The domestication filing itself puts the debtor on notice, and any transfers made after that date face heightened scrutiny under fraudulent transfer law.