Florida Debt Statute of Limitations: A Creditor's Guide

5 years§95.11(2)(b) written contract

4 years§95.11(3)(k) oral/open account

§95.04Revival: partial payment, written ack, new promise

Florida Statutes Section 95.11 Controls the Florida Debt Statute of Limitations

5 years§95.11(2)(b)Written contract including signed credit agreement

4 years§95.11(3)(k)Oral contract or open account — no written instrument

§95.04Revival triggersPartial payment, written ack, new promise, new agreement

§95.051TollingAbsence from FL, concealment, fraudulent concealment, military

20 years§95.11(1)Florida judgment enforcement window

Collection process

1

Demand + §95.04 revival strategy

Formal written demand citing §95.11 and contract basis. A well-drafted demand often elicits a written response that, if it admits the debt, restarts the 5-year period under §95.04. Four triggers: (1) partial payment, (2) written acknowledgment signed by debtor, (3) new written promise to pay, (4) new agreement subsuming old debt. Oral acknowledgment alone does NOT revive.

2

Time-barred vs extinguished — FL rule

Florida follows majority US rule: expiry bars the remedy but does NOT extinguish the debt. A voluntary payment on a time-barred debt is not recoverable by debtor. A time-barred debt can be revived by new written promise (§95.04) creating a fresh enforceable obligation. Limitations defence must be pleaded — default judgments on time-barred debts are routinely entered in FL courts.

3

Pre-judgment tools: attachment, garnishment, fraudulent transfer

Chapter 76: pre-judgment attachment — bond = 2x claim, freezes assets before judgment. Chapter 77: pre-judgment garnishment of debts owed to debtor by third parties (reaches debtor's own receivables). Chapter 726: Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act — 4yr lookback — unwind transfers to affiliates/insiders. UCC §2-725 (FL Stat.§672.725): 4yr for B2B goods contracts.

A supplier in Rotterdam calls about a Miami distributor 58 months past due. The invoices are on a signed master supply agreement. Is the file live? §95.11(2)(b) says yes — 5-year written contract window. A signed purchase order and master agreement secure the 5-year period. Same invoice with no signed documentation = 4-year oral/open account period that may already be cold.

Florida Limitation Periods by Claim Type

Claim typeLimitationFL statute

Written contract (B2B invoices on signed agreement)

5 years

§95.11(2)(b) — from date of breach — most B2B commercial claims if signed

§95.11(2)(b)

Oral contract / open account (no written instrument)

4 years

§95.11(3)(k) — falls here if creditor cannot produce signed agreement

§95.11(3)(k)

UCC sale of goods (B2B goods contracts)

4 years

FL Stat.§672.725 — UCC Art.2-725 — runs from breach of warranty

§672.725

Florida judgment enforcement

20 years

§95.11(1) — once judgment entered, 20yr enforcement window

§95.11(1)

Fraudulent transfer clawback (Chapter 726)

4 years

FL Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act — parallel to underlying claim

Ch.726

Tolling: debtor absent from Florida

Paused

§95.051(1)(a) — clock stops during absence — resumes when debtor returns

§95.051

What can restart the debt statute of limitations in Florida?

Under §95.04: four triggers restart the clock — (1) partial payment on the debt; (2) written acknowledgment signed by debtor; (3) new written promise to pay; (4) new agreement subsuming old debt. Oral acknowledgments alone do NOT revive. §95.051: tolling pauses clock during debtor absence from FL, concealment, fraudulent concealment of cause, military service.