What does Florida’s prompt payment law require on private construction?

In Florida, on a written contract to improve real property that supports a construction lien, an owner pays when the contract makes a payment due and the contractor has sent a written request, a contractor pays a subcontractor once it has been paid for that work, and a payment not made within 14 days after it is due bears interest at the s. 55.03 rate plus 12% a year. Payment is also conditioned on the payee furnishing the affidavits or waivers required for the owner to make proper payments under the construction lien law. If a request for payment is incomplete or contains an error, the payer has 14 days to return it with written reasons, and interest then runs from the 14th day after it is corrected. Unless the contract says otherwise, a dispute does not let a payer withhold amounts not affected by the dispute. Where the owner withholds retainage until substantial completion, the balance is due within 14 days after substantial completion, a certificate of occupancy or possession and completion of the punchlist. A payee may not waive the right to interest before a payment is due. A written contract can set its own payment terms where the statute allows. This is Fla. Stat. § 715.12.

WhatFlorida
Payment deadlineInterest from 14 days after due; s. 55.03 rate + 12%
Who this coversPrivate construction, not only public works

What the statute says

“… shall bear interest at the rate specified in s. 55.03 plus an additional 12 percent per annum, computed beginning on the 14th day after payment is due pursuant to subsection (4)”

Quoted word for word from the section’s text.

Source

Fla. Stat. § 715.12

Read the statute in the Florida Statutes (The Florida Senate): flsenate.gov.

Checked against the statute on November 15, 2026.

This is a summary of a published statute, not legal advice. Rules change, local ordinances can add to them, and the terms of a specific lease may differ. Check the citation and speak to a lawyer before acting.

How Seayora uses this rule

A contractor on Seayora keeps every job’s dates, its estimate, its invoices and its payments in one record, so the date work was last performed, the date each invoice went out and the amount still owed are on file when a lien or payment deadline is counted.

Guides on this rule

Compare this rule in every state

More Florida rules

The same question in other states

Related