How to File a Florida Construction Lien

A construction lien is Florida’s statutory name for what many states call a mechanics lien: a claim recorded against real property by a contractor, worker, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. It is governed by the Construction Lien Law in Chapter 713, Part I, Florida Statutes, and it is one of the payment-enforcement tools that sits alongside the rest of Florida’s consumer protection laws. This article covers who can file, the notices that come first, how to prepare and record the Claim of Lien, and the deadlines that keep a lien enforceable.

Who can file a construction lien in Florida

The Construction Lien Law gives lien rights to the people who add value to a construction project. Under § 713.06, Fla. Stat., lienors include subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, laborers, and materialmen who furnish labor, services, or materials to improve the property under their contract. General contractors who deal directly with the owner have lien rights too, under a separate section for lienors in privity.

The key distinction is privity. A lienor “in privity” with the owner has a direct contract with that owner. A lienor “not in privity” reaches the owner through one or more layers of contract, such as a subcontractor hired by the general contractor or a supplier selling to a subcontractor. That difference decides whether a preliminary notice is required, so it is worth settling before any paperwork is prepared.

Two limits apply to every lienor. The lien attaches only to the private real property that was improved, and the total of all liens claimed under a single direct contract cannot exceed the contract price fixed by that contract, as stated in § 713.06(1), Fla. Stat.. Work on public projects follows a different track, using bond claims rather than liens against the land.

Serve the Notice to Owner first

A lienor who is not in privity with the owner has to serve a Notice to Owner before recording any lien. The notice must be served before the lienor starts work, or no later than 45 days after first furnishing labor, services, or materials, under § 713.06(2)(a), Fla. Stat. Failing to serve it on time is a complete defense to the lien, which means the lien fails no matter how much money is owed. Laborers and contractors in direct privity with the owner are exempt from this notice.

The Notice to Owner is not the lien itself and does not encumber the property. It warns the owner that an unpaid participant is on the job and that paying the general contractor may not, by itself, protect the owner from a later lien. The exact deadlines for this notice and the other lien steps are laid out in the Florida mechanics lien deadline schedule.

Service follows the methods in § 713.18, Fla. Stat.: hand delivery, or registered or certified mail with evidence of delivery, or posting on the site when the first two cannot be accomplished. When the notice goes by certified mail, service is effective on the date of mailing if it is mailed within 40 days of first furnishing and the sender keeps a compliant mail log. If no Notice of Commencement has been recorded, a lienor may rely on the address in the building permit application to identify and serve the owner.

Prepare the Claim of Lien

The document that actually creates the lien is the Claim of Lien. § 713.08, Fla. Stat. lists what it must state and provides a fill-in form, including a boxed warning that a construction lien has been placed on the property. The claim must be signed and sworn to or affirmed before a notary, and it may be prepared by the lienor, the lienor’s employee, or an attorney.

1. Identify the parties and the property

   State the lienor’s name and an address where notices can be served, the name of the person the lienor contracted with, the name of the owner, and a description of the real property sufficient to identify it. The property description should match the legal description on record, not just a street address.

2. State the amounts and the dates

   Describe the labor, services, or materials furnished and their contract price or value, the amount that remains unpaid, and the dates the first and last items were furnished. The last-furnishing date is what starts the recording deadline, so record it carefully.

3. Add the Notice to Owner details

   A lienor not in privity with the owner states the date and method the Notice to Owner was served, as required by § 713.08(1), Fla. Stat. A lienor in privity skips this item.

4. Sign and notarize

   The lienor or the lienor’s agent signs and swears to or affirms the claim before a notary under § 713.08(2), Fla. Stat. An unsworn claim is not a valid lien.

Minor mistakes are not always fatal. The negligent inclusion or omission of information that has not prejudiced the owner does not, on its own, defeat an otherwise valid lien.

Record the lien with the county clerk

The Claim of Lien becomes effective when it is recorded in the official records of the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the property is located. It must be recorded no later than 90 days after the final furnishing of labor, services, or materials, under § 713.08(5), Fla. Stat. When the improved property lies in two or more counties, a claim is recorded in each county’s clerk’s office. Recording operates as constructive notice of the lien to everyone.

Recording charges are set statewide by § 28.24, Fla. Stat. As of 2026, the base service charge is $5 for the first page and $4 for each additional page, on top of which the statute adds recording surcharges, so a one-page lien commonly records for around $10. County recording offices, such as the Duval County Clerk of Courts, publish current fee schedules and accept documents in person, by mail, and often electronically.

Serve the recorded lien on the owner

Recording is not the last step. A copy of the recorded Claim of Lien must be served on the owner, using the methods in § 713.18, Fla. Stat., either before the claim is recorded or within 15 days after recording, as required by § 713.08(4)(c), Fla. Stat. A failure to serve the copy renders the lien voidable to the extent the delay is shown to have prejudiced someone entitled to rely on the service.

Keeping proof of service matters here. The same mail log or delivery record that supported the Notice to Owner should be kept for the recorded lien, because the burden of showing timely, proper service falls on the lienor if the lien is later challenged.

Keeping the lien alive after recording

A recorded lien does not last indefinitely. Under § 713.22, Fla. Stat., a construction lien continues for one year after the Claim of Lien is recorded, and it lapses at the end of that year unless the lienor commences an action to enforce it within that time. The enforcement action is a foreclosure suit filed in the circuit court for the county where the property is located.

The owner can compress that timeline. By recording a Notice of Contest of Lien under § 713.22(2), Fla. Stat., the owner shortens the lienor’s deadline to 60 days from the date the notice is served; a lienor who does not sue within that 60-day window loses the lien automatically. An owner also has separate routes for removing a construction lien from the property, including transferring it to a bond. A payment dispute that turns on the quality of the work can head in a different direction entirely, toward suing a Florida contractor for defective work.