A default judgment in Florida is a court ruling entered against a defendant who failed to respond to a lawsuit within 20 days of being served. Once entered, it carries the same weight as any other judgment: the plaintiff can garnish wages, record liens, and collect interest that keeps growing until the debt is paid. Florida law does give defendants ways to fight back, but the clock starts fast and the options narrow quickly.
The 20-Day Response Deadline
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.140 gives a served defendant 20 days to file a written response to the complaint. Miss that window, and the plaintiff can ask the clerk to enter a “default” on the docket, which is a formal finding that you failed to appear. That entry locks you out of contesting whether you owe anything. It is not yet the final judgment, but it is the door closing.
Before any default can stand, the plaintiff has to prove you actually received notice of the lawsuit. Florida requires service through a county sheriff or a certified process server.1Florida Legislature. Florida Statute 48.021 – Process by Whom Served The server files a return of service with the court showing when and how the papers were delivered.2Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 48 – Process and Service of Process If the papers went to the wrong person or the wrong address, the entire default can later be thrown out.
The default is not automatic when 20 days pass. The plaintiff has to file a motion with the clerk requesting entry of default, with proof of proper service attached. Sloppy service records are one of the most common reasons defaults get undone later.
Liquidated vs. Unliquidated Damages
Whether the plaintiff still has work to do after the default depends on the type of damages claimed, and this catches many defendants off guard.
Liquidated damages are amounts calculable with certainty: a specific unpaid invoice, a bounced check, a fixed loan balance. When the default covers a liquidated claim backed by a contract or account statement, the court can enter final judgment for the full amount on the papers alone.
Unliquidated damages are subjective figures that require judgment: pain and suffering, lost future income, emotional distress. A default on these claims establishes liability but not amount. That question goes to a separate hearing, sometimes to a jury. The plaintiff still has to prove damages with evidence, and even a defaulted defendant has the right to appear at that hearing and challenge the number.
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.500(e) says the court can receive affidavits, order references, or hold evidentiary hearings when damages have to be calculated. The defaulted party must get notice of any such hearing and keeps the right to a jury trial on damages when the constitution or a statute requires one.
What a Florida Judgment Can Do to You
Once a default judgment is on the books, it functions like any other money judgment. That opens several collection tools at once.
Interest That Keeps Growing
Every Florida money judgment accrues interest from the date of entry. The rate is set quarterly by the Chief Financial Officer based on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s discount rate plus 400 basis points.3Justia Law. Florida Statutes 55.03 – Judgments Rate of Interest Generally As of January 1, 2026, that rate is 8.44% per year.4MyFloridaCFO. Judgment Interest Rates The rate resets every January 1 until the judgment is paid. On a $50,000 judgment, that is roughly $4,220 in interest the first year alone.
Liens on Real Property
A Florida judgment becomes a lien on your real property in any county where the plaintiff records a certified copy in the official records. The recorded judgment must include the lienholder’s address; without it, the lien does not attach.5Florida Legislature. Florida Statute 55.10 – Judgments Orders and Decrees Lien Generally A recorded lien blocks you from selling or refinancing without dealing with the debt.
Wage Garnishment
The creditor can seek a writ of garnishment under Florida Statute 77.01 to intercept part of your wages or bank funds.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 77.01 – Right to Writ of Garnishment Federal law caps garnishment of disposable earnings at 25% for consumer debts, and Florida layers on further protections described in the next section.
Credit Reporting
Civil judgments are public records. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a judgment can appear on your credit report for seven years from the date of entry, or until the governing statute of limitations expires, whichever is longer.7Federal Trade Commission. Fair Credit Reporting Act Text That single line item can affect mortgages, apartment applications, and employment background checks. Paying the judgment doesn’t remove it from the report; it changes the status to “satisfied,” which is better but still visible.
Florida Exemptions That Limit What a Creditor Can Take
Florida offers some of the strongest debtor protections in the country, and these apply to default judgments just like any other. Defendants who don’t know about them sometimes pay more than the law requires.
