The practical answer to who files a Notice of Commencement in Florida is that the property owner is primarily responsible for the Notice of Commencement, and the owner must sign it. An owner’s authorized agent can handle the administrative act of submitting the owner-signed document for recording.
If construction financing is involved, however, a lender that will disburse construction funds to the contractor has a separate statutory duty to record the Notice before making that disbursement. A contractor may help prepare, transmit, or provide the recorded Notice to the permitting authority, but being the contractor does not by itself make that contractor the statutory signer.
Florida’s construction lien statute requires the Notice to be recorded in the clerk’s office before the improvement actually begins, subject to statutory exemptions. Recording the Notice in the county’s Official Records is also different from providing a copy or recording information to the building department for permitting and inspections. The Florida Bar similarly advises owners that the Notice should be signed by the property owner and recorded before construction begins.
New to NOCs? Start with our guide: What Is a Notice of Commencement in Florida?
The starting point is Florida Statutes §713.13. It says that, except for exempt improvements, an owner or the owner’s authorized agent must record a Notice of Commencement before actually commencing the improvement. But the same statute separately states that the owner must sign the Notice and no one else may be permitted to sign in the owner’s stead.
A lessee who contracts for the improvements is treated as an “owner” for this purpose and must be identified with a leasehold interest. The statutory form also accommodates an entity owner acting through an authorized officer, director, partner, or manager.
That distinction between signing and filing answers much of the confusion. A contractor, permit expediter, attorney, or recording service may transmit a properly executed Notice as the owner’s authorized agent, but that administrative role does not turn the contractor into the required owner-signatory. Palm Beach County’s Clerk summarizes the rule plainly: the property owner must sign, and the Notice is recorded with the clerk where the real property is located.
Homeowners: see our Florida NOC Homeowners Guide for what to expect on your project.
| Party | Must this party sign the NOC? | Filing or recording role | Other responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner or qualifying lessee | Yes | Primarily responsible for ensuring it is recorded | Must also satisfy the statutory jobsite-posting requirement |
| Contractor | No, merely by being contractor | Often handles submission as an administrative agent or permit applicant | May provide the recorded copy or recording data to the building department |
| Construction lender | No | Must record before disbursing construction funds to the contractor | Does not have to post the jobsite copy; must designate itself to receive Notices to Owner |
| Owner’s agent or permit expediter | Not merely because the person is an agent | May submit the properly owner-executed Notice | Can coordinate clerk and permit-office delivery |
These distinctions follow §713.13’s separate provisions governing execution, recordation, posting, and lender obligations.
For contractors that routinely manage this paperwork, Swift offers Notice of Commencement eRecording for Florida contractors. Its contractor workflow allows completed construction documents to be uploaded, transmitted electronically to supported county clerks, tracked, and returned after recording with the clerk’s filing information.
A Notice of Commencement should generally be recorded before the improvement actually begins. Once recorded, it becomes effective upon filing with the clerk. If the described improvement does not actually commence within 90 days after recording, the Notice becomes void. Unless the Notice or a properly recorded amendment provides otherwise, its effectiveness generally expires after one year; longer direct contracts require appropriate treatment of the effective period.
An owner who wants to end a recorded Notice before that expiration uses a separate instrument. See our guide to the Florida Notice of Termination for the statutory conditions and service requirements.
The Notice must contain enough information to identify the project and the parties involved. Under §713.13, that includes the legal description and available street address or tax folio information, a general description of the improvement, owner information and ownership interest, any different fee-simple titleholder, contractor information, surety and payment-bond information if applicable, construction-lender information, designated persons for service where used, and an expiration date.
The owner’s signature must be properly acknowledged, and a payment bond must be attached at recordation when the statutory bond provisions apply.
There is an important threshold distinction in the current statutes. Section 713.02(5) exempts an improvement with a direct-contract price of $2,500 or less from most of Part I, and §713.13 expressly incorporates that exemption. Separately, §713.135(1)(e) requires the permit applicant to provide the permitting authority with a copy or specified recording information before the first inspection when the direct contract is greater than $5,000.
Thus, on the face of the current statutes, the underlying NOC obligation and the building department’s mandatory proof-before-inspection trigger are not identical thresholds.
Section 713.135 also contains a special provision stating that its subsection does not apply to a direct contract of less than $15,000 to repair or replace an existing heating or air-conditioning system. Because project facts can affect these rules, borderline or unusual projects warrant review of the current statute and local permitting requirements.
The workflow is easier to understand when the four steps, execution, recording, posting, and permit proof, are kept separate.
