Florida Notice of Nonpayment: When and How to Serve It
Last updated: July 2025
A Florida Notice of Nonpayment is a written demand that subcontractors and suppliers without a direct contract with the owner must serve on the general contractor's payment bond surety — and on the contractor — to preserve their right to make a claim under a payment bond on a public or bonded private project, under Fla. Stat. § 713.245. The notice must be served no later than 90 days after the final day the claimant furnished labor, materials, or services. Missing that 90-day window extinguishes the right to recover under the bond entirely. This notice is separate from — and should not be confused with — the Notice to Owner required under Fla. Stat. § 713.06, which protects mechanics lien rights on private projects.
What Exactly Is a Florida Notice of Nonpayment?
A Florida Notice of Nonpayment is a statutory demand document that a subcontractor or supplier uses to pursue payment against a general contractor's payment bond when direct payment has not been received. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.245, claimants who have no direct contractual relationship with the contractor who furnished the payment bond must serve this notice to preserve their bond claim rights. It functions as the bonded-project equivalent of perfecting a lien claim — without it, the surety has no legal obligation to respond to your demand.
The notice must state the nature of the labor or materials furnished, the amount unpaid, and identify the claimant, the party who contracted with the claimant, and the project. It is not a lien — it is a prerequisite to suing on a bond.
Who Must Serve a Florida Notice of Nonpayment?
Any subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, or material supplier who does not have a direct contract with the contractor who furnished the payment bond must serve a Notice of Nonpayment to make a valid bond claim. If you are a second-tier subcontractor — meaning you were hired by a subcontractor, not directly by the GC — this requirement applies to you.
Contractors who do have a direct contract with the bonded contractor are not required to serve the notice to maintain bond claim rights. However, if you are unsure whether your contract is "direct" in the legal sense, serve the notice anyway. Serving it when you don't need to costs almost nothing. Failing to serve it when you do need to costs you everything.
This requirement applies on:
- Public construction projects subject to Florida's Construction Lien Law (Chapter 713) where a payment bond has been recorded
- Private projects where the general contractor has furnished a bond that complies with Fla. Stat. § 713.23 or § 713.245
What Is the Deadline to Serve a Florida Notice of Nonpayment?
The deadline is 90 days from the last date the claimant furnished labor, materials, or services on the project. This is a hard cutoff under Fla. Stat. § 713.245(1). There is no provision for late service and no equitable exception — if day 91 arrives and no notice has been served, the bond claim is dead.
"Last date furnished" means the last date you actually performed work or delivered materials that were part of the original scope. Warranty work, corrections of defective work, or minor punch-list items do not extend the clock. Do not rely on disputed completion dates to buy yourself more time. Calculate from the last date of substantive, original-scope labor or material delivery.
On a practical level, if you know payment is becoming a problem at week six of a job, serve the notice immediately. Waiting until day 85 to scramble is how contractors lose bond claims.
Florida lien deadline reference
How Do You Serve a Florida Notice of Nonpayment?
Under Fla. Stat. § 713.245(1), the notice must be served by certified mail or by actual delivery. Florida courts have consistently held that certified mail with return receipt is the safest method because it produces documentary proof of both mailing and delivery — exactly what you need if a surety disputes whether notice was received.
The notice must be served on:
- The contractor who furnished the bond — typically the general contractor
- The surety — the bond company identified on the payment bond
To find the surety's name and address, request a copy of the payment bond from the project owner or the GC. On public projects, bonds are typically recorded and publicly accessible. On private bonded projects, Fla. Stat. § 713.23(2) requires the bond to be recorded in the county where the project is located — you can pull it from the county recorder's office.
Send certified mail to both parties simultaneously. Keep your Certificate of Mailing and the signed green card (or electronic return receipt) in your file. If the surety later claims they never received the notice, your tracking documentation is the only thing standing between you and a dismissed claim.
According to USPS Notice 123, USPS Certified Mail carries a base service fee of $4.85 in 2026, plus standard First-Class postage. Adding electronic return receipt costs $2.46 more. That is a total of roughly $10–$12 per mailing. Spending $20–$25 to serve notice on both parties is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy on a construction project.
