Florida Statute of Limitations (2025 Guide)

What is a statute of limitations?

The statute of limitations is the legal deadline to file a Florida case.

Most-used civil deadlines are: 20 years for a Florida court judgment; 5 years for written contracts, mortgage foreclosures, and property insurance (measured from date of loss); 4 years for oral contracts, fraud, and most property-damage claims; a new 3-year limit for medical-debt suits by facilities licensed under chapter 395 (running from referral to a third-party collector); and 2 years for negligence, wrongful death, libel/slander, and most professional-malpractice claims.

Criminal deadlines are set separately in § 775.15.

Florida limitations periods at a glance (civil)

Claim or action	Deadline, accrual, and source
Florida court judgment	20 years from entry. Source: § 95.11(1).
Judgment from another court (incl. out-of-state)	5 years. Source: § 95.11(2)(a).
Written contract / promissory note	5 years from breach/missed payment. Source: § 95.11(2)(b).
Mortgage foreclosure	5 years from default/acceleration per instrument and case law. Source: § 95.11(2)(c).
Property insurance breach	5 years from date of loss. Source: § 95.11(2)(e).
Oral contract / “open account”	4 years from breach/last charge or payment (as pled). Source: § 95.11(3)(j).
Fraud (civil)	4 years (discovery) with 12-year outside cap. Sources: § 95.11(3)(i), § 95.031(2)(a).
Property damage / trespass / conversion	4 years from injury or taking. Source: § 95.11(3)(f),(g).
Design & construction defects	4 years; 7-year repose (CO/CC/completion or latent-defect discovery). Source: § 95.11(3)(b).
Medical debt (licensed hospital/ASC)	3 years from referral to a third-party collector. Source: § 95.11(4).
Negligence (incl. most PI)	2 years from injury (HB 837, eff. 3/24/2023). Sources: § 95.11(5)(a), HB 837 (2023).
Professional malpractice (non-medical)	2 years (privity required) from discovery/should-have-known. Source: § 95.11(5)(b).
Medical malpractice	2 years (discovery), 4-year cap (7 if fraud/concealment; minors special rule); presuit tolling applies. Sources: § 95.11(5)(c), § 766.106.
Wrongful death	2 years from death. Source: § 95.11(5)(e).
Libel/slander	2 years from publication. Source: § 95.11(5)(h).
Specific performance	1 year from breach. Source: § 95.11(6)(a).
Letters of credit (UCC)	1 year as specified. Source: § 95.11(6)(c).
Payment-bond claims (most)	1 year as specified. Source: § 95.11(6)(e).
Residential mortgage deficiency	1 year from the day after certificate of title / deed in lieu. Source: § 95.11(6)(g).

Florida debt-collection deadlines

Written consumer debts (loans, many credit cards) are usually 5 years when pled as written-instrument claims; “open account” theories are 4 years. Hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers now face a 3-year limit that runs from the date the account is referred to a third-party collector, not from the date of service.

Florida judgments are enforceable for 20 years; actions on out-of-state judgments are 5 years. See § 95.11.

Two statutory wrinkles matter.

First, accrual: Florida uses a “last element” test; for demand notes with no maturity, accrual is the first written demand for payment (§ 95.031(1)).

Second, tolling/revival: a partial payment on a written instrument tolls the period (§ 95.051(1)(f)), and any new promise to pay a time-barred debt must be in writing (§ 95.04).

When the clock starts

A cause of action accrues when the last element of the claim occurs (§ 95.031(1)). Special rules apply.

For a note payable on demand with no maturity date, the clock runs from the first written demand (§ 95.031(1)). Fraud and products liability use discovery-based accrual with outside repose limits (§ 95.031(2)).

What pauses or extends the deadline?

Florida’s tolling rules are statutory and exclusive: only the reasons listed in § 95.051 apply (e.g., absence from the state, concealment preventing service, adjudicated incapacity, partial payment on a written instrument, pending arbitration, certain bankruptcy periods, and limited minority/guardianship scenarios).

Outside those terms, courts do not toll the statute.

Can a contract shorten Florida’s limitation period?

No. A clause that sets a shorter filing deadline than Florida’s statute is void under § 95.03.

Florida criminal statute of limitations

Criminal time limits appear in § 775.15. Capital/life felonies and felonies that result in death have no limitation period. Otherwise, the general limits are 4 years for first-degree felonies, 3 years for other felonies, 2 years for first-degree misdemeanors, and 1 year for second-degree misdemeanors and noncriminal violations, subject to listed exceptions.

Foreclosure timing and deficiency judgments

A mortgage foreclosure must be filed within 5 years (§ 95.11(2)(c)). After a residential foreclosure, a separate deficiency claim must be filed within 1 year from the day after the clerk issues the certificate of title or after a deed in lieu (§ 95.11(6)(g)).

As to repeat foreclosures after a prior dismissal, the Florida Supreme Court has held that each new default creates a new cause of action and five-year window; see Bartram v. U.S. Bank, 211 So. 3d 1009 (Fla. 2016) (overview).

Frequently asked questions

What is the statute of limitations for credit-card debt in Florida?

Most card cases proceed as written-contract claims with a 5-year limit; some are pled as open accounts with 4 years. Pleading and proof matter. See § 95.11(2)(b) and § 95.11(3)(j).

What is the statute of limitations for medical debt in Florida?

For hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers licensed under chapter 395, it’s 3 years from the date the account is referred to a third-party collector. See § 95.11(4). (Legislative history: 2024 CS/SB 1640, Senate summary.)

Did Florida change the negligence deadline to two years?

Yes. Effective March 24, 2023, negligence actions are 2 years. Current § 95.11(5)(a) reflects HB 837 (2023).

Do part payments or settlement talks restart the clock?

A partial payment on a written instrument tolls the statute (§ 95.051(1)(f)). A new promise to pay a time-barred debt is enforceable only if in writing and signed (§ 95.04). Routine calls or credit reporting don’t toll.