Homestead Protection
Florida’s constitution shields your primary residence from forced sale for most money judgments. The protection covers up to half an acre inside a municipality or 160 acres outside one, with no cap on the home’s value. A $2 million homestead gets the same protection as a $200,000 one. Judgment liens generally do not attach to homestead property, and Florida Statute 222.01 provides a procedure to keep such liens from clouding title if you need to sell or refinance.
The homestead exemption has limits. It does not block liens for property taxes, mortgages, mechanics’ liens for work done on the home, or homeowners’ association assessments. But for a typical default judgment based on a contract dispute, credit card debt, or personal injury claim, the creditor cannot force the sale of your home.
Head-of-Family Wage Exemption
If you provide more than half the support for a child or other dependent, Florida law shields your wages from garnishment. When your disposable earnings are $750 per week or less, they are completely exempt. Even above that threshold, your wages cannot be garnished unless you previously signed a specific written waiver, and that waiver has to follow a detailed statutory format, appear in the same language as the underlying contract, and be printed in at least 14-point type.8Florida Legislature. Florida Statute 222.11 – Exemption of Wages From Garnishment Without that signed waiver, the creditor cannot reach the wages regardless of how large the judgment is.
Setting the Judgment Aside
A default judgment isn’t necessarily permanent. Florida gives you several ways to reopen the case, though none of them are easy and every one rewards fast action.
Motion for Relief Under Rule 1.540(b)
The main tool is a motion for relief under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.540(b). The rule allows the court to set aside a judgment on these grounds:
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect — you didn’t respond because of a genuine error, not because you forgot or ignored the papers.
- Newly discovered evidence that would have changed the outcome.
- Fraud or misconduct by the opposing party, such as a false affidavit of service.
- A void judgment, meaning the court lacked jurisdiction over you or the subject matter.
- A judgment that has already been satisfied or discharged.
For the first three grounds, the motion must be filed within one year of the judgment’s entry. A void judgment follows a different timeline.
What Counts as Excusable Neglect
Most defendants who try to set aside a default claim excusable neglect, and most of them lose on that point. Florida courts have drawn a clear line: forgetting about the lawsuit or deliberately ignoring it is not excusable. Gross negligence isn’t either.
Florida appellate law recognizes excusable neglect where the failure to respond came from a clerical or secretarial error, a reasonable misunderstanding, a system breakdown, or a similar ordinary human mistake, provided the defendant acts promptly and offers a credible explanation. Refusing to set aside a default in those circumstances has been treated as an abuse of discretion. Where the defendant or their attorney simply forgot or chose not to respond, the default stands.
Showing excusable neglect isn’t enough on its own. You also have to demonstrate a real defense to the underlying claim. Courts won’t reopen a case just to reach the same result, so you need a specific, plausible defense rather than a general disagreement with the complaint.
Void Judgments Have No Deadline
The line between void and voidable judgments matters enormously for timing. A voidable judgment is one where the court had jurisdiction but something went wrong procedurally. You have one year to challenge it.
A void judgment is different. If the court never had jurisdiction over you, because you were never properly served, because you lived outside Florida with no connection to the state, or because the court lacked authority over the type of case, the judgment is void. It is legally meaningless, and you can challenge it at any time. There is no one-year cutoff. The motion still has to be filed within a reasonable time as a practical matter, but courts have recognized that a void judgment can be attacked whenever it surfaces.
The practical takeaway: if a default judgment appears against you and more than a year has passed, don’t assume you’re stuck. Have the service records reviewed. Defective service is one of the most common defects in default judgments, and it makes the entire judgment void.
A Tax Trap in Settling Later
One consequence catches many defendants by surprise. If the creditor eventually agrees to settle for less than the full judgment, the forgiven portion may count as taxable income. The IRS treats canceled debt as income in most situations, and the creditor may report the forgiven amount on a Form 1099-C.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 431 Canceled Debt Is It Taxable or Not Exceptions exist for debts discharged in bankruptcy and for taxpayers who are insolvent at the time of cancellation. Absent one of those, you could owe income tax on money you never received. A $30,000 judgment settled for $15,000 can mean the IRS treats the other $15,000 as income on your next return.