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Have a question? +1 815-826-6324 (815-8-BondAI) phil@AmericasSuretyBonds.com
Army Veteran Owned | Expert Surety Bonds Since 2004
There is no standard amount here, and no form to fill in. The court names the figure in the appointment order, and section 714.08 says the bond has to be effective as of the date of the receiver's appointment, not the date the surety issues it. That backdating is the part that surprises people. Bring the proposed or entered order to the surety and the bond gets written to match the order rather than being redone after the judge reads it.
Florida does not set a dollar figure for a receiver's bond. Under section 714.08(1), Florida Statutes, a receiver shall post with the court a bond conditioned on the faithful discharge of the receiver's duties, with one or more sureties approved by the court, in an amount the court specifies, and effective as of the date of the receiver's appointment. The court, not a licensing agency, is the obligee in practical terms, and there is no prescribed state form, no filing fee for the bond itself, and no annual renewal cycle. The bond stays in place through the receivership, and a claim against it must be made no later than 1 year after the receiver is discharged.
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Section 714.08(1) lists four things the bond must do. It must be conditioned on the faithful discharge of the receiver's duties, carry one or more sureties approved by the court, be in an amount the court specifies, and be effective as of the date of the receiver's appointment.
That third item is the whole answer on amount. There is no statutory minimum, no maximum, and no tier by asset value or business size. Judges set the number case by case, usually against the value of what the receiver will control and the cash expected to move through the estate. Anyone quoting you a standard Florida receiver bond amount is guessing.
The fourth item is the one that causes real problems. The bond is effective as of the date of appointment. If the order was entered a week before the bond was ordered, the surety is being asked to backdate coverage, and that is a conversation to have up front rather than after the fact.
Chapter 714 is the Uniform Commercial Real Estate Receivership Act. Section 714.04(1) applies it to a receivership initiated in a court of this state for an interest in real property and any incidental personal property related to or used in operating the real property.
Section 714.04(2) then carves out several categories, including real property improved by one or two dwelling units that includes the homestead of an individual owner or an affiliate, property exempt from forced sale under state law, personal property used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, actions under federal law, and cases in which a state agency is expressly authorized by statute to seek a receivership.
If your matter falls outside chapter 714, meaning a straight business receivership, a partnership dissolution, a corporate dispute, or a homestead property, the bond does not disappear. It comes from the appointment order under the court's general equity power, with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.620 supplying the procedure. Rule 1.620 requires the receiver to file a sworn inventory of the property within 20 days of appointment and sworn accounts every three months unless the court orders otherwise, and subdivision (c) allows the court to grant leave to put the bond of the receiver in suit against the sureties without notice to the sureties of the application for that leave.
Section 714.08(2) lets the court approve alternative security such as a letter of credit or a deposit of funds. Two limits go with it. The receiver may not use receivership property as the alternative security, and interest accruing on deposited funds is paid to the receiver on discharge.
There is a second path that predates chapter 714 and applies more broadly. Section 69.031 lets a court that has jurisdiction over an estate being administered by a receiver, among other officers, order personal property of the estate placed with a bank, trust company, or savings and loan association designated by the court when the size of the bond required of the officer is burdensome or for other cause. Once the institution files its receipt in the name of the estate, the court shall waive the bond or reduce it so that it applies only to the estate remaining in the officer's hands. That is the closest thing Florida has to a bond exemption for a receiver, and it is a court decision, not something you elect.
Section 714.08(3) allows the court to authorize a receiver to act before posting the bond or alternative security, but only where the action is necessary to prevent or mitigate immediate injury, loss, or damage to the party who sought the appointment, or immediate waste, dissipation, impairment, or substantial diminution in value of the receivership property. It is emergency authority, not a grace period, and the bond still has to be posted.
Section 714.08(4) provides that a claim against a receiver's bond or alternative security must be made not later than 1 year after the date the receiver is discharged. Discharge itself runs through section 714.23, on the receiver's final report. That one year tail is why a surety keeps a file open long after the estate closes, and why the receiver's indemnity obligation does not end at discharge either.
Section 714.07 covers disqualification from appointment and disclosure of interest. Clearing that section gets you appointed. It has nothing to do with the bond, and satisfying it does not reduce or waive the bond the order requires.
Unlike a licensing bond, there is no prescribed state form number, no state filing fee attached to the bond, and no annual renewal deadline. The bond is drafted to the language of the appointment order and filed with the court in the case. Sureties are approved by the court under 714.08(1)(b), so a surety that is unfamiliar to the judge or not authorized in Florida can be rejected on that basis alone.
Whatever the court says. Section 714.08(1)(c) requires the bond to be in an amount the court specifies. There is no statutory minimum, no maximum and no tier schedule. Judges generally look at the value of the property and business the receiver will control and the money expected to pass through the receiver's hands.
Section 714.08(1)(d) requires the bond to be effective as of the date of the receiver's appointment. If the order was entered before the bond was arranged, the surety is covering a period that has already run, so raise it with the surety at the start rather than after the order is signed.
Section 714.08(2) allows the court to approve alternative security such as a letter of credit or a deposit of funds. The receiver may not use receivership property as that security, and interest on deposited funds is paid to the receiver upon discharge. Separately, s. 69.031 lets the court order estate personal property placed with a court designated bank, trust company, or savings and loan when the bond is burdensome, after which the court waives the bond or reduces it to cover only what remains in the receiver's hands.
Only on emergency terms. Section 714.08(3) lets the court authorize a receiver to act before posting where it is necessary to prevent or mitigate immediate injury, loss, or damage to the party who sought the appointment, or immediate waste, dissipation, impairment, or substantial diminution in the value of the receivership property. The bond still gets posted.
Section 714.04(1) applies it to a receivership for an interest in real property and incidental personal property related to or used in operating that real property. Section 714.04(2) excludes several situations, among them real property improved by one or two dwelling units that includes the homestead of an individual owner or an affiliate, property exempt from forced sale, personal property used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, actions under federal law, and receiverships a state agency is expressly authorized by statute to seek. Outside chapter 714 the bond comes from the appointment order and Rule 1.620 supplies the procedure.
Past the end of the case. Section 714.08(4) provides that a claim against a receiver's bond or alternative security must be made not later than 1 year after the date the receiver is discharged. Rule 1.620(c) also lets the court grant leave to put the receiver's bond in suit against the sureties without notice to the sureties of the application.
No to all three. This is a court bond, not a license bond. It is drafted to the appointment order and filed in the case, there is no state prescribed form, no separate state filing fee for the bond, and no annual renewal date. It stays in force for the receivership.
Premium is a percentage of the penal sum the court set, and the rate comes out of underwriting rather than a published table. Sureties look at the receiver's experience and prior appointments, the nature of the estate, whether an operating business is involved, the amount of cash moving through, the quality of counsel, and the receiver's personal financial standing. A large penalty on a complex operating business prices differently from a modest bond on a single rental property. There is no honest number before a surety sees the order and the receivership scope.
They affect claims against it. Rule 1.620(b) requires a sworn inventory within 20 days of appointment and sworn accounts every three months unless the court orders otherwise, and gives the court power to order compliance within 20 days and charge the expense to the receiver personally. Sections 714.19 and 714.23 cover interim and final reports. Sloppy accounting is how a faithful discharge condition gets tested.
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