What Must the Notice of Nonpayment Actually Say?
The notice must include specific statutory information to be valid. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.245(1), a compliant Notice of Nonpayment must state:
- The name and address of the claimant
- The name and address of the claimant's customer (the party who hired you)
- A description of the labor, services, or materials furnished
- The amount unpaid as of the date of the notice
- The name of the contractor who furnished the bond
- A description of the real property sufficient to identify it
Florida does not require the notice to follow a word-for-word statutory form, but the required elements are non-negotiable. A notice missing any of these elements risks being challenged by the surety as defective. Use a template that has been reviewed by a Florida construction attorney, or use a service that generates state-compliant forms automatically.
One common mistake: listing an inaccurate claim amount. The notice does not need to be exact to the dollar, but it must be a good-faith estimate of the amount actually unpaid. Overstating the amount to create leverage is a tactic that can backfire if the surety argues bad faith.
How Is the Notice of Nonpayment Different From a Notice to Owner?
These are two entirely different documents serving two entirely different purposes. Confusing them is one of the most expensive mistakes a Florida subcontractor can make.
| Notice to Owner | Notice of Nonpayment | |
|---|---|---|
| Governing statute | Fla. Stat. § 713.06 | Fla. Stat. § 713.245 |
| Purpose | Preserves mechanics lien rights on private projects | Preserves payment bond claim rights |
| Deadline | 45 days from first furnishing | 90 days from last furnishing |
| Serves on | Owner, GC, lender | GC (bonded contractor), surety |
| Applies to | Private projects, lien rights | Bonded projects, bond claims |
If you are working on a private project with no bond, you need a Notice to Owner, not a Notice of Nonpayment. If the project has a recorded payment bond — public or private — you may need both, depending on your tier and contract structure.
Do not assume one notice covers both rights. File both when there is any possibility a bond exists on the project.
What Happens If You Miss the 90-Day Deadline?
Missing the 90-day deadline eliminates your right to recover under the payment bond. Full stop. The surety's obligation to pay bond claimants is a creature of statute, not equity — courts do not have authority to excuse late notice under Florida law.
This matters enormously in the current payment environment. According to Rabbet's 2024 Construction Payments Report, 82% of contractors face payment waits of over 30 days, up from 49% just two years earlier. Slow payments have become normalized in construction — which is exactly why statutory deadlines get missed. A project that starts slow-paying at week eight can push subcontractors past the 90-day window before they realize the relationship has gone bad.
If you miss the bond claim deadline, your remaining options are limited. You may still have a mechanics lien right if the project is private and you served a timely Notice to Owner — which is why serving both documents as a matter of routine is standard practice for experienced Florida subcontractors. On a public project, mechanics liens against the real property are generally prohibited; if the bond claim is gone, you are left with breach of contract claims against the subcontractor who hired you, which may or may not be collectible depending on that party's financial condition.
Can You Serve a Notice of Nonpayment Before You Are Actually Owed Money?
Yes — and in most cases, you should. Nothing in Fla. Stat. § 713.245 requires you to have an outstanding unpaid balance at the time of service. The notice can be served as soon as payment becomes overdue or, more precisely, whenever you have reason to believe nonpayment is a risk. Many experienced Florida subcontractors serve the notice as a matter of routine at the 45-day mark on any bonded project showing payment problems, regardless of whether amounts are formally past due.
Serving early does not harm your relationship with the GC in any way that a phone call explaining the notice cannot fix. Not serving and then scrambling at day 88 when the project goes sideways is how subcontractors get hurt.
According to Rabbet's 2024 Construction Payments Report, slow payments cost the U.S. construction industry an estimated $280 billion in 2024, adding roughly 14% to total construction spending. Bond claims are one of the few tools subcontractors have to recover in that environment — but only if the notice was served on time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Florida Notice of Nonpayment apply to public projects?
