Mechanic's Lien Deadlines & Notice Requirements by State
How long does a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier have to file a mechanic's lien, and what notices does the law require along the way?
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Every entry, oldest check August 11, 2026
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What this survey covers
A mechanic's lien (also called a construction lien, materialman's lien, or, in Louisiana, a statement of claim or privilege) gives a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or laborer a security interest in the real property they improved when they aren't paid. It is one of the most deadline-driven areas of everyday business law: courts read these statutes strictly, and missing a single date, by even one day, can permanently forfeit an otherwise valid claim.
Every state runs its own version of the same basic sequence — notify, file, serve, sue — but the day counts, the triggering events, and the consequences of a missed step vary sharply from state to state. This survey answers one question, state by state: how long do you have to act, and what notice does the law require along the way? Each state's page states the rule in plain English, quotes the statute it comes from, and shows the date we last verified the statutory text.
How to read the table
Each column is one requirement in the notify-file-serve-sue sequence, answered the same way for every state, with the statutory citation compressed into the cell. Click a state for the full plain-English page: the requirements one by one, the traps people actually hit, and the verbatim statutory text with official source links.
What the table shows
Preliminary notice. The most common pattern is a notice required from claimants who didn't contract directly with the owner (subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and suppliers) but not from the owner's own direct contractor — California, Florida, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Washington all follow this shape. A sizable minority require no preliminary notice from anyone at all (Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Nebraska, New York, West Virginia, and several more make it optional at most). A few jurisdictions go further in either direction: Rhode Island and the District of Columbia use a lien-perfecting notice rather than a universal separate advance notice; Rhode Island also requires direct contractors to give a pre-work notice to preserve their own liens. Vermont makes the notice a precondition to having a lien at all for non-privity claimants, not just a step that preserves one; and Wyoming requires two separate mandatory notices on two different clocks, with an explicit forfeiture penalty for missing the earlier one.
Deadline to sue to foreclose. One year after the lien is filed is the single most common rule (Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas, among others), with six months after filing close behind (Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Nevada, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia). The shortest window found is Rhode Island's, which can run as short as 40 days from recording; the longest are the two-year windows in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Delaware is the clearest outlier structurally: its statement of claim doubles as the enforcement complaint, so there's no separate foreclosure deadline distinct from the filing deadline at all.
Homestead and residential property. Several states address the homestead question head-on in their own statutory text: Alaska, North Dakota, and the District of Columbia all have express language confirming a mechanic's lien is NOT blocked by the general homestead exemption, and Vermont's lien chapter says outright that it applies to homestead property. Others, like Wyoming, leave the interaction unresolved by the plain text — the homestead exemption statute simply doesn't mention construction liens one way or the other, so the honest answer is that the statute itself doesn't say.
State by state
Every column answered the same way for each jurisdiction. Open a state for the full page, with the statute text and the date it was checked.
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| State | Governing law | Who can claim a lien | Preliminary notice | Deadline to file the lien | Notice of completion effect | Serving the lien on the owner | Deadline to sue to foreclose | Homestead/residential extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama verified 2026-10-06 | Ala. Code Title 35, Ch. 11, Art. 5, Div. 8 (§§ 35-11-210–234), Mechanics and Materialmen |
Covered labor, materials, fixtures, machinery and related services under § 35-11-210; employee/material-supplier claims can be limited to the owner’s unpaid contractor balance unless a qualifying advance material notice creates the full-price route; § 35-11-219 can forfeit an original contractor’s lien for specified list/payment failures |
A supplier seeking the full-price route gives the owner specified material and price notice before furnishing (§ 35-11-210). Section 35-11-218 otherwise requires a claimant other than the original contractor to give written owner notice of the lien claim before filing; it expressly excepts material covered by the advance § 210 notice |
File the verified statement within six months for an original contractor, 30 days for a journeyman or day laborer, and four months for another lien claimant, measured from the last work or materials (§§ 35-11-213, -215) |
The filed-statement limit in § 35-11-215 runs from the claimant’s last work or materials; Division 8 has no owner-recorded completion-notice trigger |
The § 35-11-218 notice is delivered before the verified statement is filed, except for the original contractor and the advance-notice material route. Sections 35-11-213 and -216 govern filing with and recording by the probate judge; no separate post-recording owner-copy step appears in Division 8 |
Commence suit within six months after the entire secured indebtedness matures (§ 35-11-221), not six months after recording |
Division 8 has no separate residential or homestead filing or notice clock; the tiered §§ 35-11-215 and -218 rules apply to improvements without a residential classification |
| Alaska verified 2026-10-06 | Alaska Stat. §§ 34.35.050–.120 (mechanics and materialmen); § 09.38.065 governs the homestead exception |
Labor, materials, equipment, design/survey services, employee-benefit trust payments, and general-contractor claims described in § 34.35.050; § 34.35.115 deems persons having charge of work the owner’s agent for the lien article |
Before furnishing, a claimant may give an optional notice of right to lien to the owner or agent (§ 34.35.064), shifting the knowledge-and-consent burden; recording that notice before or within the § 34.35.068(b)(1) 15-day period can preserve the 120-day lien filing limit |
Without a completion notice, record within 120 days after contract completion or ceasing to furnish (§ 34.35.068(a)). With one, § 34.35.068(b)(1) requires specified claimants to record a claim or notice of right to lien within 15 days; subsection (b)(2) preserves the 120-day claim period for claimants who record that notice before/within 15 days or gave it without receiving advance completion notice |
The owner may record after actual completion; § 34.35.071(a)(2) requires at least five days’ advance notice to claimants who gave right-to-lien or stop-lending notice more than 10 days before recording. An early completion notice is ineffective (§ 34.35.071(d)); a valid notice activates § 34.35.068(b) |
No post-recording owner-service step appears in §§ 34.35.050–.120; § 34.35.070 specifies the sworn lien claim’s content, while § 34.35.064 concerns the optional earlier notice |
Six months from recording to commence suit, or record an extension notice during that period and sue within six months after the extension (§ 34.35.080(a)) |
The $54,000 principal-residence homestead in § 09.38.010 does not bar a claim for labor or materials improving that property or impair a statutory lien (§ 09.38.065(a)(2)(B), (b)) |
| Arizona verified 2026-10-06 | A.R.S. Title 33, ch. 7, art. 6 (§§ 33-981 to 33-1008), "Liens on Property"; a traditional single-article statutory lien law, not tied to a uniform act |
Labor and listed service or material suppliers (§ 33-981(A)); required contractor license and professional registration are gates (§ 33-981(C), (E)); a design professional also needs an agreement in the owner contract chain (§ 33-981(F)) |
A written preliminary 20-day notice to the owner, original contractor, and construction lender is a "necessary prerequisite to the validity of any claim of lien" for everyone except a person performing actual labor for wages; due within 20 days of first furnishing, late notice protects only work from 20 days before it's served (§ 33-992.01) |
120 days after statutory completion, separately for each building in a multi-building residential project; where there is no permit or no final inspection and acceptance, completion is last furnishing (§ 33-993(A)-(D)) |
An owner-recorded notice of completion shortens filing to 60 days after recording; completion is the earlier of 30 days after final permit inspection and written acceptance or 60 days of work stoppage, with a no-permit fallback (§ 33-993(A), (C)-(E)) |
The claimant records one copy of the notice and claim of lien with the county recorder and, within a reasonable time after, serves the other copy on the owner if the owner can be found in the county (§ 33-993(A)); the statute does not tie a missed or late service to forfeiture of the lien itself |
Within 6 months of recording, bring an action and record notice of pendency; a timely answer or cross-claim asserting the lien counts when another lien claimant sues (§ 33-998(A)) |
A covered owner-occupant dwelling requires the claimant’s written contract directly with that owner-occupant; waiver is void (§ 33-1002(B)-(C)) |
| Arkansas verified 2026-10-06 | Ark. Code §§ 18-44-101 to -135 (Subchapter 1, General Provisions), part of the Mechanics' and Materialmen's Liens chapter (Title 18, Subtitle 4, Ch. 44), as amended by enrolled Acts 1298 (1995), 2287 (2005), 454 (2009), 808 (2017), 806 (2019), and 984 (2021) |
Every contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier (as defined in § 18-44-107) who supplies labor, services, material, fixtures, engines, boilers, or machinery under a contract with the owner, proprietor, contractor, or subcontractor (§ 18-44-101(a)); a separate section extends the same lien to architects, engineers, surveyors, appraisers, landscapers, abstractors, or title insurance agents, but only under a WRITTEN agreement with the owner (§ 18-44-105(a)) |
Residential real estate of 4 or fewer units: the residential contractor gives the owner pre-work notice for potential claimants; bond and defined direct-sale exceptions apply (§ 18-44-115(a)(1),(3),(8)). Commercial real estate: subcontractors, suppliers and service providers send notice of nonpayment to owner and contractor within 75 days of furnishing (§ 18-44-115(b)(3)-(5)) |
120 days after the labor or materials were last furnished or the work last performed, filed with the circuit clerk of the county where the property sits (§ 18-44-117(a)(1)) |
The cited filing rule runs 120 days from furnishing the covered work or materials; it does not use a recorded notice of completion as its trigger (§ 18-44-117(a)(1)) |
Before filing, every claimant gives the owner 10 days' written notice of the claim (§ 18-44-114(a)); the lien account includes an affidavit, applicable notices and proof of service, and the clerk cannot file an account without required attachments (§ 18-44-117(a)(3), (b)(3)). |
15 months after the lien is filed to both commence suit and record a lis pendens, or the lien 'shall not continue to exist' (§ 18-44-119(a)-(b)) |
For residential property of 4 or fewer units, the pre-work notice has a bond or direct-sale exception. A direct sale requires the owner to order from the lien claimant AND the claimant not to be a home-improvement or residential-building contractor (§ 18-44-115(a)(8)) |
| California verified 2026-10-06 | Cal. Civ. Code §§ 8400–8494 (private construction liens); preliminary notice and completion rules appear in §§ 8180–8204 |
Direct contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, equipment lessors, laborers, and design professionals (§ 8400); required contractor licensure limits enforcement (Bus. & Prof. Code § 7031(c)) |
