An owner may end a notice of commencement’s period of effectiveness by executing, swearing to, and recording a notice of termination. Under F.S. 713.132, that termination takes effect no earlier than 30 days after recording, and only if the statute’s contents, affidavit, payment, and service rules are met.
It is not a lien release. It is not permit closure. It does not erase every preserved lien right, and it does not automatically repair improper payments made after a notice of commencement expired. If the job is still running and the notice is still effective, the move described in F.S. 713.13 is an amendment, not a termination. If work never started, F.S. 713.13(2) may already have voided the notice.
What is a notice of termination of a notice of commencement?
It is the owner’s document for closing out the notice’s effective period. F.S. 713.132(1) puts it plainly: “An owner may terminate the period of effectiveness of a notice of commencement by executing, swearing to, and recording a notice of termination that contains all of the following:”
Read the word “may” carefully. The section hands the owner a right. It does not order every owner to record a termination, and it sets no deadline for doing so. It also is not the contractor’s filing to make. The sworn statements inside the document are the owner’s statements.
Why it exists is still tied to the notice you recorded. That notice carries an expiration date, and the form warns that payments made after that date can be improper payments. Ending the notice’s effectiveness under 713.132 is a defined statutory act. It is not a universal solution to an expired notice or to a payment problem. Our guide to a notice of commencement in Polk County covers that document, the two clocks it starts, and where to record it.
What has to be in it
All six statements, or you do not have a valid notice of termination under F.S. 713.132(1).
Paragraph (a) calls for “The same information that is in the notice of commencement.” Paragraph (b) adds “The official records’ reference numbers and recording date affixed by the recording office on the recorded notice of commencement.” So you need the recorded original in front of you, book and page or instrument number, not just a copy of what you signed.
Paragraph (c) requires “A statement of the date as of which the notice of commencement is terminated, which date may not be earlier than 30 days after the notice of termination is recorded.” Paragraph (d) requires “A statement specifying that the notice applies to all the real property subject to the notice of commencement or specifying the portion of such real property to which it applies.”
Then the two that carry the most practical weight. Paragraph (e) requires “A statement that all lienors have been paid in full.” Paragraph (f) requires “A statement that the owner has, before recording the notice of termination, served a copy of the notice of termination on each lienor who has a direct contract with the owner or who has timely served a notice to owner, and a statement that the owner will serve a copy of the notice of termination on each lienor who timely serves a notice to owner after the notice of termination has been recorded.” The same paragraph carves out one group: “The owner is not required to serve a copy of the notice of termination on any lienor who has executed a waiver and release of lien upon final payment in accordance with s. 713.20.”
One more piece does not go inside the form at all. F.S. 713.132(2) is direct about it: “However, the notice of termination must be accompanied by the contractor’s affidavit.” That is the same final payment affidavit our guide to what a contractor lien on your house really means walks through. The owner may rely on that affidavit, except with respect to lienors who have already given notice. Your contractor gives it to you, so ask for it while the crew is still finishing rather than after everyone has moved on.
When can you record a notice of termination?
Payment first. F.S. 713.132(3) sets the door: “An owner may record a notice of termination at any time after all lienors have been paid in full or pro rata in accordance with s. 713.06(4).” Paragraph (e) still requires the statement that all lienors have been paid in full. Those two sentences both belong in the statute. This page does not collapse them into a single payment rule for your job.
Service comes next, and it comes before the clerk sees the document. F.S. 713.132(5) requires that “A notice of termination must be served before recording on each lienor who has a direct contract with the owner and on each lienor who has timely and properly served a notice to owner in accordance with this part before the recording of the notice of termination.” The same subsection tells you where it goes: “A notice of termination must be recorded in the official records of the county in which the improvement is located.”
Recording it does not switch the notice of commencement off that afternoon. Under the same subsection, “If properly served before recording in accordance with this subsection, the notice of termination terminates the period of effectiveness of the notice of commencement 30 days after the notice of termination is recorded in the official records or a later date stated in the notice of termination as the date on which the notice of commencement is terminated.” That lines up with paragraph (c), where the date you write on the form “may not be earlier than 30 days after the notice of termination is recorded.”
There’s one more timing rule before you assume the file is finished. A lienor who began work under the notice of commencement before its termination, has no direct contract with you, and timely serves a notice to owner after your termination is already recorded still has to be served. Under 713.132(5), “the owner must serve a copy of the notice of termination upon such lienor, and the termination of the notice of commencement as to that lienor is effective 30 days after service of the notice of termination.”
None of that is a substitute for a waiver and release of lien, and none of it is the building department closing a permit.
If the job is running long, amend instead of terminating
Do not terminate a live notice on a job that is not done. Amend it, and do it while the notice is still effective.
F.S. 713.13(5)(a) sets out both halves of that: “A notice of commencement that is recorded within the effective period may be amended to extend the effective period, change erroneous information in the original notice, or add information that was omitted from the original notice. However, in order to change contractors, a new notice of commencement or notice of recommencement must be executed and recorded.”
The phrase “recorded within the effective period” is the one to circle. Amendment is available while the notice is still effective, which means an expired notice cannot be extended this way. Swapping contractors is outside amendment too.
