When must a Florida tort claimant present a written claim to the agency and DFS?

Establish the actual governmental defendant and covered tort claim.

Determine the operative accrual and whether the claim is wrongful death or contribution.

Preserve the complete written claim and each legally required recipient’s evidence.

1. Establish the actual governmental defendant and covered tort claim.
2. Do not convert statutory years or months into fixed day counts. Establish the governing computation provision for the actual presentment, denial or court-filing act. This conditional guide computes no date.
3. Check the observed statutory holidays, actual clerk calendar and chief-justice directions.
4. Complete the required act with the proper court or recipient.

A court clerk holiday does not by itself establish agency presentment or a statutory denial date. Establish the applicable computation provision and recipient procedure. Apply the observed New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day holidays. Section 110.117 observes Saturday holidays on the preceding Friday and Sunday holidays on the following Monday. Rule 2.514 also includes clerk-observed holidays and days designated by the chief justice or chief judge. An ineligible final day moves in the counting direction. The bundled Florida calendar covers 2026 through 2028. Verify additional closures and chief-justice extensions separately.

The three-year preset does not select the contribution or wrongful-death branch, determine legal accrual or prove complete presentment to the required recipients. This source guide gives no computed or paid deadline.

Identify each legally required notice recipient

Section 768.28(6)(a) requires written presentment to the appropriate agency. It also requires DFS presentment, subject to its express municipality, county and Florida Space Authority exception. The wrongful-death subparagraph expressly names DFS. Preserve the actual defendant classification and applicable treatment before omitting any notice.

Notice does not move the accrual date

Section 768.28(6)(b) makes agency notice and denial conditions precedent, without making them elements of the cause of action or changing its accrual. Section 95.031(1) generally uses the occurrence of the last element. An incident, a later demand and the legal accrual date are not automatically the same event.

Three years is not the only presentment period

Subparagraph (6)(a)1. gives contribution its six-month final-judgment, payment or pending-action agreement branches. Subparagraph 2. states a two-year wrongful-death presentment period. Do not use the general three-year value for either category.

The separate disclosure duty has its own boundary

Section 768.28(6)(c) requires prescribed claimant identification and adjudicated unpaid state obligations. Paragraph (d) requires complete, accurate and timely compliance before settlement payment, discovery closing or trial commencement, whichever is sooner. Preserve that separate obligation without treating the later disclosure boundary as an extension of presentment.

DFS guidance is a summary of a narrower claims process

The DFS general-liability page summarizes notice from occurrence and an investigation period of 180 days. Section 768.28 uses accrual and states six months, with ninety-day medical-malpractice and wrongful-death branches. Preserve those statutory distinctions; the administrative summary does not establish an equivalent date.

• This guide does not establish accrual, a sovereign-immunity waiver, completed presentment, an applicable tolling period or permission to file suit.
• Check the governing historical edition, actual motions, orders, clerk holidays and filing receipts.

• Establish the actual governmental defendant and covered tort claim.
• Determine the operative accrual and whether the claim is wrongful death or contribution.
• Preserve the complete written claim and each legally required recipient’s evidence.
• Section 768.28(6)(a) requires written presentment to the appropriate agency. It also requires DFS presentment, subject to its express municipality, county and Florida Space Authority exception. The wrongful-death subparagraph expressly names DFS. Preserve the actual defendant classification and applicable treatment before omitting any notice.
• Section 768.28(6)(b) makes agency notice and denial conditions precedent, without making them elements of the cause of action or changing its accrual. Section 95.031(1) generally uses the occurrence of the last element. An incident, a later demand and the legal accrual date are not automatically the same event.
• Subparagraph (6)(a)1. gives contribution its six-month final-judgment, payment or pending-action agreement branches. Subparagraph 2. states a two-year wrongful-death presentment period. Do not use the general three-year value for either category.
• Section 768.28(6)(c) requires prescribed claimant identification and adjudicated unpaid state obligations. Paragraph (d) requires complete, accurate and timely compliance before settlement payment, discovery closing or trial commencement, whichever is sooner. Preserve that separate obligation without treating the later disclosure boundary as an extension of presentment.
• The DFS general-liability page summarizes notice from occurrence and an investigation period of 180 days. Section 768.28 uses accrual and states six months, with ninety-day medical-malpractice and wrongful-death branches. Preserve those statutory distinctions; the administrative summary does not establish an equivalent date.
• Preserve the actual written claim, each legally required recipient, delivery or filing evidence and the actual disposition. Presentment is not court filing or service of process. Section 768.28(7) separately requires process on the agency head and DFS, subject to its stated local-government and Space Authority exceptions. A compliant notice does not establish a waiver, timely suit or successful service.