Generally due within 20 days after first furnishing; laborers exempt, owner-direct claimants notify only the lender if any; late notice covers only work from 20 days before service onward (§§ 8200, 8204) |
Direct contractor: after its contract ends and before 90 days after completion, or 60 days after an effective recorded completion/cessation notice; other claimants: after ceasing work and before 90 or 30 days, respectively (§§ 8412, 8414) |
Recorded completion/cessation notice cuts 90 days to 60 for direct contractors and 30 for others; ordinarily the owner must send copies within 10 days or the shortened period is ineffective for an unnotified covered claimant (§§ 8190, 8412, 8414) |
Serve the lien claim and statutory warning on the owner by permitted mail, with proof in the claim; failure makes the lien unenforceable (§ 8416(a)(7)–(8), (c), (e)) |
Sue within 90 days after recording; a recorded credit-extension agreement may extend the suit deadline, but never beyond one year after completion (§ 8460) |
An owner occupying a personal residence with 4 or fewer units is exempt from the duty to send copies of a recorded completion/cessation notice (§ 8190(d)(1)); other lien deadlines still apply |
| Colorado verified 2026-10-06 | C.R.S. Title 38, Art. 22 (§§ 38-22-101 to -133), the "General Mechanics' Lien" article; an 1899-vintage act amended piecemeal, not a modern recast or uniform act |
Laborers, mechanics, suppliers, contractors, subcontractors, builders, and listed design professionals (§ 38-22-101(1)); an owner-contractor contract over $500 must be signed and filed before work, or supplied labor and materials are treated as furnished at the owner's instance (§ 38-22-101(3)) |
None during the work itself. Instead, a written "notice of intent to file a lien statement" must be served on the owner (or agent) and the prime contractor (or agent) at least 10 days before the lien statement is filed, by personal service or certified/registered mail (§ 38-22-109(3)) |
4 months after the claimant's own last labor or materials furnished, for everyone except pure laborers (no materials furnished), who get only 2 months after completion of the project (§ 38-22-109(4)-(5)); abandoning the job for 3 continuous months counts as completion for this purpose (§ 38-22-109(7)) |
No owner-recorded completion notice shortens the statutory period. A claimant's optional recorded notice extends its filing window to the earlier of 4 months after completion or 6 months after that notice (§ 38-22-109(10)) |
No separate step to serve a copy of the recorded lien statement itself. Colorado's owner-facing service happens before filing, not after: the 10-day notice of intent to file must reach both the owner and the prime contractor (§ 38-22-109(3)) |
6 months after the last work, last materials furnished, or completion (whichever the filing deadline ran from) to commence a foreclosure action and record notice that the action was commenced, or the lien stops holding the property (§ 38-22-110) |
An existing or owner-built primary home may have a payment defense (§ 38-22-102(3.5)); a late lien on a one- or two-family dwelling faces a bona fide purchaser limit with knowledge, prior-recording, and claimant-notice exceptions (§ 38-22-125) |
| Connecticut verified 2026-08-12 | Conn. Gen. Stat. Title 49, Chapter 847, "Liens" (§§ 49-33 to 49-40), a purely statutory right with no common-law counterpart; a separate Home Improvement Act (Title 20, Ch. 400, principally § 20-429) layers an additional contract-formality requirement onto residential improvement work: see homestead dimension |
Anyone with a claim over $10 for materials or services in constructing, raising, removing, or repairing a building, or improving/subdividing a lot or plot of land, by agreement with or consent of the owner or someone rightfully acting for the owner (§ 49-33(a)); a subcontractor gets the identical lien, subrogated to the original contractor's rights but capped at what the owner still owes that contractor (§ 49-33(e)-(f)). Connecticut courts, not the statute's text, have extended lien rights to architects, engineers, and surveyors whose work satisfies a judicially-created "physical enhancement" test |
The original contractor, and a subcontractor whose contract with the original contractor is written and mutually assented to in writing, don't need to send one; every other claimant, an unwritten-contract subcontractor or a material supplier, must give the owner AND the original contractor written notice of intent to claim a lien, no later than 90 days after ceasing to furnish (§ 49-35(a)). An original contractor is only entitled to receive that notice if they recorded a business-name/address affidavit with the town clerk within 15 days of starting work |
One flat deadline for every claimant, with no tiering by claimant type: lodge a sworn certificate with the town clerk of the town where the property sits within 90 days after ceasing to furnish services or materials (§ 49-34(1)) |
None. Chapter 847 has no owner-recorded notice of completion or cessation mechanism; the 90-day filing clock always runs from the claimant's own last day of furnishing, though Connecticut courts have held that trivial work performed after substantial completion (punch-list or warranty work) doesn't restart it |
Not later than 30 days after lodging the certificate, the claimant must serve a true and attested copy on the owner, using the same personal-service, abode-service, or registered/certified-mail method set out for the § 49-35 notice; a mechanic's lien "is not valid" without both the timely certificate and this service (§ 49-34(2)) |
1 year from the date the lien was recorded to commence a foreclosure action and record a notice of lis pendens, extendable by 60 days after the final disposition of a discharge/reduction application under § 49-35a; miss it and the lien "shall be invalid and discharged as a matter of law" (§ 49-39) |
No rule inside Chapter 847 itself turns on homestead status, but the separate Home Improvement Act (§ 20-429) requires a general contractor's contract for residential improvement work to be written, signed and dated by both parties, and to include the contractor's registration number, a cancellation-rights notice, and start/completion dates; Connecticut courts have held that a general contractor who fails to meet these requirements cannot enforce a mechanic's lien against the homeowner, though a subcontractor's own lien rights survive the general's noncompliance because the Act's requirements don't reach subcontractors |
| Delaware verified 2026-10-06 | Title 25, Chapter 27 of the Delaware Code governs mechanics’ liens. Subchapter I provides general rules, Subchapter II governs Superior Court claims and scire facias proceedings, and Subchapter III governs Justice of the Peace proceedings. |
Section 2702(a) covers a person furnishing more than $25 in labor or material under an express or implied contract with the owner, the owner’s agent, an owner-contracted contractor, or a subcontractor. Section 2702(b) includes specified trades and architects. Section 2722 excludes an owner’s interest for work ordered by a tenant without the owner’s prior written consent. |
Chapter 27 imposes no general advance notice from a claimant before or during private work. Section 2705 instead lets an owner demand a written list of potential labor and material claimants from a contractor or subcontractor; failure to provide the list within 10 days stops further owner payments until the list is furnished and denies the demanded party’s own chapter rights. |
A direct owner contractor who furnished both labor and material, or construction management services, files a statement of claim within 180 days after structure completion; § 2711(a)(2) lists nine alternative events that also make filing within 180 days timely. Other eligible people file within 120 days after completing their own labor or last delivering materials; § 2711(b) also deems filing timely within 120 days after final payment, including retainage, is due to them or final payment is made to the contractor with whom they contracted. |
Section 2711(a) lists completion events for the direct contractor’s 180-day period, including contractual completion, final invoice, certificate of occupancy, owner acceptance, certificate of completion, and permanent financing. Chapter 27 has no owner-recorded notice of completion that shortens the statutory filing period. |
File the statement of claim with the county Superior Court Prothonotary; the statement may also serve as a complaint when denominated as one (§ 2712(a)). Recovery proceedings use a writ of scire facias (§ 2714). Section 2715 directs service of that writ on the defendant and a copy at the structure, by leaving it with a resident there or sheriff posting if unoccupied. |
Sections 2711 and 2712 set the deadline for the Superior Court statement of claim, which may also serve as a complaint. Section 2714 requires a scire facias writ to recover the claim. Chapter 27 states no separate deadline measured from a timely statement for a later enforcement suit or writ. |
For a structure used solely as the owner’s residence, § 2707 bars a lien after the owner made full or final good-faith payment to the contractor with whom the owner contracted. At or before payment, that contractor must provide either a notarized payment certification or a release signed by all potential claimants with the specified notarized certification. Payment after service of the § 2715 process is not good faith; if full good-faith payment has not occurred, perfected claims share only the balance due to the contractor pro rata. |
| District of Columbia verified 2026-10-06 | D.C. Code Title 40, Chapter 3, §§ 40-301.01–40-303.20a, provides the private construction lien and its notice and enforcement procedure. Sections 40-301.01 and 40-303.01 cover direct contractors and people directly employed by them; § 47-2883.03 adds a home-improvement payment defense. |
The contractor who contracted with the owner may claim under § 40-301.01. Section 40-303.01 gives the same rights and obligations, subject to chapter limits, to a subcontractor, materialman, or laborer directly employed by that contractor. Section 40-303.02(a) limits those downstream liens to the unpaid amount due or to become due to the original contractor. Good-faith full payment to the original contractor bars a downstream lien under § 40-303.02(b); a downstream claimant's written notice of an amount due while sufficient owner funds remain is prima facie evidence that later payment to the original contractor was not in good faith. Under § 40-301.02(b)(7), the recorded notice must include applicable current business-license and good-standing documents to the extent available under applicable law; § 40-301.02(a)(1) voids a notice that fails subsection (b). |
Sections 40-301.02 and 40-303.01 establish no separate prework notice as a condition for recording the lien: the notice of intent is recorded during construction or within 90 days after the earlier of completion or termination. A subcontractor, materialman, or supplier may separately notify the owner in writing of an amount due while sufficient funds remain; § 40-303.02(b) makes that notice prima facie evidence against good faith for later payments to the original contractor. |
Record the notice of intent during construction or within 90 days after the earlier of completion or termination of the project (§ 40-301.02(a)(1)). The same obligation applies to directly employed subcontractors, materialmen, and laborers through § 40-303.01. A late recording terminates the lien; a notice lacking the subsection (b) content is void. |
Section 40-301.02(a)(1) measures the 90 days from actual project completion or termination and prescribes no owner-recorded notice that shortens that period. |
Under § 40-301.02(a)(2), mail a copy of the recorded notice of intent to the owner by certified mail within 5 business days of recording; post a copy at the property if the mail is returned unclaimed or undelivered. Section 40-303.01 subjects direct subcontractors to that same obligation. Section 40-303.03 additionally directs a subcontractor or other person employed by the contractor to leave a copy with the owner or resident agent, or post it if neither can be found. Until that step is done, the owner may pay the original contractor under the contract and reduce the downstream lien to the extent of those payments. |
