Preliminary notices in Florida
Subcontractors and suppliers on a private job in Florida serve a notice to owner within 45 days after your first day furnishing labor or materials. It is required. That is longer than most states that set a fixed window (the middle is about 26 days), but a late notice can still cost you.
Anyone not in contract with the owner. Must also reach the owner before final payment to the GC.
Lien filing deadline in Florida
If the GC hired you, you have 90 days after your last day furnishing labor or materials to record a mechanics lien in Florida, about the same as the national median of 90 days (counted from last furnishing on a sample job). 23 of the 51 jurisdictions we track use this same lien deadline, which makes it the most common rule.
The clock starts on your last day furnishing labor or materials under your contract. In many states, warranty visits and punch list work done mainly to extend the deadline don't restart it, so use your last day of real contract work.
Deadline to sue on the lien
To keep the lien alive you must sue to enforce it within 12 months after recording the lien. If you record on the last possible day, that is about 455 days after your last day on the job, about 90 days longer than the national median of 365 days. 27 of the 48 jurisdictions we track have a shorter overall time to sue and 14 have a longer one.
Because the clock counts from recording, recording early also moves the lawsuit deadline earlier.
GCs serve a contractor's final payment affidavit at least 5 days before suing.
How Florida compares
Days are counted on a sample job with the lien recorded on its last allowed day, so states that count from recording or from completion can be compared with those that count from your last day on site. The median is across the jurisdictions with a dated rule on file.
- Preliminary notice (from first day)
- Florida: 45 daysNational median: 25.5 days
- Record the lien (from last day)
- Florida: 90 daysNational median: 90 days
- Sue to enforce (from last day)
- Florida: 455 daysNational median: 365 days
Public and federal projects
Public property can't be liened. On state and local public work in Florida, subcontractors and suppliers protect themselves with these payment bond steps instead:
| Step | Who | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to contractor | Subcontractors and suppliers hired by another subcontractor or supplier | 45 days after your first day furnishing labor or materials |
| Notice of nonpayment to GC and surety | Subcontractors and suppliers | 90 days after your last day furnishing labor or materials |
| Payment bond lawsuit | Subcontractors and suppliers | 12 months after your last day furnishing labor or materials |
Federal jobs in Florida follow the Miller Act instead of state law: those hired by a sub or supplier give the prime contractor notice within 90 days of their last furnishing, and suit is due within 1 year, in federal court. Prime contractors on federal work have no lien or bond claim.
Retainage and prompt payment in Florida
On public work the cap is 10%, above the 5% median of states that set one. Up to 10% until the work is 50% complete, then up to 5%. It also steps down partway through the job, so check that your pay applications reduce retainage when the project reaches the threshold.
Private work has a cap too: 10%. Up to 10% until 50% complete, then up to 5% (contracts after July 1, 2016).
Once the GC is paid, it has 10 days on public work to pay its subs. Local government pays within 20 to 25 business days of a proper invoice; GC pays subs within 10 days of receipt.
Late payments carry interest of 1% per month. That turns a slow payment into a number you can put in a demand letter.
| Public work | Private work | Federal work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retainage cap | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Release | After completion, on the agency's final payment schedule. | Per the contract after completion. | Released with final payment, or earlier once progress is satisfactory. |
| GC pays subs within | 10 days | Verify | 7 days |
| Late-payment interest | 1% per month (12% a year) | Verify | Treasury prompt payment rate (reset every January and July) |
Not legal advice. Retainage and prompt payment rules differ by agency, contract size and contract date, and change often. Confirm the rules with the current statute, your contract and a construction attorney before relying on them.
Worked example: a framing sub in Florida
A framing subcontractor hired by the GC on a private bank branch in Florida starts work on March 2, 2026 and last furnishes on July 17, 2026. The project is completed on August 28, 2026. Run through Florida's rules, those dates give:
| Deadline | Date | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Notice to owner | April 16, 2026 | First furnishing |
| Record the lien | October 15, 2026 | Last furnishing |
| Sue to enforce the lien | October 15, 2027 | Lien recording |
The first deadline on the calendar is “Notice to owner” on April 16, 2026, counted from the day the crew started, long before any payment is late.
Open the lien deadline calculator for Florida and enter your own dates to get this table for your job, with countdowns and a PDF deadline calendar.
Check your own dates with the free tools
- Mechanics lien and notice deadline calculator (FL): every notice, lien and suit date for your role, tier and job type, including public bond claims.
- Retainage and prompt payment rules (FL): check your contract's retainage against the cap and work out late-payment interest.
- Schedule of values and pay application builder: bill each period with retainage calculated, so what you're owed is documented.
- Cash flow and retainage forecaster: see what slow payment and held retainage do to your bank balance.
Statutes cited
- Fla. Stat. §713.01 to .37
- Fla. Stat. §255.05 (public bonds)
- Fla. Stat. §218.735 and §255.078 (public)
- Fla. Stat. §713.346 (private retainage)
- Federal work in Florida: 40 U.S.C. §3131 to §3134 (Miller Act)
Not legal advice. Lien and bond claim rules change and have exceptions for project type, contract terms and how notices are served. Confirm every deadline with the current statute or a construction attorney in the project's state before relying on it. Rules shown as "Verify with state statute" have exceptions or variations we could not reduce to one number.