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Consumer Rights & Small Claims CourtFlorida Small Claims Court handles disputes up to $8,000, and most people represent themselves successfully. This guide covers every step, from the demand letter through collecting the judgment — plus Florida debt collection law, credit report disputes, and the worthless check statute.
Small Claims is Florida's citizen court. No law degree, no attorney required — the rules are simpler, the procedures informal, and most claims are resolved in a single hearing. If someone owes you money and won't pay, this is your remedy.
Florida Small Claims Court handles civil money disputes up to $8,000, excluding interest, court costs, and attorney's fees. §34.01, Fla. Stat. Common cases include:
Evictions go to County Civil, not Small Claims. Injunctions and orders of protection, family law matters, and claims above $8,000 are all outside this division. If your claim exceeds $8,000 you may reduce it to $8,000 and file in Small Claims — but you waive the excess permanently.
| Claim amount | Filing fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $100 | $30 |
| $101 – $500 | $55 |
| $501 – $2,500 | $100 |
| $2,501 – $5,000 | $175 |
| $5,001 – $8,000 | $300 |
Service fees are additional: roughly $10–$40 for certified mail service and $40 or more for Sheriff's Office service. If you win, costs are typically added to your judgment. Fees are set by statute but individual counties may add small local charges — confirm with your clerk.
Ask the clerk for an Application for Determination of Civil Indigent Status. If approved, filing fees are waived. The income threshold is roughly 200% of the federal poverty guideline.
Before filing, send a formal written demand giving the other party a final opportunity to pay. This does two things: it sometimes resolves the dispute without court, and it shows the judge you made a good-faith effort. Send it by certified mail and keep the return receipt — that receipt becomes an exhibit.
A demand letter should state what you are owed, why you are owed it, the exact amount, and a deadline to pay or respond, usually 10 to 14 days. For certain claims Florida requires a demand in specific statutory language before you can recover enhanced damages at all.
A Florida demand letter prepared from your dates, amounts, and documents — formatted for use before a small claims filing, and formatted to attach as an exhibit if you do end up filing.
Attorney-drafted demand letters run $199 and up. This one goes out over your signature — which is what the recipient responds to anyway.
Filing is straightforward. The critical steps are choosing the right court, using the right form for your claim type, and properly serving the defendant.
File where the defendant lives or has a principal place of business, or where the transaction or event giving rise to the claim occurred. §47.011 Filing in the wrong county is a common mistake — the case will be dismissed or transferred, and you lose the time.
Florida publishes a separate Statement of Claim for each claim type — Forms 7.330 through 7.337 — covering money owed, goods sold, work performed, a returned check, an unpaid note, and others. Using the wrong one is the most common reason a filing gets rejected. State clearly who you are suing, their full legal name and address, the exact amount, and a concise factual basis.
If the debt belongs to a business, sue the business by its exact registered name — not the owner personally, and not the trade name on the sign. Look up the registered name and document number at sunbiz.org, free. Suing the wrong legal entity is the most common way a good claim dies.
File in person, or electronically in most counties through the Florida E-Filing Portal at myflcourtaccess.com. The clerk assigns a case number and sets your appearance date.
The clerk will typically send the summons by certified mail. If the defendant refuses it or the mail comes back unclaimed, you must arrange personal service through the Sheriff's Office or a private process server. Service is not a formality — without it the court has no jurisdiction over the defendant and nothing else you do counts.
The clerk sets a pretrial conference within 50 days of filing. Most Florida counties send the case to mediation the same day, often in the same building. A volunteer mediator helps the parties settle, and this resolves the majority of small claims cases. Whoever attends must have full authority to settle.
The hearing is before a county court judge or magistrate. Both sides present evidence and testimony, the judge asks questions, and proceedings typically run 15 to 30 minutes per case. The judge may rule from the bench or mail the decision.
Your small claims case prepared for filing in the correct Florida county, checked by a trained legal document preparer before it goes in — which the free portal does not include.
Filing and service fees are paid directly to the clerk and sheriff. We never mark them up.
