How to Dispute a Lien on Your Property in Florida

To dispute a lien on your property in Florida, you have two main tools under Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes: record a Notice of Contest of Lien, which shortens the lienor’s window to sue from one year to 60 days, or file a Complaint to Show Cause in circuit court, which forces the lienor to justify the claim within 20 days or have it canceled. Before you pay for either, pull the recorded Claim of Lien and check it against the statutory requirements. Many Florida construction liens have defects that make them unenforceable, and finding one is the cheapest way to win.

Check the Lien for Defects First

Get a copy of the recorded Claim of Lien from the county clerk’s official records. You want the lienor’s name and address, the Official Records Book and Page number, the legal description, the claimed amount, and the recording date. Then run it against three common failure points.

No Notice to Owner, or a Late One

If the lienor didn’t contract directly with you — a subcontractor, a material supplier, anyone in that chain — Florida law required them to serve you a written Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing labor or materials. The statute calls failure to serve that notice on time a “complete defense” to the lien.¹ Check your records. Owners routinely throw these notices out without realizing they matter.

Lien Recorded After 90 Days

The Claim of Lien must be recorded within 90 days after the lienor’s final day of furnishing labor, services, or materials.² Compare the recording date to your own records of when the lienor was last on the job or last delivered. A lien recorded outside that window is void.

Enforcement Deadline Already Expired

Every recorded lien has a one-year shelf life. The lienor must file a foreclosure lawsuit within one year of recording, or the lien lapses.³ If more than a year has passed and no suit was filed, the lien is dead by operation of law. You may still want a court order formally canceling it so it clears from title records, which the Show Cause procedure below handles quickly.

Record a Notice of Contest of Lien

When the lien looks valid on paper but you believe the claim itself is wrong, the Notice of Contest of Lien is the simplest tool. No lawsuit, no lawyer required, no court appearance. What it does is compress the lienor’s one-year enforcement window down to 60 days.

Use the form written into the statute, filling in the lienor’s name and address, the recording details of the Claim of Lien, and the county.³ Every detail must match the original lien. Record the Notice with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property is located. Recording is $10 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page.⁴

The clerk serves the Notice on the lienor by certified mail. Once received, the 60-day clock starts. If the lienor doesn’t file a foreclosure suit inside that window, the lien is “extinguished automatically.”³ No hearing, no order. It simply ends.

This works best when you think the lienor won’t bother suing: weak claim, small dollar amount, contractor already moved on. The risk is that a determined lienor does sue within 60 days, and you’re in litigation. Watch the court docket after recording so a summons doesn’t surprise you.

File a Complaint to Show Cause

When you want a judge to rule on the lien rather than wait to see if the lienor sues, file a Complaint to Show Cause in the circuit court under Section 713.21. The court issues a summons ordering the lienor to explain within 20 days why the lien should not be canceled.⁵

The circuit court filing fee runs up to $395.⁶ Personal service on the lienor through a process server or the sheriff typically adds $40 to $100. The 20-day deadline is strict. If the lienor doesn’t respond, or can’t show a valid basis for the claim, the court orders the lien canceled.

The advantage is a written court order declaring the lien void, which is much cleaner for title purposes than waiting for automatic extinguishment. It’s also faster: roughly three weeks instead of two months. The tradeoff is higher upfront cost and a court filing. Owners heading into a closing or refinance often find it worth the money because title companies want an order in hand.

Transfer the Lien to a Bond If You Need to Close

If you need to sell, refinance, or otherwise clear title right now, Florida law lets you transfer the lien from the property to a cash deposit or surety bond. The lien doesn’t go away. It attaches to the security instead, and your real estate is free.⁷

The security must equal the full lien amount, plus three years of interest at the statutory legal rate, plus the greater of $5,000 or 25 percent of the lien amount for potential attorney fees and costs.⁷ On a $50,000 lien, the 25 percent cushion alone adds $12,500. On a lien under $20,000, the $5,000 floor applies because it exceeds 25 percent.

To transfer, you deposit the funds or file a surety bond with the clerk. The clerk records a certificate showing the transfer and mails a copy to the lienor. A surety bond has to be issued by an insurer licensed in Florida; the premium is a percentage of the bond amount. The underlying dispute continues on the security instead of the property.

When the Lien Looks Fraudulent or Inflated

Florida treats intentionally inflated or fabricated liens harshly. A lien is fraudulent if the lienor willfully exaggerated the amount, billed for work never done or materials never delivered, or prepared the claim with gross negligence amounting to willful exaggeration.⁸

A court finding of fraud does more than cancel the lien. The lienor forfeits all lien rights on the property and becomes liable to you for:

Court costs and clerk’s fees you incurred fighting the lien
Attorney fees for securing the discharge
Bond premiums if you posted a surety bond to clear title
Interest on any cash you deposited with the court
Punitive damages, capped at the difference between what the lienor claimed and what was actually owed

That punitive cap matters. On a $75,000 lien where the lienor was actually owed $30,000, the cap is $45,000. On a wholly fabricated lien, the full amount becomes the cap.⁸

Willfully filing a fraudulent lien is also a third-degree felony in Florida, carrying up to five years in prison.⁸ That criminal exposure gives owners real leverage when the numbers on a lien don’t line up with the work.

Attorney Fees Cut Both Ways

Florida is a prevailing-party state on construction liens. In any action to enforce a lien, the winner recovers reasonable attorney fees from the loser, added to the judgment as taxable costs.⁹ That covers lien enforcement, claims against bonds, and arbitration.

If you beat the lien, you recover what you spent. If the lienor proves the claim was valid and wins a foreclosure judgment, you pay their attorney fees on top of the lien amount. Be honest with yourself about the merits before escalating. Fighting a lien you actually owe is one of the more expensive mistakes a Florida property owner can make.

Record the Release So Title Actually Clears

However the dispute ends — court order, settlement, or the lienor walking away — the lien only comes off title when the release is recorded. The lienor signs a waiver or release, you record it with the clerk, and title finally clears. Florida provides statutory forms: one for progress payments and one for final payment.¹⁰ Recording is $10 for the first page.⁴

If you’re settling, watch whether the waiver is conditional or unconditional. A conditional waiver takes effect only when your payment clears. An unconditional waiver is immediate and irrevocable the moment you sign. Florida allows a lienor to condition a waiver on actual receipt of payment, so if you’re paying by check, insist on the conditional form until the funds clear.¹⁰

Get a certified copy of the recorded release from the clerk. Title companies and lenders will want to see it before they remove the lien exception from a title report. If a judge canceled the lien, record a certified copy of that order too. Until the release or order shows up in the public records, the lien will keep appearing on title searches and blocking any sale or refinance.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 713.06 – Liens of Persons Not in Privity; Proper Payments
2
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 713.08 – Claim of Lien
3
Justia. Florida Statutes 713.22 – Duration of Lien
4
Clerk & Comptroller, Flagler County, FL. Recording Information and Fees
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.21 – Discharge of Lien
6
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 28.241 – Filing Fees for Trial Courts
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.24 – Transfer of Liens to Security
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.31 – Remedies in Case of Fraud or Collusion
9
The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 713.29 – Attorney Fees
10
Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens