Florida Notice of Commencement

Choose a Florida Notice of Commencement when a Florida construction project needs the Chapter 713 notice that ties lien rights to the county recording record. Florida’s version is unusually specific: it uses a statutory form, requires recording in the clerk’s office and job-site posting before the first inspection, separates the $2,500 construction-lien threshold from the $5,000 inspection-copy rule, and voids the notice if the improvement does not start within 90 days after recording.

What a Florida Notice of Commencement Does and When It Is Used

A Notice of Commencement identifies the property, the improvement, the owner or contracting lessee, the contractor, and any lender or payment bond so contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers know where lien-related notices should be sent. In Florida, it is commonly used for private construction, remodeling, additions, repairs, and other improvements to real property when the project is not exempt under the construction lien law. It does not transfer title, change ownership, create survivorship rights, or operate like a deed; it is a recorded construction-lien notice governed by Chapter 713.

Florida Statutory Requirements for the Notice

Except for an improvement exempt under the small-project rule, an owner or the owner’s authorized agent must record a notice of commencement in the clerk’s office before actually commencing an improvement to real property, or before recommencing completion after default or abandonment, even when the project has a payment bond (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)). An improvement for which the direct contract price is $2,500 or less is exempt from most provisions of Part I of Chapter 713 except the contractor’s lien provision (Fla. Stat. § 713.02(5)).

The Florida notice must be in substantially the statutory form and must include:

• A legal description sufficient to identify the property, plus the street address and tax folio number if available, or other information describing the physical location when no street address is available (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)1.).
• A general description of the improvement (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)2.).
• The owner’s name and address, the owner’s interest in the site, and the fee simple titleholder’s name and address if different from the owner. A lessee who contracts for the improvement must be listed as the owner with a statement that the interest is a leasehold interest (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)3.).
• The contractor’s name and address (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)4.).
• The surety’s name and address, if a payment bond exists, and the bond amount (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)5.).
• The name and address of any lender making a construction loan for the improvements (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)6.).
• The name and Florida address of any person designated by the owner to receive notices or other documents, if the owner designates someone for that purpose (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)7.).
• The name and address of any additional person designated to receive a copy of a lienor’s notice, if the owner makes that optional designation (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(b)).
• An expiration date. If no different date is stated, the notice expires one year after recording (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(d)).

If the contract with the contractor named in the notice states a completion period longer than one year, the notice must state that it is effective for one year plus the additional time, and payments made after expiration are treated as improper payments under Chapter 713 (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(c)).

Signing, Notarization, and Job-Site Posting in Florida

The statutory form is signed by the owner or lessee, or by the owner’s or lessee’s authorized officer, director, partner, or manager when an entity is involved, and the form includes a notary acknowledgment for physical presence or online notarization (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(d)). Florida’s notice of commencement is not executed like a deed: the statutory form does not include two witness lines, but the owner-signature rule is strict because the statute states that the owner must sign the notice and no one else may be permitted to sign in the owner’s stead (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(g)).

After recording, the owner must post either a certified copy of the recorded notice or a notarized statement that the notice has been filed for recording, together with a copy of the notice, at the improvement site (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)). When the direct contract is greater than $5,000, the building permit applicant must file a copy of the notice with the issuing authority before the first inspection; the copy may be a certified copy of the recorded notice, a notarized filing statement with a copy, or the clerk’s official records information such as the instrument number or book and page (Fla. Stat. § 713.135(1)(e)).

Recording, Priority, and County Filing

The notice is recorded in the clerk’s office for the county where the Florida property is located. For Chapter 713, the clerk’s office means the clerk of the circuit court or other county recorder serving the county where the real property is located (Fla. Stat. § 713.01(4)). The notice is effective upon filing in the clerk’s office (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(f)).

Prompt recording matters because Florida lien priority is tied to the notice. Liens under the contractor and subcontractor lien statutes attach and take priority as of the time the notice of commencement is recorded; if no notice is filed, those liens attach and take priority as of the time the claim of lien is recorded (Fla. Stat. § 713.07(2)). Recording the notice does not itself create a lien, cloud, or encumbrance on the real property, but it gives constructive notice that Chapter 713 claims of lien may be recorded and may take priority under Florida’s priority statute (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(3)).

Florida-Specific Issues That Commonly Cause Problems

• Recording too early: If the improvement described in the notice is not actually commenced within 90 days after the notice is recorded, the notice is void and has no further effect (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(2)).
• Confusing the two dollar thresholds: The $2,500 rule relates to the small-improvement exemption in Chapter 713, while the $5,000 rule relates to filing a copy of the notice with the permitting authority before the first inspection (Fla. Stat. §§ 713.02(5), 713.135(1)(e)).
• Weak legal description: Florida requires a legal description, and a street address alone is not a substitute when a legal description is available. An incorrect property description in the notice can make payments on the direct contract improper as to a lienor adversely affected by the error (Fla. Stat. § 713.06(3)(a)).
• Payment bond not attached: If a payment bond exists, a copy must be attached when the notice is recorded. Failure to attach it negates the exemption that would otherwise apply to the bonded direct contract (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(e)).
• Leasehold improvements: When a lessee contracts for the work, the lessee is treated as the owner for notice purposes and must be listed with a leasehold-interest statement, while the fee simple titleholder must also be identified if different (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(1)(a)3.).
• Spousal lien exposure: Florida’s construction lien law contains a spouse-agency rule. When a husband or wife contracts for an improvement on property owned by the other spouse or by both spouses, and the spouses are not separated and living apart, the contracting spouse is deemed the other spouse’s agent for lien purposes unless the other spouse gives the contractor and records a notice of objection within 10 days after learning of the contract (Fla. Stat. § 713.12).
• Deed-style information: A Notice of Commencement is not a deed, so it does not use vesting language, survivorship wording, marital status recitals, or deed documentary stamp tax calculations. The required information is the construction-lien information listed in Chapter 713.
• Recording-format details: Florida recording offices may screen instruments for printed names and addresses of signers, a preparer’s name and address, the notary’s printed or stamped name, and the required recording space at the top right of the page (Fla. Stat. § 695.26).

Amending or Terminating a Florida Notice of Commencement

A notice recorded within its effective period may be amended to extend the effective period, correct erroneous information, or add omitted information. The amended notice must identify the official records book and page of the original notice, and the owner must serve a copy on the contractor and each lienor who serves notice before or within 30 days after the amendment is recorded. Changing contractors requires a new notice of commencement or a notice of recommencement rather than an amendment (Fla. Stat. § 713.13(5)).

An owner may terminate the effective period by recording a Notice of Termination that includes the same information as the notice of commencement, the recording reference and recording date of the original notice, a termination date that is not earlier than 30 days after recording, a statement describing whether the termination applies to all or part of the property, a statement that all lienors have been paid, and the required service statements. When properly served before recording, the termination is generally effective 30 days after recording or on a later date stated in the notice (Fla. Stat. § 713.132).

What You Receive With This Florida Notice of Commencement

• A county-specific Florida Notice of Commencement form developed by Deeds.com’s forms development team for the selected Florida county.
• Step-by-step completion instructions explaining the property description, owner or lessee information, contractor information, lender and surety fields, notice-recipient fields, expiration date, signature, notarization, recording, and posting steps.
• A completed example showing how the Florida Notice of Commencement can be filled out for a typical county recording.
• County recording information to help prepare the notice for filing with the correct Florida clerk or county recorder.
• Downloadable materials available immediately after purchase for use with the selected Florida county.