Florida Statute of Limitations on Debt

Under Florida law, the enforceability of a debt is subject to strict temporal limits.

The Florida Statutes impose a mandatory deadline, known as the statute of limitations, which dictates the maximum time period a creditor has to file a lawsuit for the collection of a debt. Once this statutory period expires, the debt is legally classified as time-barred. If a creditor attempts to sue on a time-barred debt, the law provides the debtor with a complete defense against the claim.

However, this protection is not automatic. The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. The court will not raise this issue on its own motion. If a debtor is sued on an expired debt and fails to respond or fails to plead this specific defense in their answer, the court may enter a default judgment against them regardless of the debt’s age.

Furthermore, the limitations period is fragile. Specific actions by the debtor—such as making a partial payment or signing a written acknowledgment of the obligation—can legally revive an expired debt, resetting the limitations period and exposing the debtor to full liability.

Statutory Timelines for Debt Collection

The applicable statute of limitations depends entirely on the legal classification of the debt. Under Florida Statute § 95.11, the limitations period typically commences on the date of the last element constituting the cause of action—most commonly, the date of the first missed payment.

The vast majority of consumer collections fall into one of two categories: debts based on a written instrument or debts based on an open account.

Legal Classification	Limitation Period	Applicable Debts
Written Contract	5 Years	Promissory notes, personal loans, and credit agreements where the original signed contract is attached to the complaint.
Oral Contract	4 Years	Verbal loan agreements or non-written promises to pay.
Open Account	4 Years	Revolving store credit and credit card debts where the specific written contract is not produced.
Domestic Judgment	20 Years	A court judgment previously entered by a Florida court.
Deficiency Judgment	1 Year	The remaining balance owed following a foreclosure sale or short sale of a residential property.

The Revival of Expired Debt

A critical nuance in Florida collection law is a creditor’s ability to restart the limitations period. This concept is frequently utilized by debt purchasers to rehabilitate unenforceable accounts.

Under Florida law, a partial payment of any amount toward a principal debt tolls or resets the statute of limitations. Similarly, a written acknowledgment of the debt signed by the debtor can revive the obligation even after the original limitations period has expired.

If a debtor is contacted regarding an obligation that is past the five-year mark, the debt is legally unenforceable in court. However, if the debtor agrees to a payment plan or remits a nominal payment to “show good faith,” this act constitutes a voluntary revival of the debt. The five-year statute of limitations resets from the date of that new payment, allowing the creditor to file a lawsuit for the full balance plus accrued interest.

When facing a demand for an aged debt, it is legally prudent to verify the date of last activity before engaging with the collector. Admitting to the debt or making a payment prior to verification can result in the waiver of the statute of limitations defense.

The Borrowing Statute

One of the most effective, yet frequently overlooked, defenses in Florida debt collection is codified in Florida Statute § 95.10, commonly known as the Borrowing Statute.

This statute serves as a legal firewall against forum shopping. It prevents creditors from rehabilitating a claim that has already expired in another jurisdiction by filing the lawsuit in Florida.

Florida Statute § 95.10 states:

“When the cause of action arose in another state or territory of the United States, or in a foreign country, and its laws forbid the maintenance of the action because of lapse of time, no action shall be maintained in this state.”

In practice, this means that if a lawsuit involves a debt that originated in another state, Florida courts will “borrow” that state’s statute of limitations if it is shorter than Florida’s.

This defense is particularly relevant for two categories of defendants:

1. New Residents: Individuals who defaulted on a debt while living in a state with a shorter limitations period (e.g., Delaware, California, or Virginia) before moving to Florida.
2. Credit Card Holders: Consumers sued by national banks headquartered in states with strict 3-year limitation periods.

Credit Card Litigation

A significant portion of credit card litigation in Florida involves major issuers such as Chase, Discover, and Barclaycard, which are headquartered in Delaware.

Delaware law imposes a strict three-year statute of limitations on debt collection (Del. Code tit. 10, § 8106). Most credit card agreements contain a choice of law provision stating that the account is governed by the laws of the bank’s home state (often Delaware) or federal law.

