How to File a Construction Lien in Florida: A Contractor’s Guide

A Tampa subcontractor finishes $180,000 of electrical work on a commercial build in Ybor City. The general contractor stops answering calls. Thirty days pass, then sixty. The subcontractor keeps waiting for a check that is not coming, and the one tool that could force payment is quietly expiring. In Florida, the right to file a construction lien runs on a 90-day clock, and it does not stop for a contractor who is being patient.

Knowing how to file a construction lien in Florida is how a contractor turns an unpaid invoice into a secured claim against the property itself.

This guide walks through who can file, the deadlines that govern the Florida construction lien process, the steps to record and perfect the lien, and the mistakes that quietly destroy an otherwise valid claim.

Southron Firm, P.A., is a Tampa, Florida litigation firm that represents contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in payment disputes across the state.

How Do You File a Construction Lien in Florida?

You file a construction lien in Florida by serving a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing labor or materials, recording a Claim of Lien in the county’s public records within 90 days of your final furnishing, serving that recorded lien on the owner within 15 days, and enforcing it within one year. Each step is governed by Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes, and each has its own deadline that, once missed, cannot be revived.

The lien attaches to the improved real property. That is its power: instead of chasing a contractor who may be insolvent or unresponsive, an unpaid contractor holds a recorded claim that clouds title and can ultimately be foreclosed.

Construction lien: A construction lien is a recorded legal claim against real property that secures payment for labor, services, or materials furnished to improve that property under Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes.

Who Can File a Construction Lien in Florida?

Anyone who provides labor, services, or materials to improve real property under a contract can file a construction lien in Florida, including general contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers. The key dividing line is privity: whether the claimant has a direct contract with the property owner.

A general contractor in direct privity with the owner does not have to serve a Notice to Owner. Everyone below the general contractor (subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers who contracted with someone other than the owner) must serve a Notice to Owner to protect their lien rights before they can record a valid lien. Miss that notice, and the lien is void no matter how much money is owed.

Notice to Owner (NTO): A Notice to Owner is a written notice, required under Fla. Stat. § 713.06, that a subcontractor or supplier not in direct contract with the owner must serve within 45 days of first furnishing labor or materials to preserve the right to file a lien.

A written contract is not required to hold lien rights, but the burden of proving the work, the amount owed, and the dates of furnishing falls on the claimant. Documentation decides close cases.

Construction Lien Deadlines in Florida

The Florida construction lien process is a series of hard deadlines, and each one is tied to a section of Chapter 713. Missing any single deadline can extinguish the claim.

Step	Deadline	Governing statute
Serve Notice to Owner (subs/suppliers not in privity)	Within 45 days of first furnishing labor or materials	Fla. Stat. § 713.06
Record the Claim of Lien	Within 90 days of final furnishing	Fla. Stat. § 713.08
Serve the recorded lien on the owner	Within 15 days of recording	Fla. Stat. § 713.08
Serve Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit (contractors in privity)	At least 5 days before filing suit to enforce	Fla. Stat. § 713.06
File suit to enforce (foreclose) the lien	Within 1 year of recording	Fla. Stat. § 713.22

The 90-day window runs from final furnishing, not from the date of the unpaid invoice, and Florida courts read “final furnishing” strictly. Warranty work, corrective punch-list repairs, and incidental return trips generally do not restart the clock. A contractor who assumes a small callback in month four reopened the window often discovers the lien deadline closed months earlier.

Final furnishing: Final furnishing is the last date a claimant provided labor, services, or materials in good faith under the contract as necessary to complete the work, not remedial, warranty, or corrective work performed afterward.

How to File a Construction Lien in Florida, Step by Step

1. Serve the Notice to Owner. If you are a subcontractor or supplier not in privity with the owner, serve the NTO under § 713.06 within 45 days of first furnishing. Serve it on the owner and, where required, the contractor and lender.
2. Confirm the ownership and legal description. Pull the current owner and the property’s legal description from the county property appraiser and clerk. A lien recorded against the wrong legal description or a stale owner can be challenged as defective.
3. Prepare the Claim of Lien. Use a Claim of Lien that satisfies § 713.08: the lienor’s name and address, the owner’s name, the labor or materials furnished, the contract amount, the amount unpaid, and the first and last furnishing dates.
4. Record the Claim of Lien. Record it in the official public records of the county where the property sits, within 90 days of final furnishing.
5. Serve the recorded lien on the owner. Serve a copy on the owner within 15 days of recording, by certified mail or personal service, and keep proof.
6. Preserve enforcement. If payment does not follow, a contractor in privity serves a Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit at least five days before suit, and any lienor files to foreclose within one year of recording.

If any deadline has already run, a lien may still be recorded, but its enforceability changes.

Mistakes That Void a Florida Construction Lien

A technically defective lien is often worse than no lien: it can expose the filer to the owner’s attorney’s fees and, in serious cases, a fraudulent-lien claim under Fla. Stat. § 713.31. The recurring errors that sink Florida liens:

• Missing the 45-day Notice to Owner. For subs and suppliers, no timely NTO means no valid lien, full stop.
• Miscounting final furnishing. Treating warranty or punch-list work as the last furnishing date and recording after the real 90-day window closed.
• Overstating the amount. Willfully inflating the claim can render the entire lien unenforceable and trigger fraudulent-lien exposure under § 713.31.
• Wrong legal description or owner. Recording against the wrong parcel or a former owner.
• Failing to serve the recorded lien within 15 days. A recording step completed but never served on the owner.
• Letting the one-year enforcement window lapse. A recorded lien that is never foreclosed becomes unenforceable after one year under § 713.22.