File suit to enforce the lien within 180 days after recording a valid notice of intent, then record a notice of pendency of action within 10 days after filing suit (§ 40-303.13(a)(1)). Failure to meet either deadline terminates the lien (§ 40-303.13(a)(2)). |
If work is under a home improvement contract as defined in § 40-301.03(2), attach a copy to the recorded notice (§ 40-301.02(b)(8)). For home improvement work, proof that the owner or occupant paid the person offering to perform or arrange the work is a defense that voids a lien under § 47-2883.03. Section 15-501(a)(14) exempts the debtor's residential real-property interest from execution but expressly preserves a mechanic's lien. |
| Florida verified 2026-10-04 | Fla. Stat. ch. 713, Part I, Construction Lien Law (§§ 713.001-713.37) |
Contractor, subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, laborer, materialman, and professional lienor (§ 713.01(19), § 713.03); unlicensed contractors/subs barred from any lien (§ 713.02(7)) |
Most nonprivity lienors must serve a Notice to Owner before or within 45 days after first furnishing; laborers and § 713.03 professional lienors are excepted; missed timing is a complete defense (§§ 713.06(2)(a), 713.03) |
Claim of lien must be recorded no later than 90 days after the lienor's final furnishing of labor, services, or materials (§ 713.08(5)) |
A § 713.07(4) recorded recommencement affidavit gives prior-work lienors 30 days to record to retain priority; a terminated-contract claim is due by the earlier of 90 days after termination or final furnishing (§ 713.08(5)) |
A copy of the claim of lien must be served on the owner before recording or within 15 days after; a late or missing copy makes the lien voidable only to the extent the delay actually prejudiced someone (§ 713.08(4)(c)) |
1 year after recording the claim of lien (or an amended claim showing a later furnishing date), unless the owner records a Notice of Contest of Lien, which shortens the window to 60 days from service (§ 713.22(1)-(2)) |
If spouses are not separated and living apart, § 713.12 may bind the noncontracting spouse's property interest unless that spouse gives and records an objection within 10 days after learning of the contract; § 713.02(5) has a $2,500 direct-contract exemption |
| Georgia verified 2026-10-06 | Mechanics' and Materialmen's Liens, O.C.G.A. Title 44, Ch. 14, Art. 8, Pt. 3 (§§ 44-14-360 to 44-14-369), a statutory 'special lien' scheme |
Mechanics, contractors, subcontractors, materialmen furnishing to subcontractors, laborers furnishing to subcontractors/materialmen, registered architects/foresters/land surveyors/professional engineers/interior designers, machinists/manufacturers of machinery, railroad contractors, and suppliers of rental tools/equipment (§ 44-14-361(a)); the statutory categories are enumerated in § 44-14-361(a) |
No mandatory notice before work starts. A claimant may optionally file a 'preliminary notice of lien rights' within 30 days of first delivering labor/material (§ 44-14-361.3), but it's never a prerequisite to filing a lien. Separately, if the owner or contractor filed a 'Notice of Commencement,' any claimant without privity of contract with the general contractor must send a 'notice to contractor' within 30 days of that filing or 30 days of first furnishing, whichever is later (§ 44-14-361.5); if no Notice of Commencement was ever filed, this notice requirement doesn't apply at all |
90 days after completion of the work (or after material/machinery is furnished), filed with the clerk of superior court in the county where the property is located (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(2)) |
No owner filing shortens the 90-day lien-filing deadline itself. A related but distinct device lets an owner or contractor send a 'demand for filing of claim of lien' that dissolves only an already-filed OPTIONAL preliminary notice of lien rights if the claimant doesn't record an actual lien within 10 days of the demand (§ 44-14-361.4) — it cancels a voluntary early filing, not the underlying 90-day right |
No later than 2 business days after filing, send the owner a true copy by registered/certified mail or statutory overnight delivery; if a notice of commencement was filed, also send the contractor a copy (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(2)) |
365 days from the date the claim of lien was filed to commence a lien action, plus a separate requirement to file a notice with the clerk within 30 days after starting that action (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(3)). An owner or contractor can shorten this to 60 days from receipt by recording and serving a formal 'Notice of Contest of Lien' (§ 44-14-368) |
Minimal: the 90-day filing deadline, 2-day service rule, and 365-day suit deadline are identical for residential and commercial property. The only residential-specific wrinkle is in the optional demand-to-file-a-claim mechanism: on residential property a demand can be sent at any time, while on other property the demand can't be sent until the claimant's contract is substantially complete or terminated (§ 44-14-361.4(a)(3)-(4)) |
| Hawaii verified 2026-10-06 | Haw. Rev. Stat. Title 28, Chapter 507, Part II, 'Mechanic's and Materialman's Lien' (§§ 507-41 to 507-49) — a national outlier in mechanism: the lien isn't created by recording a document with a county recorder. A claimant applies to the CIRCUIT COURT for an 'Application For A Lien' and 'Notice Of Lien,' and the lien doesn't attach to the property until the court holds a hearing and finds probable cause and so orders |
Broad by design (§ 507-42): 'any person or association of persons furnishing labor or material in the improvement of real property.' § 507-41 defines 'labor' to include 'professional services rendered in furnishing the plans for or in the supervision of the improvement,' so architects, engineers, and surveyors are covered by the statute's own definition. Subcontractors and materialmen have an independent lien, not derived through the general contractor. But § 507-49(b) imposes a strict, no-fault license bar: if a general contractor, or a subcontractor who was required to be licensed, wasn't actually licensed under Hawaii's contractor-licensing chapter when the work was done, then neither that party NOR anyone it subcontracted to (even a properly licensed sub-tier party) has lien rights for that work — there's no carve-out for a lower-tier party who didn't know its hiring party lacked a license |
No preliminary notice is required to preserve lien rights; nothing in Part II conditions a claimant's lien on any notice sent before or during the work |
45 days after the project's 'date of completion' (§ 507-43(b)) — but 'date of completion' is itself a defined, sometimes-manipulable event rather than simply the day work wraps up; see Notice of completion effect. The claimant's Application For A Lien and accompanying Notice Of Lien must be FILED with the circuit court, not merely served, within this window If the affected title is registered in the Land Court (other than the specified timeshare interest), a certified attachment order must also be filed with the assistant registrar within 7 days after entry to preserve rights against later encumbrancers and buyers (§ 507-43(b)). |
Genuinely consequential in Hawaii, unlike most states: an owner or general contractor may publish a notice of completion (twice, 7 days apart, in a newspaper of general circulation, plus a filed affidavit of publication) once substantial completion or actual abandonment has already happened; a contractor can't publish it until first making written demand on the owner to do so and waiting 5 days (§ 507-43(f)). Publishing that notice sets the 'date of completion' that starts the 45-day filing clock. If no valid notice of completion is ever published, § 507-43(g) deems the 'date of completion' to be one year after actual completion or abandonment — so a claimant effectively gets up to 12 months plus 45 days to file if nobody ever publishes one |
Service is built into the lien-creation process itself, not a separate step after filing: a copy of the Application and Notice must be served 'in the manner prescribed by law for service of summons' upon the property owner, anyone with an interest in the property, and the party who contracted for the improvement if different from the owner (§ 507-43(a)). If a required party can't be served that way, the claimant may instead post notice on the improvement itself. The court cannot enter the order attaching the lien until this service is complete and the parties have had an opportunity to appear at a hearing held 3 to 10 days after service |
3 months — measured from a different event than most states: not from filing or recording, but from the circuit court's Order Directing Lien to Attach (§ 507-43(e)). The lien 'expire[s]' 3 months after that order unless the claimant commences an enforcement action within that time. A demand for payment (which can be built into the original Application itself) is a separate prerequisite the claimant must satisfy before that enforcement action can proceed (§ 507-47) |
Two distinct residential-specific rules. First, § 507-49(a): for property used primarily for dwelling purposes before the work, no lien exists for a materials supplier to a contractor or subcontractor who was required to be licensed but wasn't, or if the supplier gave 'unreasonable advancement of credit' to the contractor or subcontractor regardless of that party's own licensing status; reasonableness is decided at the return-day hearing (or later if the affected party didn't appear), and obtaining a credit application with specified information, or making a reasonable credit inquiry, creates a 'prima facie reasonable' presumption. Second, Haw. Rev. Stat. § 444-25.5 (outside Chapter 507): before or when a homeowner signs a home construction or improvement contract, a licensed contractor must verbally explain in detail all parties' lien rights and the homeowner's bonding option, then provide a signed written contract containing that disclosure. Hawaii courts have held that skipping this disclosure makes the contract void as a deceptive trade practice, which in turn strips the contractor of lien rights under § 507-42 entirely |
| Idaho verified 2026-10-06 | Idaho Code Title 45, Chapter 5 governs liens of mechanics and materialmen; §§ 45-501, 45-507, 45-510 and 45-525 address entitlement, recording, duration and residential disclosures. Section 54-5208 of the Contractor Registration Act separately restricts an unregistered contractor’s lien rights. Section 45-518 permits release of a recorded lien by a surety bond under §§ 45-519–45-524. |
Section 45-501 covers people performing construction labor or furnishing materials and professional engineers or licensed surveyors under contract; it deems listed project participants the owner’s agents for the chapter. Section 45-504 separately covers owner-requested lot improvements. Under § 54-5208, a contractor required to register but unregistered conclusively waives lien rights. Its exception protects listed registered subcontractors or independent contractors, employees, and material suppliers only if they lacked actual knowledge of the registration defect or reasonably believed the contractor was registered. |
Chapter 5 prescribes no general notice to the owner before work as a condition of lien filing. A general contractor must give the § 45-525 disclosure before entering a covered residential contract over $2,000; the owner-service requirement after recording is separate (§ 45-507(5)). |
Record the claim with the county recorder within 90 days after completion of the claimant’s labor or services or furnishing of materials (§ 45-507(1)-(2)). The claim must include the statutory information and, for covered residential work, proof of the § 45-525 disclosure and acknowledgment (§ 45-507(3)(e)). |
Section 45-507(2) measures 90 days from completing labor or services or furnishing materials. Chapter 5 provides no owner-recorded notice of completion that shortens this period. |
Serve a true and correct copy of the recorded claim on the owner or reputed owner within 5 business days after filing, either by personal delivery through an officer authorized to serve process or by certified mail to the last known address (§ 45-507(5)). A deed-of-trust trustee is not an owner for this chapter (§ 45-507(6)). |
