Florida Lien Waiver & Release — The Two Statutory Forms (Fla. Stat. § 713.20, 2026)
✓ Verified against Florida statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Florida mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
45 days — Notice to Owner (NTO)
Mechanics Lien
90 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
1 year — From filing
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What a Florida Lien Waiver Is and Why There Are Only Two Forms
A lien waiver and release is the document a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier signs to give up construction lien rights in exchange for a payment. Florida standardizes that document in Fla. Stat. § 713.20, part of the Florida Construction Lien Law in Chapter 713, with two statutory forms: the Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Progress Payment in § 713.20(4) and the Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Final Payment in § 713.20(5). Where California's Civil Code and Texas's Property Code each prescribe four forms — splitting every timing into a conditional and an unconditional version — Florida prescribes only two, one keyed to a progress payment and one keyed to final payment. That does not make Florida safer: both forms are written as releases, and the protections a conditional form provides elsewhere come from two other levers, the § 713.20(2) bar on advance waiver and the § 713.20(7) right to condition a waiver on a check clearing.
The Two Florida Statutory Waiver Forms
The § 713.20(4) Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Progress Payment releases the lien for labor, services, and materials furnished through the 'through date' written on the form, and expressly does not cover retention or any work furnished after that date — so filled in correctly it keeps later work and retainage lien-secured. The § 713.20(5) Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Final Payment releases all lien rights on the project and is the most dangerous form to sign while any retainage or disputed amount is still outstanding. The single most important field on the progress form is the through date: fill it in accurately and retainage and later work stay protected; leave it blank or let it run past the work the payment covers and you have released more than you were paid for.
Conditioning the Waiver on the Check — Florida's Answer to the Unconditional Trap
Because Florida does not offer a separate conditional form, the protection lives in Fla. Stat. § 713.20(7). A lienor who executes a waiver in exchange for a check may make the waiver conditional on the check actually being paid by the bank, and where there is no payment bond the owner may withhold payment to the contractor until the condition is satisfied. The practical move is to write the condition onto the waiver itself — state that the waiver is not effective until the check has been honored by the drawee bank. Skip that step and a Florida waiver is effectively unconditional: a claimant who signs a plain § 713.20 waiver, and the check then bounces or never comes, has released the lien with no condition to fall back on. This is the Florida equivalent of signing an unconditional waiver before payment in California or Texas, and it is the single most expensive Florida waiver mistake.
What Makes a Florida Waiver Valid and the Bar on Advance Waiver
Section 713.20 requires the waiver to be in substantially the § 713.20(4) progress or § 713.20(5) final form and signed by the lienor; it does not require notarization. The provision no contract can draft around is § 713.20(2): a right to claim a lien may not be waived in advance, and a lien right may be waived only to the extent of labor, services, or materials furnished. A 'no-lien' clause in a Florida subcontract does not strip the claimant's rights. Under § 713.20(6), a lienor cannot be required to sign a waiver different from the statutory forms in exchange for a progress payment. Retainage and rider language are where Florida claimants lose ground: the § 713.20(4) progress form excludes retention, but signing the § 713.20(5) final form while retainage is still held releases that retainage claim before the money is collected, and GC-added 'all claims' riders reach beyond the statutory lien release and may surrender contract claims Chapter 713 never governed. A Florida waiver is also not a substitute for the § 713.06 Notice to Owner, which builds the claim a waiver later releases.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the two Florida statutory lien waiver forms?
Fla. Stat. § 713.20 prescribes two forms: the Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Progress Payment in § 713.20(4) and the Waiver and Release of Lien Upon Final Payment in § 713.20(5). Unlike California and Texas, which each prescribe four forms split into conditional and unconditional versions, Florida uses only two. Under § 713.20(6), a person may not require a lienor to sign a waiver different from those forms in exchange for a progress payment.
Can a Florida contractor waive lien rights in advance?
No. Fla. Stat. § 713.20(2) says a lien right may not be waived in advance and may be waived only to the extent of labor, services, or materials furnished. A 'no-lien' clause in a Florida subcontract is unenforceable. A claimant gives up lien rights only by signing a § 713.20 form after, and to the extent of, work actually furnished — so keep serving the § 713.06 Notice to Owner and preserving the claim.
Does a Florida lien waiver have to be conditional or unconditional?
Florida does not use separate conditional and unconditional forms like California and Texas. The § 713.20(4) and § 713.20(5) forms are written as releases. Instead, § 713.20(7) lets a lienor who signs a waiver for a check condition that waiver on the check being paid, and where there is no payment bond the owner may withhold funds until the condition is met. Write the condition onto the waiver — it is not effective until the check clears — before handing it over for money you have not collected.
Does a Florida lien waiver release retainage?
Only if you let it. The § 713.20(4) progress form releases the lien through the stated through date and expressly excludes retention and later work, so filled out correctly it keeps retainage protected. The § 713.20(5) final form releases all lien rights — signing it while retainage is still outstanding releases that retainage claim before the money is collected. Match the final waiver to a final payment that actually includes the retainage.
Is a Florida lien waiver the same as the Notice to Owner?
No — they are opposites. A § 713.06(2) Notice to Owner is served within 45 days of first furnishing to preserve lien rights and warn the owner to withhold funds; a § 713.20 waiver gives those rights up in exchange for payment. Serve the Notice to Owner to build the claim and sign § 713.20 waivers to release it as you are paid. Signing waivers does not cure a missed Notice to Owner.
Does a Florida lien waiver need to be notarized?
No. Section 713.20 requires substantially the statutory form and the lienor's signature but not notarization. A demand for notarization exceeds the statute. What controls the scope of the release is using the correct progress or final form, an accurate through date on a progress waiver, whether the waiver was conditioned on the check clearing under § 713.20(7), and whether the amount and job description match the payment.
Can a general contractor add extra language to the form?
It is limited and risky. Under § 713.20(6), a lienor cannot be required to furnish a waiver different from the § 713.20(4) or § 713.20(5) forms in exchange for a progress payment. Riders that release 'any and all claims' or add indemnity or delay-claim waivers reach beyond the statutory lien release, cannot properly be demanded for a progress payment, and may strip contract claims Chapter 713 never governed. Keep the waiver to the statutory text and handle carve-outs in a separate reservation-of-rights letter.