How long do I have to serve a Notice to Owner in Florida?

Forty-five days from the first day you furnished labour or materials to the job. A subcontractor or supplier who misses it has no lien on that project at all, no matter what they are owed.

How long do I have to record a Claim of Lien in Florida?

Ninety days from your final furnishing of labour or materials. Punch list, warranty and corrective work generally do not restart that clock.

How long do I have to enforce a Florida lien once recorded?

One year from the day the lien was recorded. If the owner records a Notice of Contest of Lien, that year is cut to sixty days from the day the notice was recorded.

Do I need a Notice to Owner if I contracted directly with the owner?

No. A claimant in direct contract with the owner does not serve a Notice to Owner. The ninety days to record a Claim of Lien still apply.

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Florida, United States

Florida lien deadline calculator

The 45 days for the Notice to Owner run from your first day on the job, not from when you were not paid. Enter your dates and every deadline in chapter 713 is counted, with the section it comes from.

Who did you contract with?

Sub or supplierDirect with the owner

You contracted with the general contractor, another sub, or you supplied materials. You have to serve a Notice to Owner, and the 45 days run from your first day on the job.

First day you supplied labour or materials

The day work or deliveries actually started for you. This is what the Notice to Owner runs from, and it is why the notice is served at the beginning of a job rather than when a payment goes bad.

Final furnishing of labour or materials

Your last real day of work or last delivery. Punch list, warranty and corrective work generally do not restart this.

If it has gone further

Date the Claim of Lien was recorded

Starts the year you have to bring the action to enforce it.

Date a Notice of Contest of Lien was recorded

An owner can record one to force your hand. It cuts the year down hard.

Enter your first day on the job

Every Florida deadline is counted from the dates you enter, and nothing is counted until they are. The worked example under the calculator is the same arithmetic on an ordinary job.

The two that catch people

The Notice to Owner is a beginning-of-job document, not an end-of-job one. Serve it in the first 45 days of every project as a matter of routine, before you know whether you will need it, because by the time you know it is too late to serve.

And a recorded Notice of Contest of Lien is the owner shortening your year to sixty days. It arrives quietly, and the sixty days run from recording, not from the day you read it.

Worked example

A job you started six weeks ago, counted

First supply Jul 7, 2026, last supply Aug 16, 2026, working under the general contractor on a private job.

Serve the Notice to Owner by
Aug 21, 2026
Without it you have no lien on this job at all, no matter what you are owed or how well you did the work.
Counted as 45 days from your first day supplying labour or materials (2026-07-07).
Fla. Stat. s.713.06(2)(a)
Record the Claim of Lien by
Nov 14, 2026
After this day the lien cannot be recorded. The right is gone for good.
Counted as 90 days from your final furnishing of labour or materials (2026-08-16).
Fla. Stat. s.713.08(5)

Open this example and change the numbers

Questions this page answers

How long do I have to serve a Notice to Owner in Florida?: Forty-five days from the first day you furnished labour or materials to the job. A subcontractor or supplier who misses it has no lien on that project at all, no matter what they are owed.
How long do I have to record a Claim of Lien in Florida?: Ninety days from your final furnishing of labour or materials. Punch list, warranty and corrective work generally do not restart that clock.
How long do I have to enforce a Florida lien once recorded?: One year from the day the lien was recorded. If the owner records a Notice of Contest of Lien, that year is cut to sixty days from the day the notice was recorded.
Do I need a Notice to Owner if I contracted directly with the owner?: No. A claimant in direct contract with the owner does not serve a Notice to Owner. The ninety days to record a Claim of Lien still apply.

Or have the notice dates sit on the job

Set a job up once and these dates are already on it. Day 45 and day 90 count themselves, turn amber inside a week and red once they have gone, so the notice that secures a project gets served because it was on a screen, not because somebody remembered.

Built deepest for Ontario and running across Canada, the United Kingdom, Florida, Texas and California, each on its own statute rather than one set of dates renamed.

Open the demo business Read the Notice to Owner guide

Where these figures come from

notice_to_owner_days (US-FL) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
claim_of_lien_days (US-FL) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
lien_foreclosure_months (US-FL) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.
notice_of_contest_response_days (US-FL) Published source Last read from the source Aug 12, 2026.

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