Florida Lis Pendens: How It Works Under Florida Law and How to Find One
A Florida lis pendens only binds buyers once a notice is recorded in the county official records. What Fla. Stat. 48.23 says on expiry, discharge and searching.
Quick answer
In Florida, a lawsuit affects a property against later buyers only if a notice of lis pendens is recorded in the official records of the county where the property sits. Under Fla. Stat. 48.23, the notice generally expires after one year unless it rests on a recorded instrument or a construction lien, or a court extends it.
What is a lis pendens in Florida?
Lis pendens is Latin for "suit pending." Our general explainer on lis pendens covers the concept and the New York version. This article covers only Florida, where one statute does most of the work: Fla. Stat. 48.23.
The section applies to actions in state or federal courts in Florida and to real or personal property "involved therein or to be affected thereby." For land, the key rule is in subsection (1)(a): the action operates as a lis pendens only if a notice is recorded "in the official records of the county where the property is located," and the notice has not expired, been withdrawn or been discharged.
Florida therefore does not treat a filed lawsuit as automatic notice to the world. The recorded notice is what creates the effect. A lawsuit with no recorded notice generally does not appear in a search of the county official records at all.
Definition
Notice of lis pendens (Florida) — A notice recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located, stating that a lawsuit involving or affecting that property is pending. In Florida, the lawsuit operates as a lis pendens only if the notice is recorded and has not expired, been withdrawn or been discharged.
What does a recorded notice do to a buyer or lender?
Subsection (1)(b) draws a line between two kinds of cases. An action "for specific performance or that is not based on a duly recorded instrument" has no effect, except between the parties, on title to the property or on any lien upon it, unless a notice has been recorded and has not expired or been withdrawn or discharged.
The same subsection then protects outsiders when the notice is missing. A person who acquires an interest or lien for value during such an action, other than a party or certain legal successors of a deceased party, takes it exempt from the claims filed in that action by the party who failed to record, and from any judgment in the proceeding. In plain terms: a buyer or lender who closes while no valid notice is on record is generally shielded from that case.
Subsection (1)(d) covers the other direction. While a valid notice is on record, it bars enforcement against the property of interests and liens that were unrecorded when the notice was recorded, unless the holder moves to intervene within 30 days after recording and the court grants the motion. Persons in possession and holders of easements of use are carved out. If the case is prosecuted to a judicial sale and the holder never intervened, the statute says the property "shall be forever discharged from all such unrecorded interests and liens."
A lis pendens is not a lien and states no dollar amount. It is a flag on the record that the property is tied to a pending case.
What must a Florida notice of lis pendens contain?
Subsection (1)(c) lists the required contents. These are the same items you will read on the recorded page, and they tell you where to take the next step.
| Required content under 48.23(1)(c) | Why it matters when you find one |
|---|---|
| The names of the parties | Match them to the owner of record. A same-name stranger is a false hit. |
| The date the action was instituted, the date of the clerk’s electronic receipt, or the case number | Gives you the start of the expiry clock and the key to the court docket. |
| The name of the court where the case is pending | Tells you which docket to read. |
| A description of the property involved or to be affected | Confirms the notice reaches your parcel and not a neighbor’s. |
| A statement of the relief sought as to the property | Shows whether the case is a foreclosure, a title dispute or something else. |
How long does a Florida lis pendens last?
Foreclosures usually fall under the recorded-instrument exception
A mortgage foreclosure is founded on a recorded mortgage, and a construction lien foreclosure is founded on a lien under part I of chapter 713. Those are the two situations the one-year limit in subsection (2) excludes, as long as the pending pleading discloses that basis. That matches what the statute says about judicial sales: a valid recorded notice for a proceeding prosecuted to sale "remains in effect through the recording of any instrument transferring title to the property pursuant to the final judgment" unless it expires, is withdrawn or is otherwise discharged.
A notice tied to a different kind of claim, such as a boundary dispute or a contract suit, does not get that exception unless the pleading rests on a recorded instrument. For those, count one year from the start of the case and check the docket for an extension order.
Is there a lis pendens bond in Florida?
People search for "lis pendens bond Florida," so here is exactly what the statute says. The text of Fla. Stat. 48.23 does not use the word bond and does not set a bond amount.
What it does say is in subsection (3). When the pending pleading does not show that the action is founded on a duly recorded instrument or a chapter 713 lien, or when the action no longer affects the subject property, "the court shall control and discharge the recorded notice of lis pendens as the court would grant and dissolve injunctions."
That wording ties discharge to the court’s injunction powers. Whether a court would require security from the party who recorded, and how much, is a matter for the judge in the case and for a Florida attorney. This article does not state a bond rule that the statute text does not contain.
How is a Florida lis pendens removed?
These are the ways the statute says a notice stops binding the property. Only some of them leave a document in the records.
- Expiration after one year, by operation of subsection (2), with no recording event.
