Legally reviewed by Francis M. Boyer, B.C.S., Board Certified in International Law by The Florida Bar | Last reviewed: September 2026
Summary: If you need to domesticate an out-of-state judgment in Florida, FEFJA generally allows a qualifying sister-state judgment to be recorded rather than relitigated. The creditor must use a properly certified judgment, record the required affidavit, and complete statutory notice before enforcement can begin. No execution or other enforcement process may issue until 30 days after the clerk mails notice. That 30-day period is not an absolute deadline for every later challenge: Tarnow v. Watson (2026) separates the right to challenge the judgment from the requirements for obtaining an automatic stay of enforcement.
Key Takeaways:
- FEFJA is for U.S. sister-state judgments: A judgment from another country follows Florida’s separate foreign-country recognition law.
- The 30-day period controls enforcement, not every possible challenge: Execution cannot issue until 30 days after notice, but Tarnow v. Watson makes clear that a later challenge is not automatically barred just because that period has passed.
- Recording can be done in any Florida county: Section 55.503 does not restrict recording to the county where the debtor lives or owns assets, although asset location can affect enforcement strategy.
- Domestication does not automatically restart every limitations period: Patrick v. Hess applies Florida’s 20-year period after FEFJA domestication, but the Florida Supreme Court did not decide when that period begins to run.
- Domestication is only the first enforcement step: The creditor may still need garnishment, liens, levy, asset discovery, or proceedings supplementary to reach Florida assets.
If you obtained a judgment in New York, Georgia, Texas or another U.S. state but the debtor or assets are now in Florida, you need a judgment that can be enforced through Florida’s collection procedures. The Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act gives qualifying sister-state judgments a statutory route into Florida without requiring the creditor to relitigate the original dispute.
The Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, Fla. Stat. §§55.501–55.509, applies to qualifying judgments from another U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the United States that are entitled to full faith and credit in Florida. It does not govern money judgments issued by courts outside the United States.
In Florida, a qualifying judgment from another U.S. state can generally be domesticated by recording a certified copy with a circuit court clerk under FEFJA, recording the required creditor affidavit, and completing the statutory notice process. Execution or other enforcement process cannot issue until 30 days after the clerk mails notice to the debtor.
What Does Florida Mean by a Foreign Judgment?
Florida uses “foreign judgment” differently depending on where the judgment originated.
For FEFJA, a foreign judgment means a qualifying judgment, decree, or order from another U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the United States that is entitled to full faith and credit in Florida. The statutory definition is found in Florida Statute §55.502.
A judgment from another U.S. jurisdiction therefore proceeds under a different Florida framework from a judgment issued outside the United States:
| Judgment Origin | Florida Framework |
| Another U.S. state, territory, commonwealth or qualifying U.S. court | Florida Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, §§55.501–55.509 |
| Court outside the United States | Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act, §§55.601–55.607 |
If your judgment was issued by a court outside the United States, see Boyer Law Firm’s foreign-country judgment recognition resource instead.
How Do You Domesticate an Out-of-State Judgment in Florida?
FEFJA provides a recording procedure for a qualifying sister-state judgment. Section 55.502 also preserves a creditor’s right to bring a separate action to enforce the judgment instead of using the Act, so the recording process is not the only legal route available.
Step 1: Obtain a Properly Certified Copy of the Judgment
Florida Statute §55.503 allows a copy of a qualifying foreign judgment certified in accordance with applicable U.S. or Florida law to be recorded with a Florida circuit court clerk.
Before recording, the creditor should confirm which judgment is currently in effect and whether a later order, appeal, stay, satisfaction or modification affects enforcement. That prevents an outdated version of the judgment from becoming the basis for the Florida filing.
Step 2: Record the Judgment With a Florida Circuit Court Clerk
A qualifying judgment may be recorded in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of any Florida county. FEFJA itself does not restrict recording to the county where the debtor lives or owns assets.
Once recorded, the judgment has the same effect and becomes subject to the same Florida rules of civil procedure, legal and equitable defenses, proceedings for reopening or vacating judgments, stays, enforcement, release and satisfaction as a Florida circuit or county court judgment.
Where enforcement should actually be pursued is a separate strategic question. If the debtor’s real estate, bank accounts, business interests, or other property are concentrated in a particular county, that asset picture can affect the next stage of the case.
Step 3: Record the Required Creditor Affidavit
At the time the judgment is recorded, Florida Statute §55.505 requires the judgment creditor to record an affidavit containing specified information about the creditor and debtor.
