Medical debt and credit reports in Florida
Florida law limits when some medical debt can be reported to credit bureaus.
Reporting you to a credit bureau is an extraordinary collection action. A hospital or surgery center may not do it (or other such actions) before it checks whether you qualify for financial assistance and decides any application, before it sends you an itemized statement or bill, during a billing grievance or an insurance claim appeal, before it bills your insurer and the insurer decides the claim, within 30 days after it notifies you in writing by certified mail or another traceable method that collection will start, or while you negotiate the final bill in good faith or keep to a payment plan with the facility.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
The rule in Florida
Partial limit
Reporting you to a credit bureau is an extraordinary collection action. A hospital or surgery center may not do it (or other such actions) before it checks whether you qualify for financial assistance and decides any application, before it sends you an itemized statement or bill, during a billing grievance or an insurance claim appeal, before it bills your insurer and the insurer decides the claim, within 30 days after it notifies you in writing by certified mail or another traceable method that collection will start, or while you negotiate the final bill in good faith or keep to a payment plan with the facility.
Who the rule covers: Hospitals and surgery centers licensed under chapter 395 (not credit bureaus)
In effect since: July 1, 2024
Law: Fla. Stat. 395.3011
Other limits on collection in Florida
- Waiting rules
Before a hospital or surgery center sells your debt, reports you to a credit bureau, delays or denies needed care over unpaid bills covered by its financial assistance policy, or takes legal action (lien, foreclosure, bank account seizure, lawsuit, arrest or wage garnishment), it must: make reasonable efforts to check whether you qualify for financial assistance and decide any application; send you an itemized statement or bill; wait while a billing grievance or an insurance appeal is pending; bill your insurer and let it decide the claim; and wait 30 days after notifying you in writing, by certified mail or another traceable method, that collection will start. It may not take these steps while you negotiate the final bill in good faith or keep to a payment plan with the facility.
- Liens on your home
For a hospital or surgery center bill, placing a lien on your property or foreclosing on your home is an extraordinary collection action that the facility may take only after meeting all of the conditions above.
- Wage garnishment
Wage garnishment for a hospital or surgery center bill is an extraordinary collection action that may happen only after the conditions above are met. Under Florida's general rule, if you are a head of family (you provide more than half the support of a child or other dependent), all your disposable earnings up to $750 a week are exempt from garnishment, and earnings above $750 a week are exempt unless you agreed otherwise in writing. Exempt wages stay protected in a bank account for 6 months if they can be traced.
- Selling the debt
Selling your debt is an extraordinary collection action. The 30-day written notice rule does not apply to a sale if the contract says the debt will not carry interest or fees, the buyer will not take extraordinary collection actions, and the debt will be returned to the facility if the buyer finds you qualify for financial assistance.
- Bank account
In a lawsuit on a debt for services from a hospital or surgery center licensed under chapter 395, your interest in one motor vehicle (up to $10,000 in value) is protected from garnishment and other legal process, and so is up to $10,000 of other personal property if you do not claim or receive Florida's homestead exemption.
Law: Fla. Stat. 395.3011; Fla. Stat. 222.11; Fla. Stat. 222.26
Is my debt too old in Florida?
| Kind of agreement | Time limit to sue |
|---|---|
| Written contract | 5 years |
| Open account | 4 years |
| Oral (spoken) agreement | 4 years |
| Medical debt (set by statute) | 3 years |
A lawsuit to collect medical debt for services from a hospital, surgery center or other facility licensed under chapter 395 must be filed within 3 years. For other debts: an action on a written contract must be filed within 5 years; an action on a contract not founded on a written instrument, including store accounts, within 4 years.
- What can restart the clock
A promise to pay, or an acknowledgment of, a debt that is already past the time limit counts only if it is in writing and signed by you.
- When the clock starts
For medical debt from a chapter 395 facility, the 3 years run from the date the facility refers the debt to a third party for collection.
Law: Fla. Stat. 95.11(2)(b), (3)(j), (4); Fla. Stat. 95.04
A time limit to sue can differ by kind of agreement, and when it starts and what restarts it can differ; a court decides.
Where to complain in Florida
- Hospital licensing: Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), Consumer Complaint, Publication and Information Call Center · 1-888-419-3456
A hospital or surgery center did not give you an itemized bill or estimate, or broke the state billing and collection rules. - Health insurance: Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Consumer Services · 1-877-693-5236
Your health insurer denied a claim or you got a surprise bill the state law protects you from. - Debt collectors: Florida Office of Financial Regulation · 850-487-9687
A consumer collection agency broke Florida's collection rules.
Questions about medical bills in Florida
Can medical debt be reported to credit bureaus in Florida?
Florida law limits when some medical debt can be reported to credit bureaus. Reporting you to a credit bureau is an extraordinary collection action. A hospital or surgery center may not do it (or other such actions) before it checks whether you qualify for financial assistance and decides any application, before it sends you an itemized statement or bill, during a billing grievance or an insurance claim appeal, before it bills your insurer and the insurer decides the claim, within 30 days after it notifies you in writing by certified mail or another traceable method that collection will start, or while you negotiate the final bill in good faith or keep to a payment plan with the facility.
How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Florida?
A lawsuit to collect medical debt for services from a hospital, surgery center or other facility licensed under chapter 395 must be filed within 3 years. For other debts: an action on a written contract must be filed within 5 years; an action on a contract not founded on a written instrument, including store accounts, within 4 years.