A lien binds the property for no longer than 6 months after filing unless proceedings to enforce it begin in proper court within that time (§ 45-510(1)). A payment on account or credit extension with its expiration date, endorsed on the lien record as specified there, instead gives 6 months after the payment date or the credit-extension expiration. A lien judgment ceases 10 years after finality. |
Before a covered contract over $2,000 for residential real property of one to four units, the general contractor gives the § 45-525(2) rights disclosure and obtains an acknowledgment of receipt. Section 45-525(3) requires a signed list of directly hired subcontractors, materialmen and rental-equipment providers whose work or materials exceed $500 before closing or final payment. Failure to disclose is a deceptive practice under subsection (4); § 45-507(3)(e) requires proof of disclosure and acknowledgment in the lien claim. Subsection (6) excludes specified homeowner-initiated emergency and utility repairs. |
| Illinois verified 2026-10-06 | Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60/0.01 et seq. (enacted 1903, private-works lien scheme) |
'Contractor' has a direct contract with the owner (§ 1(a)); 'subcontractor' is broadly any 'mechanic, worker, or other person' who furnishes labor, services, materials, fixtures, apparatus, or machinery 'for the contractor' (§ 21(a)) — no fixed tier cap like some states |
No general pre-work notice on most projects. Only on an existing owner-occupied single-family residence: a subcontractor must notify the occupant within 60 days of first furnishing labor or material to preserve the lien; late notice still preserves the lien except to the extent the owner already paid in reliance on not knowing (§ 21(c)) |
Record a claim or sue within 4 months after completion to bind third parties; a claim filed within 2 years after contract completion can still bind the owner (§ 7(a)). Subcontractors separately give a 90-day claim notice (§ 24(a)). |
No owner-recorded completion notice shortens the Act's deadlines; the filing, claim-notice, and suit periods run from completion or qualifying extra work (§§ 7(a), 24(a), 9). |
No general duty to serve a copy of the recorded lien on the owner. Exception: a contractor (not a subcontractor) on an owner-occupied single-family residence must give the owner written notice within 10 days after recording; a missed notice extinguishes the lien only to the extent the owner is shown to have suffered damages from the delay (§ 7(d)) |
Commence suit or file a counterclaim within 2 years after contract completion or qualifying extra work (§ 9); a written demand by an interested person requires suit or an answer within 30 days (§ 34(a)). |
Three extra formalities on an owner-occupied single-family residence: (1) before paying the contractor, the owner must get the contractor's sworn statement listing every subcontractor and amount owed, preceded by a specific boldface statutory notice (§ 5); (2) each subcontractor must separately notify the occupant within 60 days of first furnishing (§ 21(c)); (3) a contractor must notify the owner within 10 days after recording a lien (§ 7(d)) |
| Indiana verified 2026-10-06 | Ind. Code Title 32, Art. 28, ch. 3 ("Mechanic's Liens," §§ 32-28-3-1 to -18); a traditional single-chapter statutory lien law, recodified without substantive change from the older Title 32-8-3 numbering in 2002, not tied to any uniform act |
Contractors, subcontractors, mechanics, equipment lessors, journeymen, laborers, and material or machinery suppliers for listed improvements (§ 32-28-3-1(a)); an owner-prime contract may exclude liens for Class 2 structures, specified utility work, or Class 2 residential site preparation if written, acknowledged, and recorded within five days, without affecting earlier work (§ 32-28-3-1(e)-(f)); ordinary advance lien waivers are void (§ 32-28-3-16) |
No general pre-work notice; two residential-only tracks exist instead — see Homestead/residential extras. For non-residential subcontractor/journeyman/laborer liens, written notice to the owner caps the owner's liability at what's still owed to the employer, but isn't a precondition to the lien itself (§ 32-28-3-9) |
File a sworn Notice of Intention to Hold a Lien with the county recorder within 90 days after performing labor or furnishing materials or machinery (§ 32-28-3-3(a)); the deadline is 60 days for work on a Class 2 structure or an auxiliary improvement on the same land (§ 32-28-3-3(b)) |
None — Indiana's chapter has no owner-recorded notice of completion; the 90-day filing clock always runs from the claimant's own last day of labor or delivery |
The COUNTY RECORDER, not the claimant, mails a copy of the recorded Notice of Intention to Hold a Lien to the owner within 3 business days of recording (§ 32-28-3-3(d)); a subcontractor/journeyman/laborer separately gives the owner its own written notice under § 32-28-3-9 to establish the owner's direct liability |
Generally 1 year after recording to file suit; a credit period extends that deadline only if its written terms are signed by the lienholder and every record owner and recorded within the year (§ 32-28-3-6(a)-(c)). A written demand from an owner or other interested party instead requires suit within 30 days of receipt (§ 32-28-3-10) |
Two notice tracks apply only to an owner-occupied single or double family dwelling: for repair/alteration sold on credit to someone other than the occupying owner, written notice to that owner within 30 days of first delivery/labor is a condition precedent to any lien (§ 32-28-3-1(h)); for original construction, notice to the owner AND filing a copy with the recorder within 60 days is likewise a condition precedent (§ 32-28-3-1(i)), and an innocent purchaser of such a dwelling takes free of an unrecorded original-construction lien (§ 32-28-3-1(j)) |
| Iowa verified 2026-08-22 | Iowa Code Title XIV, Ch. 572, 'Mechanic's Lien' (§§ 572.1-.34), a single lien chapter rather than a modern comprehensive recast; liens and notices are posted to the state's online Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry (MNLR) run by the Secretary of State, not filed with the county recorder |
§ 572.2(1)-(2): anyone who furnishes material or labor (or rents material/equipment) for construction, alteration, repair, grading, sodding, or fencing work, under contract with the owner, an owner-builder, a general contractor, or a subcontractor; 'subcontractor' is defined to sweep in every non-owner-privity supplier as well as trade subs (§ 572.1(11)) |
Residential construction only: the general contractor/owner-builder must post a notice of commencement on the MNLR within 10 days of starting work, and every subcontractor/supplier must post its own preliminary notice before the owner finishes paying the general contractor (no fixed day count) — missing either bars that party's lien entirely (§§ 572.13A(1),(4), 572.13B(1),(4)). Commercial construction only requires a narrower 30-day written notice to the general contractor, and only from someone furnishing labor/materials to a subcontractor (§ 572.33(2)(a)) |
90 days after last furnishing labor or materials for full, unqualified lien rights (§ 572.9); a claimant may still post up to 2 years and 90 days after last furnishing by also giving the owner written notice, but the lien is then capped to whatever the owner still owed the general contractor at that time (§§ 572.10, 572.11) |
None — Iowa has no owner-recorded notice of completion or cessation mechanism; every deadline in this chapter runs from the date labor or materials were last furnished, not from any project-completion notice |
No claimant-driven service step for a timely lien: the MNLR administrator (Secretary of State) automatically mails the owner a copy once the lien is posted (§ 572.8(2)). Only a claimant posting after the 90-day window must personally give the owner written notice, since that notice is what triggers the balance-due cap (§ 572.10) |
2 years from the expiration of the 90-day filing window after last furnishing labor/materials — roughly 2 years and 90 days total (§ 572.27); an owner can force an earlier suit by serving written demand, cutting the deadline to 30 days from service or the lien is forfeited (§ 572.28(1)) |
Residential projects (single- or two-family dwellings) carry a mandatory notice track found nowhere else in the chapter: the general contractor/owner-builder must post a notice of commencement within 10 days (§ 572.13A) and give the owner a specific boldface notice of lien rights, and every subcontractor/supplier must post a preliminary notice before the general contractor is paid in full (§ 572.13B) — skipping either one bars that party's lien outright, stricter than commercial construction's narrower § 572.33 notice |
| Kansas verified 2026-08-24 | K.S.A. Chapter 60, Article 11, 'Liens for Labor and Material,' §§ 60-1101 to 60-1112 — a compact, single-article scheme (original codification 1963, consolidating an 1862-era lien law) covering both private construction liens (§§ 60-1101 to 60-1110, this survey's scope) and public-works payment bonds (§§ 60-1111 to 60-1112, excluded) |
A contractor with a direct contract with the owner, or the owner's trustee, agent, or spouse, has a lien under § 60-1101. A 'supplier, subcontractor or other person' working 'under an agreement with the contractor, subcontractor or owner contractor' gets the same lien under § 60-1103(a) — courts have confirmed this reaches only one tier below the contractor; a supplier hired by a second-tier subcontractor has no lien rights at all. Kansas doesn't gate lien rights on licensure, and doesn't define 'laborer' as a separate category — anyone furnishing 'labor, equipment, material, or supplies' under a qualifying contract is covered |
No notice at all on commercial or other non-residential property. Two separate, narrower notices apply only to residential property: on a pre-existing structure the owner already occupies as a 1-2-family residence, a subcontractor/supplier claimant must mail the owner a statutory 'warning statement' (or hold the owner's signed acknowledgment that the general contractor already gave one) before the lien can attach at all, unless the claim is $250 or less (§ 60-1103a) — proven by an affidavit attached to the lien statement (§ 60-1103(a)(2)). On new 1-2-family residential construction, a claimant needs a 'notice of intent to perform' filed with the district court clerk only if the owner sells and records a deed to a good-faith purchaser before the lien is filed; the notice has no effect on the claim against the original owner (§ 60-1103b) |
4 months after last furnishing for a contractor with a direct contract with the owner (§ 60-1102(a)); 3 months for a subcontractor, supplier, or other person (§ 60-1103(a)(1)). Either can get a 1-month extension (to 5 months) by filing a notice of extension within the original period and mailing it to the owner (contractor) or to the general contractor/construction manager and owner (subcontractor) — but only 'on property other than residential property' (§§ 60-1102(c), 60-1103(e)) |
None — nothing in Article 11 lets an owner record a notice of completion, substantial completion, or termination to shorten the 4-month or 3-month filing deadline. The only extension mechanism in the statute lengthens the claimant's own deadline (and only on non-residential property); it isn't a tool the owner controls |
Only a claimant filing under § 60-1103 (a subcontractor, supplier, or other non-privity person) must separately serve the lien statement — personally, by restricted mail, or, if an address is unknown, by posting on the premises — on any one owner, any holder of a recorded equitable interest, and any party obligated to pay (§ 60-1103(c)). For residential real property specifically, the statute is explicit that no foreclosure action 'may proceed or be entered' unless the holder of a recorded equitable interest was served; missing that service blocks foreclosure outright on a home. A contractor filing under § 60-1102 alone has no equivalent separate service requirement in the statute |
1 year from the date the lien statement was filed (or, if a promissory note was attached instead of an itemized statement, 1 year from the note's maturity) to bring a foreclosure action (§ 60-1105(a)). Kansas courts treat this as a statute of duration rather than an ordinary limitations period — the lienholder must actively defend the lien in a foreclosure suit to keep the clock from running against it — and an unforeclosed lien is 'considered canceled by limitation of law' once the year expires (§ 60-1108) |
Kansas defines 'residential property' narrowly as a structure built for use as a residence by no more than 2 families (§ 60-1102(d)), and layers three separate residential-only rules on the general scheme: the pre-existing-residence warning statement and new-residential notice of intent described above (§§ 60-1103a, 60-1103b), each with its own, slightly different definition of what counts as residential; loss of the 1-month filing extension, available only on non-residential property (§§ 60-1102(c), 60-1103(e)); and mandatory service on any recorded-equitable-interest holder before foreclosure can proceed against residential real property (§ 60-1103(c)) |
| Kentucky verified 2026-08-11 | KRS Chapter 376, "Statutory Liens": the private-improvement mechanic's/materialman's lien provisions, §§ 376.010 to 376.100, recodified in 1942 from 19th-century Kentucky Statutes sections and amended piecemeal since (most recently 2023); a separate public-improvement lien track runs under §§ 376.210-376.260 |
Anyone furnishing covered labor or materials under the contract or written-consent relationships in § 376.010(1)(a); design professionals use § 376.075. For insurance-funded contracts entered on or after July 15, 2026, a contractor may not claim a § 376.010 lien solely because the insured refused an excess charge above the insurer-paid or expected amount (§ 367.628(2)(g)) |
Required from claimants without a direct contract with the owner, owner's agent, or lessee: 75 days after last furnishing for claims under $1,000 and 120 days for claims over $1,000; the text leaves exactly $1,000 unassigned (§ 376.010(4)). Covered owner-occupied property instead always uses 75 days (§ 376.010(5)) |
One flat deadline for every claimant, with no tiering by claimant type: file a sworn lien statement with the county clerk of the county where the property sits within 6 months after the claimant ceases to labor or furnish materials (§ 376.080(1)) |
None. Chapter 376's private-improvement sections have no owner-recorded notice of completion or cessation mechanism; the 6-month filing clock always runs from the claimant's own last day of work or delivery, regardless of when the overall project finished |
The claimant must mail a copy of the filed lien statement to the owner's last known address within 7 days of filing with the county clerk; missing this mailing dissolves the lien outright, not merely to the extent it prejudiced someone (§ 376.080(1)) |
12 months from the day the lien statement was filed with the county clerk to bring an action enforcing it, extended by a further 6 months from a deceased debtor's personal representative qualifying if the debtor dies before the 12 months run (§ 376.090(1)) |
Work on an owner-occupied single or double family dwelling (or related agricultural/personal-use improvements on contiguous land) swaps the general notice for a flat 75-day notice regardless of claim size, bars the contractor or subcontractor from acting as the owner's 'authorized agent' for receiving that notice, and shields the owner from lien liability for any amount already paid to the contractor before the notice arrives (§ 376.010(5)) |
| Louisiana verified 2026-10-06 | La. R.S. 9:4801 et seq., the Private Works Act (Title 9, Ch. 2, Part I), grants construction privileges and claims. |
Two tiers by privity: those contracting directly with the owner (contractors, the owner's laborers/employees, sellers/lessors of movables, and professional consultants) get a privilege under § 9:4801; those without direct owner privity (subcontractors, laborers/employees of the contractor or a subcontractor, sellers, lessors, and professional consultants of the contractor/subcontractor) get a claim against both owner and contractor, secured by a privilege, under § 9:4802 |
The general contractor's notice of contract must be filed before work begins to preserve its privilege if the contract price exceeds $100,000 (§ 9:4811(A), (D)); timely filing also activates § 9:4822(B)-(C). |
Default: 60 days after termination notice or completion/abandonment. With timely notice of contract: § 9:4802 claimants get 30 days after termination notice or six months after completion/abandonment; protected GC gets 60 days or seven months (§ 9:4822(A)-(C)). |
A filed notice of termination starts the 30-day period for § 9:4802 claimants with a timely notice of contract; the protected GC and default claimants get 60 days (§ 9:4822(A)-(C)). A GC may seek a summary judgment if the owner ignores its request to file (§ 9:4822(F)). |
For a § 9:4802 claim with a timely notice of contract, deliver the statement copy to the owner within the filing period if the owner's address appears in the notice (§ 9:4822(B)). |
1 year after filing the statement of claim or privilege to institute an enforcement action, or the claim and privilege are extinguished (§ 9:4823(A)(2)) |
Residential Truth in Construction Act (§§ 9:4851-4855): contractor gives a Notice of Lien Rights before or when contracting. Specified residential claimants can extend the default filing period to 70 days by timely notice of nonpayment (§ 9:4822(D)). |
| Maine verified 2026-08-12 | 10 M.R.S. Part 7, Chapter 603, Buildings, Lots, Wharves and Piers; Labor and Materials (§§ 3251-3269) — an older, single-chapter scheme, recently touched by a 2025 technical-corrections act (PL 2025, c. 390) that only updated gendered pronouns and cross-references, not substance. The lien arises by virtue of a contract WITH or by mere CONSENT of the owner (§ 3251) — broader than the 'by contract' language most states use |
Unusually broad (§ 3251): anyone performing labor or furnishing labor or materials (including machine repair parts), or performing services as a surveyor, architect, licensed forester, engineer, or REAL ESTATE LICENSEE, or as an owner-renter/owner-lessor/owner-supplier of equipment, for erecting/altering/moving/repairing a house, building, or appurtenances (expressly including certain municipally-owned public buildings within this same private-lien chapter), constructing/altering/repairing a wharf or pier, or 'selling any interest in land, improvements or structures' — meaning a real estate agent's unpaid commission can itself carry a lien. Separately, §§ 3266-3268 let a labor union or organization bring a lien action collectively on behalf of workers it represents for wage-based liens, including fringe benefits |
Two notices run in opposite directions, and neither is mandatory to have SOME lien rights. First, an owner-initiated 'opt out': if the claimant isn't under contract with the owner, § 3252 lets the owner head off a lien for labor/materials 'not then performed or furnished' by giving that claimant written notice the owner won't be responsible. Second, a claimant-initiated protective notice: § 3255(3) lets a non-privity claimant give the owner written notice, carrying a mandatory statutory warning ('your failure to assure that [claimant] is paid before further payment ... may result in your paying twice'), which caps the owner's total exposure to non-privity claimants at whatever remains owed to the general contractor at that point |
Splits by privity. A claimant with a direct owner contract only needs to file a court action within 120 days (see Deadline to sue to foreclose) — no separate recording step (§ 3253(2) exempts them). A claimant WITHOUT a direct owner contract must, within 90 days after ceasing to labor, furnish materials, or perform services, record a sworn statement of the amount due with the register of deeds AND mail a copy to the owner (ordinary mail; a post-office mailing certificate is conclusive proof of receipt) — or 'the lien ... is dissolved' (§ 3253(1)) |
No mechanism in Chapter 603 lets an owner record a notice of completion, substantial completion, or termination to shorten any of the chapter's deadlines; the 90-day recording window and the 120-day suit deadline both run from the claimant's own last day of labor or furnishing |
For a claimant without a direct owner contract, § 3255(1) delays rather than accelerates service: the claimant 'may not serve the complaint and summons ... on the owner until 30 days after the date of filing of the complaint,' with the civil-rules return-of-service deadline tolled for that same 30 days. Separately, whoever records the 90-day statement under § 3253(1) must mail a copy to the owner by ordinary mail, and a post-office certificate of mailing alone is conclusive proof the owner received it — no certified mail or signed receipt required |
120 days after the claimant's last labor or furnishing to file the court action that both preserves and enforces the lien (§ 3255(1)) — filing and foreclosing are the same act, not two separate deadlines. If the owner dies, is adjudicated bankrupt, or has an insolvency warrant issued within those 120 days and before an action starts, the action may instead be brought within 90 days of that event (§ 3256). Separately, if the claimant enforces by attachment rather than by the underlying lawsuit alone, that attachment must be made within a longer, distinct 180-day window (§ 3262) |
No general homestead or residential execution formality applies to an ordinary contractor's, subcontractor's, or supplier's lien claim under §§ 3251-3265 — the same rules and deadlines apply regardless of property type. The one residential-specific carve-out in the chapter is narrower and different in kind: § 3269 exempts 'any building designed for occupancy by not more than 4 families' from the labor-organization collective-lien mechanism in §§ 3266-3268, meaning a union can't bring that collective wage-lien action on small residential buildings — individual workers must pursue their own claims there instead |
| Maryland verified 2026-10-06 | Md. Code, Real Property §§ 9-101–9-114; a lien is established through circuit-court proceedings (§§ 9-105, 9-106) |
Contractors with an owner contract and subcontractors contracting with others; qualifying building work, materials and listed services, subject to statutory value thresholds (§§ 9-101–9-103) |
Subcontractor gives written notice of intent within 120 days after its own work or materials; for an owner-residence, full payment to the contractor before notice defeats that lien (§ 9-104(a)) |
File circuit-court proceedings within 180 days after finishing work or furnishing materials; petition alone does not establish the lien (§§ 9-105(a), 9-106) |
The § 9-105(a) petition clock runs from finished work or furnished materials; § 9-104(a) separately measures subcontractor notice from that claimant’s work or delivery |
Court directs service of a show-cause order and petition papers, then gives the owner 15 days from service to respond (§ 9-106(a)(1)) |
Right to enforce expires one year after the establishment petition was first filed; claimant may petition to enforce or execute on a release bond in that period (§ 9-109) |
For a single-family dwelling being built on the owner’s land for the owner’s residence, full payment before subcontractor notice bars the lien; any lien is capped by unpaid contract balance at notice (§ 9-104(a)(2), (f)(3)) |
| Massachusetts verified 2026-10-06 | M.G.L. c. 254, §§ 1-33; recorded notices and statements establish and preserve private construction liens |
Written owner-contract claimants (§ 2), design professionals (§ 2C), written-contract subcontractors (§ 4), and personal laborers on a limited § 1 route |
No universal prework notice; a lower-tier claimant without a direct prime-contractor contract may send a notice of identification within 30 days to avoid the narrower § 4 lien cap |
Contractor/sub notice: earliest of 60 days after completion notice, 90 after termination notice, or 90 after specified last work (§§ 2, 4); account: 90/120/120 days (§ 8). Design and labor routes differ (§§ 1, 2C, 8) |
Owner and contractor record a substantial-completion notice (§ 2A); it starts the 60-day contractor/sub/design notice clock and 90-day contractor/sub account clock (§§ 2, 2C, 4, 8) |
Subcontractor lien attaches after recording its notice of contract and giving the owner actual notice (§ 4); record an attested complaint within 30 days after suit (§ 5) |
Sue within 90 days after filing the § 8 statement or lien dissolves (§ 11); record attested complaint within 30 days after suit or lien dissolves (§ 5) |
The cited current filing clocks do not set a separate dwelling-unit period (§§ 2, 4, 8); H.1870 proposes one for statements of account |
| Michigan verified 2026-08-11 | Construction Lien Act, 1980 PA 497, MCL 570.1101-570.1305; a comprehensive, state-specific act, not a uniform law |
