Florida judgment collection laws give a creditor 20 years to turn a court order into money, using garnishment, levy and execution, or recorded liens against the debtor’s real and personal property. That sounds generous, and the timeline is. The harder part is that Florida also protects an unusually wide swath of debtor property from collection, so the practical question is rarely “what tools exist” but “what can the sheriff actually reach.”
How Long You Have to Collect
A Florida money judgment is enforceable for 20 years from the date the court enters it.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.081 – Statute of Limitations, Lien of Judgment There is no renewal, no extension, and no mechanism to restart that period. When the 20 years run out, the judgment dies and every collection remedy dies with it.
The 20-year cap also limits every lien period discussed below. A real-estate lien recorded late in the judgment’s life will expire when the judgment does, even if the lien’s own 10-year clock would otherwise still be running.
Interest on the Judgment
Every Florida judgment accrues interest from the day it is entered until it is paid. The rate is set quarterly by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, calculated by averaging the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s discount rate over the prior 12 months and adding four percentage points.2Justia Law. Florida Code 55.03 – Judgments; Rate of Interest, Generally For existing judgments, the rate adjusts each January 1.
The 2026 rate opened at 8.44% for the first quarter and 8.25% for the second.3MyFloridaCFO. Judgment Interest Rates On a $50,000 judgment, that adds roughly $4,000 in a year. One procedural detail matters: the judgment must state the applicable interest rate on its face, and a sheriff can refuse to execute on a judgment that omits it.2Justia Law. Florida Code 55.03 – Judgments; Rate of Interest, Generally Check the final judgment before you file anything else.
Finding the Debtor’s Assets
You cannot collect what you cannot locate. Florida gives creditors two discovery tools, and using both is standard practice.
Fact Information Sheet
If you ask the court to include an enforcement paragraph in the final judgment, the debtor must complete a sworn Fact Information Sheet (Florida Rule of Civil Procedure Form 1.977) within 45 days. The form calls for bank accounts, employment and income, real property, vehicles, recent transfers, and a spouse’s financial details. Missing the deadline can support a contempt finding.
This is the cheap first move. The debtor catalogs their own assets and you get a roadmap without a separate motion. A dishonest debtor may underreport, which is why the next tool exists.
Proceedings Supplementary
When the judgment goes unpaid, you can file a motion for proceedings supplementary to execution. The court orders the debtor to appear and explain, under oath, why specific property should not go toward the judgment. You can also bring in third parties: someone holding the debtor’s property, or a friend or relative who received transferred assets. Transfers made within one year before the original lawsuit was served carry a presumption of fraud if the property ended up with a spouse, relative, or close associate, and the debtor bears the burden of disproving it.4Justia Law. Florida Code 56.29 – Proceedings Supplementary
The Three Collection Tools
Garnishment
Garnishment reaches assets a third party holds for the debtor, usually a bank or an employer. Any judgment holder can obtain a writ of garnishment from the court.5Online Sunshine. Florida Code 77.01 – Right to Writ of Garnishment
Served on a bank, the writ freezes the debtor’s funds and forces the bank to report to the court so the creditor can claim the non-exempt portion. Wage garnishment aims at the paycheck, but Florida’s head-of-household protection makes wages unusually difficult to reach. Bank garnishment is the more productive tool in most Florida collections.
Levy and Execution
For tangible property the debtor holds directly, the clerk of the court issues a writ of execution. You deliver it to the sheriff in the county where the property sits, with written instructions identifying what to seize and where. The sheriff levies and sells at public auction, and proceeds go toward the judgment. Reachable property includes equipment, inventory, vehicles, and corporate stock.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 56.061 – Property Subject to Execution
Levy works best against business assets and non-exempt personal property. Against an individual debtor, homestead, vehicle, and personal property exemptions often leave the sheriff with very little to actually seize.
Judgment Lien on Personal Property
Filing a judgment lien certificate with the Florida Department of State places a statewide lien on the debtor’s personal property.7Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.202 – Judgments, Orders, and Decrees Filing can be done online.8Florida Department of State. Judgment Lien It doesn’t grab anything on its own, but it establishes priority against later creditors and complicates any sale or refinancing.
The lien lasts five years from filing. You can file a second certificate within six months before or after the first lien lapses for another five years of coverage, and no further extensions are allowed after that second filing.9Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.204 – Duration and Continuation of Judgment Lien; Destruction of Records
Liens on Real Estate
A money judgment does not automatically attach to the debtor’s real property. You must record a certified copy of the judgment in the official records of every county where the debtor owns land.10Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.10 – Judgments, Orders, and Decrees; Lien of All, Generally The recording detail that regularly costs creditors their lien: the judgment must contain the creditor’s address, or you must simultaneously record an affidavit providing that address. No address, no lien.
