Fla. Stat. §713.06 · §713.18(2) — Florida Notice to Owner service
Your Florida Notice to Owner.
$39 flat, every recipient included.
Subcontractors and suppliers have 45 days from first furnishing to serve a Notice to Owner — miss it and lien rights are generally lost. A 3-minute wizard becomes a statute-correct NTO, submitted for certified mailing in minutes to the owner and every other required recipient, with the proof archived permanently.
Have handy: the owner's name and mailing address (the Notice of Commencement or the county property appraiser lists it), your contractor's name, the property address, and the day you first furnished. About 3 minutes. Nothing is mailed until you review and pay.
New to the Notice to Owner? It is not a lien — §713.06(2)(a) says so in as many words. It is the early notice that keeps a lien available if you go unpaid. What it is, who serves it, and when.
Statutory text pinned from leg.state.fl.us — cited on every document.
The full deadline calculator covers all 14 states.
WARNING! FLORIDA'S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW ALLOWS SOME UNPAID CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, AND MATERIAL SUPPLIERS TO FILE LIENS AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY…
What a Notice to Owner is, in the statute's words
Florida's construction lien law lets certain unpaid subcontractors and suppliers claim a lien on the property they improved. The Notice to Owner is the step that has to come first. Here is the rule in the statute's own words rather than a summary. Fla. Stat. §713.06(2)(a):
“All lienors under this section, except laborers, as a prerequisite to perfecting a lien under this chapter and recording a claim of lien, must serve a notice on the owner setting forth the lienor's name and address, a description sufficient for identification of the real property, and the nature of the services or materials furnished or to be furnished.”
Three more sentences from the same paragraph settle the questions people ask most, and none of them needs interpreting.
“The notice is not a lien, cloud, or encumbrance on the real property nor actual or constructive notice of any of them.” It tells the owner who is on the job; it claims nothing by itself.
“… the failure to serve the notice, or to timely serve it, is a complete defense to enforcement of a lien by any person.” Paragraph (2)(f) adds that “a lienor must strictly comply with the time requirements of paragraph (a).”
“The serving of the notice does not dispense with recording the claim of lien.” If you do go unpaid, the claim of lien is a separate, later document.
- Lienors not in privity with the owner. §713.06 is titled “Liens of persons not in privity” and reaches subcontractors, sub-subcontractors and material suppliers who have no contract directly with the owner. Under (2)(a), all of them “except laborers” serve the notice.
- Not the owner's own contractor. A contractor working directly for the owner is in privity and is outside this section. Whether that describes your contract is a question for your attorney, not for us.
- Not laborers. The statute carves them out of the notice requirement in so many words.
- The owner — always (§713.06(2)(a)).
- The contractor — a copy, if you are a sub-subcontractor, a supplier to a subcontractor, or a supplier to a sub-subcontractor (§713.06(2)(a)).
- The subcontractor — if you supply a sub-subcontractor and know the subcontractor's name and address (§713.06(2)(a)).
- Anyone the Notice of Commencement designates (§713.06(2)(b)) — though missing that copy “does not invalidate an otherwise valid lien.”
- The lender, addressed as the Notice of Commencement designates (§713.06(2)(d)).
The wizard plans this list from your role on the job and mails every recipient for the same $39.
The deadline, exactly
§713.06(2)(a): the notice must be served “before commencing, or not later than 45 days after commencing, to furnish his or her labor, services, or materials” — and in any event “before the date of the owner's disbursement of the final payment.” The clock starts at first furnishing, not at your last delivery.
Mailing within 40 days by certified mail makes service effective UPON MAILING, provided the mailing evidence is kept (§713.18(2)). That evidence is exactly what your archive holds.
The statute says it itself: “a lienor must strictly comply with the time requirements of paragraph (a)” (§713.06(2)(f)). Errors elsewhere in the notice may be forgiven when nobody was hurt by them; the clock is not.
Not sure where you stand? Run the free deadline calculator — it applies these rules to your first-furnishing date and cites each one. No Notice of Commencement recorded? §713.06(2)(e) says a lienor “may rely on the information contained in the building permit application.”
