Florida Judgment, By the Numbers, Part 1

A final judgment is exactly what it sounds like – the final decision of the judge. This judgment is recorded in files that are saved with the Office fo the Clerk of Courts and contains a number of things such as, addresses and social security numbers of those involved. Another thing a final judgment must include is an interest rate. On December 1st of each year, the comptroller must set a rate of interest that will be payable on judgment and decrees for the year starting on the upcoming January 1st.

There are three things that must happen – certify, record, and docket.

When certifying your judgment, you must have a certified copy of your final judgment from the location in which your case was heard. This only costs $1.00 per page and $1.50 to get it certified.

You have to record your certified copy, this entitled you a Florida judgment lien on real property. A judgment lien is important too because it offers the judgment creditor the right to garnish or execute the debtor. When you obtain your certified copy of your judgment, take it to the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court, Recording Section and record it with an affidavit with the creditor’s address. recording your judgment will cost $10.00 for the first page. For any extra pages, it costs $8.50. Recording your judgment will have an affect on the debtor, especially when credit comes into play. This will cause a negative history stain on the debtor’s credit.