An amended notice has its own paperwork trail. F.S. 713.13(5)(b) requires that “The amended notice must identify the official records book and page where the original notice of commencement is recorded, and a copy of the amended notice must be served by the owner upon the contractor and each lienor who serves notice before or within 30 days after the date the amended notice is recorded.”
The clock you are watching is the default one in F.S. 713.13(6): “Unless otherwise provided in the notice of commencement or a new or amended notice of commencement, a notice of commencement is not effectual in law or equity against a conveyance, transfer, or mortgage of or lien on the real property described in the notice, or against creditors or subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration, after 1 year after the date of recording the notice of commencement.”
A permit revision or a long lead time can eat that year. That is why the calendar on a pool cage, sunroom, or screen room build belongs next to the finish work, not after it.
The 90-day clock for a delayed start
If the improvement never actually got going, you may have nothing to terminate.
F.S. 713.13(2) is short about it: “If the improvement described in the notice of commencement is not actually commenced within 90 days after the recording thereof, such notice is void and of no further effect.”
A notice that is void by operation of that subsection is not a candidate for amendment either, since amendment reaches a notice recorded within its effective period. Where work is going to start later, the filing to plan on is a new notice of commencement rather than a termination of the old one. Our guide to screen enclosure permits in Polk County covers the permit side of a start that slips. If you are assembling that file, the screen enclosure permits guide can help organize it. It does not decide termination.
Where you record it in Polk County, and what the Clerk charges
You record it with the Polk County Clerk, in the county’s official records. Official records can be recorded at any of the three offices in Bartow, Lakeland, or the Northeast Government Center in Lake Alfred.
The Clerk’s published schedule prices recording by the page rather than by document. Current general rows are:
- $10.00 for “First page - Recording, indexing and filing any instrument up to 14 inches x 8.5 inches.”
- $8.50 for each additional page or fraction.
- $1.00 “For indexing instruments recorded in the Official Records that contain more than four names per additional name.”
- $1.00 per page for photographic copies not more than 14 inches by 8 1/2 inches.
- $2.00 for “Certifying copies in Public Record.”
A notice of termination repeats the original notice information and is accompanied by the contractor’s affidavit, so the recorded packet may run more than one page. This page does not promise a page count. Two-page arithmetic, if that is actually what you record, is $18.50 before extra-name, card, or attachment charges, and a certified two-page copy is $4. Those are general Clerk rows, not a flat termination filing price. A service charge is applied to credit card transactions.
For homeowners closer to town, our Lakeland outdoor living service area page covers the work we handle nearby.
Getting the statements wrong is its own risk
Those sworn statements are not a formality, and the statute attaches a consequence to signing one you know is false.
F.S. 713.132(4) reads: “If an owner or a contractor, by fraud or collusion, knowingly makes any fraudulent statement or affidavit in a notice of termination or any accompanying affidavit, the owner and the contractor, or either of them, is liable to any lienor who suffers damages as a result of the filing of the fraudulent notice of termination, and any such lienor has a right of action for damages.”
That is the statute’s language and the limit of what is stated here. If there is any question about whether a lienor has actually been paid, whether service was proper, or whether the affidavit you were handed is complete, take the documents to your own Florida construction attorney before you record anything. This article does not provide legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is a notice of termination of a notice of commencement?
It is a sworn document the owner records to end a notice of commencement’s effective period. F.S. 713.132(1) requires it to contain six specific statements, and 713.132(2) requires the contractor’s affidavit to accompany it. Recording it does not end the period the same day, and it does not wipe out every preserved lien right.
When does a notice of termination take effect?
Thirty days after it is recorded, or on a later date stated in the notice itself. That timing assumes the lienors entitled to service were served before recording. For a qualifying lienor who serves a notice to owner after recording, termination as to that lienor runs 30 days from when they are served.
Do I have to record a notice of termination in Florida?
Nothing in F.S. 713.132 directs every owner to record one. The section says an owner “may” terminate the period of effectiveness, and it sets no deadline. Whether it is worth doing on your project is a question for your own attorney.
Can I amend a notice of commencement after it expires?
No. F.S. 713.13(5)(a) allows amendment of a notice “recorded within the effective period”, so the option closes once the notice is no longer effective. Changing contractors also sits outside amendment and requires a new notice of commencement or a notice of recommencement.
What does it cost to record a notice of termination in Polk County?
The Clerk charges $10.00 for an instrument’s first page and $8.50 for each additional page or fraction. Indexing adds $1.00 per additional name past four. Those are general recording charges rather than a price set for this document, so your total depends on page count, extra names, attachments, and payment method.
Match the filing to where the job actually stands
If the original document is the part you need explained, start with our Polk County notice of commencement guide. If you are still in planning, sunroom permits in Polk County covers what the county wants before the work begins.
Lakeland Outdoor Pro connects homeowners with insured local aluminum crews across Polk County. We do not perform licensed work or provide legal advice. Call (863) 777-5379 to talk through your outdoor living project, and ask the matched crew for the lien-law paperwork up front.