Florida 3-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Vacate: Form, Counting, Service

A Florida landlord starts the eviction process for unpaid rent by delivering a written demand that gives the tenant 3 days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, to pay or leave (Fla. Stat. s. 83.56(3)). The notice must be in "substantially the following form" and can be served by mailing it, handing the tenant a true copy, e-mailing it under s. 83.505, or, if the tenant is absent, leaving a copy at the residence.

The statutory wording

Quoted from s. 83.56(3). Fill the blanks; the statute allows "substantially" this form, so do not rewrite it.

You are hereby notified that you are indebted to me in the sum of
______ dollars for the rent and use of the premises (address of
leased premises, including county), Florida, now occupied by you
and that I demand payment of the rent or possession of the premises
within 3 days (excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays) from
the date of delivery of this notice, to wit: on or before the
____ day of ________, (year).

(landlord's name, address and phone number)

How the 3 days are counted

The statute says the default must continue "for 3 days, excluding Saturday, Sunday, and legal holidays, after delivery of written demand by the landlord for payment of the rent or possession of the premises." It adds: "Legal holidays for the purpose of this section shall be court-observed holidays only." Which days your court observes is not listed in Chapter 83; ask the county clerk for the court calendar.

1. Note the day you deliver the notice.
2. Start counting the next day. The statute counts days "after delivery" and does not spell out the mechanics further.
3. Skip every Saturday, Sunday, and court-observed holiday.
4. The third counted day is the date for the "on or before" blank.

Worked example with made-up dates (rent due Sunday, November 1, 2026, and unpaid):

If a court-observed holiday falls inside the count, skip it too and move the date out one day. Chapter 83 does not say on what day a mailed notice counts as delivered; for e-mail, s. 83.505(4) deems it delivered "at the time it is sent, unless the e-mail is returned to the sender as undeliverable." Hand delivery gives you the cleanest date.

How to serve it

Section 83.56(4) allows four methods: "mailing, delivering a true copy thereof, e-mailing in accordance with s. 83.505, or, if the tenant is absent from the premises, by leaving a copy thereof at the residence." Three points:

• E-mail works only if you and the tenant signed the e-mail addendum described in s. 83.505 (added by ch. 2025-16). Without it, use another method.
• Subsection (4) does not use the word "post." The closest method it names is leaving a copy at the residence, and only "if the tenant is absent from the premises."
• The lease cannot waive these notice rules: "The notice requirements of subsections (1)-(3) may not be waived in the rental agreement."

Keep a copy and note how and when you delivered it. For e-mail, s. 83.505(5) requires the sender to keep a copy and "evidence of the transmission."

What happens if you accept rent afterward

Under s. 83.56(5)(a), a landlord who "accepts rent with actual knowledge of a noncompliance by the tenant" waives the right to terminate for that noncompliance, "but not for any subsequent or continuing noncompliance." Partial rent is treated differently: the landlord "does not waive the right" by accepting it. But if partial rent is accepted after posting the notice for nonpayment, the landlord must do one of three things:

1. give the tenant a receipt stating the date and amount received and the agreed-upon date and balance of rent due, before filing an action for possession;
2. place the partial rent in the court registry when filing the action for possession; or
3. post a new 3-day notice reflecting the new amount due.

The history line of s. 83.56 in the 2026 statutes ends "s. 5, ch. 2025-16; s. 2, ch. 2026-143," so check the current text, not an old form or blog.

If the tenant neither pays nor leaves

You file an action for possession in county court under s. 83.59. A landlord's agent "is not permitted to take any action other than the initial filing of the complaint, unless the landlord's agent is an attorney." You may not take possession any other way except in the cases s. 83.59(3) lists: the tenant surrendered or abandoned the unit, or the last remaining tenant has died and that paragraph’s conditions are met. Filing fees, forms, and procedure are outside Chapter 83; ask the clerk. A tenant who raises "the defense of a defective 3-day notice" must pay rent into the court registry (s. 83.60(2)), and under s. 83.60(1)(a) the landlord "must be given an opportunity to cure a deficiency in a notice" before dismissal.

Common mistakes

• Counting Saturdays, Sundays, or court holidays, so the deadline is a day or two early.
• Leaving out the county, "Florida," or the landlord's name, address, and phone number, all of which the form calls for.
• Putting more than rent in the sum. The form says the sum is "for the rent and use of the premises." Under s. 83.43(12), "rent" includes "any other payments due the landlord from the tenant as may be designated as rent in a written rental agreement"; Chapter 83 says nothing more about other charges, so ask a Florida attorney before adding any.
• Taking full rent after serving the notice, then trying to proceed on that default.
• E-mailing the notice with no signed addendum.
• No proof of delivery.

Sources

• Fla. Stat. s. 83.56 — Florida Senate, 2026 Florida Statutes
• Fla. Stat. s. 83.505 — Florida Senate, 2026 Florida Statutes
• Fla. Stat. s. 83.59 — Florida Senate, 2026 Florida Statutes
• Fla. Stat. s. 83.60 — Florida Senate, 2026 Florida Statutes

Related guides

• Florida Security Deposit Law: The 15-Day / 30-Day Timeline (2026)
• Florida Notice of Intent to Claim a Security Deposit (Template)
• What Happens if a Florida Landlord Misses the 30-Day Deposit Deadline
• Florida 7-Day Notice: Cure vs. Unconditional Quit
• Did Florida Change the 3-Day Notice to 5 Days? (SB 716, 2026)
• Can Florida Landlords Send Legal Notices by E-mail? (s. 83.505)
• Florida Landlord Entry Rules: Notice Before Entering (s. 83.53)
• Florida Month-to-Month Lease: Notice to End the Tenancy (s. 83.57)
• Florida Lockouts, Utility Shutoffs and Prohibited Landlord Practices
• Florida Landlord Repair Duty and the Tenant's Rent Defense (s. 83.60)
• Florida Preempts Local Landlord-Tenant Rules: What s. 83.425 Covers

Informational only, not legal advice. Statute text checked against the 2026 Florida Statutes (Chapter 83, Part II) on October 4, 2026. Statutes change every legislative session and a court may read them differently than a summary does; for a dispute, an eviction or anything expensive to get wrong, talk to a Florida landlord-tenant attorney.