How to File a Mechanics Lien in Miami — Miami-Dade Clerk Recording, the 45-Day Notice to Owner & the § 713.22 One-Year Foreclosure Guide (2026)
✓ Verified against state statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
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What Governs a Miami Lien — and How the Recording Workflow Operates
A mechanic's lien on a Miami building is not a separate municipal statute — it is a Florida construction lien under Chapter 713 of the Florida Statutes, recorded against a parcel that sits in Miami-Dade County. What makes Miami filing distinct is procedure and geography: Florida is a recording jurisdiction, so the Claim of Lien is recorded in the county's Official Records to give constructive notice, and Florida layers a strict Notice to Owner regime on top that starts running at first furnishing. Florida is also a Notice of Commencement state: the owner records that document under § 713.13 before work begins, and it fixes the identity of the owner and any lender that a downstream lienor must notice. The workflow is: (1) a lienor not in privity with the owner serves the § 713.06(2)(a) Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing and before final payment; (2) at the end of the job, fix the final-furnishing date — the last day of genuine contract work, not a warranty callback; (3) record the sworn § 713.08 Claim of Lien in the correct county's Official Records within 90 days, and serve the owner a copy within 15 days; (4) if the claimant is the original contractor, serve the § 713.06(3)(d) Final Payment Affidavit at least 5 days before suit; and (5) bring suit to foreclose within the § 713.22 one-year window, or lose the lien. The Mechanics Lien Management State System calendars every step: the 45-day Notice to Owner and its correct recipient, the final-furnishing date, the 90-day recording deadline, the correct county recorder, the 15-day owner copy, the contractor's Final Payment Affidavit, and the one-year foreclosure deadline.
Who May File — and What Each Miami Claimant Does
Florida extends lien rights to any person who, in privity with the owner or under a contract with the owner's contractor or subcontractor, furnishes labor, services, or materials that improve the real property — original contractors, subcontractors at every tier, material suppliers, laborers, and design professionals. But Florida splits sharply on privity. An original contractor in a direct contract with the owner does not serve a Notice to Owner — there is no upstream owner to notify — records the § 713.08 Claim of Lien within 90 days, and alone owes the § 713.06(3)(d) Contractor's Final Payment Affidavit, which must be served on the owner at least five days before it sues to enforce the lien, a condition precedent that will sink an otherwise valid foreclosure if skipped. A lienor not in privity with the owner — most subcontractors and suppliers — must serve the § 713.06(2)(a) Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing, on time, or the lien never arises; failure is a complete defense. It does not owe a Final Payment Affidavit; that duty is the contractor's alone. Laborers who furnish only their own labor for wages are exempt from the Notice to Owner and simply record within 90 days. Suppliers must tie every delivery to the specific Miami-Dade parcel for the § 713.08(1)(d) property description.
Where to Record — the Tri-County South Florida Problem
Florida records mechanics liens in the Official Records of the county where the property is located. For the City of Miami, that is the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller. But the South Florida construction market spans three counties, each with its own recording office, plus Monroe County covering the Keys: Miami-Dade County (the City of Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Doral, Aventura, Homestead), Broward County (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach), Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach), and Monroe County (the Florida Keys). Worse, the Aventura–Hallandale Beach corridor straddles the Miami-Dade–Broward line, so two nearly adjacent jobs record in different counties. A lien recorded with the Miami-Dade Clerk on a project that actually sits in Hollywood or Boca Raton perfects nothing, and the 90-day recording clock keeps running while the mistake is found. The recording fee is modest and predictable: the Miami-Dade Clerk charges roughly $10 for the first page and about $8.50 per additional page under Fla. Stat. § 28.24, so a typical Claim of Lien runs about $10 to $35 all-in. Confirm the current schedule with the Miami-Dade Clerk before recording.
The Miami Lien Deadlines & What Florida Requires
Four numbers govern a Miami private-work lien, and for a subcontractor or supplier the first runs from the start of the job — not once at the end. First, the § 713.06(2)(a) Notice to Owner, served within 45 days of first furnishing and before final payment. Second, the § 713.08(5) Claim of Lien, recorded within 90 days of final furnishing, with a copy to the owner within 15 days. Third, the § 713.06(3)(d) Contractor's Final Payment Affidavit, which an original contractor serves at least five days before suit. Fourth, the § 713.22 foreclosure suit, brought within one year of recording. The Claim of Lien is a sworn statement, and § 713.08(1) fixes its contents: the name and address of the lienor; the name of the person with whom the lienor contracted or by whom it was employed; the labor, services, or materials furnished and the contract price or value; a description of the real property sufficient for identification; the name of the owner; the time when the first and last items were furnished; the amount unpaid; and, if a Notice to Owner was required, the date and method of its service. Every deadline keys to furnishing — the 45-day notice from first furnishing, the 90-day lien from final furnishing — and Florida courts do not count warranty or corrective work as final furnishing. Fixing the furnishing dates wrong is the quiet way a Miami claimant miscounts both the notice and the recording deadline at once, and a willfully exaggerated amount triggers the § 713.31 fraudulent-lien defense that voids the entire lien.
