Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 687.04 (2025)

Penalty for usury; not to apply in certain situations.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

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687.04 Penalty for usury; not to apply in certain situations.—Any person, or any agent, officer, or other representative of any person, willfully violating the provisions of s. 687.03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity; and when said usurious interest is taken or reserved, or has been paid, then and in that event the person who has taken or reserved, or has been paid, either directly or indirectly, such usurious interest shall forfeit to the party from whom such usurious interest has been reserved, taken, or exacted in any way double the amount of interest so reserved, taken, or exacted. However, the penalties provided for by this section shall not apply:

(1) To a bona fide endorsee or transferee of negotiable paper purchased before maturity, unless the usurious character should appear upon its face, or unless the said endorsee or transferee shall have had actual notice of the same before the purchase of such paper, but in such event double the amount of such usurious interest may be recovered after payment, by action against the party originally exacting the same, in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, together with an attorney’s fee, as provided in s. 687.06; or

(2) If, prior to the institution of an action by the borrower or the filing of a defense under this chapter by the borrower or receipt of written notice by the lender from the borrower that usury has been charged or collected, the lender notifies the borrower of the usurious overcharge and refunds the amount of any overcharge taken, plus interest on the overcharge taken at the maximum lawful rate in effect at the time the usurious interest was taken, to the borrower and makes whatever adjustments in the appropriate contract or account as are necessary to ensure that the borrower will not be required to pay further interest in excess of the amount permitted by s. 687.03.

History.—s. 3, ch. 4022, 1891; GS 3106; s. 3, ch. 5960, 1909; RGS 4852; CGL 6939; s. 1, ch. 79-90.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 71 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1952–2026 · leading case: North Am. Mtg. Investors v. Cape San Blas, 378 So. 2d 287 (Fla. 1979).

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North Am. Mtg. Investors v. Cape San Blas, 378 So. 2d 287 (Fla. 1979). · cites it 20× “[3] § 687.04, Fla. Stat. (1975): 687.04 Penalty for usury, not to apply to transferee of negotiable paper unless usury appears on face.”

Jersey Palm-Gross, Inc. v. Paper, 639 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). · cites it 10× “See § 687.04, Fla. Stat. (1993). In the case of either criminal or civil usury, the lender's willfulness to charge an excessive interest rate is determined by considering all of the circumstances surrounding the transaction.”

Rollins v. Odom, 519 So. 2d 652 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). · cites it 6× “§ 687.04, Fla. Stat. (1981). [1] A lender guilty of criminal usury, that is, a loan obligation that bears an interest rate in excess of 25 percent per year but not in excess of 45 percent per year, forfeits the right to collect the debt.”

Tel Serv. Co. v. Gen. Capital Corp., 227 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 1969). · cites it 5× “Section 687.04 provides that any lender wilfully violating the provisions of Section 687.”

Beausejour Corp. v. Offshore Dev. Corp. (In Re Offshore Dev. Corp.), 37 B.R. 96 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1984). · cites it 13× “Having decided that the loan was in excess of the 45% maximum allowed by law and, therefore, criminally usurious, this Court must now determine whether Beau-sejour purged the transaction of criminal usury by sending a notice pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 687.04 . This Section…”

Woodgate Dev. Corp. v. Hamilton Inv. Trust, 351 So. 2d 14 (Fla. 1977). · cites it 2× “Section 687.04, Florida Statutes, provided that any person willfully violating the provisions of Section 687.”

Beausejour Corp., N v. V. Offshore Dev. Co., Inc., 802 F.2d 1319 (11th Cir. 1986). · cites it 5× “071(7) could not have been avoided by a timely cure notice pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 687.04(2); and (3) that, assuming the civil penalty for criminal usury could be avoided by a timely cure notice, Beausejour’s “cure notice” did not comply with the requirements of the Florida law.”

Brown v. Home Credit Co., 137 So. 2d 887 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962). · cites it 7× “03 in conjunction with § 687.04. See Ayvas v. Green, Fla. 1952, 57 So.”

Cerrito v. Kovitch, 457 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 1984). · cites it 4× “03 shall forfeit the entire interest so charged, or contracted to be charged or reserved, and only the actual principal sum of such usurious contract can be enforced in any court in this state, either at law or in equity; and when said usurious interest is taken or reserved, or…”

Gordon v. West Florida Enter. of Pensacola, Inc., 177 So. 2d 859 (Fla. 1st DCA 1965). · cites it 14× “, which makes it unlawful for any person to reserve, except upon an obligation of a corporation, a rate of interest greater than 10% per annum, and defendant asserted that she was entitled under Section 687.04, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., to exact against the plaintiff, as a…”

Cont'l Mortg. Investors v. Sailboat Key, Inc., 395 So. 2d 507 (Fla. 1981). · cites it 2× “03(1), Florida Statutes (1975), or to the transfers of negotiable paper in certain cases, section 687.04, Florida Statutes (1975). The legislature recently raised the maximum interest rates allowable under the usury laws, demonstrating that this public policy is at very least…”

Velletri v. Dixon, 44 So. 3d 187 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). · cites it 3× “See § 687.04. The civil penalty for criminal usury is significantly greater: forfeiture of the right to collect the debt at all.”

Show all 71 citing cases →

— 687.04(1) — 2 cases

Credit All. Corp. v. Timmco Equip., Inc., 507 So. 2d 657 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987).

Credit All. Corp. v. Timmco Equip., Inc., 457 So. 2d 1102 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984).

— 687.04(2) — 7 cases

Jersey Palm-Gross, Inc. v. Paper, 639 So. 2d 664 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). “See § 687.04, Fla. Stat. (1993). In the case of either criminal or civil usury, the lender's willfulness to charge an excessive interest rate is determined by considering all of the circumstances surrounding the transaction.”

Beausejour Corp., N v. V. Offshore Dev. Co., Inc., 802 F.2d 1319 (11th Cir. 1986). “071(7) could not have been avoided by a timely cure notice pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 687.04(2); and (3) that, assuming the civil penalty for criminal usury could be avoided by a timely cure notice, Beausejour’s “cure notice” did not comply with the requirements of the Florida law.”

Beausejour Corp. v. Offshore Dev. Corp. (In Re Offshore Dev. Corp.), 37 B.R. 96 (Bankr. M.D. Fla. 1984). “Having decided that the loan was in excess of the 45% maximum allowed by law and, therefore, criminally usurious, this Court must now determine whether Beau-sejour purged the transaction of criminal usury by sending a notice pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 687.04 . This Section…”

Gergora v. Goldstein Prof'l Ass'n, 500 So. 2d 695 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987).

Plantation Vill. Ltd. P'ship of Sanibel v. Aycock, 617 So. 2d 729 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993).

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