What the notice must say
Florida does not leave the wording to you. §713.06(2)(c) sets out a form and says the notice “may be in substantially the following form and must include the information and the warning contained in the following form.” The warning is the part owners notice first, so here it is exactly as the statute prints it:
“WARNING! FLORIDA'S CONSTRUCTION LIEN LAW ALLOWS SOME UNPAID CONTRACTORS, SUBCONTRACTORS, AND MATERIAL SUPPLIERS TO FILE LIENS AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY EVEN IF YOU HAVE MADE PAYMENT IN FULL. UNDER FLORIDA LAW, YOUR FAILURE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PAID MAY RESULT IN A LIEN AGAINST YOUR PROPERTY AND YOUR PAYING TWICE. TO AVOID A LIEN AND PAYING TWICE, YOU MUST OBTAIN A WRITTEN RELEASE FROM US EVERY TIME YOU PAY YOUR CONTRACTOR.”
- The owner's name and address.
- A general description of the services or materials you furnish.
- A description of the real property being improved.
- Who gave you the order — your customer on the job.
- The “IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR YOUR PROTECTION” text the statute addresses to the owner, printed in full.
- Your signature, name and address.
- The copies list — the §713.06(2)(a) and (b) recipients.
We print the statutory form with your answers in the blanks. Nothing is paraphrased, and the section is cited on the document. The specimen at the top of this page is that form.
Have it filled and mailed — $39How it has to be served, and why day 40 matters
§713.18(1)(b) allows service by “registered, Global Express Guaranteed, or certified mail to the person to be served, with postage or shipping paid by the sender and with evidence of delivery, which may be in an electronic format.” Hand delivery is also allowed, and posting on the site only when neither of the others can be accomplished.
§713.18(2): service of a notice to owner “is effective as of the date of mailing” when it goes registered or certified with postage prepaid, is “mailed within 40 days after the date the lienor first furnishes labor, services, or materials,” and the sender keeps a mail log or “tracking records approved or generated by the United States Postal Service containing the postal tracking number and verification of the date of receipt by the United States Postal Service.” Your archive page is built to be that record.
§713.18(3)(a): service is still effective on the mailing date when the notice went to the address in the Notice of Commencement — or the permit application, or the last known address — and it is “returned as being ‘refused,’ ‘moved, not forwardable,’ or ‘unclaimed,’” through no fault of the sender. We record a returned piece on your archive and email you the day it happens.
Mail by day 40 and the day-45 outer limit takes care of itself. The free calculator shows both dates for your job and can remind you before each one.
What Florida NTO services actually cost
Most services quote a preparation fee, then add certified postage per recipient. A typical NTO goes to two or three recipients at roughly $8–10 of certified postage each. We charge one number.
| Service | Listed price | Typical all-in, 2–3 certified recipients |
|---|---|---|
| SunRay | $35 + postage | ≈ $52–62 |
| EZ NTO | $30 + postage | ≈ $47–57 |
| The Notice Zone | $55 + certified mailing fees | ≈ $64–82 |
| NoticeSent Flat | $39 flat | $39 — certified mail to every required recipient included |
| Optional, at checkout | +$12 · +$9 · both +$18 | Signature proof (the USPS delivery signature on every piece) · affidavit of mailing (a ready-to-sign sworn record of who was mailed what, and when) · both together as the Proof pack |
Competitor prices verified on their public pages, August 2026. Full cost breakdown
How it works
Answer a short wizard
Parties, property, first-furnishing date — about 3 minutes. The document carries the exact statutory language and citations.
We certified-mail every required recipient
Owner, contractor, lender when required — submitted for certified mailing in minutes of payment. You verify every name and address before paying.
Your evidence archive
The PDF, certified tracking number for each recipient, and a timestamped record — on a permanent page, organized the way §713.18(2) expects your mailing evidence to be kept.
Questions, answered straight
Who has to send a Florida Notice to Owner?
Section 713.06 covers lienors who are not in privity with the owner — subcontractors, sub-subcontractors and material suppliers with no contract directly with the owner. §713.06(2)(a) says all lienors under that section, "except laborers," must serve the notice on the owner "as a prerequisite to perfecting a lien under this chapter and recording a claim of lien." Whether that describes your position on a particular job is a legal question we cannot answer; the section is cited on every document so it can be checked.
I contract directly with the owner. Do I still need one?
§713.06 is titled "Liens of persons not in privity," and the notice requirement in §713.06(2)(a) is written for lienors under that section. A contractor hired directly by the owner is in privity with the owner and is not among them. If you are unsure which side of that line your contract sits on, ask an attorney before deciding not to serve.