The 45-Day Notice to Owner — the Trap Most Miami Subs Miss
More Miami subcontractor and supplier liens fail on the Notice to Owner than on any other step, because its clock starts at first furnishing and most claimants do not think about liens until they are not being paid at the end. Under § 713.06(2)(a), a lienor not in privity with the owner must serve the Notice to Owner on the owner not later than 45 days after first furnishing labor or materials, and in every case before the owner disburses final payment to the contractor. The statute is unforgiving: failure to serve the Notice to Owner, or failure to serve it on time, is a complete defense to enforcement of the lien. It does not matter that the work was done, that the money is owed, or that the later Claim of Lien is flawless — no timely Notice to Owner, no lien. The notice tells the owner that someone it did not hire is working on the property and may lien it, so the owner can protect itself by withholding or obtaining lien releases before paying the contractor. The trap is that a sub or supplier who serves the notice late, or serves it on the wrong owner — a management company, the developer instead of the record owner, or the association instead of the unit owner — has lost the lien, and late is not curable. This is why Florida lien discipline starts on day one of furnishing, not at the end.
The Notice of Commencement, the Final Payment Affidavit & the Fraudulent-Lien Trap
Three Florida features shape a Miami lien in ways out-of-state contractors rarely expect. First, the Notice of Commencement under § 713.13: the owner records it in the Official Records before work begins and posts it at the job site with the building permit, effective for one year unless a different period is stated, and it is the document a downstream lienor reads to learn the true owner and any lender — the parties the Notice to Owner must reach. Second, the Contractor's Final Payment Affidavit under § 713.06(3)(d): an original contractor, and only the contractor, must execute and serve on the owner, at least five days before suit, an affidavit stating whether all lienors have been paid and, if not, what each is owed. It is a condition precedent to the contractor's lien foreclosure; skip it, or serve it the day of suit, and the enforcement action can be dismissed even on an undisputed debt. Third, and most dangerous in Miami, the fraudulent-lien statute under § 713.31: a lien is fraudulent if the lienor willfully exaggerates the amount, willfully includes a claim for work not performed, or compiles the claim with gross negligence amounting to willful exaggeration. The consequence is not a haircut to the honest figure — the entire lien is unenforceable as a complete defense, the lienor owes the owner damages, costs, and attorney's fees, punitive damages are possible, and filing a fraudulent lien is a third-degree felony. South Florida owners litigate this hard, so a Miami claimant claims only what is actually due and documents every dollar.
Enforcement, the Notice of Contest & Transfer to a Security Bond
Recording the Claim of Lien secures the claim; the § 713.22 suit collects it. The lienor must bring the foreclosure action within one year of recording, in the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County (or the county where the land sits). But the owner holds two accelerators. Under § 713.22(2) the owner may record a Notice of Contest of Lien, which shortens the lienor's window to 60 days from service — after which the lien is automatically extinguished. Under § 713.21(4) the owner may obtain a summons to show cause, giving the lienor just 20 days to file suit or have the lien discharged by court order. The owner has a second answering tool: under § 713.24 an owner, contractor, or other interested party may transfer the lien to a security bond or cash deposit — equal to the amount of the lien, plus interest at the legal rate for three years, plus the greater of $5,000 or 25% of the claim for costs and fees — which releases the real property and moves the lien to the security so a sale or refinance can close. The claimant then pursues the bond rather than the land, which often improves its odds of collecting from a solvent surety. For the claimant the lesson is symmetrical: record a clean, § 713.08-compliant Claim of Lien in the right county, serve the 15-day owner copy, fix the furnishing dates so the one-year clock is certain, watch the Official Records for a Notice of Contest, and be ready to sue — because a lien that draws a § 713.31 fraudulent-lien counterclaim or lapses under a contest is worse than no lien at all.
Miami Condominiums, Licensing & Public Work
Three more Miami-specific issues shape a claim. The condo question: Miami-Dade is a condominium market, and the post-Surfside SB 4-D reforms — mandatory milestone structural inspections and fully funded structural reserves for older coastal buildings — have driven a wave of recertification and restoration work. On common-element work the condominium association contracts as the owners' agent under Chapter 718, while inside a unit the unit owner contracts; the lienor must serve the Notice to Owner on the right party and record against the right interest, or the lien fails on a § 713.06 defense. The licensing gate: unlike Texas, Florida requires construction contractors to be licensed through the Construction Industry Licensing Board under Chapter 489, and § 489.128 makes an unlicensed contractor's contract unenforceable — which bars the unlicensed contractor from enforcing a lien to collect on it; an out-of-state contractor chasing the South Florida boom cannot assume its home-state license travels. Public work is a different statute: no lien attaches to City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami International Airport, Jackson Health System, or PortMiami property. The remedy is a payment bond claim under Florida's Little Miller Act, § 255.05, on its own deadlines — and on federal projects a federal Miller Act claim under 40 U.S.C. § 3131 et seq.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you file a mechanics lien in Miami?