Before you record anything, a Tampa construction lien attorney can confirm your dates and amounts so a filing error does not hand the other side a defense.

What Happens After You File the Construction Lien

Once the Claim of Lien is recorded, the clock shifts to enforcement: the lien remains valid for one year, and it must be foreclosed by lawsuit within that year or it expires under Fla. Stat. § 713.22. Recording the lien alone does not collect the debt; it secures the claim and clouds the owner’s title, which is often enough to move a stalled payment.

The owner can compress that timeline. By recording a Notice of Contest of Lien under § 713.22, the owner shortens the enforcement window from one year to 60 days, forcing the lienor to sue quickly or lose the lien. An owner can also demand a written statement of account, and a lienor who fails to respond within the statutory period risks losing the lien. When any of these moves appear, the payment dispute has become active litigation, and the deadlines are short.

When to Call a Florida Construction Litigation Attorney

Call a Florida construction litigation attorney the moment payment stalls and a lien deadline is approaching, because the 45-day and 90-day windows in Chapter 713 do not pause while you wait for a check. Situations that warrant counsel:

• You are a subcontractor or supplier and the 45-day Notice to Owner deadline is near or uncertain.
• You are unsure whether recent work counts as final furnishing for the 90-day deadline.
• The general contractor or owner has gone silent, or the contractor has walked off the job.
• The owner recorded a Notice of Contest of Lien and started the 60-day clock.
• The amount at stake justifies protecting the claim against any technical defense.

Whether the fight is over an unpaid invoice or a breach of the construction contract, an attorney can perfect the lien and preserve every enforcement option before a deadline forecloses it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do you have to file a construction lien in Florida? You have 90 days from your final furnishing of labor or materials to record a Claim of Lien under Fla. Stat. § 713.08. Subcontractors and suppliers must also serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing, or the lien is void.

Do I need a Notice to Owner to file a lien in Florida? Yes, if you are not in direct contract with the property owner. Subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and suppliers must serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing under § 713.06. A general contractor in privity with the owner does not need to serve one.

Can I file a construction lien without a written contract in Florida? Yes. Florida lien rights arise from furnishing labor or materials, not from a written contract. Without a written agreement, you carry the burden of proving the work performed, the amount owed, and the furnishing dates, so documentation becomes critical.

How much does it cost to file a construction lien in Florida? The direct cost is modest: the county clerk’s recording fee, typically a small per-page charge, plus certified-mail costs to serve the owner. The larger cost is a defective filing, which can expose you to the owner’s attorney’s fees, so most contractors have counsel review the lien before recording.

What happens after you file a construction lien in Florida? The lien clouds the owner’s title and stays valid for one year, during which you must file suit to foreclose it under § 713.22 or it expires. Recording often prompts payment on its own, but if it does not, enforcement requires a lawsuit within the deadline.

How long does a construction lien last in Florida? A recorded construction lien is enforceable for one year from the date of recording under Fla. Stat. § 713.22. If the owner records a Notice of Contest of Lien, that window shrinks to 60 days.

Can a subcontractor file a lien in Florida? Yes. A subcontractor who furnished labor or materials can file a construction lien in Florida, provided the subcontractor served a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing and records the Claim of Lien within 90 days of final furnishing.

Do I need a lawyer to file a construction lien in Florida? You are not legally required to hire a lawyer, but the deadlines and technical requirements in Chapter 713 are strict, and a single error can void the lien or expose you to a fraudulent-lien claim. An attorney confirms the dates, amounts, and service so the lien holds up if you have to enforce it.

Key Takeaways

• Learning how to file a construction lien in Florida starts with two deadlines: a 45-day Notice to Owner and a 90-day Claim of Lien, both under Chapter 713.
• Subcontractors and suppliers not in privity with the owner must serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing, or the lien is void under § 713.06.
• The 90-day recording deadline runs from final furnishing, and warranty or corrective work generally does not restart it.
• A recorded lien must be served on the owner within 15 days and enforced by lawsuit within one year under § 713.22.
• Overstating a lien amount can make the entire lien unenforceable and trigger fraudulent-lien exposure under § 713.31.
• An owner’s Notice of Contest of Lien shortens the enforcement window from one year to 60 days.
• A Florida construction litigation attorney can perfect the lien and preserve enforcement before any deadline forecloses the claim.

Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is based on Florida law as of the publication date and may not reflect recent changes. Laws vary by jurisdiction and circumstance, and no single article can address every situation. Do not rely on this article as a substitute for professional legal counsel. If you face a legal matter related to the topics discussed, contact an attorney licensed in Florida to review your specific facts and circumstances. Southron Firm, P.A., is a Florida law firm based in Tampa. For a consultation regarding your construction litigation matter, contact our office.