Is a Notice to Owner a lien? Will the owner take it badly?
It is not a lien. §713.06(2)(a) says so in as many words: "The notice is not a lien, cloud, or encumbrance on the real property nor actual or constructive notice of any of them." It is a statutory notice that tells the owner who is furnishing work on the property. The prescribed form itself explains to the owner how to protect themselves — obtain written releases as they pay their contractor — so the owner receives instructions, not a threat.
I am past 45 days. Is it too late?
The statute makes timely service a prerequisite and does not soften it: "the failure to serve the notice, or to timely serve it, is a complete defense to enforcement of a lien by any person," and §713.06(2)(f) adds that "a lienor must strictly comply with the time requirements of paragraph (a)." Two things are worth checking before you conclude anything. The 45 days run from the day you first furnished labor, services or materials on that job — not from your latest delivery or invoice. And the outer limit is also "before the date of the owner's disbursement of the final payment." What a late notice means for your particular job, and what other remedies may exist, are questions for an attorney. The free deadline calculator will at least show you where your dates fall.
There is no Notice of Commencement on the job. What do I use?
§713.06(2)(e) answers this directly: a lienor, in the absence of a recorded notice of commencement, "may rely on the information contained in the building permit application" to serve the notice. The wizard asks for the owner and contractor as you know them and records the source you used.
Who gets a copy besides the owner?
Under §713.06(2)(a), a sub-subcontractor or a supplier to a subcontractor must serve a copy on the contractor, and so must a supplier to a sub-subcontractor — who also serves the subcontractor if the supplier knows that subcontractor's name and address. Under §713.06(2)(b), anyone the owner designated in the Notice of Commencement gets a copy too, though the statute says missing that copy "does not invalidate an otherwise valid lien." A notice served on a lender is addressed as the Notice of Commencement designates (§713.06(2)(d)). The wizard plans the recipient list from your role and mails each one at no extra charge.
Do I need a return receipt (green card)?
Not under the statute. §713.18(1)(b) allows service by "registered, Global Express Guaranteed, or certified mail to the person to be served, with postage or shipping paid by the sender and with evidence of delivery, which may be in an electronic format." For a notice to owner, §713.18(2) makes service effective on the date of mailing when the notice goes certified within 40 days and the sender keeps a mail log or USPS tracking records — no return receipt is named anywhere. Certified mail with tracking is what we send by default; signature proof is an optional add-on if you want the delivery signature on record.
What if the letter comes back unclaimed or refused?
§713.18(3)(a) provides that service is effective on the date of mailing when the document was sent to the last address shown in the Notice of Commencement — or, if there is none, the building permit application or the last known address — and it is "returned as being “refused,” “moved, not forwardable,” or “unclaimed,”" or is otherwise undeliverable through no fault of the sender. Your archive records the returned status alongside the mailing evidence, and we email you the moment a piece comes back.
Is this legal advice?
No. NoticeSent is a document preparation and mailing service, not a law firm. We prepare and mail documents from the information you provide and give no advice or guarantees about outcomes.
What exactly do I get?
The generated notice PDF in the §713.06(2)(c) form, USPS certified mailing with tracking to each required recipient, and a permanent archive page with a timestamped record of every step — for one flat $39.
A Notice of Intent to Lien, generated and certified-mailed to the owner — and the contractor, if you choose — for $49 flat, any state.
Send a Notice of Intent to Lien — $49Bonded job? Notice of Nonpayment (§713.23). Contractor at final payment? Final payment affidavit (§713.06). Both free, statutory text.
Run the 45-day calculator once per job and we'll email you 10, 5, and 2 days before your recommended mail-by date. No account; stop anytime.
Track a deadline freeGo deeper · each page written from the pinned statute
- What a Notice to Owner is, and what it is not
- The Florida Notice to Owner form, line by line (§713.06(2)(c))
- The Florida Notice to Owner form as a free printable PDF
- Who must receive it: owner, contractor, lender, designee
- How to send it: the §713.18 service rules, step by step
- Florida Statute 713.18, quoted: service methods, the 40-day rule, returned mail
- Late notice: what happens after 45 days
- What a Florida Notice to Owner costs in 2026
- The Notice of Commencement (§713.13): what the NTO takes from it
- The 45-day deadline and the day-40 mailing rule
The clock is statutory. The proof should be too.