Florida Notice to Contractor (Public Projects) Form | Free Template Download

Download your Notice to Contractor (Public Projects) Form | Free Template Download | Free Downloadable Template

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Get help filing your Florida Preliminary Notice

Florida Notice to Contractor (Public Projects)

This is a Florida Notice to Contractor for use on public works projects. This form can be filled out with a PDF editor or by hand after printing.

This preliminary notice needs to sent by any project participants on a Florida public works project who didn’t contract directly with the prime contractor. Although we recommend that everyone send a preliminary notice, on every project; regardless if required or not. A Florida Notice to Contractor must be either before commencing work on the project, but no later than 45 days after the first date of furnishing labor or materials to the project.

The notice must be sent to the prime contractor by registered, Global Express Guaranteed, or certified mail with proof of delivery. If it is sent within 40 days of first furnishing, it will be deemed served on the contractor when it’s deposited in the mail. If sent after 40 days, it will only be considered served once the contractor actually receives the notice.

Learn more about the Florida Bond Claim rules here.

Required information

The only actual statutory requirement is that the notice include a statement that the claimant intends to “look to the bond for protection.” However, we suggest adding a few more key pieces of information.

Claimant information
Prime contractor information
Hiring party information
Public entity information
Surety name
Description of labor, services, & materials
Property description

Stuck? Check out How to Make a Florida Payment Bond Claim on a Public Project

Statute

The Florida Notice to Contractor for public projects is governed by Fla. Stat. §255.05(2)(a).

Rules and regulations for sending a Florida Preliminary Notice

Deadline for Property Owner / Public Entity General Contractor Surety / Bonding Co. to send the Florida Preliminary Notice

45 days after

First Furnishing Date

To preserve the ability to file a claim against a bond on a public project, a claimant who does not have a direct contract with the prime contractor must furnish the prime contractor with a written notice that he or she intends to look to the bond for protection within 45 days of first furnishing labor and/or materials. This deadline marks the end of that 45 day period.

Information that goes on Florida Preliminary Notice

Contract Number / Identifier

If there is a contract number for this project or other official identifier, please provide it here.

Name of Project

Identify the name of this Project as referred to by the parties, and the Owner/Entity.

Date Labor or Materials First Delivered

This is the first date you were on the project working or the first date you delivered material to the project.

Date Labor or Materials Last Delivered

This is the last date you were on the project working or the last date you delivered material to the project.

Description of Labor

Describe your contribution to the project as if you’re speaking to someone who isn’t in the construction industry. For examples, go to levelset.com/description-of-labor

Who should you send this notice to?

Mail to the Property Owner / Public Entity General Contractor Surety / Bonding Co. with Affidavit of Service

After completing the Florida Notice to Contractor (Public Projects) Form | Free Template Download, you must deliver it to the appropriate parties required by statute. Notices are typically served on the property owner and, for sub-tier parties, the general contractor. However, depending on the type of notice, it can be helpful to send notices to anyone else who is in charge of your payment, like a lender or surety company on the project.

Others are asking about Florida Preliminary Notice

Lien notice to home owner

The lien is still valid, but if the homeowner was prejudiced by the late delivery of the lien, then the lien can be reduced by the amount of the prejudice . You should consult with an attorney to determine what the next should be under these circumstances.

Answered by Jason Lambert | Attorney

Can we add an owner to initial NTO if it is passed the 45 days?

If there was no owner listed on the notice to owner, who was it sent to originally? Depending on that, and who ultimately received the notice to owner, you may be OK. You would need to consult with an attorney to determine if the notice to owner was properly done.

You may want to go ahead and send the notice to owner as an amended notice to owner and include the owner. Again, depending on the facts surrounding the first notice to owner, it may not help you to do that, but if you do not send it at all, then it definitely will not help you.

If the first notice to owner was defective for failing to list the owner, it could eliminate your lien rights, especially if the owner is or was prejudiced by this failure. Again, this would require an attorney to review all the documents involved to determine if your lien rights have been affected by this.

Answered by Jason Lambert | Attorney

Do I need to resend notice of furnishing

Sending an amended/revised preliminary notice (particularly in Florida) comes with some risk. The deadline for preliminary notices is a strict 45 days after first furnishing labor and/or materials to the project. If an amended notice is sent outside of this deadline, it may operate to replace/potentially invalidate the original notice. However, if the proper parties received notice, there may not be any cause for concern.

Under the Florida statute governing notices, Fla. Stat. §713.06(2)(f), "If a lienor has substantially complied with the provisions of paragraphs (a), (b), and (c), errors or ommissions do not prevent the enforcement of a claim against a person who has not been adversely affected by such omission or error."

Thus, as long as the notice was served in a timely fashion and received by the required parties, such an error won't likely operate to invalidate the notice.

For additional reading, see: How to Prepare and Send a Notice to Owner in Florida

Answered by Alex Benarroche | Levelset Admin

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Describe the situation

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Florida County Recorders

Looking to file/record a mechanics lien in Florida? You'll need to get your Florida mechanics lien filed and recorded with the county recorder in the county where the construction project is located. Here is a listing of all county recorders in Florida. Click on any county to find more information about how to get your lien recorded in that county.