Enforcing Or Challenging A Foreign Judgment In The United States

• Published date: 20 July 2026
• Subject Matter: International Law, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, International Courts & Tribunals, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Court Procedure
• Law Firm: Harris Sliwoski
• Author: Mr Dan Harris

Enforcing or Challenging a Foreign Judgment in the United States

A multimillion-dollar judgment from a foreign court does not, by itself, allow the creditor to seize a debtor's assets in the United States. The judgment must first be recognized by a U.S. court. A foreign supplier, for example, may obtain a substantial judgment against an American company whose bank accounts and property are in the United States. Until a U.S. court recognizes that judgment, however, the supplier generally cannot use ordinary U.S. collection procedures.

The reverse can be equally serious. A U.S. company may learn that a foreign creditor is seeking to enforce a judgment entered after questionable service, a default the company did not anticipate, or proceedings in which it had little meaningful opportunity to defend itself.

Foreign-country judgments do not receive the automatic full faith and credit afforded judgments from other U.S. states. Recognition is governed primarily by state law. Most states have enacted some version of the Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act or its predecessor.

The remaining states generally rely, in whole or in part, on common-law principles of international comity. Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming have not enacted either version of the Act. The rules vary by state, but the central questions are largely the same: whether the judgment qualifies for recognition, where the debtor's assets are located, and whether the foreign-court record supports enforcement or provides a legitimate basis for resisting it.

Which Foreign Judgments Qualify?

State recognition statutes generally apply to foreign-country judgments that grant or deny the recovery of money and are final, conclusive, and enforceable where rendered.

Not every foreign ruling qualifies. These statutes commonly exclude judgments involving taxes, fines, penalties, and certain domestic-relations matters. Injunctions and other nonmonetary orders may also fall outside the statutory framework, though courts may consider them under other legal principles.

Foreign arbitration awards follow a different path. They are enforced under the New York Convention, the Federal Arbitration Act, or another applicable arbitration regime, not under state foreign-judgment recognition statutes.

Recognition Comes First. Collection Comes Next.

Once the judgment is recognized, the creditor may use the forum state's collection procedures, including bank garnishments, judgment liens, and post-judgment discovery.

But a creditor can win recognition and still recover nothing. The debtor may have no reachable assets. Another creditor may have priority...