Every contractor, subcontractor, supplier, and laborer who provides an improvement has a lien on the contracting owner or lessee's interest (MCL § 570.1107(1), Act § 107(1)); contractors contract directly with the owner or lessee, while subcontractors and suppliers contract down the chain (MCL § 570.1103(5), Act § 103(5); MCL § 570.1106(5)-(6)) |
For nonresidential work, the owner or lessee records a pre-work Notice of Commencement naming a designee (MCL § 570.1108, Act § 108); subcontractors and suppliers serve a Notice of Furnishing within 20 days after first furnishing, laborers within 30 days after wages became due but unpaid (MCL § 570.1109, Act § 109); residential work uses the on-request procedure in MCL § 570.1108a |
90 days after the claimant's last furnishing of labor or material, for every claimant type alike (§ 570.1111(1)) |
None in the current Construction Lien Act — the Notice of Commencement is a pre-work notice (MCL 570.1108(1)), while the lien deadline remains 90 days after the claimant's own last furnishing (MCL 570.1111(1)) |
Within 15 days after recording the claim of lien, the claimant must serve a copy of it (and proof of service of any required Notice of Furnishing) on the designee named in the Notice of Commencement, or on the owner/lessee if none was named (§ 570.1111(5)) |
1 year after the date the claim of lien was recorded to bring suit to enforce it through foreclosure, with a notice of lis pendens recorded when suit is filed (§ 570.1117(1)-(2)) |
A contractor has no lien on a residential structure unless the improvement was provided under a written contract containing the required trade-licensing statements and, when required, the contractor's license number (MCL § 570.1114); residential work uses MCL § 570.1108a's on-request Notice of Commencement rather than MCL § 570.1108's recorded notice |
| Minnesota verified 2026-10-06 | Minn. Stat. Ch. 514 ("Liens Against Property"), §§ 514.01-.135; an older single-chapter statutory scheme, not a modern recast lien code |
Anyone performing engineering or land surveying services, or contributing labor, skill, material, or machinery to the improvement, whether under direct contract with the owner or at the instance of an agent, trustee, contractor, or subcontractor (§ 514.01); a person who knowingly does residential-contracting work without the required license has no lien at all and any lien claimed is void (§ 326B.845, subd. 2) |
An owner-contracting party who will use subcontractors or suppliers must include the warning in the written contract, or deliver it within 10 days if there is no written contract (§ 514.011, subd. 1). A claimant without a direct owner contract generally must give notice within 45 days of first furnishing; good-faith noncompliance is excused absent proven damage (§ 514.011, subd. 2). Statutory exemptions apply. |
One flat deadline for every claimant tier: the lien ceases 120 days after the claimant's own last labor or materials furnished unless a lien statement is filed for record within that period (§ 514.08, subd. 1) |
None. Chapter 514 has no owner-recorded notice of completion, substantial completion, or cessation that shortens any claimant's 120-day filing deadline |
Within the same 120 days as recording, serve a copy personally or by certified mail on the owner, the owner's authorized agent, or the person who contracted with the contractor; both steps preserve the lien (§ 514.08, subd. 1). |
One year after the last item of the claim as set out in the recorded lien statement to assert the lien by filing a complaint or answer, or it can no longer be enforced (§ 514.12, subd. 3) |
The cited lien provisions add no separate homestead signing step. Pre-lien notice is exempt for a wholly residential improvement of more than four family units (§ 514.011, subd. 4b); residential payment diversion carries separate individual liability (§ 514.02, subd. 1(b)). |
| Mississippi verified 2026-08-16 | Miss. Code Ann. §§ 85-7-401 to 85-7-433 (Title 85, Ch. 7, Art. 21), the Construction Lien Law, added by Laws 2014, ch. 487 (SB 2622), eff. 4/11/2014; replaced the pre-2014 scheme that gave a real-property lien only to a contractor or design professional in privity with the owner (former §§ 85-7-131 to 85-7-201, now narrowed to water, oil, and gas wells only) |
Contractors and subcontractors up to two tiers from the owner — a subcontractor of a subcontractor, but no further (§ 85-7-401(k)); materialmen only as far as a contractor or first-tier subcontractor (§ 85-7-401(g)); registered architects, professional engineers, and registered land surveyors (§ 85-7-403(1)); no lien for an unlicensed contractor or subcontractor, or for one who contracts with an unlicensed party (§ 85-7-403(5)); individual laborers are not a separate lien-holding category under this Act |
No notice is required before work starts. A claimant without privity with the contractor (a second-tier subcontractor, or a materialman supplying a first-tier subcontractor) must notify the contractor, or the owner if there is none, within 30 days of first furnishing labor or materials or forfeit lien rights (§ 85-7-407(2)) — this does not apply to single-family residential construction (§ 85-7-407(4)). On single-family residential construction only, a claimant without privity with the OWNER must instead send a written pre-lien notice at least 10 days before filing, as a condition of having any lien right at all (§ 85-7-409(2)) |
90 days after the claimant's last work performed, or labor, services, or materials provided (the same count for every claimant tier), filed with the clerk of the chancery court of the county where the property is located (§ 85-7-405(1)(a)-(b)) |
None — Mississippi's Construction Lien Law has no owner-recorded notice of completion, cessation, or termination that shortens the 90-day lien-filing deadline; that clock always runs from the claimant's own last-furnished date. (A different device, the Notice of Contest of Lien, instead shortens the later foreclosure deadline — see below.) |
Within 2 business days after filing, the claimant must mail a true and accurate copy of the claim of lien to the owner by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery; if the claimant isn't the contractor, a copy must also go to the contractor in the same 2 days (§ 85-7-405(1)(b)). The statute doesn't spell out a separate penalty for a late mailing, but omitting the lien's own required on-its-face expiration warning and right-to-contest notice invalidates the lien outright |
180 days after the lien is filed to commence a payment action (a lawsuit, a bankruptcy proof of claim, or binding arbitration) and record a lis pendens, or the claim of lien becomes unenforceable (§§ 85-7-405(1)(c), 85-7-421(1)). An owner or contractor can shorten that window by recording a Notice of Contest of Lien; the lien is then extinguished unless a payment action follows within the earlier of 90 days after the contest notice or the original 180-day mark (§ 85-7-423) |
Only 'single-family residential construction' — narrower than the Act's separately defined, 1-to-4-unit 'residential property' (§ 85-7-401(i)) — is exempt from the general-contractor subcontractor-list notice (§ 85-7-407(4)) and instead requires the 10-day pre-lien notice above, which doubles as a payment defense: payment the owner already made to the contractor or design professional is an absolute defense to a non-privity claimant's lien, up to the amount paid, unless that notice arrived before the payment (§ 85-7-409(1)-(2)) |
| Missouri verified 2026-08-23 | RSMo Title XXVII, Ch. 429 (Statutory Liens Against Real Estate, §§ 429.010-.360); a 1939-vintage chapter amended piecemeal, not a modern recast or uniform act |
General/prime contractors, subcontractors, laborers, material suppliers, and design professionals (§§ 429.010, 429.015); equipment lessors only on commercial jobs with claims over $5,000 plus a 15-business-day use notice (§ 429.010.2); owner-occupied residential (4 units or less) subs/suppliers additionally need the owner's signed written Consent of Owner (§ 429.013) |
Two separate tracks: the original contractor must give the owner a 10-point-bold 'Notice to Owner' disclosure before receiving any payment, a condition precedent to its own lien (§ 429.012); every other claimant must instead give the owner 10 days' written notice of the claim before filing the lien (§ 429.100) — not an earlier pre-work notice |
6 months after the indebtedness accrues (last labor or materials furnished), the same for every claimant tier; equipment lessors get only 60 days after removing the last rented equipment from the property (§ 429.080) |
None — Chapter 429 has no owner-recorded notice of completion or cessation mechanism; the 6-month (or 60-day equipment-lessor) filing clock runs from last furnishing no matter what the owner records |
No duty to serve a copy of the recorded lien on the owner. The claimant's only owner-facing step is the pre-filing 10-day notice under § 429.100; if the owner is a nonresident, has absconded, or can't be found, recording that notice with the county recorder of deeds has the same effect as serving it (§ 429.110) |
6 months after the lien is filed to commence suit to enforce it, or the lien stops existing (§ 429.170); the chapter provides no mechanism to extend that deadline by agreement |
Two separate overlays: (1) repair, remodeling, or an addition to an owner-occupied home of 4 units or less — a subcontractor, supplier, or design professional has no lien at all without the owner's signed written Consent of Owner, and full payment to the contractor is a complete defense in its absence (§ 429.013); (2) newly built residential real property intended for sale — a claimant must record a Notice of Rights before the owner's Notice-of-Intended-Sale closing or forfeit lien rights entirely (§ 429.016) |
| Montana verified 2026-10-06 | Mont. Code Ann. Title 71, ch. 3, part 5, §§ 71-3-521 to 71-3-564, 'Construction Liens' — comprehensively rewritten by 1987 Mont. Laws ch. 202, which repealed the older single-track lien statute and renumbered the surviving sections into the current scheme |
Broad and tier-neutral: § 71-3-523 lets any person who furnishes services or materials under a 'real estate improvement contract' claim a lien to secure that contract price, with no separate track for a general contractor versus a subcontractor of any tier or a supplier. § 71-3-522(6)(a) defines 'real estate improvement contract' broadly enough to include a subcontract (not just a direct contract with the owner) and expressly covers 'preparation of plans, surveys, or architectural or engineering plans or drawings,' so design professionals qualify too, even for work never actually built. Excluded: contracts for mining, timber, or crop-type work (§ 71-3-522(6)(b)) |
Required for most claimants, but with broad carve-outs: § 71-3-531(1) exempts an original contractor dealing directly with the owner, a wage earner or laborer, anyone working on a dwelling for 5 or more families, and anyone working on a project that is partly or wholly commercial — so the notice mainly matters for subcontractors and suppliers on smaller (1-4 unit) residential jobs. Deadline: within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials, or 45 days if the owner is paying with funds from a regulated lender secured against the project — except that extension never applies to a contract on an owner-occupied residence, which always stays on the 20-day clock (§ 71-3-531(4)). Missing the deadline doesn't forfeit the lien outright; it narrows the lien to only the work furnished within the 20 (or 45) days before notice was actually given (§ 71-3-531(3)). The notice must also be filed with the county clerk within 5 business days of being given to the owner, lapses after 1 year unless renewed, and an unexpired notice on file is itself a precondition to filing the lien at all (§ 71-3-531(6)) |
90 days after either (a) the claimant's own final furnishing of services or materials, or (b) the owner's filing of a notice of completion (§ 71-3-535(1)) — the same 90 days for every claimant tier, with no separate window for a prime contractor. One exception: a lien based solely on preparing plans, surveys, or architectural or engineering drawings not used to actually change the property attaches only when it is filed, not at the 'commencement of work' that governs every other lien (§ 71-3-535(5)-(6)) |
