Florida Request for a Sworn Statement of Account

Florida's construction lien law is among the most detailed in the country, and section 713.16 of the Florida Statutes gives property owners a statutory tool that does not exist in identical form anywhere else: the Request for a Sworn Statement of Account. When a Florida property owner receives a Notice to Owner or otherwise learns that a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier may pursue a lien against the property, this Florida Request for a Sworn Statement of Account allows the owner to compel the lienor to disclose, under oath, exactly what is being claimed and why.

What the Florida Request for a Sworn Statement of Account Does

The form is used by property owners during a construction project, typically after a Notice to Owner has been served, to obtain a written, sworn accounting from a potential lienor before releasing further funds, closing on a sale, or contesting a lien. It is a discovery and verification tool, not a release. The owner serves the request on the lienor, and section 713.16 dictates what the lienor must produce in return.

Statutory Requirements Under Section 713.16

The statute is specific about what the request must contain. The owner's request must include a description of the real property, the name of the contractor, and the name of the lienor's customer if that customer is different from the owner. The form is then signed and dated by the owner. Florida also specifies that the demand must be served on the lienor at the address, and to the attention of any person, designated to receive the demand in the Notice to Owner. Service to a different address or contact can defeat the request.

The 30-Day Response Window

Once properly served, the lienor must furnish the requested statement within 30 days of receipt (713.16(2)). The response must be made under oath and disclose the nature of the labor or services performed and to be performed, the materials furnished and to be furnished if known, the amount paid on account to date, the amount due, and the amount to become due as of the date of the statement. The 30-day clock and the level of itemization required are particular to Florida.

Consequences for the Lienor

This is where the form gets its leverage. If the lienor furnishes a false or misleading sworn statement, the lienor loses the right to recover attorney's fees in any action to enforce the claim of lien (713.16(5)(b)). Attorney's fees are often the largest cost in a lien dispute, so the prospect of forfeiting them gives lienors a strong incentive to answer accurately. The owner using this form is not just gathering information. The owner is locking the lienor into a sworn record that constrains what can be claimed later.

What the Form Does Not Do: A Florida-Specific Trap

Failure or refusal by the lienor to provide the statement does not, by itself, deprive the lienor of the lien (713.16(2)). Florida property owners sometimes assume that ignoring a properly served request will extinguish a contested lien. It will not. The Request for a Sworn Statement of Account is a verification and leverage instrument. Separate procedures under Chapter 713 govern challenging or shortening a lien, including the Notice of Contest of Lien and the action to show cause. The form should not be confused with those mechanisms.

Service and Documentation

Because Florida law ties the consequences in section 713.16 to proper service, owners should retain proof that the request was delivered to the address and the contact person designated in the Notice to Owner. Certified mail or another method that produces a delivery record is commonly used. The 30-day response window runs from the lienor's receipt, so service records also fix that deadline.

When the Request Is Most Useful

The form is commonly used before final payment, before closing on a sale of the property, or after a Notice to Owner from a subcontractor or supplier the owner did not directly hire. Forcing the lienor to commit to specific dollar amounts and a description of work performed gives the owner a baseline against which to evaluate any later claim of lien. If a lien is eventually recorded for an amount that exceeds the sworn statement without explanation, the owner has a documented inconsistency on the record.

Florida Construction Lien Law Context

Section 713.16 sits within Florida's Construction Lien Law (Chapter 713, Part I), which governs how labor, services, and materials are secured against real property in this state. Florida lien procedure is unforgiving on technical defects, and the Request for a Sworn Statement of Account is one of the few owner-side tools the statute provides.

Download Package

The Florida Request for a Sworn Statement of Account package includes:

• A fillable Request for a Sworn Statement of Account form drafted to the requirements of section 713.16
• A plain-English guide explaining how the request works, what to include, and how to serve it on the lienor
• A completed example showing the form filled out for reference

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