Certifying Contents of Safe-Deposit Box Requirements

 If the rental due on a safe-deposit box has not been paid for 3 months, the lessor may send a notice by certified mail to the last known address of the lessee stating that the safe-deposit box will be opened and its contents stored at the expense of the lessee unless payment of the rental is made within 30 days. 

 If the rental is not paid within 30 days from the mailing of the notice, the box may be opened in the presence of an officer of the lessor AND of a notary public.

 The notary public shall execute a certificate reciting the name of the lessee, the date of the opening of the box, and a list of its contents.  

  The contents shall be sealed in a package by a notary public who shall write on the outside the name of the lessee and the date of the opening. 

 The certificate shall be included in the package, and a copy of the certificate shall be sent by certified mail to the last known address of the lessee.

 The package shall then be placed in the general vaults of the lessor at a rental not exceeding the rental previously charged for the box.

The lessor has a lien on the package and its contents to the extent of any rental due and owing plus the actual, reasonable costs of removing the contents from the safe-deposit box.” Fla. Stat. § 655.94(1).