Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540 is the tool for asking a court to fix or set aside a final judgment, decree, or order after it has already been entered. Subdivision (a) handles clerical mistakes and can be raised at any time. Subdivision (b) lets a court relieve a party from a judgment for one of five specific reasons, and it comes with tight deadlines and a short list of things it will not do. It is not a substitute for an appeal, and Florida courts enforce that line strictly.
Clerical Mistakes Under Rule 1.540(a)
Rule 1.540(a) covers the simplest category of post-judgment corrections: clerical errors, oversights, and omissions in judgments, orders, or other parts of the court record. A misspelled name, a transposed digit in a dollar amount, an omitted paragraph that was clearly part of the ruling. The court can correct these mistakes on its own or on a party’s motion, with or without notice to the other side. There is no time limit.
The catch is that 1.540(a) only reaches clerical errors, not substantive ones. If the judge made a legal mistake in reaching the decision, that is a judicial error, and the path is an appeal or a motion under 1.540(b). A correction under 1.540(a) cannot change the substance of what the court decided; it can only make the written order accurately reflect what the court intended.
The Five Grounds Under Rule 1.540(b)
Rule 1.540(b) allows a court to relieve a party from a final judgment, decree, order, or proceeding for five specific reasons:
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. A party or attorney error or oversight that led to an unfair result, such as missing a filing deadline because of a genuine miscommunication.
- Fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by the opposing party. Deliberate deception that affected the court’s decision, such as fabricated documents or evidence hidden during discovery.
- The judgment is void, because the court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter or the parties, or a party was denied any meaningful opportunity to be heard.
- The judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged. The obligation no longer exists because it has been paid, forgiven, or otherwise resolved.
li>Newly discovered evidence that could not have been found through reasonable effort before the judgment was entered, and that would likely change the outcome.
Each ground has its own requirements, and courts scrutinize motions closely to prevent the rule from being used as a backdoor appeal.1Justia. Curbelo v. Ullman
What Counts as Excusable Neglect
Excusable neglect is the ground most people invoke, and it is also where most motions fail. Florida courts do not treat every missed deadline or procedural slip as excusable. The neglect must result from circumstances a reasonably careful person could not have avoided. Clerical mix-ups, genuine miscommunications about hearing dates, and unexpected emergencies can qualify. Forgetting a deadline or being too busy does not.
Courts look at the full picture: how long the delay lasted, why it happened, whether the other side would be unfairly harmed by reopening the case, and whether the party seeking relief acted in good faith once the problem was discovered. An attorney’s mistake is treated as the client’s mistake. If your lawyer dropped the ball, that does not automatically excuse the neglect, though it can be a factor depending on the circumstances.
Indifference to deadlines is fatal. A party who knew about a filing requirement and simply chose not to act will not get relief under this ground, no matter how sympathetic the underlying case.
Vacating a Default Judgment
Rule 1.540(b) comes up most often when someone is trying to set aside a default judgment. If you were sued and never responded, whether because you were never properly served or because a filing deadline slipped past, a default may have been entered against you. To vacate it, Florida courts require three showings:
- Excusable neglect or mistake. A legitimate reason you failed to respond, supported by a sworn affidavit explaining what happened.
- A meritorious defense. You have a real defense to the underlying claim. The court will not reopen a case just to reach the same result.
- Due diligence. You acted promptly once you learned about the judgment. Sitting on your hands for months after discovering the default undermines any claim of excusable neglect.
All three must be present. A good defense means nothing if you cannot explain the delay, and a compelling excuse means nothing if you have no viable defense on the merits. This is where most attempts to vacate defaults fall apart: people focus on why they missed the deadline and forget they also need to show the case would come out differently.
Time Limits
Deadlines under Rule 1.540(b) depend on which ground you are relying on. Motions based on mistake, inadvertence, surprise, excusable neglect, or newly discovered evidence must be filed within a “reasonable time” and in no event more than one year after the judgment was entered.2Sixth Judicial Circuit Court In and For Pinellas County, Florida. ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Reasonable time is not a fixed period. A motion filed eleven months after judgment can still be denied as untimely if the party knew about the problem much earlier and waited without justification. The one-year cap is a hard ceiling, but reasonableness is judged from when the party knew or should have known about the grounds for relief.
Motions based on fraud, a void judgment, or a satisfied judgment are not subject to the one-year limit. They must still be filed within a reasonable time, but courts recognize that fraud may take years to uncover and that a void judgment is a nullity regardless of when the defect is raised.2Sixth Judicial Circuit Court In and For Pinellas County, Florida. ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
How To File the Motion
File the motion with the clerk of the court that entered the original judgment. Identify which of the five grounds you are relying on and lay out the factual basis, supported by affidavits or other evidence. Vague assertions will not survive scrutiny. If you are claiming excusable neglect, attach a sworn statement explaining exactly what happened. If you have newly discovered evidence, describe what it is, why it matters, and why you could not have found it sooner.
File a notice of hearing with the motion so the opposing party knows when the court will consider it. Service must comply with Florida’s rules of civil procedure. The opposing party can file responsive papers contesting the motion, and both sides can present oral argument at the hearing.2Sixth Judicial Circuit Court In and For Pinellas County, Florida. ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Check local court rules before filing. Individual circuits in Florida sometimes impose additional formatting requirements or documentation standards that go beyond the statewide rule.
Filing Does Not Stop Enforcement
Filing a Rule 1.540(b) motion does not automatically stay enforcement of the judgment. The rule states that a motion under this subdivision does not affect the finality of a judgment or suspend its operation. The other side can keep collecting, garnishing wages, or recording liens while your motion is pending.
If you need enforcement paused, ask the court for a separate stay. The court may require you to post a bond or other security. Do not assume that filing the motion buys you time. If enforcement is imminent, address the stay issue in your initial filing or through a separate emergency motion.
What Rule 1.540 Cannot Do
The Florida Supreme Court made clear in Curbelo v. Ullman that Rule 1.540 is not a substitute for a new trial motion under Rule 1.530 and is not a replacement for an appeal. Judicial errors, meaning situations where the judge applied the wrong legal standard or misinterpreted the law, have to be challenged through the appellate process. A “mistaken view of the law” is not the kind of mistake Rule 1.540(b)(1) was designed to correct.1Justia. Curbelo v. Ullman
The “void judgment” ground under 1.540(b)(4) is similarly narrow. A judgment is void only when the court lacked jurisdiction or a party was deprived of any opportunity to be heard. Errors, irregularities, and even serious procedural missteps during a case do not make the resulting judgment void as long as the court had jurisdiction and the parties had notice and a chance to participate.1Justia. Curbelo v. Ullman
Courts also watch for parties who use 1.540 motions as delay tactics. If the motion is really just a second attempt at arguments already raised or that could have been raised on appeal, expect it to be denied.
Independent Actions for Fraud on the Court
Rule 1.540 preserves a court’s power to hear an independent action to set aside a judgment for fraud on the court. This is a separate proceeding, not a motion in the existing case, and it exists for conduct that corrupts the judicial process itself, such as bribing a judge, tampering with a jury, or an attorney fabricating evidence.
Independent actions are not bound by the one-year time limit that applies to 1.540(b) motions. They are governed instead by laches and applicable statutes of limitations. If ordinary fraud between the parties is what you are dealing with, the 1.540(b)(3) motion is the right vehicle; the independent action is reserved for something more serious.