Once properly recorded, the lien attaches to all non-exempt real property the debtor owns in that county. It is effective for 10 years and can be extended once for another 10 by re-recording a certified copy, with an updated address affidavit, before the first period runs. Total lien life cannot exceed the judgment’s 20 years.10Florida Senate. Florida Code 55.10 – Judgments, Orders, and Decrees; Lien of All, Generally
Priority follows first-to-record, with property tax liens as the notable exception. To actually force a sale of non-homestead property, you file a separate judicial foreclosure action.
What Florida Exemptions Take Off the Table
Florida’s exemption scheme is among the most protective in the country. Exempt property cannot be reached by an ordinary judgment creditor, and evaluating exemptions before you spend money on collection is the difference between a productive file and a losing one.
Homestead
The Florida Constitution shields the debtor’s primary residence from forced sale by judgment creditors with no dollar cap.11FindLaw. Florida Constitution Art. X, Section 4 – Homestead; Exemptions A $5 million home is as protected as a modest one. The only limit is size: one-half acre inside a municipality, 160 acres outside. Property taxes, mortgages, and debts for work performed on the property are exceptions; an ordinary money judgment is not.
Wages
Wage protection depends on whether the debtor is a “head of family,” meaning someone who provides more than half the support for a child or other dependent. A head of family earning $750 per week or less in disposable income has every dollar exempted. Above $750 per week, head-of-family wages remain fully protected unless the debtor previously signed a specific written waiver: a separate document, in the same language as the underlying contract, printed in at least 14-point type with prescribed disclosure language.12Florida Senate. Florida Code 222.11 – Exemption of Wages From Garnishment
For debtors who are not head of family, federal law caps garnishment at 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less.13U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act
Vehicle and Personal Property
A debtor can protect up to $5,000 of equity in a single motor vehicle. A debtor who does not claim the constitutional homestead exemption gets an additional $4,000 in personal property of any kind. Professionally prescribed health aids are fully exempt regardless of value, and earned income tax credits and refunds are protected.14Online Sunshine. Florida Code 222.25 – Other Individual Property of Natural Persons Exempt From Legal Process
Retirement Accounts
Money in qualified retirement plans is broadly exempt. The protection covers 401(k)s, 403(b)s, traditional and Roth IRAs, pension plans, and other accounts qualifying for tax-exempt treatment under the Internal Revenue Code.15Florida Senate. Florida Code 222.21 – Exemption of Pension Money and Certain Tax-Exempt Funds or Accounts From Legal Processes Unlike the federal bankruptcy exemption for IRAs, Florida’s exemption has no dollar cap.
Life Insurance and Annuities
The cash surrender value of a life insurance policy on a Florida resident’s life is exempt from creditor claims, as are the proceeds of annuity contracts issued to Florida residents, regardless of amount.16Florida Senate. Florida Code 222.14 – Exemption of Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance Policies and Annuity Contracts From Legal Process The one exception is a policy or annuity purchased specifically for the creditor’s benefit.
Tenancy by the Entireties
When a married couple jointly owns property as tenants by the entireties, a creditor holding a judgment against only one spouse cannot reach that property at all. This covers real estate, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, vehicles, and virtually any other asset titled in both spouses’ names.
For deposit accounts held by a married couple, Florida law presumes entireties ownership unless the couple states otherwise in writing.17Online Sunshine. Florida Code 655.79 – Deposits and Accounts in Two Names The Florida Supreme Court extended a similar presumption to all jointly held property of married couples in its 2001 decision in Beal Bank, SSB v. Almand & Associates, putting the burden on the creditor to prove an entireties tenancy was not created.
The shield falls when both spouses owe the debt. A judgment against the couple jointly can be executed against entireties property. Where the debtor is married, confirming individual versus joint titling early usually decides whether collection is worth pursuing.
Collecting From a Business Debtor
The analysis changes when the debtor is a corporation, LLC, or partnership rather than an individual. Homestead, wage, vehicle, and personal property exemptions protect natural persons only. A business entity cannot claim any of them, and the sheriff can seize all of its property under a writ of execution without the exemption fight that dominates individual collections.
The mechanics are the same: writ of execution from the clerk, delivery to the sheriff with written instructions, levy, and sale. For entities holding mostly intangibles or receivables, garnishing the business’s bank accounts is usually faster than levying physical property. If you file a judgment lien certificate against a business entity, the filing requires the debtor’s assigned document number.8Florida Department of State. Judgment Lien