Debt Collection Laws in Florida
Florida caps wage garnishment for consumer debt, protects a base amount of home equity and bank funds from creditors, and sets a statute of limitations after which a debt lawsuit generally can't succeed. Data current as of July 2026 — see sourcing per section below.
How much of my paycheck can be garnished in Florida?
A Florida 'head of family' who pays more than half the support for a child or other dependent, and whose disposable earnings are $750 a week or less, is fully exempt from wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debt under Fla. Stat. § 222.11. Earnings above $750/week can still be garnished, but only if the debtor signed a specific written waiver — head-of-family status without a waiver is a complete shield, not just a reduced cap.
The waiver has to meet strict formatting rules to be valid: it must be a separate document from the underlying credit agreement, printed in at least 14-point type, and signed by both parties. A waiver buried in fine print inside a loan contract generally doesn't count.
For debtors who don't qualify as head of family, Florida defaults to the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act cap: the lesser of 25% of disposable weekly earnings, or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hour, a $217.50/week floor).
Can a creditor take money from my bank account in Florida?
Wages that are exempt under Florida's head-of-family rule stay exempt for 6 months after being deposited into a bank account, as long as they can be traced and identified as earnings — even if commingled with other funds. Separately, a debtor who doesn't claim a homestead exemption can protect up to $4,000 of personal property, plus up to $5,000 of equity in a motor vehicle.
The 6-month post-deposit exemption (§ 222.11(3)) is one of the more debtor-favorable rules nationally — many states treat deposited wages as immediately vulnerable to levy the moment they leave a paycheck and hit a bank account. Florida gives head-of-family debtors a real window, provided they can show the funds trace back to exempt wages.
The $4,000 personal-property exemption under § 222.25 is only available to a debtor who does not also claim the homestead exemption — the two are mutually exclusive trade-offs, not stackable.
Is my home protected from creditors in Florida?
Florida's homestead exemption protects a primary residence from forced sale by most creditors with no dollar limit at all — only an acreage cap applies: half an acre within a municipality, or 160 acres outside one. This is one of the most protective homestead laws in the country and is written directly into the Florida Constitution, not just a statute.
Because there's no value ceiling, a Florida homeowner with a fully paid-off, high-value house inside the acreage limit can generally keep it even after a large civil judgment — a well-known reason some people relocate to Florida before a lawsuit or bankruptcy, subject to federal bankruptcy law's separate residency and look-back rules for exactly this kind of pre-filing move.
Land that's later annexed into a municipality keeps its original larger acreage allowance — the owner isn't forced down to the half-acre urban limit just because city boundaries expanded around them.
How long can a debt collector sue me in Florida?
Florida's statute of limitations is 5 years for written contracts (credit cards, promissory notes) and 4 years for oral contracts, under Fla. Stat. § 95.11. A 2023 law (HB 837) shortened Florida's general negligence statute of limitations, but it did not change the contract-debt periods — written-contract debt is still 5 years, not shortened, as of 2026.
| Debt type | Statute of limitations |
|---|---|
| Credit card / written contract | 5 years |
| Oral contract | 4 years |
| Promissory note (written) | 5 years |
HB 837 (2023) is frequently misread as having shortened debt-collection deadlines generally — it actually targeted personal-injury/negligence claims (§ 95.11(3)), cutting that period from 4 to 2 years for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Contract-debt limitations periods were not part of that change.
Does Florida have its own debt collection law beyond the federal FDCPA?
The Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 559.55-559.785) applies the same abusive, deceptive, and misleading-practice prohibitions as the federal FDCPA to both third-party debt collectors and original creditors — Florida courts have held that FCCPA liability isn't limited to entities that meet the federal FDCPA's narrower 'debt collector' definition.
This matters in practice because a consumer harassed by the original credit card company or hospital billing department directly (not a collection agency) still has a state-law claim in Florida, where they might not have a federal FDCPA claim against that same original creditor.
Where can I find free or low-cost legal help in Florida?
Florida residents dealing with a debt lawsuit, garnishment, or collector dispute can start with the state bar's lawyer referral service or a legal aid organization below — both can point to self-help court resources even for people who don't qualify for free representation.