Florida Arbitration Act: Process, Awards, and Enforcement

The Florida Arbitration Act, codified as the Revised Arbitration Code in Chapter 682 of the Florida Statutes, governs how private disputes are resolved through arbitration instead of in court. It treats a written agreement to arbitrate as a binding contract term and gives Florida circuit courts specific jobs: compelling arbitration when someone refuses, preserving evidence, appointing arbitrators when needed, confirming awards, and stepping in when the process breaks down.¹ The revised code has applied to every arbitration agreement in Florida since July 1, 2016, no matter when the underlying agreement was signed.²

What the Act Covers

The Act is broad. If two parties put an arbitration clause in a written agreement, that clause is valid and enforceable unless there’s a recognized legal reason to void the contract itself, such as fraud, duress, or unconscionability.¹ The statute doesn’t restrict arbitration to any particular subject matter. Commercial contracts, employment agreements, real estate transactions, construction disputes, healthcare contracts, and consumer service agreements all routinely include arbitration clauses that the Act enforces.

The statute draws one important line between what a court decides and what an arbitrator decides. When someone challenges whether an arbitration agreement actually exists or whether a dispute falls within it, the court answers that threshold question. Once a valid agreement is established, the arbitrator takes over and decides whether any conditions that had to be satisfied before arbitration could proceed were actually met.¹ That distinction determines whether you raise preliminary objections in front of a judge or the arbitrator.

Some disputes don’t lend themselves to binding arbitration at all. Criminal matters, child custody and dependency cases, and constitutional claims generally stay in court. Family-related financial disputes can sometimes be arbitrated by agreement, but custody determinations and domestic-violence cases are handled through the court system.

When Federal Law Overrides Florida’s Act

If your contract involves interstate commerce, and most commercial contracts do, the Federal Arbitration Act may override parts of Florida law that conflict with it. The FAA declares that a written arbitration clause in any contract involving commerce is valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, and it can only be invalidated on the same grounds that would void any contract.³ That language mirrors Florida’s own statute closely, but friction points exist.

Where the two laws most often collide is on state-specific rules that single out arbitration for special treatment. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently struck down state laws that impose extra requirements on arbitration clauses, such as requiring them to appear in capital letters, prohibiting class-action waivers in consumer arbitration agreements, or banning pre-dispute arbitration clauses in specific industries. If a Florida rule treats arbitration agreements differently from other contracts, the FAA preempts it. For purely intrastate disputes with no commerce connection, the Florida Arbitration Code controls on its own terms.

How Arbitration Starts

Arbitration begins when one party sends a written demand to the other. The demand should identify the dispute, describe the relief being sought, and point to the arbitration clause in the contract. The statute doesn’t require a specific format, but many arbitration agreements dictate how the demand must be delivered, whether by certified mail, email to a designated address, or through the rules of a provider like the American Arbitration Association or JAMS.

If the Other Side Refuses to Arbitrate

If the other party ignores the demand or refuses to arbitrate, you can ask a Florida circuit court to compel arbitration. The court looks at whether a valid arbitration agreement exists and whether the dispute falls within its scope. If the refusing party doesn’t show up or doesn’t oppose the motion, the court orders arbitration. If they do oppose it, the court holds a hearing and orders arbitration unless it concludes there’s no enforceable agreement.⁴

The court cannot refuse to compel arbitration just because it thinks the underlying claim is weak. The merits are the arbitrator’s job.⁴ Once a court orders arbitration, it must stay any related court case involving the same claim until arbitration wraps up.

A Statute of Limitations Trap

Here’s a wrinkle that catches people off guard. Florida has no statute explicitly applying civil statutes of limitations to arbitration proceedings. The general limitations periods in Section 95.11, five years for written contracts and four years for oral agreements, apply to court “actions.” Whether arbitration qualifies as an “action” under Florida law is unsettled. Florida appellate courts have reached conflicting conclusions on this point, and the legislature has not passed a statute (like those in New York and Georgia) that clearly extends litigation deadlines to arbitration.

The practical takeaway: if your arbitration clause doesn’t address time limits, an arbitrator could potentially hear a claim that would be time-barred in court. Attorneys who want certainty draft arbitration clauses that incorporate the applicable statute of limitations by reference. Any contractual provision that tries to shorten a statutory deadline below what the legislature set is void under Florida law.

