Guide 04
Florida's lis pendens and notice of action
3 min read · updated October 29, 2026
Florida's foreclosure suits leave two kinds of public trail before any sale: the lis pendens in the county's official records, and, when an owner cannot be found, the notice of action that serves them by publication. Our records hold 3,508 Florida pre-foreclosure cases from 57 counties, with 1,360 first published in the last 30 days; Hillsborough County had the most, with 299.
The lis pendens
A Florida lis pendens is a notice recorded in the county's official records that a lawsuit affecting a property is pending. A foreclosure suit binds later buyers and lenders as a lis pendens only once that notice is recorded.
Section 48.23 says a suit "operates as a lis pendens on any real or personal property involved therein or to be affected thereby only if a notice of lis pendens is recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located" [1]. A lender records one with its foreclosure complaint, so the lis pendens is often the first public sign that a home is in pre-foreclosure. The statute sets what the notice must contain [2]: the parties, the case, the court, a description of the property and the relief sought.
Most notices of lis pendens lapse after a year. Not a mortgage foreclosure's: the notice "is not effectual for any purpose beyond 1 year from the commencement of the action and will expire at that time, unless the relief sought is disclosed by the pending pleading to be founded on a duly recorded instrument" [3], and a recorded mortgage is one.
The notice of action
Florida allows service by publication in a suit "to enforce any legal or equitable lien or claim to any title or interest in real or personal property within the jurisdiction of the court" [4], which takes in a foreclosure. Before it can publish, the lender's attorney swears "that diligent search and inquiry have been made to discover the name and residence of such person" [5]. Then the clerk issues the notice of action, which names the defendants, the nature of the suit and the court, and "the description of real property, if any, proceeded against" [6].
The clock it starts is short. "In foreclosure proceedings, the notice of action shall require the defendant to file written defenses with the clerk of the court and to serve a copy within 30 days after the first publication of the notice" [7]. That date, as each notice prints it, is the response date on every record here.
Unknown heirs, spouses and tenants
A notice of action can serve people the lender cannot name. Publication reaches "the unknown spouse, heirs, devisees, grantees, creditors, or other parties claiming by, through, under, or against any known or unknown person who is known to be dead" [8]. A suit against the unknown heirs of a named owner means that owner has died. The house belongs to heirs who may not know the suit exists, may live elsewhere, and may have no wish to keep it. Records here flag those cases as a deceased owner: 1,632 of them so far.
What the two filings do not tell you
Neither filing says how much is owed today, whether the owner has hired a lawyer, or how the case will end. A notice of action is published only when an owner could not be served in person, so a suit served directly may never print one. The court's docket, kept by the clerk under the case number, is where the case's progress is.
After the answer date
An answer, or a default, moves the case toward a final judgment. Only then is a sale set, 20 to 35 days later [9], and the case becomes a foreclosure. Until the clerk files the certificate of sale, the owner can still cure the debt and stop it [10].
Sources
- [1]Fla. Stat. § 48.23(1)(a) — Florida Legislature“operates as a lis pendens on any real or personal property involved therein or to be affected thereby only if a notice of lis pendens is recorded in the official records of the county where the property is located”
- [2]Fla. Stat. § 48.23(1)(c) — Florida Legislature“A notice of lis pendens must contain the following”
- [3]Fla. Stat. § 48.23(2) — Florida Legislature“A notice of lis pendens is not effectual for any purpose beyond 1 year from the commencement of the action and will expire at that time, unless the relief sought is disclosed by the pending pleading to be founded on a duly recorded instrument”
- [4]Fla. Stat. § 49.011(1) — Florida Legislature“To enforce any legal or equitable lien or claim to any title or interest in real or personal property within the jurisdiction of the court”
- [5]Fla. Stat. § 49.041(1) — Florida Legislature“That diligent search and inquiry have been made to discover the name and residence of such person”
- [6]Fla. Stat. § 49.08 — Florida Legislature“The description of real property, if any, proceeded against.”
- [7]Fla. Stat. § 49.09 — Florida Legislature“In foreclosure proceedings, the notice of action shall require the defendant to file written defenses with the clerk of the court and to serve a copy within 30 days after the first publication of the notice”
- [8]Fla. Stat. § 49.021(1) — Florida Legislature“the unknown spouse, heirs, devisees, grantees, creditors, or other parties claiming by, through, under, or against any known or unknown person who is known to be dead or is not known to be either dead or alive”
- [9]Fla. Stat. § 45.031(1)(a) — Florida Legislature“the court shall direct the clerk to sell the property at public sale on a specified day that shall be not less than 20 days or more than 35 days after the date thereof”
- [10]Fla. Stat. § 45.0315 — Florida Legislature“At any time before the later of the filing of a certificate of sale by the clerk of the court or the time specified in the judgment, order, or decree of foreclosure, the mortgagor or the holder of any subordinate interest may cure the mortgagor's indebtedness and prevent a foreclosure sale”
Questions
What is a lis pendens in Florida?
A notice recorded in the official records of the county where a property is, saying a lawsuit affecting it is pending. Under section 48.23, a suit operates as a lis pendens on the property only if the notice is recorded. Anyone who buys or lends against the property afterwards takes it subject to the suit.
How long does a lis pendens last in Florida?
A year from the start of the suit, unless the suit is founded on a duly recorded instrument, such as a recorded mortgage, or a construction lien, or the court extends it. A mortgage foreclosure's lis pendens therefore stays in effect while the case is pending.
What is a notice of action in a Florida foreclosure?
The notice the clerk issues, and the lender has published, to serve a defendant who could not be served in person. It names the defendants, describes the suit, the court and the property, and requires each defendant to file written defenses and serve a copy on the lender's attorney within 30 days after its first publication.
What happens if the owner does not answer the notice of action?
The lender can ask the court for a default, which moves the case toward a final judgment faster. It is still not a sale: in Florida no sale can be set until the judgment, and the sale comes 20 to 35 days after it.
Where next
- Pre-foreclosures by stateEvery state and county we cover, with new filings this week.
- Search every caseBy county, owner, lender, case number, street or ZIP code.
- Pre-foreclosure guidesWhat a pre-foreclosure is, how it differs from a foreclosure, Florida's lis pendens, and how to buy one.
- Pre-foreclosure glossaryLis pendens, notice of action, unknown heirs, reinstatement, deed in lieu: every term a filing uses.
General information about Florida procedure, not legal advice. Florida statutes change, and every case moves on its own docket; confirm a case with the clerk of court before you act.