Yes. On Florida public construction projects where the contractor has furnished a payment bond — which is required on public contracts above applicable thresholds — second-tier subcontractors and suppliers without a direct contract with the bonded contractor must serve a Notice of Nonpayment within 90 days of last furnishing to preserve their bond claim. Florida's public project payment bond requirements are governed by Fla. Stat. § 255.05 for state contracts and § 337.18 for FDOT contracts, and bond claims under those statutes also incorporate the § 713.245 notice requirements by reference.
Is the Notice of Nonpayment the same as a claim against the payment bond?
No. The Notice of Nonpayment is a prerequisite to making a bond claim, not the claim itself. Serving the notice preserves your right to file suit against the surety within the applicable limitations period. Under Fla. Stat. § 713.23(1)(e), bond claimants generally have one year from the completion of the bonded contractor's work to bring suit on the bond, but you cannot get there at all without a timely notice of nonpayment if you are a second-tier claimant.
What if the GC refuses to give me the payment bond information?
On public projects, Florida law requires payment bonds to be recorded and accessible from the public contracting agency or county recorder. On private projects, Fla. Stat. § 713.23(2) requires the bond to be recorded in the county where the project is located. If the GC refuses to provide bond information voluntarily, pull the recorded document from the county clerk's office. Do not let a GC's non-cooperation push you past the 90-day deadline while you wait for documents.
Does serving a Notice of Nonpayment stop the project or create legal problems?
No. A Notice of Nonpayment is a legal notice, not a stop-work order or a lien filing. It does not cloud title, stop disbursements, or create immediate legal liability for the GC or owner. It does signal to the surety and GC that you intend to protect your rights — which often accelerates payment negotiations. Sureties take these notices seriously because an unpaid valid claim is a loss on their books.
How much detail does the project description need to include?
The project description must be sufficient to identify the real property — typically the street address is adequate. If no street address exists yet (on a new development), use the legal description of the property, the permit number, or any combination of identifiers that would allow a reasonable party to locate the specific project. Courts generally apply a "substantially correct" standard to project descriptions, but do not gamble on ambiguity. Include the address, city, county, and any project name you know.
Can a first-tier subcontractor with a direct GC contract skip the Notice of Nonpayment?
A first-tier subcontractor with a direct contract with the bonded contractor is not required to serve a Notice of Nonpayment to preserve a bond claim under Fla. Stat. § 713.245 — the direct contractual relationship satisfies the statutory requirement. However, if you are unsure whether your contract is truly "direct" for purposes of the statute, serve the notice. The cost of filing is minimal; the cost of being wrong is losing your entire bond claim.
What is the difference between serving the notice and recording it?
A Florida Notice of Nonpayment is served — delivered to the GC and surety — not recorded with the county. This distinguishes it from a Claim of Lien under Fla. Stat. § 713.08, which must be recorded in the county where the property is located. You do not go to the county clerk's office to file a Notice of Nonpayment. You send it via certified mail (or hand-deliver it) and retain proof of delivery.
Do I need an attorney to serve a Florida Notice of Nonpayment?
Florida law does not require an attorney to prepare or serve a Notice of Nonpayment. However, the document must contain all required statutory elements and be served within the 90-day deadline to be valid. Using an attorney-reviewed template — rather than drafting the notice from scratch — is a practical way to ensure compliance without paying hourly legal fees for every notice. Automated services that generate state-compliant forms and handle USPS Certified Mail are a cost-effective alternative for subcontractors who file regularly.
Protect Your Lien Rights Today
The 90-day deadline under Fla. Stat. § 713.245 does not move and does not forgive late service. If you are working on a bonded Florida project — public or private — and payment is slowing down, the time to act is now, not after the GC stops returning calls.
LienFlash generates attorney-reviewed, Florida-compliant Notice of Nonpayment documents and sends them via USPS Certified Mail with a Certificate of Mailing PDF in about two minutes. A single notice is $24.99. If it preserves your right to collect on a $20,000 subcontract that would otherwise go unpaid, that math speaks for itself.
Calculate your exact deadline and file today: