6.5 Forfeiture to Judgment, Unpaid Judgments & Motions to Set Aside

6.5 Forfeiture to Judgment — F.S. 903.27

F.S. 903.27 is the bridge from an unpaid, undischarged forfeiture to judgment and execution. The operative deadlines are 60 days, 10 days, 35 days, and 50 days. F.S. 648.421 is not part of this bridge; it concerns address and telephone change notices.

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Judgment after 60 days

If a forfeiture secured other than by the money and bonds described in F.S. 903.16 is not paid or discharged by a court within 60 days, the circuit-court clerk for the county where the order was made must:

1. enter judgment against the surety for the penalty amount; and
2. issue execution.

If a court discharged the forfeiture on the condition that the surety pay allowed fees or costs, judgment cannot exceed the unpaid fees or costs needed to satisfy that condition.

The clerk's notices

Within 10 days after judgment, the clerk must:

• furnish DFS and OIR a certified copy of the judgment docket; and
• furnish the surety company at its home office a copy of the judgment identifying the power-of-attorney number and executing agent.

If the judgment remains unpaid for 35 days, the clerk furnishes DFS, OIR, and the sheriff or other county-jail official two copies of the judgment plus a certificate that it remains unsatisfied. When the judgment is paid or vacated, the clerk gives the required immediate notices and records satisfaction or the vacatur order.

A clerk's certificate of proper mailing or electronic delivery, accompanied by the required notice copy, is sufficient proof. Failure of a company to receive the notice is not a defense when delivery was properly accomplished as the statute provides.

Separate bond-execution bars

F.S. 903.27(3) uses different clocks for the agent and company:

A sheriff or other official empowered to accept or approve surety bonds may not accept a barred bond until the judgment has been paid. Do not merge the 35-day agent bar and 50-day company bar.

Payment, motion, escrow, and stay

After the clerk gives notice of judgment, the surety or agent must submit the judgment amount to the clerk within 35 days after entry of judgment, unless the court sets the judgment aside within that period.

Within the same 35-day period, the surety or agent may move to set aside or stay the judgment. Payment of the judgment amount to the clerk is a condition of the motion and of a stay order. The clerk holds it in escrow while the motion is pending. A motion accompanied by the required escrow deposit automatically stays further proceedings, including execution, until the court decides the motion.

F.S. 903.27(5) establishes this procedure; it does not itself create a new catalog of substantive discharge grounds. Analyze any asserted ground under the provision that actually supplies it, such as the limited discharge categories in F.S. 903.26 or the applicable notice rule.

Return of defendant and tolling

If the defendant is returned to the county of the court's jurisdiction and a motion to set aside judgment is filed, F.S. 903.27(1) tolls operation of the section until the court disposes of the motion.

This must not be confused with:

• F.S. 903.21 surrender before forfeiture;
• F.S. 903.26(5)(c) discharge for qualifying surrender or arrest within 60 days;
• F.S. 903.26(8) clerk discharge before judgment after return to the county or a new bond, with the required official affirmation; or
• F.S. 903.28 remission after forfeiture.

Timeline example

Assume the clerk sends a forfeiture notice on day 0:

• By day 60: pay the forfeiture or obtain a lawful discharge.
• If it remains unpaid and undischarged: the clerk enters judgment and issues execution under F.S. 903.27(1).
• Within 10 days after judgment: clerk sends the judgment materials specified in subsection (1).
• Within 35 days after judgment entry: pay or file the motion with the full escrow deposit.
• At 35 days unpaid: the agent's execution bar applies.
• At 50 days unpaid: the company's execution bar applies.

The forfeiture clock runs from the clerk's mailing or electronic transmission of the forfeiture notice—not from when the surety happens to open or read it.

Exam traps