Florida earns a C for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Higher bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: Up to 75% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Florida’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Florida?
*The seizing agency has 10 business days from the seizure to obtain a court order affirming probable cause.
**Along with the complaint, the government must pay a $1,000 filing fee and post a $1,500 bond.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $1.2 billion in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Florida Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $16,004,502 | $9,027,000 | $25,031,502 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $48,910,328 | $8,765,000 | $57,675,328 |
| 2002 | Unknown | $15,271,472 | $14,350,000 | $29,621,472 |
| 2003 | Unknown | $21,911,302 | $5,080,000 | $26,991,302 |
| 2004 | Unknown | $15,632,236 | $4,648,000 | $20,280,236 |
| 2005 | Unknown | $18,309,636 | $6,054,000 | $24,363,636 |
| 2006 | Unknown | $16,006,014 | $10,477,000 | $26,483,014 |
| 2007 | Unknown | $29,578,608 | $5,878,000 | $35,456,608 |
| 2008 | Unknown | $34,198,199 | $5,289,000 | $39,487,199 |
| 2009 | $33,558 | $36,976,546 | $5,148,000 | $42,158,104 |
| 2010 | $110,356,729 | $24,226,665 | $11,853,000 | $146,436,394 |
| 2011 | $195,744 | $37,430,257 | $5,114,000 | $42,740,001 |
| 2012 | $1,485,135 | $52,064,672 | $8,369,000 | $61,918,807 |
| 2013 | $1,435,659 | $22,665,566 | $4,878,000 | $28,979,225 |
| 2014 | $3,563,601 | $17,045,912 | $19,828,000 | $40,437,513 |
| 2015 | Unknown | $17,127,331 | $11,619,000 | $28,746,331 |
| 2016 | Unknown | $16,894,650 | $6,084,000 | $22,978,650 |
| 2017 | $28,955,458 | $14,905,901 | $3,174,000 | $47,035,359 |
| 2018 | $246,170,285 | $14,875,107 | $4,947,000 | $265,992,392 |
| 2019 | $22,717,726 | $15,150,002 | $10,736,000 | $48,603,728 |
| 2020 | $23,481,627 | $13,517,288 | $4,322,000 | $41,320,915 |
| 2021 | $27,017,783 | $9,768,928 | $1,531,000 | $38,317,711 |
| 2022 | $24,787,088 | $12,994,381 | $7,569,000 | $45,350,469 |
| 2023 | $26,933,959 | $16,604,357 | $15,086,000 | $58,624,316 |
| Totals | $517,134,352 | $538,069,860 | $189,826,000 | $1,245,030,212 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Florida does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Florida agencies have generated nearly $728 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 235 Florida agencies, or an estimated 65% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Florida Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$4,505
From 2019 to 2023, half of Florida’s currency forfeitures were less than $4,505. Florida’s filing fee and bond requirement for law enforcement make forfeitures under $2,500 riskier, likely encouraging a focus on higher-value property.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Florida property type data were not used for this report.
Settlements
From 2019 to 2023, more than one-third of Florida’s currency seizures were disposed of via a negotiated settlement.
Median Time to Return
15 days
From 2019 to 2023, the median time for seized currency to be returned was 15 days, likely owing to Florida’s post-seizure probable cause hearings. This is considerably faster than in comparable states.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
CStatewide Forfeiture Reports
BPenalties for Failure to File a Report
C*Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
AAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
BFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
F*Agencies must file even when they have nothing to report.
For full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Forfeiture records were obtained via public records requests to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. All figures are in fiscal years. Revenues are from statewide reports and represent funds deposited in a year as a result of forfeiture actions or proceeds of forfeited property sold. Revenues for 2009–2018 include transfers between agencies, and those from 2009–2014 are only for FDLE, not agencies statewide; FDLE did not include provide records for 2015–2016. Median figure was calculated using the values of currency forfeited in a year, which were derived from agency records with property-level data. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Beyond a reasonable doubt.
Fla. Stat. § 932.704(8); Hudson v. City of Sunrise, 237 So. 3d 1031, 1034 n.2 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2018).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
Fla. Stat. § 932.703(7); Gomez v. Vill. of Pinecrest, 41 So. 3d 180, 184–85 & n.2 (Fla. 2010) (explaining that Florida law changed in 1995 to place the burden of proof on the seizing agency).
Financial incentive: Up to 75%.
Fla. Stat. § 932.7055(5)(c)(3).
Process: Fla. Stat. §§ 932.701 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.500 (default judgment).