The Sunshine State isn’t only known for its oranges and beaches, but also its thriving construction industry. If you plan on participating, you need to know how to file a mechanics lien in Florida correctly.It’s important to know the specific mechanics lien laws of every state you work in.
Timeline and Steps for Filing and Enforcing a Mechanics Lien in Florida
If you are contracting directly with the owner of the property, you are only required to provide a list of subcontractors and suppliers within 10 days of a request for this information. You are not required to provide a notice to owner. It is wise, however, to collect information in a job sheet before beginning work that contains all the information you may need in the event you have to file a mechanics lien in Florida. You will need accurate accounting information, owner contact information and property description to file a mechanic’s lien in Florida.
Contracting directly with the owner
If you are not contracting directly with the owner, you must send a preliminary notice to the owner. This notice will inform the owner of your intention to file a mechanics lien. In Florida you have 45 days after you commence working or providing goods to the project or at the latest, sometime before the property owner’s final payment to the general contractor to send a preliminary notice. In addition to serving a copy on the owner, you should also serve a copy on any contractor up the chain you are not directly contracted with. The only contractors excluded from the requirement of serving notice are individual laborers, architects, engineers or design professionals.
What, When and Where?
If payment is not forthcoming, you’ve reached the point where you have to file a mechanics lien. In Florida, you must file your lien in the clerk of court records in the county where the property is located within 90 days of the completion of your work. You will lose your right file a mechanics lien in Florida if you miss this deadline. You must then serve the lien on the owner within an additional 15 days after filing the lien. This can be accomplished either by serving it personally or sending it via registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, or if no other method of service is available, by posting the notice on the premise. If personally served the lien notice, you need to receive a signature from an authorize signatory of the owner to prove service was completed. To be an authorized signatory, it must be a partner if the owner is a partnership, an officer, director or managing agent if a corporation, or a member or manager if a limited liability company.
Make it count
After you’ve recorded your mechanics lien in the Florida county in which you’re working, you have one year to begin any necessary legal action to enforce your rights. If you fail to file a suit to enforce your mechanics lien within this year period, your lien will automatically expire.
Detail For consideration
In Florida, your mechanics lien needs to contain enough information to sufficiently identify the property in question and does not need a full legal property description. However, keep in mind, especially on new construction, there might not yet be an official street address and you’d be smarter to define the property based on plat and tract numbers or other more specific methods of identification.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who must serve a Florida Notice to Owner?
Under Fla. Stat. § 713.06, every sub-tier claimant (anyone NOT in direct contract with the property owner) must serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days after first furnishing labor, services, or materials to a Florida construction project. Sub-tier claimants include subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, and laborers. The Notice to Owner must go to the property owner of record and is also typically served on the contractor. Failure to serve within 45 days permanently bars lien rights regardless of how timely the later Claim of Lien is recorded. Direct contractors in privity with the owner are exempt from the Notice to Owner requirement.
What is the deadline to file a Florida mechanics lien?
Under Fla. Stat. § 713.08, the verified Claim of Lien must be recorded with the Circuit Court clerk in the county where the property is located within 90 days after the FINAL furnishing of labor, services, or materials. The 90 days runs from LAST furnishing, not from substantial completion of the project. After recording, the lien must be served on the property owner within 15 days under § 713.08(4) — failure to serve within 15 days does not automatically invalidate the lien but creates affirmative defenses. The 90-day filing deadline is strict and cannot be extended for hardship.
What contents are required on a Florida Claim of Lien?
Under Fla. Stat. § 713.08(1), a Florida Claim of Lien must contain: (1) the name and address of the lienor (claimant); (2) the name of the property owner; (3) the legal description of the real property; (4) the time when the first and last items of labor or services or materials were furnished; (5) the amount unpaid; (6) the name of the party who hired the lienor; (7) the description of the labor or materials furnished; (8) verification by the lienor's signature under oath. Defective Claims of Lien missing required content are unenforceable — Florida courts apply strict statutory compliance to Claim of Lien content.
What is the deadline to file a Florida mechanics lien foreclosure suit?
Under Fla. Stat. § 713.22(1), a Florida mechanics lien foreclosure action must be commenced in Circuit Court within ONE YEAR after the recording of the Claim of Lien. The one-year deadline can be shortened by the owner serving a § 713.22(2) Contest of Lien notice, which forces the claimant to file suit within 60 days. The one-year deadline can be further shortened by a § 713.21(4) demand for filing suit, which forces the claimant to file within 20 days. Failure to file within any of these deadlines extinguishes the lien automatically. Florida liens are highly time-sensitive and require active monitoring.
What is a Florida Notice of Commencement and why does it matter?
Under Fla. Stat. § 713.13, property owners must record a Notice of Commencement before commencing construction, identifying the owner, contractor, surety, lender, and project details. The Notice of Commencement is the key document sub-tier claimants use to identify the parties they must serve with the Notice to Owner under § 713.06. Sub-tier claimants on Florida projects should obtain a copy of the recorded Notice of Commencement from the Circuit Court clerk immediately upon starting work — it provides the correct legal names and addresses for service. Owners who fail to record a Notice of Commencement may have weakened defenses against unpaid contractors.
Can a Florida mechanics lien attach to homestead property?
Yes — Florida mechanics liens for labor or materials furnished for the construction or improvement of homestead real property can attach to the homestead, despite Florida's strong constitutional homestead protection (Fla. Const. art. X, § 4). The mechanics lien is one of the specifically-enumerated exceptions to the homestead exemption. However, the homeowner must have either (1) directly contracted for the work, or (2) signed off on a Notice of Commencement that authorized the work, or (3) otherwise consented. Liens for unauthorized work performed by tenants or unrelated parties typically cannot attach to homestead. National Lien & Bond verifies homestead enforceability before filing.
How does National Lien & Bond help unpaid contractors file Florida mechanics liens?
National Lien & Bond files Florida mechanics liens for unpaid contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and equipment lessors. For Illinois-based engagements, Hal Emalfarb's firm at Emalfarb Swan and Bain handles the strategic coordination. For Florida-jurisdiction matters, NLB connects claimants with vetted Florida construction-payment attorneys who handle the 45-day Notice to Owner under § 713.06, the 90-day Claim of Lien recording under § 713.08, and the one-year foreclosure suit under § 713.22. NLB's 50-state deadline-tracking system prevents the missed-deadline forfeitures that cause most Florida lien losses. Contact NLB for a free initial consultation.