Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act: Grounds and Appeals

The Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act is the state’s framework for giving local force to a judgment entered somewhere else, and it works two very different ways depending on where that judgment came from. A judgment from another U.S. state records with the circuit court clerk and becomes enforceable after a short waiting period. A judgment from a court in another country has to clear a separate statute, the Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act, which gives the debtor a real chance to object before the judgment gains any force in Florida.

Chapter 55 uses the phrase “foreign judgment” for both situations, and the overlap is the single most common source of confusion. Part I (sections 55.501 through 55.509) governs judgments from other U.S. states and territories. Part VI (sections 55.601 through 55.607) governs judgments from courts in other countries. The paperwork, the timing, and the defenses are not the same.

Judgments From Another U.S. State

Sister-state judgments ride on the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution, so Florida is generally required to honor them. To use one in Florida, you file the judgment with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where you want to enforce, along with an affidavit giving the debtor’s name and last known address. The clerk mails notice to the debtor, and no execution or other enforcement activity can begin until 30 days after that mailing.

The debtor’s main tool during that window is a challenge to the original court’s jurisdiction or to the validity of the judgment itself. Filing that action within 30 days, together with a lis pendens, triggers a mandatory stay of enforcement.¹ If the debtor does nothing, the judgment is enforceable in Florida like any other Florida judgment once the 30 days pass.

Judgments From Another Country

No constitutional provision forces Florida to recognize a judgment from a court in another country. Instead, the Recognition Act supplies the test, and the debtor has a defined chance to object.

Which Foreign Judgments Qualify

The statute reaches only foreign-country judgments that grant or deny recovery of a sum of money. Judgments for taxes, fines, or penalties are excluded. The judgment must be final, conclusive, and enforceable where it was issued, but it still qualifies even if an appeal is pending or still possible back home.²

Non-monetary orders fall outside the Act. A foreign injunction or declaratory judgment cannot be enforced through this process; a separate lawsuit relying on common-law comity would be required.

Filing and Notice

You record the foreign-country judgment with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the debtor has assets or where you otherwise want to enforce. At the same time, you file an affidavit that includes the debtor’s name, Social Security number if known, and last known mailing address.³

The clerk then mails notice to the debtor by registered mail with return receipt requested. The notice identifies the judgment creditor and any Florida attorney involved. You can also mail notice yourself and record proof of that mailing with the clerk, which protects you if the clerk’s mailing goes astray.³

The Debtor’s 30-Day Objection Window

After receiving notice, the debtor has 30 days to file a notice of objection with the clerk, naming the statutory grounds for nonrecognition they intend to rely on. If an objection is filed, the circuit court holds a hearing and enters an order granting or denying recognition. If no objection comes in, the clerk records a certificate that none was filed, and the judgment is enforceable from that point forward.³ Missing the 30-day window effectively converts the foreign judgment into a Florida judgment by default.

Grounds a Debtor Can Raise

The Recognition Act sorts objections into mandatory and discretionary grounds. On a mandatory ground, the court has no choice but to refuse recognition. On a discretionary ground, the court weighs the circumstances.

Mandatory Grounds

Recognition must be denied if the foreign country’s legal system does not provide impartial tribunals or procedures that meet basic due process standards, if the foreign court lacked personal jurisdiction over the defendant, or if it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over the dispute.⁴ The first of these aims at entire legal systems rather than individual case errors.

Discretionary Grounds

The court may refuse recognition on a longer list of grounds:

The defendant did not get enough notice of the foreign proceedings to prepare a defense.
The judgment was obtained by fraud.
Enforcing it would violate Florida public policy.
It conflicts with another final judgment.
The parties had agreed to resolve the dispute in a different forum.
When jurisdiction rested only on personal service, the foreign court was a seriously inconvenient place to litigate.
The foreign country would not recognize a comparable Florida judgment.
It is a defamation judgment from a country whose law provides less protection for free speech than the U.S. and Florida constitutions.
Circumstances raise substantial doubt about the rendering court’s integrity in the specific case.
The specific proceedings leading to the judgment did not meet due process standards, even if the system generally does.

The mandatory system-wide ground and the discretionary case-specific ground are often confused. A country can run a generally fair court system and still produce an individual proceeding that fell short.⁴

Reciprocity sits on the discretionary list. Florida judges can decline recognition when the other country would not recognize a comparable Florida judgment, but they are not required to. In practice, the absence of reciprocity gives debtors a credible argument to combine with other grounds.

When Personal Jurisdiction Cannot Be Challenged

Personal jurisdiction is one of the most frequently raised defenses, and the statute lists situations in which Florida will not second-guess the foreign court. Recognition cannot be refused for lack of personal jurisdiction if any of the following was true at the time of the foreign case:

The defendant was personally served in the foreign country.
The defendant voluntarily appeared for reasons other than protecting seized property or contesting jurisdiction.
The defendant had agreed in advance to submit to that court’s jurisdiction.
The defendant lived in the foreign country when the case started, or (for a corporation) was headquartered, incorporated, or otherwise organized there.
The defendant had a business office there and the case arose from business conducted through that office.
The defendant operated a vehicle or airplane in the foreign country and the case arose from that operation.

If none of these fit, the debtor has a strong path to one of the mandatory grounds for nonrecognition.⁵

Pausing Recognition for a Foreign Appeal

If the debtor shows that an appeal is pending in the foreign country and that the foreign court itself has stayed the judgment, the Florida court may pause recognition proceedings until the appeal is resolved or until enough time has passed for the debtor to pursue it.⁶ Both pieces are needed. A pending appeal alone will not pause the Florida case.

Enforcing the Judgment Once Recognized

After the Florida court enters a recognition order, or after the clerk records a no-objection certificate for a sister-state filing, the judgment is enforceable like any Florida court judgment.³ That means wage garnishment, bank account levies, and execution against personal property are all available.

To create a lien on real estate in a particular county, you record a certified copy of the judgment and a copy of the recognition order in that county’s official records. The recognized judgment can also be recorded in any other Florida county without additional notice or hearings, which matters when the debtor’s assets are spread around the state.³

Appealing the Recognition Decision

Either side can appeal an order granting or denying recognition. Under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.110, the notice of appeal is due within 30 days of the order.⁷ Courts enforce that deadline strictly. Later disputes about specific enforcement actions, such as a particular garnishment, are separate proceedings with their own timing.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 55.509 – Stay of Enforcement of Foreign Judgment
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.603 – Applicability
3
FindLaw. Florida Code 55.604 – Procedures for Recognition
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.605 – Grounds for Nonrecognition
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.606 – Personal Jurisdiction
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.607 – Stay in Case of Appeal
7
Florida Appellate Rules. Rule 9.110 – Appeal Proceedings to Review Final Orders of Lower Tribunals