Florida’s final release of lien form is set by statute. Section 713.20(5) of the Florida Statutes contains the exact template a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier signs when accepting final payment on a project, and Section 713.20(6) makes it illegal for anyone to require a different form. Any final release of lien Florida PDF you download or receive should match the statutory language word for word; if it adds broader waivers, indemnities, or extra terms, you can refuse it and insist on the statutory version.
What the Statutory Final Release Must Contain
The final payment form under Section 713.20(5) is short. It has to include:
- The dollar amount of the final payment being made in exchange for the release.
- The name of the customer — the party who hired the lienor, whether that is the owner, a general contractor, or another subcontractor.
- The name of the property owner.
- A description of the property where the work was performed.
- The date of execution and the signature of the lienor or an authorized representative.
The operative language states that the lienor “waives and releases its lien and right to claim a lien for labor, services, or materials furnished” on the identified property. Once signed and delivered, the lienor has no further lien claim tied to that project. The signature block in the statute is just the lienor’s name and a “By:” line for whoever signs on the company’s behalf. When a business signs, the person executing the form must have actual authority to bind the entity; anyone who signed the original claim of lien is presumed to have that authority.
Final Release vs. Progress Payment Release
Section 713.20 actually contains two release templates, and they are not interchangeable. The final payment version closes out lien rights entirely for the project. The progress payment version releases lien rights only through a specific date and expressly excludes retention and any work furnished after that date.
Signing the final release when only a progress payment is being made destroys lien rights for work not yet paid. Before signing any PDF marked “release of lien,” confirm which of the two forms it is and, if it is the final version, confirm that the payment you are receiving really is the last payment due on the job.
Waiver and Release vs. Satisfaction of Lien
People searching for a “final release of lien” PDF sometimes actually need a different document. Florida uses two:
A Waiver and Release of Lien under Section 713.20 is exchanged between the parties at the moment of payment. It is not recorded in the public records. This is the form used when no claim of lien has been filed and the payment simply closes out the lienor’s future right to file one.
A Satisfaction of Lien under Section 713.21 is used only when a claim of lien has already been recorded in the county clerk’s official records. Once the debt behind that recorded lien is paid, the lienor executes a notarized satisfaction referencing the original lien’s official records number and recording date, and the clerk files it to clear the cloud on title.
Grabbing the wrong document leaves problems behind. A signed waiver and release does nothing to remove an already-recorded lien from title, and a satisfaction is unnecessary paperwork when no lien was ever filed.
Does the Final Release Have to Be Notarized?
No. The waiver and release forms under Section 713.20 require only the lienor’s signature and a date. There is no notary requirement and no witness requirement in the statutory template. Anyone insisting the §713.20 release must be notarized is confusing it with a different document.
Two related documents do require notarization. A Satisfaction of Lien under Section 713.21(2) must be notarized because it becomes part of the public record. And the Contractor’s Final Payment Affidavit under Section 713.06(3)(d) — the sworn statement a direct contractor must deliver to the owner at least five days before filing any lien enforcement suit — must be sworn before a notary because it is an affidavit, not a release. Property owners typically request that affidavit at the same time they hand over final payment and receive the final release in return.
Conditioning the Release on the Check Clearing
The riskiest moment in signing a final release is handing it over before the payment check has cleared. Section 713.20(7) allows a lienor who receives a check in exchange for a waiver and release to condition that release on the check actually being paid by the bank. If the check bounces, the release never takes effect and lien rights survive.
This protection only works if the condition is expressly stated. An unconditional signed release that has already been delivered releases the lien rights whether or not the money ever arrives. To preserve the protection, write the condition directly on the form or attach a separate written statement before handing the signed release over.
On the owner side, when no payment bond is in place, the owner may hold back from the contractor’s payment an amount equal to any check that a subcontractor’s release was conditioned upon, until that condition is satisfied.
When You Need a Satisfaction Instead
If a claim of lien has already been recorded against the property, a waiver and release exchanged privately between the parties will not remove it from title. Section 713.21 sets out the ways a recorded lien is cleared:
- A marginal satisfaction signed by the lienor on the lien record in the clerk’s office, attested by the clerk.
- A recorded satisfaction or release — a notarized document referencing the original lien’s official records number and recording date, filed with the clerk.
- Expiration if the lienor does not file suit within the statutory time.
- A court order compelling the lienor to show cause within 20 days why the lien should not be canceled.
- Recording a certified copy of a final judgment resolving the lien.
The recorded satisfaction is the ordinary path. The lienor prepares the document, has it notarized, and files it with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property is located. Many Florida counties accept electronic recording in addition to mail and in-person filing. Under Section 28.24, recording fees run $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page, so a typical one- or two-page satisfaction costs between $10.00 and $18.50 to record, plus any small convenience fee for electronic filing.
Keep the recorded copy. Title companies look for it during any later sale or refinance, and a paid-but-unreleased lien continues to cloud title until the satisfaction is on record.
Advance Waivers Do Not Work in Florida
Section 713.20(2) prohibits waiving lien rights in advance. A contract clause stating that a contractor waives all lien rights before any work has been performed is unenforceable. Lien rights can be waived only to the extent that labor, services, or materials have actually been furnished. If a PDF handed to you before work is done purports to release future lien claims, Florida courts will not enforce it — and it is not the statutory §713.20(5) final release, no matter what the header says.