Final Release of Lien in Florida: Contents, Signing, and Recording

A final release of lien in Florida is the document a paid contractor, subcontractor, or supplier signs to formally give up any claim against your property, and it clears the lien from the public record once you record it with the county clerk. The process is governed by Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes, which supplies the exact waiver language you should use, sets out how the document must be signed and notarized, and gives property owners several ways to force the issue when a lienor refuses to sign.

What the Final Release Must Contain

Florida’s statutory final payment waiver form under Section 713.20(5) requires a handful of specific fields, and every one of them has to match the underlying records or the release may not do its job.¹

The full legal description of the property. Not the street address. Pull it from the deed, the notice of commencement, or the recorded claim of lien.
The lienor’s name and the property owner’s name, spelled exactly as they appear in the public records. A missing LLC suffix or a misspelled business name can cause a title examiner to miss the release.
The final consideration paid.
The official records book and page number, or instrument number, of the original claim of lien. This is what lets the clerk tie the release to the recorded lien and cancel it.
The date of execution and the lienor’s signature.

No one can force a lienor to use a form other than the statutory templates, but if a lienor voluntarily signs a nonstandard waiver, Florida courts will still enforce it as written.¹ Sticking to the statutory form is the safest path. Many county clerks post downloadable templates that mirror the statutory language. Cross-check every field against the recorded claim of lien before anyone signs, because a clerical error is exactly the kind of thing that surfaces months later during a refinance and stalls the closing.

Progress Payment vs. Final Payment Release

Florida has two separate statutory waivers, and mixing them up is one of the most common mistakes in construction closings. The progress payment release covers a specific draw and preserves the lienor’s rights to any remaining balance and future work. The final payment release wipes out all lien rights once the full contract amount has been paid.¹

If you’re paying at project completion, you want the final payment form. If you’re a lienor being asked to sign one mid-project in exchange for a draw, don’t. Signing the final form on a progress payment gives up your lien rights for work you haven’t yet been paid for.

Add Conditional Language if the Check Hasn’t Cleared

The statutory forms are unconditional by default. Once signed, they extinguish lien rights for the listed amount even if the check bounces. The statute does let a lienor condition the release on actual payment of the check, so a dishonored check means the release never takes effect.¹ If you’re a contractor or subcontractor signing before funds have cleared, put the conditional language in. Without it, there’s no safety net.

Get the Contractor’s Final Affidavit Too

A final release from the general contractor alone doesn’t protect a property owner from liens filed by unpaid subcontractors or suppliers. That’s why Florida requires the contractor, before receiving final payment, to deliver a contractor’s final payment affidavit. It’s a sworn statement listing anyone still owed money and how much, or confirming that everyone downstream has been paid in full.²

A contractor who refuses to provide the affidavit is in default and cannot enforce a lien against you.² Title companies handling construction closings almost always require both the final affidavit and the final release before releasing funds, and you should insist on the same standard whether or not a title company is involved.

Signing and Notarization

The release has to be signed by someone with actual authority over the claim. For a corporation or LLC, that’s an authorized officer or manager. An individual contractor signs personally. A release signed by someone without authority can leave the lien in place even after the document is recorded.

A release recorded under Section 713.21 must be notarized.³ Florida also imposes formatting requirements on any document recorded against real property: printed or typed names beneath each signature, the notary’s name below the notary’s signature, and a three-inch-square blank space in the top right corner of the first page for the clerk.⁴ A clerk can reject a filing that misses these details, which means another trip and more delay.

Remote Online Notarization

Florida allows remote online notarization, so the lienor doesn’t need to appear in person. The online notary must hold a separate registration and be physically located in Florida during the session, but the signer can be anywhere. The session uses live audio-video, identity verification questions, and credential analysis of a government-issued ID, and it must be recorded and retained for at least ten years. The maximum fee is $25 for an online act, compared with $10 for a traditional in-person acknowledgment.⁵ This is useful when a subcontractor has left the area after finishing the job and getting them into a notary office would otherwise hold up the release.

Recording the Release With the County Clerk

A signed release does nothing to your title until it’s recorded. Submit the notarized document to the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property sits, and make sure it references the official records book, page, or instrument number and recording date of the original claim of lien.³

Most Florida counties accept filings in person, by mail, or through an electronic recording portal. If you mail it, include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the recorded copy. Recording fees are set by statute at $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, which covers the base fee and the mandatory Public Records Modernization Trust Fund surcharge.⁶ Electronic filings typically post to the public record within a day or two. Keep a stamped copy as permanent proof the lien is gone.

When the Contractor Won’t Sign

A paid contractor who refuses to sign a release is a real problem, because the lien sits on your title and can block a sale or a refinance. Florida law gives owners three separate tools.

Notice of Contest of Lien

The fastest option is recording a Notice of Contest of Lien. Once served on the lienor, it compresses the lienor’s deadline to sue on the lien from one year down to 60 days. If no suit is filed in that window, the lien is extinguished automatically.⁷ It’s a strong move when a contractor filed a lien as leverage in a fee dispute and has no intention of actually litigating.

Court-Ordered Discharge

Any interested party can file a complaint in the circuit court of the county where the property sits, asking the court to discharge the lien. The clerk issues a summons giving the lienor 20 days to show cause why the lien should not be canceled. If the lienor doesn’t respond or doesn’t file suit to enforce the lien within that period, the court must cancel the lien.³ The 20-day window is strict and can’t be extended under the usual civil procedure rules.

Automatic One-Year Expiration

Even if you do nothing, a Florida construction lien expires on its own if the lienor doesn’t sue to enforce it within one year of recording.⁷ Waiting a full year rarely works when you need to close on a sale or a refinance, but the built-in shelf life is worth knowing about.

Fraudulent Lien Exposure Cuts Both Ways

Florida treats fraudulent liens harshly. A lien is fraudulent when the lienor willfully exaggerated the amount claimed or included charges for work never performed. A good-faith dispute over the final number doesn’t count, and neither does a minor clerical mistake.⁸

A finding of fraud strips the lienor of all lien rights on the property. The owner can recover attorney fees, court costs, any bond premium paid to discharge the lien, interest on money deposited to clear it, and punitive damages up to the difference between the amount claimed and the amount actually owed. Willfully filing a fraudulent lien is also a third-degree felony.⁸ Between the civil damages and the criminal exposure, most contractors have every incentive to sign a clean release promptly once the final check clears.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.06 – Liens of Persons Not in Privity; Proper Payments
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.21 – Discharge of Lien
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 695.26 – Recording Requirements
5
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 117 – Notaries Public
6
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 28.24 – Service Charges by Clerks of the Circuit Court
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.22 – Duration of Lien
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.31 – Fraudulent Liens