Selecting Arbitrators

Your arbitration agreement can specify how many arbitrators will hear the dispute and how they’ll be chosen. Many contracts designate a provider organization such as AAA or JAMS, whose internal rules control the selection process. If the contract is silent and the parties can’t agree, a court appoints an arbitrator.

Arbitrators have a continuing duty to disclose any facts that could reasonably raise doubts about their impartiality. That includes financial interests in the outcome, personal or professional relationships with any party or their lawyer, and prior work on related matters. If you believe an arbitrator has an undisclosed conflict or is demonstrably biased, you can challenge the appointment. Raise it fast. The statute requires challenges to be made before the hearing begins, and delay can waive the objection.

The Hearing

Once arbitrators are in place, a hearing date gets set. The statute doesn’t impose a fixed timeline, so deadlines typically come from the arbitration agreement itself or from the provider’s rules. The hearing location is whatever the parties agree on; if they can’t agree, the arbitrator picks it.

Hearings resemble a streamlined trial. Both sides present evidence, examine witnesses, and make arguments. The rules of evidence are generally looser than in court, and discovery is far more limited. Arbitration providers typically restrict discovery to targeted document exchanges and witness identification, with broader discovery available only if the arbitrator decides fundamental fairness requires it. That’s one of arbitration’s main draws: disputes that might take a year or more of pretrial discovery in court can move to a hearing in a fraction of the time.

Arbitrators can issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to attend and produce records.⁵ If someone defies a subpoena, the arbitrator can seek enforcement through a Florida circuit court. Hearings are private, with no public docket or open courtroom.

Emergency Relief Before or During Arbitration

Sometimes a party needs emergency relief before the arbitrator has even been appointed, such as an asset freeze, a temporary restraining order, or an injunction to prevent irreparable harm. The Act allows a court to grant provisional remedies to protect the arbitration process, under the same standards that would apply in a civil lawsuit.⁶

Once an arbitrator is appointed and able to act, the arbitrator takes over that authority and can issue interim orders, including interim awards, to keep the process fair and effective. After that point, a party can go back to court for provisional relief only if the situation is urgent and the arbitrator cannot act quickly enough or cannot provide an adequate remedy. Asking a court for provisional relief does not waive your right to arbitrate.⁶

What an Arbitrator Can Award

Florida gives arbitrators broad authority over remedies. Beyond compensatory damages, an arbitrator can award punitive damages if punitive damages would be available in a court case involving the same claim and the hearing evidence justifies the award. When awarding punitive damages, the arbitrator must separately state the amount and spell out the factual and legal basis for it.⁷

Attorney fees and arbitration costs can also be awarded if a Florida statute or the parties’ own agreement authorizes them for the type of claim at issue. For all other types of relief, the arbitrator can order whatever remedy they consider just and appropriate. The statute goes further than most people expect: even if a court couldn’t or wouldn’t grant a particular remedy, that alone is not a reason to refuse to confirm the award or to vacate it.⁷

The Award

After the hearing concludes, the arbitrator issues a written decision called an award. The award must be signed or authenticated by each arbitrator who agrees with it, and a copy must be delivered to every party.⁸ If the arbitration agreement sets a deadline for issuing the award, the arbitrator must meet it. If no deadline exists, the court can set one. Either the court or the parties can extend that deadline.

An award doesn’t carry the legal force of a court judgment on its own. It has to be confirmed by a court to become fully enforceable.

Confirming the Award

To confirm an award, the prevailing party files a motion with a Florida circuit court. The motion should include the arbitration agreement and a copy of the final award. Once the court receives the motion, it must issue a confirmation order unless the award has been modified, corrected, or vacated under the applicable statutory provisions.⁹

Courts have very little discretion to refuse confirmation on their own. Confirmation is essentially automatic if no one has filed a timely motion to vacate or modify. The court doesn’t re-examine the merits, doesn’t second-guess the arbitrator’s reasoning, and doesn’t weigh whether it would have reached a different conclusion. Once confirmed, the court enters a judgment that can be recorded, docketed, and enforced like any other civil judgment.¹⁰

Grounds to Vacate an Award

Arbitration is designed to produce a final result, and courts are reluctant to overturn awards. The grounds for vacating an award are narrow and focus on process failures rather than whether the arbitrator got the law or facts right. A court must vacate an award if any of these occurred:

The award was obtained through corruption, fraud, or other undue means.
A neutral arbitrator showed evident partiality, engaged in corruption, or committed misconduct that prejudiced a party’s rights.
The arbitrator refused to postpone a hearing when good cause existed, refused to hear material evidence, or otherwise ran the hearing in a way that substantially prejudiced a party.
The arbitrator went beyond the powers granted by the arbitration agreement.
There was no valid arbitration agreement in the first place, though this ground is waived if the party participated in the arbitration without raising the objection at the outset.
The arbitration was initiated without proper notice, substantially prejudicing a party’s ability to participate.

A motion to vacate must be filed within 90 days of receiving notice of the award. The one exception: if the claim is based on corruption, fraud, or undue means, the 90-day clock starts when the movant discovered or reasonably should have discovered the misconduct.¹¹

If a court vacates an award, the dispute usually goes back to arbitration rather than into the court system. When the problem was corruption or bias, a new arbitrator handles the rehearing. For other grounds, the same arbitrator may get another shot. If a court denies a motion to vacate and no modification motion is pending, the court must confirm the award.¹¹

Modifying or Correcting an Award

Modification is a narrower remedy than vacatur. It’s designed for technical errors that don’t go to the substance of the decision. A court can modify or correct an award if:

There’s an obvious math error or a mistake in identifying a person, item, or property.
The arbitrator ruled on a matter the parties never submitted for arbitration, and the correction can be made without affecting the rest of the decision.
The award has a defect in form that doesn’t change the substance of the ruling.

Like vacatur, the motion must be filed within 90 days of receiving notice of the award. If the court grants the modification, it confirms the corrected version.¹²

Collecting on a Confirmed Award

Once a court confirms an award and enters a judgment, the prevailing party has the same collection tools available as in any civil case.¹⁰ If the losing party doesn’t pay voluntarily, the prevailing party can record a lien against real property, garnish wages or bank accounts, or pursue other post-judgment remedies. Courts can authorize post-judgment discovery to help locate hidden assets.

If the debtor has moved or holds assets in another state, the Florida judgment can be domesticated elsewhere under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. Florida’s version lets a judgment creditor file the Florida judgment in another state’s courts without starting a new lawsuit, so long as the judgment is entitled to full faith and credit.¹³

Taxes on Arbitration Awards

Arbitration awards are subject to the same federal tax rules as court judgments and settlements. The IRS treats all income, arbitration proceeds included, as taxable unless a specific exclusion applies.¹⁴

The most significant exclusion covers damages received for personal physical injuries or physical sickness. Under Internal Revenue Code Section 104(a)(2), compensatory damages, including lost wages, awarded because of a physical injury are generally not taxable. Punitive damages are almost always taxable income, even when they arise from a physical injury claim. A narrow exception allows exclusion of punitive damages in wrongful death cases where state law limits damages to punitive awards only.¹⁴

Awards for non-physical claims like emotional distress, defamation, employment discrimination, and breach of contract are taxable. Emotional distress damages can be excluded only if the distress stems directly from a physical injury. Otherwise, the only carve-out is for reimbursement of actual medical expenses related to emotional distress that you haven’t previously deducted. Anyone receiving a substantial arbitration award should talk to a tax professional before spending the money, because the IRS expects its share in the year you receive it.¹⁴

1
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 682.02 – Arbitration Agreements Made Valid, Irrevocable, and Enforceable; Scope
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 682 Section 013 – Applicability of Revised Code
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 9 USC 2 – Validity, Irrevocability, and Enforcement of Agreements to Arbitrate
4
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 682.03 – Proceedings to Compel and to Stay Arbitration
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 682.08 – Witnesses, Subpoenas, Depositions
6
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 682.031 – Provisional Remedies
7
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 682 Section 11 – Remedies; Fees and Expenses of Arbitration Proceeding
8
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 682.09 – Award
9
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 682.12 – Confirmation of an Award
10
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 682.15 – Judgment or Decree on Award
11
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 682.13 – Vacating an Award
12
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 682 Section 14 – Modification or Correction of Award
13
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 55.502 – Construction of Act
14
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Implications of Settlements and Judgments