The affidavit includes:
- The judgment debtor’s name
- The debtor’s Social Security number, if known
- The debtor’s last known post office address
- The judgment creditor’s name
- The creditor’s last known post office address
The clerk uses that information for the statutory notice following recording.
Step 4: The Clerk Sends Notice to the Judgment Debtor
After the judgment and affidavit are recorded, the clerk must promptly mail notice of the recording to the debtor by registered mail with return receipt requested. The creditor may also mail notice and record proof of the mailing.
If the clerk fails to mail notice, §55.505 provides that this does not defeat enforcement when the creditor’s proof of mailing has been properly recorded.
The mailing date controls when certain enforcement steps can begin.
What Does Florida’s 30-Day Waiting Period Actually Mean?
Florida’s 30-day period is commonly described as a deadline for challenging a domesticated judgment. That description is incomplete.
Under §55.505, no execution or other enforcement process may issue until 30 days after the clerk mails notice of recording. Florida Statute §55.507 separately provides that the foreign judgment does not operate as a lien until 30 days after the clerk’s mailing.
Section 55.509 addresses an automatic stay. If, within 30 days after the judgment is recorded, the debtor files an action contesting the original court’s jurisdiction or the validity of the judgment and records a lis pendens directed toward the judgment, the court must stay enforcement and the judgment lien. A lis pendens is a public notice that the pending court action affects the recorded judgment.
A challenge to the judgment and a stay of enforcement are therefore related, but they are not the same thing.
The Florida Sixth District Court of Appeal clarified that distinction in Tarnow v. Watson on June 19, 2026.
Can a Debtor Challenge a Domesticated Judgment After the 30 Days?
Potentially, yes.
In Tarnow v. Watson, Case Nos. 6D2024-1853 & 6D2024-2812 (Fla. 6th DCA June 19, 2026), a New York judgment had been domesticated by recording it in Collier County under FEFJA. The debtor brought an action challenging the judgment but had not satisfied §55.509’s requirements for obtaining or maintaining a stay.
The Sixth DCA held that §55.509’s conditions for obtaining or maintaining a stay of enforcement are not conditions for commencing or maintaining an action challenging the judgment itself. The opinion expressly explains that a debtor can bring a challenge more than 30 days after recording without that challenge automatically staying enforcement.
The court did not decide whether Tarnow’s underlying fraud and validity arguments ultimately entitled him to relief.
For a creditor, that means the end of the 30 days does not necessarily eliminate every later challenge.
For a debtor, it means bringing a challenge and stopping the creditor from enforcing the judgment while that challenge is pending are separate issues.
What Can Be Challenged After an Out-of-State Judgment Is Recorded?
FEFJA does not give the losing party a second trial on the original dispute.
Section 55.503 provides that a properly recorded judgment is subject to the same Florida legal and equitable defenses and procedures for reopening, vacating, or staying judgments as a Florida judgment.
Depending on the underlying case, a dispute may involve questions such as:
- Whether the original court had jurisdiction
- Whether the judgment is legally valid
- Whether it has been paid or satisfied
- Whether an applicable stay prevents enforcement
- Whether another recognized ground affects enforcement in Florida
The Full Faith and Credit Clause does not permit a debtor to reopen the merits simply because the debtor disagrees with the decision reached by the other state’s court.
How Long Can an Out-of-State Judgment Be Enforced in Florida?
Florida’s 20-year rule does not mean that recording an old sister-state judgment automatically gives the creditor a new 20-year enforcement period beginning on the recording date.
The current version of Florida Statute §95.11 provides 20 years for an action on a judgment or decree of a Florida court of record. It separately provides a five-year period for an action on certain judgments from another U.S. state, territory, federal court, or foreign country.
In Patrick v. Hess, 212 So. 3d 1039 (Fla. 2017), the Florida Supreme Court held that the 20-year limitations period applies to enforcement after a sister-state judgment has been recorded and domesticated under FEFJA. The Court expressly stated, however, that it was not deciding the separate question of when that 20-year period begins to run.
FEFJA also states that the Act itself does not alter, modify, or extend the limitations period applicable to enforcement of foreign judgments.
Recording an old judgment in Florida should therefore not be treated as automatically resetting every enforcement deadline.
The age of the original judgment, the procedural route being used, the Florida recording date, and the status of the judgment should be reviewed before relying on a limitations calculation.
