How to File a Claim of Lien in Florida: A Step-by-Step Guide
Getting paid shouldn’t be the hardest part of completing a construction project. But when payment doesn’t arrive, Florida’s construction lien laws may give contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and other qualifying parties a way to protect what they’re owed.
A Claim of Lien in Florida is not simply an unpaid invoice. It is a document recorded in the public records, and Florida law establishes specific requirements for its contents, timing, recording, and service.
This guide walks through the major steps involved in filing a Florida Claim of Lien and explains where Sunshine Notices can help.
Important: Sunshine Notices is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Lien rights depend on the facts of each project. If your right to lien is unclear or disputed, you should speak with a qualified Florida construction attorney.
Step 1: Determine Whether You May Have Lien Rights
Before preparing a Claim of Lien, the first question is whether you may have lien rights in the first place.
Florida construction lien law provides potential lien rights to various parties who furnish qualifying labor, services, or materials for improvements to real property. However, simply being owed money on a construction project does not automatically mean you have the right to lien the property.
Your rights can depend on factors such as:
- Your role on the project
- Who hired you
- The type of labor, services, or materials you provided
- Whether required notices were properly served
- Whether applicable licensing requirements were satisfied
This is an important distinction. Filing a lien when you do not have lien rights can have serious consequences.
At Sunshine Notices, we will not knowingly prepare a Claim of Lien when the information provided shows that the client does not have lien rights. When the answer isn’t clear, we recommend obtaining legal advice and can provide referrals to Florida construction attorneys.
Step 2: Determine Whether You Were Required to Send a Notice to Owner
For many Florida subcontractors and suppliers, protecting lien rights begins long before they need to file a Claim of Lien.
Parties who are not in direct contract with the property owner may be required to timely serve a Notice to Owner as part of preserving their lien rights. Contractors working directly for the property owner are generally treated differently under Florida’s construction lien law.
If a Notice to Owner was required but wasn’t timely served, that can affect the ability to later pursue a Claim of Lien.
This is why your NTO should never be treated as just another piece of paperwork.
If Sunshine Notices prepared your original NTO, much of the project’s information and notice history is already available in our system when you later need a Claim of Lien.
Learn more about our Florida Notice to Owner services
Step 3: Determine Your Final Furnishing Date
One of the most important dates in the Florida Claim of Lien process is your final furnishing date.
Florida law generally requires a Claim of Lien to be recorded no later than 90 days after the lienor’s final furnishing of labor, services, or materials.
That means you shouldn’t automatically think of the deadline as:
90 days after the project ended
or:
90 days after the certificate of occupancy
or even simply:
90 days after I was last at the jobsite.
The date that matters is the applicable final furnishing date under Florida lien law.
This distinction can become particularly important when someone returns to a project to perform corrective, warranty, or punch-list work. If you’re uncertain about your final furnishing date, don’t guess simply to extend the deadline. Get legal guidance when necessary.
Step 4: Calculate the 90-Day Claim of Lien Deadline
Once the appropriate final furnishing date has been identified, timing becomes critical.
Under Florida Statute §713.08, a Claim of Lien generally may be recorded during the progress of the work or afterward, but not later than 90 days after final furnishing. There are circumstances that can affect this calculation, including certain contract terminations.
Don’t plan around Day 90.
At Sunshine Notices, we begin charging a rush fee after the 75th day from final furnishing.
Why?
Because we still need time to:
Research → Prepare → Review → Obtain signatures → Record → Serve
Waiting until the final days gives everyone much less room to address missing information or recording issues.
If a lien comes to Sunshine very close to the deadline, we will still work to get it recorded. However, during the final days, we may recommend that the client arrange for a wet-signed copy to be delivered directly to the appropriate county clerk while we continue monitoring the electronic recording.
If you’re already approaching your 90-day deadline, call Sunshine Notices at 954-934-0970.
Step 5: Gather the Information Needed for Your Claim of Lien
Florida law requires a Claim of Lien to contain specific information. This includes information about the lienor, the person with whom the lienor contracted, the labor/services/materials furnished, the property, owner, furnishing dates, unpaid amount, and—for a lienor not in privity with the owner—the Notice to Owner service information.
When Sunshine Notices prepares a Claim of Lien, we’ll generally need information such as:
- Jobsite address and county
- Your customer
- First furnishing date
- Final furnishing date
- Notice to Owner mailing date, when applicable
- Contract amount
- Amount currently owed
- Description of the labor, services, or materials provided
Already filed your NTO through Sunshine?
The process can be easier.
If Sunshine Notices prepared your Notice to Owner, we already have much of the project information in our system. We’ll primarily need updated information such as your final furnishing date, amount owed, and contract amount if it wasn’t previously provided.