The hearing is won or lost before you walk into the courtroom. Judges decide on evidence, not emotion. The party with organized, documented proof almost always prevails over the party who simply knows what happened.
You may be entitled to a default judgment. You will typically still need to prove the amount of your claim even without opposition, so bring all your documentation. Ask the clerk or the judge what your county requires.
Winning a judgment is step one. Florida does not collect it for you — enforcement is the winner's responsibility. This is where most self-represented plaintiffs stop, and it is where the money actually is.
A Florida money judgment is enforceable for 20 years §95.11(1) and earns post-judgment interest at the statutory rate, which the Chief Financial Officer resets each year. A judgment that goes unpaid does not disappear, and the balance grows while it sits.
The judgment can require the debtor to disclose employer, bank accounts, vehicles, and property under oath within 45 days. Failure to comply supports a motion to compel and, eventually, contempt. It is the cheapest first move and it tells you whether anything else is worth doing.
Fla. Sm. Cl. R. Form 7.343Intercepts money owed to the debtor, including bank accounts and wages. Note the Florida limit: if the debtor is a head of family earning $750 a week or less in disposable earnings, wages are entirely exempt unless they signed a written waiver.
Ch. 77 · exemption at §222.11Record a certified copy of the judgment in any Florida county where the debtor owns — or later acquires — real property. The lien must be satisfied before the property can be sold or refinanced. Passive, cheap, and good for years.
§55.10 · recording roughly $10 first pageA Judgment Lien Certificate filed with the Florida Department of State reaches vehicles, equipment, and business assets. It can be filed a second time to extend it.
§55.202–55.203 · $20 filing feeDirects the Sheriff to seize and sell the debtor's non-exempt personal property to satisfy the judgment. Florida's exemptions are broad, so this works best when you already know from the Fact Information Sheet that there is something to take.
File with the County Court ClerkFlorida's homestead exemption is among the broadest in the country — a primary residence generally cannot be seized to satisfy a money judgment, regardless of value. Against a debtor with no income, no accounts, and no equity, collection may not be practical no matter what your rights are.
Art. X §4, Fla. Const. · §222.11You have the judgment. This is the package that turns it into money — the stage no free portal automates and no national provider offers for Florida.
On a small judgment $149 is steep and we would rather say so. A recovery firm or collection attorney takes 33% to 50% at every line on that scale — on a $4,000 judgment, $1,320 to $2,000. This is $149 once, and you keep every dollar you recover.
You do not have to have filed through us to use the toolkit. Bring a judgment from any Florida county court, however you obtained it.
Florida consumers are protected by both federal law and Florida's own statute. Violations can entitle you to statutory damages even if you owe the underlying debt.
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to third-party collectors — agencies, attorneys collecting debts, and companies that purchase debt. Florida's Consumer Collection Practices Act §559.55 applies to both original creditors and third-party collectors, which makes Florida's protections broader than federal law in an important way.
Obscene language, repeated calls intended to harass, threats of violence, or publicly disclosing your debt.
Misstating the amount owed, claiming to be an attorney without being one, threatening arrest for a civil debt, or misrepresenting their identity.
Collecting fees not authorized by the agreement or by law, depositing post-dated checks early, or contacting you before 8 AM or after 9 PM. §559.72
If you send a written dispute or cease-communication letter by certified mail, collectors must stop contacting you except to confirm no further contact or to notify you of specific legal action.
Within 30 days of a collector's first communication you may send a written dispute letter. The collector must stop collection activity until it provides written verification of the debt. This is a powerful tool — debts are sold repeatedly and collectors often cannot verify them.
Under the FDCPA, successful plaintiffs can recover actual damages, statutory damages up to $1,000 per lawsuit, and attorney's fees. Under the FCCPA, Florida allows up to $1,000 per violation plus actual damages and fees. §559.77 Those fee-shifting provisions are what make it practical to hire a consumer attorney on contingency.
