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A construction lien (also called a mechanic's lien) is a legal claim placed against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, laborer, material supplier, or design professional who has not been paid for work or materials provided to improve that property. In Florida, construction liens are governed by Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes. A properly filed lien encumbers the property's title and can ultimately be enforced through foreclosure if payment is not made.

A Notice to Owner (NTO) is Florida's pre-lien notice. It is a written document that subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and material suppliers must send to the property owner to preserve their right to file a construction lien. The NTO informs the owner that a party — not in direct contract with the owner — is providing labor or materials to the project. This gives the owner the opportunity to verify that all parties in the payment chain are being paid before releasing funds.

A Claim of Lien is the formal legal document recorded in the public records of the county where the property is located to establish your lien rights. Once recorded, it creates a cloud on the property's title that prevents the property from being sold or refinanced without your lien being addressed. A Florida Claim of Lien is governed by Section 713.08 of the Florida Statutes.

Once a Florida construction lien has been fully paid or resolved, the lien should be promptly discharged of record. Under § 713.21, a construction lien may be discharged by a properly executed and recorded satisfaction or release, among other methods. The recorded release must include the lien’s official-records reference and the lienor’s notarized signature. As a customer-service and risk-management matter, it is best practice to record the release as soon as payment clears rather than waiting.

Filing a construction lien in Florida with SimpleLiens.com is entirely online. You answer a series of guided questions about your project, your role, the property, and the amount owed. Our system generates your Notice to Owner and/or Claim of Lien automatically, handles electronic recording with the correct Florida county clerk, and provides you with confirmation of filing. The entire process takes about 15 minutes.

In Florida, potential lienors can include contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, laborers, material suppliers, certain equipment lessors, and professional lienors, depending on their role and compliance with Chapter 713. Parties in direct contract with the owner generally look to § 713.05; non-privity claimants generally look to § 713.06; and professional lienors are governed by § 713.03. One major limitation: an unlicensed contractor, subcontractor, or sub-subcontractor does not have lien rights under Florida law.

In Florida, most lienors who are not in direct contract with the owner must serve a Notice to Owner to preserve private-project lien rights. That usually includes subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and many material suppliers. However, laborers are excepted from the NTO requirement under § 713.06, and professional lienors under § 713.03 do not have to serve an NTO. Some lower-tier claimants must also serve a copy on the contractor, and a material supplier to a sub-subcontractor may also need to serve the subcontractor if the supplier knows that party’s name and address.

In Florida, you must record your Claim of Lien within 90 days of the last date you furnished labor, materials, or services to the project. This 90-day clock begins on your final day of furnishing and is strictly enforced — missing this deadline permanently extinguishes your lien rights. Warranty work and callbacks generally do not extend the 90-day clock. You must also serve a copy of the lien on the property owner within 15 days of recording it.

You should file a lien release as soon as you have received full payment for your work. Under Section 713.21, Florida Statutes, if you fail to record a satisfaction of lien within 60 days after receiving written demand from the owner after payment, you can be held liable for damages and attorney's fees. Best practice: record the release promptly upon receiving payment and provide a copy to the property owner.

The Claim of Lien does need to be notarized — it is a sworn document. The Notice to Owner does not. SimpleLiens includes online notarization (an additional $36) with every Florida Claim of Lien filing, so there is no separate notary visit; everything happens in the same online order.

Florida lien law does not use one single definition of “residential project” for every rule. For the mandatory direct-contract warning in § 713.015, the rule generally applies to direct contracts over $2,500 involving improvements to single or multiple family dwellings up to and including four units. A Notice of Commencement is not unique to residential jobs. For most non-exempt private projects, the owner or authorized agent must record the Notice of Commencement before work begins and post it on the site before the first inspection.

A Florida Notice to Owner should be served as early as possible, ideally before or when you first start work or deliveries. Under § 713.06, it must be served before first furnishing or no later than 45 days after first furnishing, and it must also be served before the owner makes final payment after receiving the contractor’s final payment affidavit. If you use the certified-mail safe harbor, mail it within 40 days after first furnishing and keep the required USPS mailing records so service is effective as of the mailing date.

