A Florida lien waiver is a document that releases a contractor’s, subcontractor’s, or supplier’s right to record a construction lien against a property in exchange for payment. Florida Statutes Section 713.20 provides two mandatory template forms — one for progress payments, one for final payment — and no one can require you to sign a different version.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens Used correctly, waivers protect owners from paying twice for the same work and give contractors a clean receipt for each payment.
The Double-Payment Problem Waivers Solve
Florida construction lien law creates a scenario that catches most property owners off guard: you can pay your general contractor in full and still owe money to the subcontractors and suppliers underneath them. If the general contractor pockets the money or fails to pass it down the chain, those unpaid parties keep their right to lien your property. You could end up paying for the same work twice.
Signed waivers are the tool for shutting that door. Each time an owner writes a check, collecting a waiver from every party involved in the work covered by that payment proves the money reached the right hands. For the contractors and subcontractors on the other side of the transaction, the waiver functions as a receipt that confirms payment was accepted for a defined scope and period.
The Two Statutory Forms
Section 713.20 sets out two template forms and requires waivers to be in “substantially the following form.” That phrase gives some room on formatting but none on substance. A waiver has to match the statutory template in all material respects, and no one can force a lienor to sign anything else.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens
The progress payment waiver covers work performed through a specific date. It expressly excludes retainage and anything furnished after the through date.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens That retainage carve-out matters. On most commercial projects the owner withholds a percentage of each draw until completion, and the statutory form makes sure a lienor does not accidentally release that held-back money when signing off on a monthly draw.
The final payment waiver is broader. It releases all lien rights on the entire project in exchange for the final payment. There is no retainage exclusion and no through date because the waiver covers everything. Once you sign a final waiver, your lien rights on that property are gone. Signing one before you have confirmed the final check has actually cleared is a serious mistake.
If someone hands you a custom waiver with extra release language — broader claim releases, waivers of delay claims, releases of change-order rights — you can refuse and demand the statutory form. But if you sign the custom version voluntarily, it is enforceable on its own terms. That is where people get into trouble.
Florida does not require lien waivers to be notarized. The statutory forms contain no notary block, and nothing in Section 713.20 conditions validity on notarization.2The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens Some parties still ask for it as belt-and-suspenders, but a plain signature is enough.
Conditional vs. Unconditional: The Choice That Matters
Florida does not publish separate conditional and unconditional templates the way some other states do. Instead, Section 713.20(7) lets any lienor who signs a waiver in exchange for a check condition that waiver on the check actually clearing.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens You add conditional language to either the progress or final form stating that the waiver becomes effective only when payment is received.
Without that language, the waiver is unconditional. It takes effect the moment you sign, whether or not you ever get paid. If a check bounces or a wire gets reversed after you signed an unconditional waiver, you have released your lien rights and have nothing to show for it. Your only recourse is a breach-of-contract lawsuit, which is slower and more expensive than lien enforcement.
The rule is simple. Use conditional language whenever you are signing before funds have cleared. Sign an unconditional waiver only after the money is verified and available. On the paying side, when there is no payment bond in place, the owner may withhold from the contractor the amount of any check that has not yet cleared.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens
Advance Waivers Are Void
Lien rights cannot be waived in advance in Florida, and any advance waiver is unenforceable.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens Rights may only be released to the extent of work, materials, or services already furnished. If a subcontract contains a clause waiving all lien rights before the project starts, that clause has no legal effect. You still retain the right to lien for work you actually perform, whatever the contract says.
Filling Out the Form Without Mistakes
The statutory forms require a handful of specific entries:
- Customer name — the full name of the party who hired the lienor signing the waiver. For a subcontractor, this is usually the general contractor.
- Property owner name — the legal name of the registered owner, which may differ from the customer.
- Property description — enough detail to identify the real property, typically the street address or the legal description.
- Payment amount — the exact dollar figure being released, matching the corresponding invoice or pay application.
- Through date (progress waivers only) — the cutoff for work covered by this waiver. Anything after that date stays protected.
The through date causes the most problems. Set it too far forward and you waive rights for work you have not been paid for. Set it too far back and the paying party does not get the coverage they bargained for. Match the date to the billing period covered by the payment, and check it against the pay application before signing.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.20 – Waiver or Release of Liens
Whoever signs must have authority to bind the company. For a sole proprietor, that is the owner. For a corporation or LLC, it should be an officer, manager, or someone with documented signing authority. A waiver signed by a field supervisor who lacks authority can be challenged later.
No Notice to Owner, No Lien Rights to Waive
A waiver only matters if the signer actually had lien rights to begin with. Under Section 713.06, any lienor not in direct contract with the property owner — subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers — must serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing labor, services, or materials.3Justia Law. Florida Code 713.06 – Liens of Persons Not in Privity Laborers are exempt.
Missing that deadline is a complete defense to lien enforcement. For an owner, this cuts two ways: collecting a waiver from a subcontractor who never served a Notice to Owner adds little protection, because that subcontractor had no lien rights to release. The real exposure comes from parties who served proper notice and remain unpaid — those are the waivers worth chasing.
Waivers, Liens, and Fraud Exposure
Florida treats lien fraud seriously. Under Section 713.31, a lien is fraudulent if the lienor willfully exaggerated the amount, included charges for work not performed on the property, or compiled the claim with gross negligence amounting to willful exaggeration.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.31 – Remedies in Case of Fraud or Collusion A minor math error or a good-faith dispute over the amount owed is not fraud.
The consequences of a fraudulent filing are steep. The lien is declared unenforceable, the lienor forfeits all lien rights on that property, and anyone harmed can recover actual damages, attorney’s fees, court costs, bond-premium costs, and punitive damages.4Florida Senate. Florida Code 713.31 – Remedies in Case of Fraud or Collusion Willfully filing a fraudulent lien is also a third-degree felony.
This connects directly to waivers. If a contractor records a lien for amounts already released in a signed waiver, the owner has grounds to argue the lien is fraudulent to the extent it re-claims released work.
How Long Waiver Disputes Stay Live
Under Section 713.22, a recorded lien expires one year after recording unless the lienor files suit to enforce it within that window.5Justia Law. Florida Code 713.22 – Duration of Lien An owner who wants to move faster can record a Notice of Contest of Lien, which shortens the enforcement clock to 60 days from service. If the lienor does not sue within those 60 days, the lien is extinguished.
For an owner facing a lien from a party who should have already signed a waiver, the Notice of Contest forces the choice: sue on the lien and face the waiver as a defense, or lose the lien entirely. For contractors and subcontractors, the same rules explain why keeping clean waiver records is worth the trouble. If you signed a waiver covering a period and later try to lien for work inside it, you are fighting on a short clock with your own signature working against you.