An owner may file a notice of completion any time after 'completion,' which the statute defines as either the owner's written acceptance of the work or 30 days of cessation of labor on the project (§ 71-3-533(1)-(2)). Filing it gives claimants an alternate 90-day filing trigger under § 71-3-535(1)(b) alongside their own last-furnished date. The owner must also publish the notice weekly for 3 successive weeks in a local newspaper and send a copy to anyone who already gave a preliminary Notice of Right to Claim Lien (§ 71-3-533(5)-(6)) |
Unlike states where a claimant serves the lien after recording it, Montana makes service a precondition to filing: the county clerk 'may not file the lien' at all unless the claimant certifies, at the time of filing, that a copy has already been served on every owner of record, by personal service or by certified mail with return receipt requested (§ 71-3-534(2); § 71-3-535(2)(b)). There's no separate post-filing grace period for service, since an unserved lien can't be filed in the first place |
All actions to enforce a construction lien must be commenced within 2 years from the date the lien was filed (§ 71-3-562) — a flat window, with no statutory notice-of-contest procedure that shortens it and no provision in the chapter letting the parties extend it by agreement |
Two distinct rules, one inside the lien chapter and one outside it. Inside: § 71-3-531(4)'s extended 45-day preliminary-notice deadline for lender-funded projects expressly excludes 'a contract on an owner-occupied residence,' so notice on an owner-occupied home is always due within the standard 20 days even when a lender is funding draws. Outside the lien chapter entirely: § 28-2-2201(1)-(2) (Title 28, Contracts) requires a 'residential construction contract' — an agreement between a general contractor and owner to build a new residence — to be in writing and to contain specific insurance, payment, inspection, and warranty disclosures. The Montana Supreme Court held in Mandell v. Bayliss, 2016 MT 205, 384 Mont. 377, that an oral residential construction contract is void under § 28-2-2201(2), and because lien rights arise from a 'real estate improvement contract' under § 71-3-523, voiding the contract eliminates the contractor's lien rights for the construction-services portion of the work — though the statute doesn't bar a separate equitable claim (quantum meruit/unjust enrichment) for the value the owner actually received |
| Nebraska verified 2026-10-06 | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 52-125 to 52-159, the Nebraska Construction Lien Act (Laws 1981, LB 512) — deliberately titled 'construction lien' rather than 'mechanic's lien' (§ 52-125), and one of the few states to adopt Article 5 of the Uniform Simplification of Land Transfers Act nearly verbatim (confirmed by Nebraska's own courts, Omaha Constr. Indus. Pension Plan v. Children's Hosp., 11 Neb. App. 35 (2002)) |
Broad by design: § 52-131(1) gives a lien to 'a person who furnishes services or materials pursuant to a real estate improvement contract,' and Nebraska courts have extended this to a supplier to a subcontractor and to a subcontractor's own union employees (or their benefit-plan trustees) for unpaid wage contributions. The limit courts have drawn: a supplier to a supplier or materialman has no lien (Blue Tee Corp. v. CDI Contractors, 247 Neb. 397 (1995), as explained in Omaha Constr. Indus. Pension Plan, supra). A 'real estate improvement contract' (§ 52-130) covers labor and materials for physical changes to land or structures, including design, survey, and engineering plans whether or not actually used, but excludes mining, timber, and crop contracts |
No preliminary notice is required to preserve lien rights. The optional Notice of Right to Assert a Lien applies only when the contracting owner is a protected party (§ 52-135(1), (6)); for such an owner, early notice can fix the amount of a non-prime claimant's lien under § 52-136(2), (5). |
120 days after the claimant's final furnishing of services or materials, to be recorded with the register of deeds — the same count for every claimant regardless of tier (§ 52-137(1)) |
No mechanism shortens the 120-day filing deadline. Nebraska does have a distinct 'Notice of Commencement,' recordable by the owner or by a claimant (§ 52-145), but it governs lien PRIORITY against competing lenders and purchasers, not the filing deadline: while an effective notice is on record, a later-recorded lien attaches, for priority purposes, as of the notice's recording date rather than the date work actually visibly began (§ 52-137(2)) |
When the contracting owner is a protected party, send a copy of the recorded lien within ten days after recording (§ 52-135(3), (6)); § 52-135 does not impose that step on other owners. Receipt can affect the protected-party lien cap (§ 52-136(2), (5)). |
A recorded lien is generally enforceable for 2 years after recording (§ 52-140(1)). That window can be cut short: if an owner, a security-interest holder, or any other interested person serves the claimant a written demand to sue, the lien lapses unless the claimant institutes judicial proceedings, or records an affidavit that the full contract price isn't yet due, within 30 days after receiving the demand (§ 52-140(2)) |
A protected party occupies or intends to occupy covered residential real estate, usually at most four units; a qualifying condominium can be in a larger development (§ 52-129). Against that owner, a non-prime claimant's lien is capped by the lesser of its unpaid contract amount or the unpaid prime-contract balance as affected by notice or recorded-lien receipt (§ 52-136(2), (5)). |
| Nevada verified 2026-10-06 | Nev. Rev. Stat. Ch. 108 (Title 9), the mechanics' and materialmen's liens article (§§ 108.221-108.246), comprehensively revised 2003; generally excludes government-owned property from lien exposure except property the government uses for a private or nongovernmental purpose (§ 108.22148) |
Any 'lien claimant' furnishing $500 or more of work, material, or equipment for construction, alteration, or repair, expressly including artisans, builders, contractors, laborers, equipment lessors/renters, materialmen, miners, subcontractors, and design professionals (architects, engineers, land surveyors, geologists) (§ 108.2214); a contractor or professional required to be licensed has no lien at all if unlicensed (§ 108.222(2)) |
Every claimant except laborers and anyone who contracted directly with (or sold materials directly to) the owner must deliver a 'Notice of Right to Lien' at some point after first furnishing (§ 108.245(1),(5)); giving none bars perfecting or enforcing a lien at all (§ 108.245(3)), and a late notice only protects work furnished from 31 days before the notice forward (§ 108.245(6)) |
90 days after the latest of: completion of the work of improvement, the claimant's last delivery of material/equipment, or the claimant's last performed work; or 40 days after a validly recorded AND served notice of completion, whichever applies (§ 108.226(1)) |
An owner may record a notice of completion once the work is done, cutting every remaining claimant's filing window to 40 days from that recording — but only if the owner also delivers a copy within 10 days to each prime contractor and to any claimant who already gave notice or requested one; skipping that delivery makes the notice of completion ineffective as to that claimant, who keeps the full 90-day rule instead (§ 108.228) |
A copy of the recorded notice of lien (separate from the earlier Notice of Right to Lien) must be served on the owner within 30 days after recording, by personal delivery, certified mail, or a posting-plus-mailing combination if the owner can't be located (§ 108.227(1)); the statute does not spell out a penalty for a claimant's own missed service the way it does for some other steps |
After a 30-day waiting period, commence suit within 6 months after recording or secure a signed extension recorded within that period; file a lis pendens and publish notice weekly for 3 weeks (§§ 108.244, 108.233(1), 108.239(2)). |
Single-family and multifamily work, including apartment houses: nonlabor claimants must serve a 15-day notice of intent on the owner and reputed prime before recording; that notice extends filing by 15 days, and omission bars perfection (§ 108.226(6)-(7)). |
| New Hampshire verified 2026-10-06 | RSA ch. 447, especially §§ 447:5-12-b, governs private building liens; attachment secures the lien under § 447:10. |
Owner-contract claimants furnishing labor, professional design services, or $15 or more of material (§ 447:2); intermediated claimants under an agent, contractor, or subcontractor subject to notice (§ 447:5). |
For an intermediated claimant, give written owner notice before work or materials (§ 447:5); later notice limits the lien to sums then or later due to the intermediary (§ 447:6). Supply a written account as often as every 30 days (§ 447:8); § 447:12-b adds construction-lender notice within 15 business days after the later of posting or starting to furnish. |
No separate lien-recording step in §§ 447:2-10; the lien continues for 120 days after services or materials are furnished and may be secured by attachment while it continues (§§ 447:9-10). |
Section 447:9 measures the 120-day duration from performance or furnishing; Chapter 447 supplies no owner-recorded completion-notice trigger. |
Intermediated claimants give the written notice under §§ 447:5-6 and periodic accounts under § 447:8; § 447:12-b adds construction-lender notice, and the chapter prescribes attachment, not service of a recorded lien (§ 447:10). |
Secure the lien by attachment while it continues, generally within 120 days after services or materials are furnished (§§ 447:9-10); § 447:11 and § 447:12-a address attachment priority. |
Section 447:2 expressly covers a house or other building; Chapter 447 states no separate homestead filing or notice period for this lien. |
| New Jersey verified 2026-10-06 | Construction Lien Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-1 to -38 (P.L.1993, c.318, as amended) |
Only the first three tiers in the contract chain: the contractor in direct privity with the owner (which also covers a design professional or construction manager in privity), the subcontractor or supplier under the contractor, and the sub-subcontractor or supplier one tier below that (§§ 2A:44A-2, 2A:44A-3); a written, signed contract (or signed delivery slip for a supplier) is required to claim at all |
Nonresidential claimants lodge the lien directly; residential claimants first lodge a Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien within 60 days after last furnishing (§§ 2A:44A-6(a)(2), -21(b)(1)) |
Nonresidential: within 90 days after last furnishing. Residential: within 10 days after receipt of the arbitration determination and within 120 days after last furnishing (§§ 2A:44A-6(a)(2), 2A:44A-21(b)(8)) |
None — no owner-recorded notice of completion or cessation shortens either the commercial or residential filing deadline; both run from the claimant's own last date of furnishing |
Serve the owner and any contractor/subcontractor against whom the claim runs within 10 days after lodging; personal service or simultaneous registered/certified mail or courier plus ordinary mail. Late service bars enforcement only if the late-served party proves material prejudice (§ 2A:44A-7) |
1 year after the date of last work, services, material, or equipment provided, OR 30 days after receiving the owner's (or contractor's) written demand to sue, whichever comes first; missing either forfeits all rights to enforce the lien (§ 2A:44A-14(a)) |
Residential claimants must strictly follow §§ 2A:44A-20 and -21: Notice of Unpaid Balance within 60 days; arbitration demand within 10 days of lodging unless a written alternative dispute process is agreed; lien within 10 days after determination and 120 days after last furnishing (§§ 2A:44A-5(c), -6(a)(2), -21(b)) |
| New Mexico verified 2026-08-16 | N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 48-2-1 to 48-2-17, the Mechanics' and Materialmen's Liens Act (Chapter 48, Article 2), dating to an 1880 territorial act and periodically amended since (most recently 2023, HB 179). A separate, parallel Stop Notice Act (§§ 48-2A-1 to 48-2-12) gives residential claimants an alternative remedy reaching construction funds held by the owner or lender rather than a lien on the property — a different remedy, outside this survey's scope |
