Florida Compliance — Lien Waivers (§713.20)
Florida Lien Waivers — The 4 Statutory Forms, in Plain English
Florida law specifies exactly four lien-waiver forms. Since July 1, 2025, the forms have to match the statute word for word. Here is what each one does, when to use it, and what you give up when you sign.
A Florida lien waiver is a written statement in which a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier gives up the right to file a construction lien against a property — in exchange for, or in acknowledgment of, payment. Florida Statute §713.20 specifies four forms (conditional partial, conditional final, unconditional partial, unconditional final). Since the Florida SB 658 update effective July 1, 2025, waivers must match the statutory forms exactly to be valid.
Statute source: Fla. Stat. §713.20 (flsenate.gov)
The 4 statutory forms
Each one applies at a different point in the payment cycle. Knowing which to use — and when not to sign — is the difference between getting paid and losing the right.
Conditional — Progress Payment
Conditional Waiver and Release Upon Progress Payment
When to sign
Sign BEFORE you receive a progress payment — typically at the same time you submit a pay application or hand over the invoice.
What it does
Promises that IF you receive the specified payment by the specified date, you waive lien rights for work through that date and that amount. If the check bounces or never arrives, the waiver is not effective.
What you give up
Nothing — until the payment clears. The waiver is conditional on receiving the funds.
What you preserve
Lien rights for any work or materials NOT covered by the specified amount, and any work or materials provided AFTER the through-date on the waiver.
Watch out
Make sure the dollar amount and through-date are accurate. If you sign for $50,000 through 2026-05-15 and the GC pays $50,000 but it covers work through 2026-05-30, you may have waived rights you didn't intend to.
Unconditional — Progress Payment
Unconditional Waiver and Release Upon Progress Payment
When to sign
Sign AFTER you have received and confirmed the progress payment cleared.
What it does
Waives lien rights for work through the specified date and for the specified amount — period. No condition; the waiver is effective the moment you sign it.
What you give up
Lien rights for the work and the amount specified. Even if you later discover the payment didn't actually cover everything, you've already waived.
What you preserve
Lien rights for work or materials NOT covered, and work AFTER the through-date.
Watch out
Verify the check has cleared — not just deposited — before signing this form. Confirm the dollar amount matches what you actually received. Once signed, you cannot unwaive.
Conditional — Final Payment
Conditional Waiver and Release Upon Final Payment
When to sign
Sign BEFORE you receive the final payment on a project.
What it does
Promises that IF you receive the specified final payment, you waive ALL remaining lien rights on the project. Conditional on receiving the funds.
What you give up
Nothing — until the payment clears. The waiver is conditional.
What you preserve
Any lien rights you had if the payment never arrives or bounces.
Watch out
Final payment waivers cover the entire project. Make sure every change order, every backcharge, every disputed amount is settled BEFORE you sign — once the payment clears, the waiver releases everything.
Unconditional — Final Payment
Unconditional Waiver and Release Upon Final Payment
When to sign
Sign AFTER you have received and confirmed the final payment cleared.
What it does
Waives ALL lien rights on the project. Effective immediately on signing. No conditions.
What you give up
All remaining lien rights for the project. This is the strongest waiver Florida has — once you sign and the GC has the paper, you have no leverage if you discover unpaid work later.
What you preserve
Nothing related to a lien claim on this project. (You may still have contract-law claims if the contract itself was breached, but no lien rights remain.)
Watch out
Treat this as the closing handshake on the entire project. Confirm the check cleared, confirm the dollar amount, confirm every change order, every backcharge, every disputed item is resolved. Then — and only then — sign.
The July 2025 update: waivers must now match the statute exactly
Florida SB 658 went into effect July 1, 2025. The headline change for construction professionals: lien waivers must conform to the statutory forms set out in §713.20 — verbatim. Non-statutory variants (the "customized" waiver forms many GCs and law firms had been using) are no longer valid waivers under the statute.
Practical consequences for GCs: if you've been using a homemade lien-waiver form for years, it likely needs to be replaced. A sub who signs your non-statutory waiver may have a strong argument that the waiver is invalid — which means the lien rights they thought they waived may still be enforceable.
Practical consequences for subs: when a GC hands you a waiver to sign, the first thing to check is whether it matches the §713.20 statutory form. If it doesn't, the waiver may not actually waive anything — and you may still have lien rights you didn't realize you had.
Either way, since July 2025 the right answer is to use the §713.20 forms exactly as written. XOsign's Florida lien-waiver templates are reproduced verbatim from the statute, with the variable fields (party names, dollar amounts, dates, through-dates) auto-filled from your project context.
What about Spanish-speaking subcontractors?
Florida law requires the lien waiver forms in §713.20 to appear in English. A sub who only speaks Spanish CAN legally sign an English lien waiver — the federal precedent on this point is Morales v. Sun Constructors, 541 F.3d 218 (3rd Cir. 2008), which held that an English contract is enforceable against a Spanish-only signer "in the absence of fraud."
That precedent is also the problem. "In the absence of fraud" is the GC's defense, but it puts the burden on the GC to prove the Spanish-only sub knew what they were signing. Without a bilingual record, that proof is hard to assemble after the fact — and a sub who claims they didn't understand the waiver has a stronger position in a dispute.
The right answer: keep the English statutory form (it's required) AND show the Spanish-speaking sub a side-by-side Spanish translation before they sign. Both versions ride the same audit trail, time-stamped, with hash-chained tamper-evidence. The sub gets informed consent; the GC gets a court-ready record of what was shown, in what language, when.
