In a Florida residential eviction, the motion for default final judgment is the paper a landlord files to ask the judge to sign the order granting possession after the tenant has forfeited the right to contest the case. It comes after the clerk has entered a default, and it travels with two sworn affidavits: one on damages and one on the tenant’s military status. If the paperwork is clean, the judge signs the Final Judgment and the clerk issues the Writ of Possession for the sheriff to enforce.
What Triggers the Default
Once the tenant is served with the summons and complaint, a five-business-day clock starts. To keep the case alive, the tenant must do two things inside that window: file a written response with the court and deposit the accrued rent alleged in the complaint into the court registry. The summons itself is required to spell out both obligations.1Justia Law. Florida Statutes 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession
A tenant who disputes the amount can file a motion asking the judge to determine what should be deposited, but that motion also has to land inside the five days and must be backed by documentation.1Justia Law. Florida Statutes 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession Miss the deadline, or answer but skip the deposit, and the statute calls the failure “an absolute waiver of the tenant’s defenses other than payment.” Read that phrase carefully. The only defense that survives is proof the rent was actually paid. Every other argument the tenant might have raised is gone.
One boundary worth flagging. Tenants in public housing or receiving rent subsidies are not required to deposit the full contract rent. They deposit only the portion they are personally responsible for under their assistance program.1Justia Law. Florida Statutes 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession A subsidized tenant who deposits their share has complied even if the complaint alleges the full market rent.
Clerk’s Default or Court Default
How the default gets entered depends on what the tenant did or didn’t do. If the tenant filed nothing at all, the docket is empty and the clerk enters the default as an administrative act under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.500. That is a clerk’s default.
If the tenant filed an answer but never deposited rent (and never filed a motion to determine rent), the clerk cannot act on a purely clerical basis because a response exists. The landlord brings the deposit failure to the judge, and the court enters the default based on the statutory waiver in Section 83.60(2).1Justia Law. Florida Statutes 83.60 – Defenses to Action for Rent or Possession That is a court default. Either way, the tenant loses the right to contest.
The Forms, in Order
The Florida Bar publishes standardized forms approved by the Florida Supreme Court for residential evictions. Using the right form numbers matters because misfilings slow the clerk’s office and can invite challenges later. Here is the sequence for a default final judgment.2The Florida Bar. Landlord/Tenant Forms
- Form 76, Motion for Clerk’s Default (Residential Eviction). Requests the clerk enter a default when the tenant failed to respond. Use this when you are seeking possession only.
- Form 77, Motion for Clerk’s Default, Damages (Residential Eviction). Use this instead of Form 76 when the complaint seeks both possession and money.
- Form 78, Motion for Default Final Judgment (Residential Eviction). After the clerk enters the default, this asks the judge to enter final judgment for possession.
- Form 79, Motion for Default Final Judgment, Damages (Residential Eviction). The damages counterpart to Form 78. Use this when the complaint includes a claim for unpaid rent.
- Form 80, Affidavit of Damages. A sworn statement listing the financial losses, including unpaid rent and the daily holdover rate.
- Form 81, Nonmilitary Affidavit. A sworn statement about the tenant’s active-duty status, required by federal law before any default judgment can be entered.
- Form 66, Final Judgment, Eviction. The actual judgment the judge signs to order possession returned to the landlord.
- Form 11, Writ of Possession. Issued by the clerk after the judge signs the final judgment. This is the document the sheriff enforces.
A common trap in online guides is mixing up these numbers. Form 78 is not the final judgment itself; it is the motion asking the judge to enter one. Form 79 is not the writ of possession; it is the motion for a damages judgment. The actual final judgment is Form 66. The actual writ of possession is Form 11.
The Nonmilitary Affidavit
Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, no court may enter a default judgment against any defendant without first receiving an affidavit about that defendant’s military status. The affidavit must state either that the tenant is not on active duty or that the landlord cannot determine the tenant’s military status.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments The Department of Defense runs a free lookup at scra.dmdc.osd.mil for verifying status before you sign. A false nonmilitary affidavit is a federal offense, so use the lookup rather than guessing.
Filing the Motion
Florida uses a centralized digital filing system, the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, for court documents.4Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Authority You can also file in person at the Clerk of Court’s office in the county where the property sits.5Florida Courts. Filing Your Forms
The sequence is two-step. First, submit the motion for clerk’s default (Form 76 or 77). The clerk checks the docket to confirm the tenant never filed a response or never deposited rent, then enters the default. That entry is a formal acknowledgment that the tenant has forfeited the right to contest. Second, submit the motion for default final judgment (Form 78 or 79) with the Affidavit of Damages (Form 80) and the Nonmilitary Affidavit (Form 81). Those go to the judge’s division.
The judge reviews the motion and affidavits to confirm that service of process was properly completed, that the five-day window has expired, and that the nonmilitary affidavit is in order. If everything checks out, the judge signs the Final Judgment on Form 66. Turnaround varies by county and caseload. Many landlords see the clerk’s default entered within a few business days and the judge’s final order not long after.
From Final Judgment to Lockout
Once the judge signs Form 66, the clerk issues Form 11, the Writ of Possession. That document goes to the county sheriff and commands the sheriff to restore possession to the landlord.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord You pay a writ service fee to the sheriff. In Miami-Dade County, for example, that fee is $115 per writ per address.7Miami-Dade County. Fees and Procedures for Court Services Amounts vary, so check with your local sheriff.
The sheriff posts a 24-hour notice on the property, visible to the occupants. Those 24 hours do not pause for weekends or holidays. If the occupants are still there when the notice expires, the sheriff returns to remove them physically and put the landlord in possession. The landlord may also request that a deputy remain on-site to keep the peace during the lockout, at a reasonable hourly rate paid by the landlord.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 83.62 – Restoration of Possession to Landlord
Costs to Expect
The initial court filing fee for a residential eviction varies by county but generally runs $185 or more.8Lake County Clerk of Court. County and Circuit Civil Fees Service of process on the tenant adds roughly $10 to $50 depending on whether the sheriff or a private server handles it. The writ of possession fee runs from about $90 to $115 or more depending on the county. Attorney fees for a straightforward uncontested eviction typically run a few hundred dollars, though this varies widely.
The final judgment can include an order requiring the tenant to reimburse court costs, but collecting a money judgment against a tenant who could not pay rent is often its own project. The judgment remains enforceable for up to 20 years in Florida, and recovery generally means tools like wage garnishment or bank levies later.
How a Tenant Can Undo the Default
A default final judgment is not always the end of the road. Under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b), a tenant can move to set aside the default on several grounds:
- Excusable neglect. The tenant did not willfully ignore the lawsuit but missed the deadline for a legitimate reason, such as hospitalization or never actually receiving the summons.
- Improper service. If the process server did not follow Florida’s rules, the tenant was never properly notified and the default may be void.
- Fraud or misrepresentation. The landlord misrepresented facts in the complaint or affidavits.
- Void judgment. The court lacked jurisdiction or the judgment was procedurally defective.
For excusable neglect, fraud, and newly discovered evidence, the motion must be filed within a reasonable time and no more than one year after judgment. For void judgments there is no firm time limit, though courts still expect the motion to come within a reasonable period. A tenant who surfaces months later still has to convince the judge they have a legitimate defense worth hearing. Courts weigh the strength of the proposed defense against the reason for the delay.
Two practical takeaways for landlords. Do not cut corners on service of process. And do not file a Nonmilitary Affidavit without actually checking the Department of Defense database. Either shortcut creates the opening a tenant needs to reopen the case. Clean paperwork on the front end is the best protection against a successful challenge on the back end.