How to Enforce a Judgment in Florida: Your Complete Toolkit

You have a Florida judgment. The debtor isn't paying. Now you need to enforce it — and Florida gives you six distinct tools, each with different costs, timelines, and likelihood of success.

The mistake most creditors make is reaching for the most aggressive tool first. Start cheap, gather information, and escalate based on what you learn.

Tool 1: Fact Information Sheet ($0 upfront)

Request that the court order the debtor to complete Form 1.977, a sworn financial disclosure covering bank accounts, employment, real estate, vehicles, and income. It costs nothing to request and tells you exactly where the debtor's money and assets are.

This isn't enforcement itself — it's intelligence gathering. Everything else on this list works better when you know what you're targeting.

Timeline: 45 days for the debtor to comply. If they ignore it, add time for the motion to compel and contempt hearing.

Tool 2: Judgment Lien Certificate on Sunbiz ($20)

File a Judgment Lien Certificate through the Florida Department of State. It creates a statewide lien on the debtor's non-exempt personal property for 5 years. It establishes a claim and priority, but some buyers take free of the lien under § 55.205.

At $20, there's no reason not to file one immediately. It preserves your position while you investigate.

Tool 3: Real Property Judgment Lien (county recording fee)

If the debtor owns non-exempt real estate, record a certified copy of the judgment in the Official Records of that county. This creates a 10-year lien that can complicate a sale or refinance because the lien must be addressed to deliver clear title.

You can't force a sale of protected homestead property, and a general judgment lien does not attach while the property qualifies for the constitutional exemption. Non-homestead property is the target for a real property judgment lien.

Tool 4: Bank Account Garnishment (~$228+)

A writ of garnishment directed at the debtor's bank freezes the account and captures whatever balance exists up to the judgment amount. Filing costs about $188 for the garnishment action plus service fees.

The risk: if the account is empty or holds only exempt funds (federal benefits, wages from a head-of-household earner), you lose the filing fee. Use the Fact Information Sheet to verify active accounts before filing.

Tool 5: Wage Garnishment (~$228+)

Same process as bank garnishment, but directed at the debtor's employer. Federal law caps the take at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. But Florida's Head of Household exemption can block wage garnishment entirely for qualifying debtors supporting dependents.

Check exemption status before committing. A writ that dissolves on an exemption claim wastes your money.

Tool 6: Writ of Execution and Sheriff Levy ($1,000+)

The nuclear option: the sheriff physically seizes and auctions the debtor's tangible property. This requires advance deposits of $1,000 to $2,500+ depending on the county and property type.

Reserve this for cases where you've identified high-value non-exempt property with clear debtor ownership and no prior liens eating into the proceeds. For most small claims judgments under $8,000, the deposit alone can exceed 20% of the judgment.

The Enforcement Timeline

Start Smart, Escalate Deliberately

The worst approach is filing a blind garnishment on Day 11 without knowing anything about the debtor's finances. The best approach: file your $20 Sunbiz lien on Day 11, get the Fact Information Sheet results by Day 56, then use that data to choose the right enforcement tool.

Our Florida Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide ranks every tool by cost and effectiveness, walks through each one step by step, and includes worksheets to track your enforcement spending against likely recovery.

Get the complete guide and enforce your judgment methodically.

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