If another company prepared your NTO, you do not have to provide Sunshine with a copy. We will ask for your first furnishing date and the date the NTO was mailed. Uploading the NTO is optional but can be helpful.
Step 6: Prepare the Claim of Lien
This is where accuracy matters.
A Florida Claim of Lien isn’t simply a form where you enter an address and the balance of an unpaid invoice.
Florida Statute §713.08 identifies information that must be stated in the Claim of Lien, including the property, owner, contracting party, work or materials furnished, first and final furnishing dates, and amount unpaid.
At Sunshine Notices, our team researches available project and property information before preparing the lien.
But there are limits to what public records can tell us.
You know your project. We know what information we’re looking for.
When something can’t be verified through our research, we’ll contact you for additional information rather than simply guessing.
Step 7: Sign and Record the Claim of Lien
The completed Claim of Lien must be properly executed and recorded in the public records.
Florida law requires the Claim of Lien to be recorded in the clerk’s office. If the real property is located in more than one county, the statute requires recording in each applicable county.
Sunshine Notices handles the research, preparation, and standard electronic recording as part of our full-service Claim of Lien process.
Our standard service is:
$295 + postage
The standard electronic recording fee is included.
Claims submitted after the 75th day from final furnishing are subject to a $100 rush fee. If the deadline is so close that physical delivery to the courthouse is recommended, any courier or in-person delivery costs are the client’s responsibility.
Learn about Sunshine Notices’ Florida Claim of Lien service
Step 8: Serve the Claim of Lien
Recording isn’t the final administrative step.
Florida law requires the Claim of Lien to be served on the owner. Section 713.08 provides for service before recording or within 15 days after recording, with consequences when a failure or delay prejudices someone entitled to rely on that service. The permitted methods of service are addressed by §713.18.
Sunshine Notices handles mailing the required copies as part of our normal Claim of Lien process.
After the lien is recorded, we obtain the recorded document and send the appropriate copies using our established mailing process.
The mailing costs are separate from the $295 service fee because the number of recipients and required delivery methods can vary from project to project.
What Happens After You File a Claim of Lien in Florida?
This is where an important misconception needs to be cleared up:
Recording a Claim of Lien doesn’t automatically make someone pay you.
The lien establishes a recorded claim against the property, but what happens afterward depends on the situation.
If You Get Paid in Full
The recorded lien should be properly satisfied in the public records.
Sunshine Notices offers Satisfaction of Lien preparation and recording as a separate service.
If You Receive Partial Payments
Sometimes a Claim of Lien results in an installment agreement rather than one immediate payment.
Sunshine Notices can also prepare a Partial Satisfaction of Lien when appropriate to document a partial payment while a balance remains outstanding.
Satisfaction and Partial Satisfaction services are separate from the original Claim of Lien service, and additional fees apply.
If You Still Aren’t Paid
Recording the Claim of Lien is not the same as filing a lawsuit to enforce it.
A Florida construction lien generally does not continue for more than one year after recording unless an action to enforce the lien is commenced within that period.
And that deadline can get much shorter.
What if Someone Contests Your Claim of Lien?
A property owner or the owner’s attorney can record a Notice of Contest of Lien.
When properly served, a Notice of Contest can reduce the time available to file an action to enforce the lien to 60 days from service of the notice. If an enforcement action isn’t commenced within that shortened period, the statute provides that the lien is extinguished automatically.
That is why you should never receive a Notice of Contest and put it aside assuming you still have the original one-year period.
Learn what happens when a Florida Claim of Lien is contested
If you receive a Notice of Contest or another legal document affecting your lien, contact a qualified Florida construction attorney promptly.
Can Sunshine Notices Enforce My Claim of Lien?
No.
Sunshine Notices is a construction notice service, not a law firm.
We can help with the administrative side of the Claim of Lien process, including:
Project research → Preparation → Recording → Service
But we do not file lawsuits, foreclose liens, provide legal representation, or give legal advice.
If your lien needs to be enforced, we recommend working with a qualified Florida construction attorney. If you don’t already have one, Sunshine Notices can provide referrals to attorneys familiar with Florida construction matters.
Need Help Filing a Claim of Lien in Florida?
If you’re owed money on a Florida construction project, don’t wait until the final days of your lien deadline to act.
Sunshine Notices has served Florida’s construction industry since 1994. Our team can help research the project, prepare your Claim of Lien, record it in the appropriate county, and handle service of the recorded lien.
Full-Service Claim of Lien — $295 + Postage
Standard electronic recording fee included.
Rush fees apply after day 75.
Or call 954-934-0970 if your deadline is approaching.