In Florida the limitations period on most written contracts, including credit cards, is five years §95.11(2)(b); oral contracts, four years. A collector cannot sue on a time-barred debt, though many still try. Making a payment on an old debt can restart the clock — do not pay anything on a time-barred account without understanding that.
A written dispute and cease-communication letter under the FDCPA and Florida's FCCPA, formatted for certified mail so it creates the record the statute requires.
Credit report errors are common and can cost you loan approvals, housing, and employment. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to dispute inaccuracies and requires the bureaus to investigate within 30 days.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act 15 U.S.C. §1681 gives every consumer a free annual report from each of the three major bureaus at annualcreditreport.com, the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information, and the right to add a 100-word consumer statement. Florida has no separate state credit reporting law of significance — the FCRA controls.
An error may appear on one bureau, two, or all three. Common ones: accounts that are not yours, wrong balances, closed accounts reported as open, and paid debts still showing unpaid.
Do not use the online portal if the error is serious. A mailed letter creates a paper trail and triggers stronger legal obligations. Identify each error, explain why it is wrong, and attach copies — never originals — of your documentation.
Also write to the company that reported the information. Under the FCRA, furnishers must investigate and correct or delete inaccurate information. 15 U.S.C. §1681s-2(b)
It must notify the furnisher, investigate, and send you the results in writing. If the information is verified inaccurate it must be deleted. If the investigation is inadequate, you may have an FCRA claim.
If the dispute fails, you can sue the bureau or the furnisher in federal court. Successful plaintiffs recover actual damages, statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 per violation for willful violations, and attorney's fees, so consumer FCRA attorneys typically work on contingency. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also accepts complaints.
An FCRA dispute letter to a credit bureau, formatted for certified mail with space to itemize each error and list your attachments.
Florida gives the recipient of a bad check a civil remedy that goes well beyond the face amount — but only if you follow the statutory demand procedure first.
Under §68.065, where a payment instrument is refused for insufficient funds, a closed account, or a stop payment made with intent to defraud, and the maker fails to pay within 30 days of a written demand, the maker is liable for the amount owing plus damages of triple that amount, and in no case less than $50 — together with court costs and reasonable attorney fees. The statute now covers checks, drafts, orders of payment, debit card orders, and electronic funds transfers.
Before you can recover treble damages you must send a written demand in the form the statute prescribes. It must identify the dishonored instrument, demand the face amount plus the statutory service charge, and state the 30-day deadline. The service charge is $25 if the face value is $50 or less, $30 if it is between $50 and $300, and $40 above $300 — or 5% of the face amount, whichever is greater. Send it certified mail and keep the receipt.
The demand notice is one of the few Florida documents where the statute supplies the actual language. A notice that omits required elements can cost you the treble damages entirely, leaving you with a claim for the face amount alone.
The statutory demand notice under §68.065, with the required language and the correct service charge tier calculated for your check — required before you can pursue treble damages.
Writing a worthless check can also be a criminal offense in Florida §832.05. You may report the matter to the State Attorney's office and pursue your civil claim at the same time — the criminal process is handled by the State and your civil claim proceeds independently.
Florida-specific documents prepared from your answers and reviewed by a trained legal document preparer. Flat fees, no subscription.
This information is for general educational purposes about Florida law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. JusticeXpressFlorida.com is an online legal forms provider and document preparation service, not a law firm. You supply your own factual information; a nonlawyer's role is limited to preparing documents from that information and performing a clerical check for blank fields, misspellings, inconsistent dates or figures, missing signature and notary lines, and outdated form versions. A legal document preparer cannot tell you which form applies to your situation or advise you on your case. For advice specific to your situation, consult a Florida-licensed attorney.
Florida small claims forms are published by the Florida State Courts System and available free at flcourts.gov, with free guided interviews at DIY Florida. Prices shown do not include county filing fees, service of process fees, registry deposits, recording costs, or Department of State filing fees, which are paid directly to the court or agency and are never marked up by us. Jurisdictional limits, deadlines, exemption amounts, interest rates, and fee schedules are set by statute and by local administrative order and may change. Winning a judgment does not guarantee collection.
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