Florida is a recording state, and the Claim of Lien on a City of Miami property is recorded in the Official Records of the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller, because the City of Miami sits within Miami-Dade County. The trap is the county line. The South Florida construction market spans three counties, each with its own recording office: Miami-Dade County (the City of Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Doral, Aventura, Homestead), Broward County (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach), and Palm Beach County (West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach) — with Monroe County covering the Florida Keys. A lien recorded with the Miami-Dade Clerk on a project that actually sits in Hollywood (Broward) or Boca Raton (Palm Beach) perfects nothing, and the 90-day recording clock keeps running. Record in the county where the land is located.
What is the deadline to file a mechanics lien in Miami?
Under Florida Statutes § 713.08(5) the Claim of Lien must be recorded within 90 days after the final furnishing of labor, services, or materials. The 90-day clock runs from the last real work under the contract — not from warranty callbacks, punch-list touch-ups, or corrective work, which Florida courts hold do not extend the deadline. For a lienor not in privity with the owner, that recording deadline is not the first clock: a Notice to Owner must already have been served within 45 days of first furnishing under § 713.06(2)(a), or there is no lien to record. And recording is not the last step — a copy of the recorded Claim of Lien must be served on the owner within 15 days under § 713.08(4)(c). Missing the 90-day recording deadline is fatal: the Clerk will accept a late Claim of Lien, but it is unenforceable.
Do you have to send a Notice to Owner before filing a Miami mechanics lien?
For any lienor not in privity with the owner — most subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and material suppliers — yes, and it is the single step that most often decides whether a Miami lien survives. Under Florida Statutes § 713.06(2)(a) the Notice to Owner must be served on the owner not later than 45 days after the lienor first furnishes labor or materials, and in every case before the owner makes final payment to the contractor. The statute is blunt: failure to serve the Notice to Owner, or to serve it on time, is a complete defense to enforcement of the lien. An original contractor in direct privity with the owner does not serve one, and laborers who furnish only their own labor for wages are exempt. Everyone else must serve it — a Miami sub or supplier that never sends the 45-day Notice to Owner has no lien, no matter how perfect the later Claim of Lien.
What must a Florida Claim of Lien contain?
Under Florida Statutes § 713.08(1) the Claim of Lien must state, in substance: the name and address of the lienor; the name of the person with whom the lienor contracted or by whom it was employed; the labor, services, or materials furnished and the contract price or value; a description of the real property sufficient for identification; the name of the owner; the time when the first and last items of labor, services, or materials were furnished; the amount unpaid; and, if a Notice to Owner was required, the date and method of its service. The claim must be signed and sworn by the lienor or its agent and recorded in the Official Records within the 90-day § 713.08(5) window, with a copy served on the owner within 15 days under § 713.08(4)(c). A defective property description, an unsworn claim, or a missing Notice to Owner date is a common reason a Miami Claim of Lien is attacked — and § 713.31 punishes a willfully exaggerated amount with the loss of the entire lien.
How long do you have to foreclose a Miami mechanics lien?
Under Florida Statutes § 713.22(1) the lienor must bring the action to foreclose within one year after the Claim of Lien is recorded, or the lien is void. But the owner controls two accelerators. Under § 713.22(2) an owner may record a Notice of Contest of Lien, which shortens the lienor's window to 60 days from service — after which the lien is automatically extinguished. And under § 713.21(4) an owner may obtain a summons to show cause; the lienor has 20 days to file suit or the lien is discharged by court order. Florida's ordinary one-year window is longer than California's 90 days, but the contest and show-cause tools let a motivated owner compress it dramatically — so a Miami claimant that records the lien and then negotiates for months can find the deadline slammed shut. A lien not enforced in time is void and must be released on demand.
How much does it cost to record a mechanics lien in Miami-Dade County?
Modest. The Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Court and Comptroller charges a statutory recording fee for the Official Records — roughly $10 for the first page and about $8.50 for each additional page under Florida Statutes § 28.24 — so a typical Claim of Lien runs about $10 to $35 all-in. These figures change; confirm the current schedule with the Miami-Dade Clerk before recording. The recording fee is never the real cost of a Miami lien. The genuine expense arrives only if the claim is contested — the § 713.22 foreclosure suit in the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, defending a § 713.31 fraudulent-lien counterclaim, or responding to a § 713.21(4) show-cause summons — all of which run on attorney time far exceeding the Clerk's fee.
Can a willfully exaggerated Miami lien get thrown out?
Yes, and Florida punishes it harder than most states. Under Florida Statutes § 713.31, a lien is fraudulent if the lienor willfully exaggerates the amount, willfully includes a claim for work not performed or materials not furnished, or prepares the claim with such willful and gross negligence as to amount to a willful exaggeration. A fraudulent lien is unenforceable — a complete defense to the entire lien, not just the inflated part — and the lienor is liable to the owner for damages, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees, and may face punitive damages. Filing a fraudulent lien is also a third-degree felony in Florida. This makes over-claiming uniquely dangerous in Miami: a contractor who pads a Claim of Lien with disputed change orders or lost-profit figures can lose the whole lien and end up owing the owner. Claim only what is actually due, and document it.