Highlands County Unconditional Waiver upon Final Payment Form

The Florida Unconditional Waiver upon Final Payment is the closeout document for a Florida construction project under section 713.20 of the Florida Statutes. It is the most consequential of the four statutory waiver forms because, on signing, the lienor releases all remaining lien rights against the property — for every category of labor, services, and materials furnished — and the release takes effect immediately, whether or not the final payment is actually received. Florida codified the unconditional final waiver to give owners, contractors, and construction lenders a clean instrument they can rely on at job close, and to give title insurers the documentary basis they need to issue policies free of construction lien exceptions. For the lienor, signing an unconditional final waiver is the act that closes the door on chapter 713 remedies for the project.

What the Florida Unconditional Waiver upon Final Payment Does

This form is delivered by a lienor at the conclusion of a construction project to release all remaining lien rights against the property in exchange for the final payment. "Unconditional" means the release is effective on signing, without regard to whether the final payment is actually received. "Final" means the waiver is not tied to a single billing or progress draw — it covers the lienor's entire contribution to the project. The most common use is at closeout, when the owner or lender is funding the last disbursement and needs documentation that no party in the chain of contractors and suppliers retains lien rights against the property.

Florida Statutory Requirements Under Section 713.20

Florida is unusual in legislating the exact wording of construction lien waivers. Section 713.20 lays out four statutory waiver forms — conditional or unconditional, progress or final — and requires that any waiver "substantially follow" the form for the scenario it addresses. The statute supplies the unconditional, total release language that gives this form its closing force. Substituting a generic release, or modifying the statutory text in ways that change its meaning, can prevent the document from being treated as a section 713.20 unconditional final waiver — which in turn can leave the parties arguing about whether lien rights actually remain.

The form must identify the lienor, the customer, the property owner, and the property — typically by parcel identifier and legal description (§ 713.20). Unlike the progress payment versions, the final payment forms do not require a "through date," because the waiver covers the lienor's entire involvement in the project.

Execution: No Witnesses, No Notary Required

Section 713.20 waivers do not require witnesses, notarization, or an acknowledgment. The lienor signs and dates the form. Many construction lenders and title companies nonetheless require a notarized unconditional final waiver as a matter of underwriting practice — the document is doing significant work at closeout, and counterparties want the additional layer of identity verification a notary provides. A notarized waiver remains effective; the notary is simply not a statutory prerequisite.

Florida-Specific Traps

The unconditional final waiver is the single most dangerous lien waiver a Florida contractor or supplier can sign. Several issues regularly cause problems:

• It is truly final. Once signed, the lienor has no remaining construction lien rights against the property for the project. There is no implied "the rest is for retainage" carveout, no implied exception for change orders, no implied reservation for warranty work — unless the lienor writes the carveout into the form and the parties agree to it.
• Retainage exposure. Owners and general contractors typically hold back retainage until well after substantial completion. A lienor who signs an unconditional final waiver before retainage is paid has released the lien rights that protect that retainage. The conditional final waiver is the standard alternative when retainage is still outstanding.
• Punch list and warranty work. A waiver signed before all corrective and punch list work is complete may sweep in unbilled labor and materials. If additional work is required after the final waiver is delivered, the lienor may have contract remedies but no construction lien remedy.
• Unbilled change orders and extras. Any extra work the lienor has performed but not yet invoiced — change order extras, time and material tickets, stored materials in transit — falls under the unconditional release if the form is signed before those items are billed and resolved.
• Advance waivers are void. Florida law prohibits waiving lien rights for work not yet performed (§ 713.20). A final waiver signed before the lienor has actually completed its work cannot release rights for that future work.
• Unconditional means unconditional. If the final check is dishonored after the waiver is delivered, the lienor's lien rights are gone. The lienor is left to chase a contract claim and any guaranty or surety remedies — chapter 713 has been waived.
• Notice of Termination interaction. When an owner records a Notice of Termination under section 713.132, lien rights for further work are cut off on a defined timeline. A lienor signing an unconditional final waiver near the end of a project should confirm that any post-termination work has been billed and resolved before executing.
• "Substantially follow" still applies. A reworded unconditional final waiver that does not substantially follow the statutory form may not qualify as a section 713.20 waiver. That ambiguity is exactly the opposite of what the document is supposed to deliver, and is a frequent source of dispute when owners or lenders accept non-statutory closeout releases.

How the Waiver Is Used

The unconditional final waiver is not recorded in the county's official records. It is delivered to the owner, general contractor, construction lender, or title company at closeout, and is retained as part of the project closing file. Title insurers underwriting an owner's or loan policy after construction frequently require unconditional final waivers from every lienor in the chain in order to issue the policy without a construction lien exception. Construction lenders use the document to authorize the final disbursement and to close out the construction loan.

Download Package

The download package includes the Florida Unconditional Waiver upon Final Payment, drafted to follow the statutory wording at section 713.20, a completed example showing how each field is filled in, and a guide explaining the form's role at closeout, the statutory framework, and how it compares to the other three statutory waiver scenarios. The forms are prepared by Deeds.com's forms development team and are delivered as instant downloads.