What Happens After the Judgment Is Domesticated?
Recording makes the judgment available for Florida enforcement, but it does not collect the debt by itself.
Depending on the debtor and the property available, enforcement may involve:
- Garnishment, which may reach certain money or property held by a third party, such as funds held by a bank
- Judgment liens, which may attach to qualifying property
- Levy, which can involve seizure of nonexempt property through execution
- Discovery in aid of execution to identify assets
- Proceedings supplementary
- Other post-judgment remedies available under Florida law
The commercially useful question is not simply whether the judgment can be domesticated. It is what Florida asset or source of recovery makes enforcement worthwhile.
A creditor who already knows that the debtor owns Florida real estate, maintains accounts here, operates a Florida business, or holds other reachable property has a much clearer enforcement objective than a creditor who has no information about where assets are located.
Key point: A challenge to the judgment and a stay of enforcement are not the same thing. Tarnow v. Watson clarified that distinction in 2026.
When Does an Out-of-State Judgment Need Closer Legal Review?
The recording procedure becomes more consequential when enforceability, timing or collection is disputed.
A closer review may be warranted when:
- You already hold a substantial unpaid judgment from another U.S. state
- The debtor has moved to Florida
- Florida real estate, bank accounts, business interests or other assets have been identified
- The judgment is old enough that a limitations issue may exist
- The debtor disputes the original court’s jurisdiction or the judgment’s validity
- An appeal or stay exists in the state where the judgment was entered
- A challenge has already been filed in Florida
- You need to move from domestication into garnishment, levy, asset discovery or another collection remedy
Those facts affect whether the judgment remains enforceable, whether the debtor can stop enforcement, and which Florida collection procedure is realistically available.
Talk to Boyer Law Firm About Enforcing an Out-of-State Judgment in Florida
If you already hold an unpaid judgment from another U.S. state and the debtor or assets are now connected to Florida, the issue is no longer simply how to record paperwork. You need to know whether the judgment can be enforced, whether a stay or limitations issue may interfere, and what Florida assets are realistically available for collection.
Boyer Law Firm can review the judgment, its current status, potential FEFJA issues, and the Florida enforcement objective. You can also review Boyer Law Firm’s Florida foreign judgment enforcement lawyer service for more information about representation.
If you need to domesticate an out-of-state judgment in Florida, contact Boyer Law Firm to discuss the judgment and the property or assets you are trying to reach.
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FAQs About Domesticating Out-of-State Judgment in Florida
Does Florida enforce judgments from other states?
Yes. FEFJA provides a statutory process for recording qualifying judgments from another U.S. state, territory, commonwealth, or the United States when the judgment is entitled to full faith and credit in Florida. Once properly recorded, the judgment has the same effect and becomes subject to the same Florida procedures and defenses as a judgment entered by a Florida circuit or county court.
Is the 30-day period a deadline to challenge a domesticated judgment in Florida?
No, not in the absolute sense. Section 55.505 prevents execution or other enforcement process from issuing until 30 days after the clerk mails notice, while §55.509 provides an automatic-stay procedure when specified steps are taken within 30 days after recording. Tarnow v. Watson held that compliance with those stay requirements is not a prerequisite to maintaining the underlying challenge itself.
Do I have to file a new lawsuit to domesticate an out-of-state judgment in Florida?
Not necessarily. FEFJA permits a qualifying sister-state judgment to be recorded with a Florida circuit court clerk rather than requiring the creditor to start a new action solely to domesticate it. Section 55.502 separately preserves the creditor’s right to bring an action to enforce the judgment instead of proceeding under FEFJA.
Is a judgment from another country domesticated under the same Florida law?
No. FEFJA applies to qualifying judgments from other U.S. jurisdictions. Qualifying money judgments issued by courts outside the United States are addressed under Florida’s separate Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act in §§55.601–55.607.
Does domesticating the judgment mean the creditor has collected the money?
No. Domestication makes a qualifying judgment available for enforcement through Florida’s judgment-enforcement procedures, but the creditor may still need to identify reachable assets and use remedies such as garnishment, judgment liens, levy, discovery in aid of execution, or supplementary proceedings.
Francis M. Boyer, B.C.S., is the principal attorney of Boyer Law Firm, P.L., and is Board Certified in International Law by The Florida Bar. He has held that certification since 2014 and handles international and cross-border legal matters involving foreign judgments, international litigation, and disputes that cross U.S. and foreign jurisdictions.