For a typical non-financed project, the owner signs the Notice, and the owner or an authorized administrative agent submits it to the clerk for the county where the property is located. After recording, the statutory posting requirement must be satisfied.
When §713.135 applies, the permit applicant provides the permitting authority with a certified recorded copy, an allowed notarized filing statement and copy, or the clerk’s official records identifying information. The statute specifically says the NOC does not have to be recorded as a condition of simply applying for or receiving the building permit; the first-inspection rule is a separate checkpoint.
A lender changes one part of that workflow. Section 713.13(7) requires the lender, before disbursing construction funds to the contractor, to record the Notice. The lender does not take over the owner’s responsibility for posting it at the jobsite. Swift supports recordable mortgage and construction documents for lending and financial organizations.
Businesses can use Florida eRecording services rather than physically delivering eligible documents. Swift’s Florida counties we serve page currently identifies Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Broward, and Miami-Dade as live integrations. For a step-by-step look at electronic submission, see our guide to how eRecording works in Florida.
Chapter 713 supplies the statewide substantive framework, but county recording procedures, document formatting, submission options, fees, and processing times can vary. That makes checking the clerk and permitting authority for the project location an important part of the filing process.
For example, the Miami-Dade County Clerk specifies an original NOC signed by the owner and notarized, along with a “Prepared by” statement. Miami-Dade accepts in-person, mail, and approved-vendor eRecording submissions and states that eRecorded documents may take approximately one to three business days to process. Swift E-Recording is listed among the clerk’s approved vendors.
The Palm Beach County Clerk emphasizes that only the owner may sign and states that electronically submitted NOCs are normally processed within one business day. Hillsborough allows eRecording, mail, or in-person submission; its clerk currently advises that mailed and electronic processing can take up to seven business days, while an in-person NOC can be recorded and returned while the filer waits.
These procedural differences are why statewide legal compliance and county-level recording logistics should be treated as two related but distinct questions.
Failing to properly record an NOC can create practical and legal problems. Florida’s statutory permit warning expressly tells owners that failure to record a Notice may result in paying twice for improvements. The Florida Bar similarly explains that subcontractors and suppliers may have lien rights even though the owner contracted only with the general contractor, making proper lien-law procedures important protection against duplicate-payment exposure.
For projects subject to §713.135’s proof requirement, the permitting authority or private inspection provider may not perform or approve subsequent inspections until the required NOC copy or recording information is provided.
Recording also affects construction-lien priority. Under Florida Statutes §713.07, certain construction liens generally attach and take priority from the date the Notice of Commencement is recorded. If no NOC is filed, those liens instead attach and take priority when the claim of lien itself is recorded. That priority effect is one reason the statute warns owners using construction financing to coordinate with their lender or attorney before recording.
There are consequences for lenders as well. A lender that is required to record the NOC before disbursing construction funds to the contractor but fails to do so can be liable to the owner for damages resulting from that failure.
Lien priority also surfaces later in a property’s life, which is why title and escrow companies and real estate professionals review open Notices of Commencement during a sale or refinance. Our guide to Florida closing documents that can be eRecorded covers that side of the transaction.
Before submission, use this practical checklist against the current statutory form and the applicable county clerk’s requirements:
A short illustrative example, which is not a substitute for Florida’s statutory or county form, might read:
Property: 123 Example Street, Orlando, Florida; Legal Description: [insert]
Improvement: Residential kitchen and structural renovation
Owner: Jane Example, 123 Example Street, Orlando, FL
Contractor: ABC Construction LLC, [address and phone]
Lender: [name and address, if applicable]
Surety: [information, if applicable]
Expiration Date: [date]
Owner Signature: ______________________
Notarial Acknowledgment: ______________________
Florida law provides a substantially prescribed NOC form, so an actual filing should track §713.13 and the relevant clerk’s current recording instructions rather than relying on a simplified example.
Swift E-Recording supports eligible construction and property documents for contractors, permit expeditors, legal professionals, HOAs and property management companies, and government agencies. The industries we serve page lists the document types available to each, and our security practices explain how submissions are protected in transit.
When the owner has signed and notarized the Notice, Swift E-Recording helps contractors, permit expeditors, and owners submit eligible Florida documents to supported county clerks. Upload the document, track its status, and retrieve the recorded copy with the clerk’s filing information.
This article is general information about Florida law statewide and is not legal advice. Notice of Commencement requirements can depend on the facts of the project, the applicable statutes, and the county clerk’s current recording rules. Consult a qualified Florida construction attorney for advice about your situation. Questions about county coverage or document eligibility can go to our contact page.