If a debt buyer files a lawsuit in Florida four years after the default, they appear to be within Florida’s five-year statute of limitations. However, by properly asserting the Borrowing Statute and citing the cardholder agreement’s choice-of-law clause, a defense attorney can argue that the cause of action is actually subject to Delaware’s three-year limit.

If the court accepts this application of § 95.10, the claim is legally time-barred, and the case must be dismissed with prejudice. This transforms a valid Florida lawsuit into an unwinnable case for the creditor.

Classification of Credit Card Debt: Four Years vs. Five Years

A frequently litigated issue in Florida courts is whether a credit card debt is governed by the five-year statute of limitations for written contracts or the four-year statute of limitations for open accounts.

Third-party debt buyers frequently file lawsuits on accounts that are between four and five years old. In these “gap cases,” the classification of the debt determines the outcome of the litigation.

The “Written Contract” Standard (5 Years)

Creditors invariably argue that a credit card account is a written contract, entitled to the five-year limitations period under Florida Statute § 95.11(2)(b). To prevail on this argument, however, the creditor must satisfy a strict evidentiary burden. Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.130 requires that if a lawsuit is based on a written instrument, a copy of that instrument must be attached to the complaint.

In the context of credit card litigation, this means the creditor must produce the actual written agreement governing the account.

The “Open Account” Defense (4 Years)

In many instances, debt buyers purchase portfolios of old debt consisting solely of electronic data (data streams) without the accompanying original paper documentation. They often cannot produce the original cardholder agreement or the signed application.

When the plaintiff fails to attach a written contract to the complaint, defense counsel may argue that the debt does not qualify as a written contract but rather as an “open account” or an “account stated.” Under Florida Statute § 95.11(3)(k), actions on open accounts are subject to a four-year statute of limitations.

If a lawsuit is filed four years and six months after the date of default, and the creditor cannot produce the specific written contract governing the debt, the defendant can move to dismiss the action as time-barred.

This defense is particularly effective against secondary debt purchasers who often lack the complete chain of title and original documentation required to prove a written contract exists.

The Lifespan of a Judgment: Twenty Years of Liability

There is a significant difference between the time limits for filing a lawsuit and for collecting on a judgment.

The four- and five-year deadlines discussed above only apply to the initial filing of the case. Once a court enters a final judgment—whether after a trial or because the defendant did not respond—the original statute of limitations becomes irrelevant. The debt is no longer a contract dispute; it is a court order.

The Twenty-Year Statute

Under Florida Statute § 55.081, a judgment entered by a Florida court remains valid and enforceable for 20 years. During this period, the creditor may use various collection methods, such as wage garnishment and bank levies, to satisfy the debt. Statutory interest continues to accrue on the unpaid balance for the entire two decades.

The Ten-Year Lien Limit

While the judgment itself is valid for 20 years, the judgment lien on real property operates on a separate timeline. When a certified copy of the judgment is recorded in the county public records, it creates a lien on the debtor’s non-homestead real estate in that county. Under Florida Statute § 55.10, this lien is effective for an initial period of 10 years. The creditor can extend this lien for an additional 10 years by re-recording the judgment before the initial term expires.

This distinction highlights the risk of ignoring a lawsuit. A consumer may believe a five-year-old debt is about to expire. However, if the creditor files suit just days before the deadline and obtains a default judgment, that debt converts into a 20-year liability.

Asserting the Statute of Limitations Defense

Florida law classifies the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense. This means the burden is on the defendant to raise the issue legally. The court system does not automatically verify the age of a debt before entering a judgment.

If a creditor files a lawsuit on a debt that is clearly past the legal time limit, the case will proceed normally unless the defendant objects. If the defendant ignores the summons or files a response that simply states they cannot afford to pay, they may inadvertently waive their right to argue the statute of limitations. In such cases, the court has the authority to enter a valid judgment against the defendant for the full amount of the time-barred debt.

To successfully defeat a lawsuit using this defense, the defendant must file a formal written response—typically an Answer or a Motion to Dismiss. This document must specifically state that the claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Once raised, the burden shifts to the creditor to prove that the debt is within the allowable timeframe.