A Florida Claim of Lien must include: (1) Your name and address consistent with your Notice to Owner; (2) The name of the person who hired you; (3) A description of the labor, services, or materials furnished; (4) The total value of the contract and the amount remaining unpaid; (5) The property's legal description; (6) The property owner's name; (7) The first and last dates you furnished labor or materials; (8) The date and method of NTO service (if required); (9) The statutory warning language.

No. A lien release is a document recorded in the public records to remove an already-filed Claim of Lien. A lien waiver is a contractual document that prospectively waives or releases lien rights before or during a project — often exchanged as a condition of receiving payment. Florida law (Section 713.20) regulates lien waivers and provides statutory forms for conditional and unconditional waivers.

The majority of Florida's 67 counties accept electronic recording of construction liens and related documents. SimpleLiens.com electronically submits to all Florida counties that support e-recording. For counties that do not yet support e-recording, SimpleLiens.com will mail your documents for filing and confirm receipt.

A commercial project is any improvement to real property that does not qualify as a residential project — meaning it is not a single-family home or duplex owned and personally occupied by a natural person. Commercial projects include office buildings, retail spaces, multi-family developments, apartment complexes, warehouses, and any property owned by a corporation or LLC. Standard Chapter 713 lien procedures apply to commercial projects.

A Florida Notice to Owner should substantially track the statutory form in § 713.06. It should identify the owner, the property, the general nature of the labor, services, or materials being furnished, the party whose order the work is being performed under, and it must include the statutory warning language. Service is governed by § 713.18 and may be made by hand delivery, qualifying mail or common-carrier methods, and in limited circumstances by posting if the ordinary methods cannot be accomplished.

You record your Claim of Lien with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property is located. Florida has 67 counties, each with its own Clerk's office. Most Florida counties accept electronic recording (e-recording). SimpleLiens.com handles the recording process — we electronically submit your lien to the correct county clerk, obtain the recording information, and provide you with confirmation.

The lienor (the party who filed the lien) is responsible for preparing and recording the release of lien. Once paid, you execute the release, sign it, and record it at the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the same county where the lien was originally recorded. SimpleLiens.com handles lien release preparation and recording for you.

Yes. You can record your Claim of Lien in person or by mail at the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property is located. However, using SimpleLiens.com's e-recording service is faster, provides immediate confirmation, and eliminates the risk of postal delays that could cause you to miss your 90-day deadline. We strongly recommend electronic filing for all time-sensitive documents.

A public project is work performed for a governmental owner. Because public property is not treated like privately lienable property under Chapter 713, payment protection usually comes from a public construction bond claim under § 255.05 rather than a private-project construction lien. On many public jobs, a statutory payment bond will be required, but smaller state or local contracts can fall within statutory exemption thresholds, so bond availability should always be confirmed at the start of the project.

No. A Notice to Owner in Florida does not need to be notarized. It must be in writing, contain the statutory content, and be served on the property owner (and others named in the Notice of Commencement) by a permitted delivery method — SimpleLiens prepares and serves it for you.

Yes — the Claim of Lien must be signed, sworn, and notarized before it is recorded. The Notice to Owner does not require notarization. SimpleLiens handles the online notarization as part of the Claim of Lien filing (an additional $36), so nothing requires an in-person notary visit.

No. You are not required to release a valid lien if you are still owed money. A lien release should only be recorded after you have received full payment or have otherwise settled the dispute. If you have received partial payment, you may file a partial release reflecting only the portion being released. Never release your lien prematurely.

In Florida, the statutory document is the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit. On a direct contract, the contractor gives this affidavit to the owner when final payment becomes due, stating that lienors who timely served notices have been paid or listing those who have not been paid. The contractor must also execute and deliver the affidavit to the owner at least 5 days before filing a lien-enforcement action, even if final payment has not yet become due.

Yes. Florida recognizes lien rights for certain design professionals, including architects, landscape architects, interior designers, engineers, and surveyors and mappers, under § 713.03. A professional lienor under that section is not required to serve a Notice to Owner. If the design professional has a direct contract, lien rights can arise even if the real property is not actually improved, but no lien is acquired until the Claim of Lien is recorded.

No. General (prime) contractors who have a direct contract with the property owner are NOT required to send a Notice to Owner. However, general contractors must: (1) Provide a list of all subcontractors and suppliers within 10 days of a written request from the owner; and (2) Submit a Final Contractor's Affidavit before receiving final payment.