- Withdrawal, which the statute lists alongside expiry and discharge in subsection (1)(a).
- Discharge by the court under subsection (3) when the pleading is not founded on a recorded instrument or chapter 713 lien, or the action no longer affects the property.
- Completion of a judicial sale, after which the property is discharged from unrecorded interests and liens that were not asserted by intervention in time.
- Extension is the opposite event: a court order under subsection (2) can keep an otherwise expiring notice alive, so check for one.
How do I find a lis pendens on a Florida property?
Because the notice is recorded in the county official records, the search runs through the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the parcel sits.
Confirm the county and the current owner of record
Use the property appraiser’s parcel record or the last recorded deed. Parties named in a notice have to be matched against that owner. Our guide on how to find out who owns a property covers this step.
Search the clerk’s official records by owner name
Search the owner and any prior owner, using name variants. Filter or scan for document types such as notice of lis pendens. Coverage start dates differ by clerk, so read what range the index covers before treating a clean result as complete.
Check the recording date against the one-year default
The notice states the filing date, the clerk’s electronic receipt date or the case number. If more than a year has passed, see whether the pleading rests on a recorded instrument or a chapter 713 lien, and whether an extension order exists.
Take the case number to the court docket
The notice names the court and the parties. The docket shows whether the case is active, dismissed, stayed or concluded, and whether a motion to extend or discharge was filed.
Look for the paper that ended it
A withdrawal, a court order discharging the notice, or a recorded instrument transferring title after a judicial sale. Absence of any such paper does not mean the notice is still effective, because expiry leaves none.
Where a title search fits, and what it is not
HeritageDeed runs title searches for six Florida counties, listed on our Florida title search page, including Hillsborough County and Duval County. Prices are $49 for the Current Owner Search, $79 for the Two Owner Search and $129 for the 30-Year Search.
A search reports what is recorded. It is not title insurance and not legal advice. It cannot tell you who is winning a case, whether a notice has expired by statute, or how a judge will rule on an extension. See title search vs title insurance for the difference, and how to check for liens on a property for the other record types that sit beside a lis pendens.
We found no Florida dataset we could cite for a statewide count of notices of lis pendens, so this article gives no statistic. The legal points above come from the statute text as published by the Florida Legislature.
Key takeaways
Key takeaways
- In Florida, a lawsuit operates as a lis pendens on land only if a notice is recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located and has not expired, been withdrawn or been discharged.
- The default life of a notice is one year from commencement of the action, extended by court order or excused when the pleading rests on a recorded instrument or a chapter 713 construction lien.
- Time an action spends in an appellate court does not count toward the one year.
- The statute text does not use the word bond. Discharge is controlled by the court "as the court would grant and dissolve injunctions" in the cases subsection (3) covers.
- Search the county clerk’s official records by owner name, then read the court docket. An old notice in the index may no longer be effective.
- A title search reports recorded facts. It is not title insurance and not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a lis pendens in Florida?
- It is a notice recorded in the official records of the county where the property sits, stating that a lawsuit affecting the property is pending. Under Fla. Stat. 48.23, a lawsuit operates as a lis pendens on the property only while a recorded notice has not expired, been withdrawn or been discharged.
- How long does a lis pendens last in Florida?
- One year from commencement of the action, unless the pleading shows the relief sought is founded on a duly recorded instrument or a chapter 713 construction lien, or a court extends the time for good cause. Time in an appellate court does not count toward the year.
- Is a lis pendens the same as a lien in Florida?
- No. A lien secures an amount against the property. A lis pendens states no amount. It is notice that a case affecting the property is pending, and it ends by expiry, withdrawal, discharge or completion of a judicial sale, not by payment to anyone.
- Is there a lis pendens bond in Florida?
- The text of Fla. Stat. 48.23 does not mention a bond. Subsection (3) says the court controls and discharges certain notices as it would grant and dissolve injunctions. Whether security is required in a given case is for the judge and a Florida attorney to decide.
- Where is a Florida notice of lis pendens recorded?
- In the official records of the county where the property is located, which the clerk of the circuit court keeps. The statute says the notice must be recorded there for the lawsuit to operate as a lis pendens on the property.
- How do I find a lis pendens on a Florida property?
- Search the county clerk’s official records by the owner’s name for a notice of lis pendens, then use the case number on the notice to read the court docket. Check the filing date against the one-year default and look for an extension, withdrawal or discharge.
- Can a buyer be bound by a lawsuit with no recorded notice?
- Generally not. For actions for specific performance or not based on a duly recorded instrument, Fla. Stat. 48.23(1)(b) says a person acquiring an interest for value takes it exempt from the claims and judgment in the case if no valid notice was recorded. Consult a Florida attorney for your facts.
Sources
Primary records and official documentation cited in this article.
HeritageDeed provides public-record search reports only. Reports do not constitute title insurance, an attorney opinion of title, or a title insurance commitment.