XOsign's bilingual signing flow does exactly this for every Florida lien waiver. The English statutory text is preserved verbatim. The Spanish translation renders alongside. The audit trail records both.
Who signs a Florida lien waiver?
Anyone with a potential lien right against the property: the general contractor, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and material suppliers. Each of these has independent lien rights under Florida Chapter 713 — and each needs to waive separately.
Owners do NOT sign lien waivers. The owner is the party PROTECTED by the waiver — a waiver is the contractor's or sub's promise not to file a lien against the owner's property.
Equipment lessors and design professionals (architects, engineers) may also have lien rights and may need to waive. If you're a GC trying to clear all lien rights on a project before final payment, your waiver collection has to include everyone in the chain.
The most common Florida lien-waiver mistakes
Signing an unconditional waiver before the check clears. The single most expensive mistake. Always verify funds before signing unconditional.
Wrong dollar amount. If the payment is for $50,000 but the waiver says $52,000, you've just waived rights for $2,000 of work you didn't get paid for.
Wrong through-date. Make sure the through-date on the waiver matches what you actually agreed to. "Through 2026-05-15" means everything up to and including that date.
Using a non-statutory form (post-SB 658). Since July 2025, the statutory form is the only valid form. Custom waiver forms from the pre-SB 658 era may not actually waive anything.
Forgetting change orders. If you have unresolved change-order claims and you sign the final-payment waiver, those claims may be gone too.
Not getting bilingual confirmation. If you're a GC and your sub doesn't read English well, a Spanish translation alongside is not optional — it's how you protect the enforceability of the waiver.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Florida lien waivers
What is a Florida lien waiver?
A written statement in which a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier gives up the right to file a construction lien against a property — typically in exchange for, or in acknowledgment of, payment. Florida Statute §713.20 specifies exactly four forms (conditional partial, conditional final, unconditional partial, unconditional final). Florida SB 658, effective July 1, 2025, requires lien waivers to match the statutory forms exactly.
Do lien waivers have to be notarized in Florida?
No. Florida's §713.20 statutory waiver forms do not require notarization. They do, however, require the signature of the lienor (the party giving up the right). XOsign captures the signature with an ESIGN/UETA-compliant audit trail — hash-chained, RFC 3161 timestamped, and tamper-evident — which is more than the statute requires and stronger evidence than a paper notary for the dispute scenarios where waivers actually get challenged.
What happens if I use a custom lien waiver form instead of the statutory form?
Since July 1, 2025 (when Florida SB 658 took effect), lien waivers must match the §713.20 statutory forms exactly. A custom or modified form likely does not constitute a valid waiver — which means the rights the parties thought they waived may still be enforceable. If you're a sub, this can be good news. If you're a GC, it means your waiver collection may not actually be protecting you. The safe path is to use the statutory forms verbatim.
Can I sign an English Florida lien waiver if I only speak Spanish?
Legally, yes — federal precedent (Morales v. Sun Constructors, 3rd Cir. 2008) holds that an English contract is enforceable against a Spanish-only signer "in the absence of fraud." But that's the GC's defense, not the sub's. Without a bilingual record showing what the sub was shown and in what language, a later dispute about whether the sub understood the waiver is the GC's problem to prove. The right answer is a bilingual signing flow: English statutory text (required) plus Spanish translation alongside, both on the audit trail.
When should I use a conditional waiver versus an unconditional waiver?
Conditional waivers are signed BEFORE you receive payment — they say "if I receive $X by date Y, I waive lien rights for that amount." Unconditional waivers are signed AFTER payment has cleared — they say "I received $X and I waive lien rights." Conditional protects you if the payment never arrives. Unconditional gives the owner clean assurance that the rights are gone. As a rule: never sign unconditional before the funds clear.
Does a lien waiver waive my contract rights too?
No — a lien waiver only waives lien rights against the property. Your underlying contract claims (breach of contract, unpaid balances, change-order claims) survive a lien waiver. But that's a much weaker position: without lien rights, you can't force the sale of the property to satisfy your claim. You're left suing for money in contract, which is slower, more expensive, and less likely to result in collection.
I'm a subcontractor and the GC is asking me to sign a waiver. What should I check first?
Five things: (1) Is it the §713.20 statutory form, verbatim? (2) Is the dollar amount correct? (3) Is the through-date correct? (4) Is it conditional (for upcoming payment) or unconditional (for received payment)? (5) Have all change orders, backcharges, and disputes through that date been resolved? If any answer is uncertain, do not sign. Once a Florida lien waiver is signed and the trigger conditions met, the rights are gone.
How long does a Florida lien last if I don't waive it?
Under Fla. Stat. §713.22, a construction lien expires one year after it is recorded unless an action to enforce it is filed in the meantime. The lien holder can also extend the period in certain circumstances. The one-year clock is critical: a recorded lien that nobody enforces evaporates after 12 months. If you have a lien and you want to collect, you have to file suit before the year runs out.
XOsign is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This page is informational and reflects publicly available statutory language and common industry practices. For specific advice on lien waivers in your situation, consult a Florida construction attorney.
XOsign generates Florida lien waivers in both languages, with the audit trail courts actually look at.
Every Florida lien waiver in XOsign uses the verbatim §713.20 statutory form, auto-fills the amounts and dates from your project context, and renders side-by-side in Spanish for any signer who needs it. ESIGN/UETA audit trail. Hash-chained. RFC 3161 timestamp. The signature record courts ask for.