Any lienor under Chapter 713 can file a Claim of Lien. This includes general contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, laborers, equipment rental companies (for on-site equipment), and licensed design professionals. The party filing the lien must have furnished labor, materials, or services that improved the real property and must not have waived lien rights by contract or by failing to send required notices.

A Notice of Commencement (NOC) is a document recorded by the property owner in the county public records before construction begins on a project valued at $2,500 or more. It identifies the property, owner, general contractor, and lender. The NOC establishes the date from which lien priorities are measured. This is a Florida-specific requirement with no direct equivalent in Texas.

Not always. The property owner is the person or entity holding legal title. The project owner or contracting party may be a tenant, lessee, or another party who authorized the construction work. A lien can only attach to the property owner's interest. If you contracted with a tenant, your lien rights may be limited to the tenant's leasehold interest. Always send your Notice to Owner to the actual property owner as listed in the county property records.

Yes. Florida law does not require a written contract to file a construction lien. Oral contracts for construction work are generally enforceable and lien rights can attach even without a written agreement. However, having a written contract makes it significantly easier to prove the amount owed and the scope of work performed.

If you do not qualify to file a construction lien in Florida, you still have options: (1) File a lawsuit for breach of contract or unjust enrichment; (2) Pursue a claim in small claims court (up to $8,000 in Florida); (3) File a complaint with the Florida DBPR if the contractor is licensed; (4) Pursue mediation or arbitration if required by your contract. A construction lien is not the only way to recover payment.

If you are a subcontractor or supplier hired by a general contractor (not directly by the property owner), you MUST send a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing to preserve your lien rights. Without a timely NTO, you cannot file a valid construction lien in Florida regardless of how much you are owed.

After your Claim of Lien is recorded: (1) The county clerk records it and assigns a Book/Page number; (2) You must serve a copy on the property owner within 15 days of recording; (3) The lien creates a cloud on the property's title; (4) The owner may pay the amount owed, bond off the lien, or contest it; (5) If unpaid, you have one year from the date of recording to file a lawsuit to enforce (foreclose) the lien. If the owner files a Notice of Contest of Lien, that deadline is shortened to 60 days.

To prepare a Florida Claim of Lien, you generally need your legal name and address; the name of the party who hired you; a description of the labor, services, or materials you furnished; the owner’s name; the property’s legal description; your first and last furnishing dates; and the amount unpaid. If you were required to serve a Notice to Owner or copies to a contractor or subcontractor, the claim should also state the date and method of that service. The Claim of Lien must be signed and sworn to or affirmed, recorded in the county where the property is located, and a copy must be served on the owner before recording or within 15 days after recording.

If you contracted with a tenant, your lien usually attaches first to the tenant’s leasehold interest, not automatically to the landlord’s fee interest. Under § 713.10, the landlord’s interest can also be affected if the improvement is made by the tenant in accordance with an agreement between the tenant and landlord. But if the lease contains the required anti-lien language and the statute’s recording requirements are satisfied before the Notice of Commencement, the landlord’s fee interest may be protected. On tenant jobs, you should identify both the tenant and the fee owner at the start of the project and review the lease / Notice of Commencement carefully.

If you filed a Claim of Lien and have not received payment, you must file a lawsuit to enforce (foreclose) the lien within one year of the date the lien was recorded. If the property owner filed a Notice of Contest of Lien, that deadline is shortened to 60 days from the date you received the notice. If the owner served you with a 20-Day Notice to Show Cause, you have only 20 days to respond. SimpleLiens.com recommends consulting a Florida construction attorney if your lien has not been resolved.

A legal description is the precise formal identification of real property as it appears in the county's official records. You can find the legal description on: (1) The recorded Notice of Commencement; (2) The property's deed at the County Clerk's office; (3) The county property appraiser's website (search by address). SimpleLiens.com will help you locate and verify the correct legal description for your county.

Filing a fraudulent or willfully exaggerated Claim of Lien is serious in Florida. Under Section 713.31, a lienor who knowingly files a fraudulent lien is liable to the owner for all damages caused, plus attorney's fees. The lien may be declared null and void by a court. Always ensure your lien amount is accurate and supported by your actual unpaid invoices.