Broad by statute: § 48-2-2 covers 'every person performing labor upon, providing or hauling equipment, tools or machinery for or furnishing materials to be used' in a covered improvement, plus registered surveyors; courts have extended it to architects and engineers whose plans were actually used. Case law denies a lien to a supplier who only sold to another supplier (no lien for suppliers-to-suppliers). An unlicensed contractor who needed a license under the Construction Industries Licensing Act cannot claim a lien at all (cross-referenced at NMSA 60-13-30) |
Required only in a narrow band of cases: a claimant who is not the original contractor and did not contract directly with the original contractor must send a written Notice of Right to Claim a Lien within 60 days of first furnishing labor or materials, but only if the claim exceeds $5,000 AND the project is not residential property with 4 or fewer dwelling units (§ 48-2-2.1(A)-(B)). A late notice doesn't forfeit the lien — it limits the claim to work furnished starting 30 days before the notice was actually given (§ 48-2-2.1(E)) |
120 days after completion of the contract for the original contractor; 90 days after completion of the building, improvement, or structure (or repair, alteration, or mining labor) for every other claimant (§ 48-2-6(A)). Unlike states that measure from the individual claimant's own last day of work, New Mexico's clock for every claimant starts from completion of the whole project |
None — there is no separate owner-recorded notice of completion that shortens the deadline, because completion of the whole project is already what starts the 120-day/90-day clock for every claimant in the first place (§ 48-2-6(A)); there's no earlier trigger for an owner to invoke |
Within 15 days of filing the claim with the county clerk, the claimant must mail, email, send by certified mail with return receipt requested, or hand-deliver a copy of the filed lien claim to the owner or reputed owner at their last-known address, or the address on file with the county assessor if unknown (§ 48-2-6(B), added 2023). Missing this step doesn't invalidate the lien itself: 'the failure of the claimant to serve the notice may preclude the recovery of interest, attorney's fees or costs' — a fee-shifting consequence, not forfeiture |
2 years after the claim of lien is filed to commence either a court proceeding or binding arbitration to enforce it, or the lien no longer remains valid (§ 48-2-10). A contract's contingent-payment (pay-if-paid) clause cannot be read as a waiver of the right to file or enforce the lien |
New Mexico's residential rule removes an obligation rather than adding one: residential property with 4 or fewer dwelling units is entirely exempt from the § 48-2-2.1 preliminary-notice scheme, regardless of claim size or privity (§ 48-2-2.1(A)). The lien statute itself imposes no extra formality for residential property beyond that exemption; residential claimants instead have the option of the separate Stop Notice Act remedy described above, which is not a lien on the property and is outside this survey's scope |
| New York verified 2026-10-06 | Lien Law Article 2, §§ 3-24 (Mechanics' Liens); a separate Article 3-A (§§ 70-79) makes construction payments a statutory trust for the benefit of subs and suppliers, layered on top of the lien itself |
A contractor, subcontractor, laborer, materialman, landscape gardener, nurseryman, or seller of trees/shrubbery who works with the owner's consent or request, plus certain laborer benefit trust funds (§ 3); no direct privity with the owner is required |
No separate notice before filing the claim; the notice of lien is filed under § 10, then served on the owner and proved under § 11. |
Generally eight months after contract completion, final work or materials; four months for a single-family dwelling, with a subdivision/developer exception. A retainage lien may be filed within 90 days after retainage was due for release (§ 10). |
None — the deadline runs from the lienor's own completion or last furnishing (§ 10), not from anything the owner records; New York's Lien Law has no owner-filed notice that shortens it |
A copy of the filed notice of lien must be served on the owner within 5 days before or 30 days after filing (§ 11); proof of that service must then be filed with the county clerk within 35 days after filing or the notice automatically 'terminate[s]... as a lien' |
1 year after filing the notice of lien, unless a foreclosure action is commenced and a notice of pendency filed, or the lien is extended by filing (once) or later by court order (§§ 17, 19(2)) |
Single-family dwelling liens generally have a four-month filing limit and can be extended only by court order (§§ 10, 17); § 10 excludes qualifying developer-owned subdivision units from its single-family definition. |
| North Carolina verified 2026-10-06 | N.C. Gen. Stat. Ch. 44A, Art. 2, Parts 1–2 (§§ 44A-7–44A-23): real-property claims and subcontractor liens upon funds |
Owner-contract claimants under § 44A-8; subcontractors have liens upon funds under § 44A-18, with first- through third-tier real-property subrogation under § 44A-23 (subject to that section’s notice-of-contract limits) |
For undertakings of at least $40,000 with a designated lien agent, a Notice to Lien Agent within 15 days of first furnishing is one path to protect a real-property claim against later purchasers and mortgages; §§ 44A-11.2(l)–(n) provide later-notice, prior-perfection, and missing-agent-information alternatives |
A real-property claim generally must be filed within 120 days of last furnishing (§ 44A-12(b)); § 44A-23(d) supplies date options for a subrogating subcontractor. A lien upon funds is perfected by notice to the obligor, not a 120-day court filing (§§ 44A-18(f), -19) |
The real-property filing and enforcement clocks run from last furnishing, with no completion-notice trigger in §§ 44A-12(b), -13(a) |
A real-property claim requires both service on the record owner (and the contractor through whom a subcontractor claims subrogation) and filing (§ 44A-11(a)); a lien upon funds requires written notice to the obligor (§§ 44A-18(f), -19(d)) |
Real-property enforcement action must begin no later than 180 days after last furnishing at the site (§ 44A-13(a)); separate lien-upon-funds enforcement follows Part 2 |
The owner need not designate a lien agent for an existing owner-occupied single-family dwelling or incidental accessory structure (§ 44A-11.1(a)); the lien-agent designation threshold otherwise is $40,000 |
| North Dakota verified 2026-10-06 | N.D. Cent. Code ch. 35-27, Construction Lien; homestead exception in § 47-18-04(1). |
A person improving real estate by contract with the owner or an owner’s agent, trustee, contractor, or subcontractor may claim; § 35-27-01 includes design and surveying services (§ 35-27-02(1)). |
Written notice that a lien will be claimed must go to the owner by certified mail at least 10 days before recording (§ 35-27-02(4)); the subsection begins with a claimant dealing through an intermediary. |
Record within 90 days after all the claimant’s contribution is done (§ 35-27-13). Late filing has specified priority/payment consequences; no filing more than three years after the first item of material is furnished (§ 35-27-14). |
The chapter measures the filing period from the claimant’s completed contribution (§ 35-27-13); § 35-27-09 separately lets an owner request an itemized verified account after contract completion. |
Certified-mail notice of a claimed lien goes to the legal or equitable owner at least 10 days before recording (§ 35-27-02(4)); § 35-27-24 adds separate notice before enforcement. |
Sue and record lis pendens within three years after lien recording; a qualifying owner demand requires both within 30 days after delivery (§ 35-27-25). Give 10-day personal or 20-day registered-mail notice before enforcement (§ 35-27-24). |
A homestead may be sold for debts secured by construction, mechanic’s, or laborers’ liens for improvement work or material furnished exclusively for it (§ 47-18-04(1)). |
| Ohio verified 2026-08-11 | R.C. §§ 1311.01-1311.22, Ohio's private-improvement mechanics' and materialmen's lien scheme |
'Original contractor' has a direct contract with the owner (includes a construction manager in privity with the owner); 'subcontractor' is anyone who undertakes any part of the improvement under contract with someone other than the owner, with no fixed tier cap; 'material supplier' and 'laborer' also have lien rights (§ 1311.01, § 1311.02) |
The owner must record a Notice of Commencement before work (§ 1311.04); once one is recorded, most subcontractors and material suppliers—not original contractors, laborers, or suppliers in direct privity with the owner—serve a Notice of Furnishing within 21 days after first furnishing (§ 1311.05); if the owner never records the commencement notice, the furnishing notice is excused |
60 days after last furnishing labor or material for a one- or two-family dwelling or a residential condominium unit; 75 days for any other private improvement; 120 days for an oil or gas well lien under § 1311.021 (§ 1311.06(B)) |
No owner filing shortens any claimant's deadline. The Notice of Commencement is filed BEFORE work starts, not after completion, and only triggers the subcontractor's Notice of Furnishing duty; an owner's post-completion 'affidavit of completion' merely marks the Notice of Commencement expired in the county records and by its own terms does not affect any lien-filing time period (§ 1311.04(T)(4)) |
The claimant must serve a copy of the recorded lien affidavit on the owner or the owner's designee within 30 days after filing; if service can't be made under the Act's general service-of-process section, the claimant must instead post the copy in a conspicuous place on the property within 10 days after that 30-day period ends (§ 1311.07) |
A lien continues in force for 6 years after the affidavit is filed, or until final adjudication if suit is brought within that time (§ 1311.13(C)). The owner or another interested party can force an earlier deadline by serving a written notice to commence suit; the lienholder then has 60 days after completion of that service to sue, or the lien is void (§ 1311.11) |
A 'home construction contract' (improving an owner-occupied single- or double-family dwelling or condo unit) or 'home purchase contract' runs on an entirely separate track: no Notice of Commencement/Notice of Furnishing procedure applies at all, and no contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or laborer has any lien if the owner or purchaser paid the original contractor in full before receiving a copy of the lien affidavit (§ 1311.011); short of full payment, a subcontractor's lien is capped at whatever the owner still owes the original contractor. The 60-day (vs. 75-day) filing deadline for one-/two-family dwellings under § 1311.06(B)(1) is the other residential-specific rule |
| Oklahoma verified 2026-10-06 | Title 42 O.S. Chapter 3, "Mechanics and Materialmen" (§§ 141-150), with enforcement procedure in Chapter 5 (§§ 171-178); the ordinary building track is §§ 141-143.4. Separate oil-and-gas well (§§ 144-146) and mining (§§ 148-150) tracks are outside this survey |
Anyone who performs labor, furnishes material, or leases/rents equipment for erecting, altering, or repairing a building or improvement, under oral or written contract with the owner (§ 141); subcontractors, artisans or day laborers employed by the contractor, and sub-subcontractors/suppliers get the identical lien "from the same time, in the same manner, and to the same extent" (§ 143). Equipment lessors are excluded entirely on homestead-exempt or agricultural property (§ 143.3) |
Every claimant except the original contractor must send a written "pre-lien notice" to both the original contractor and the property owner, no later than 75 days after last furnishing (§ 142.6(B)(1)); exempt are claims under $10,000 and claims on a non-owner-occupied residential project of 4 or fewer units (§ 142.6(B)(3)), but that exemption never applies if the property is "then occupied as a dwelling by an owner," where the notice is mandatory and the whole lien is invalid without it |
An original contractor (direct contract with the owner) has 4 months after last furnishing labor, material, or equipment to file a verified lien statement with the county clerk (§ 142); a subcontractor, artisan/day laborer, or sub-subcontractor/supplier gets only 90 days from their own last furnishing (§ 143) |
Sections 142 and 143 measure the filing periods from the claimant’s own last furnishing or work; neither makes an owner-recorded notice of completion the trigger |
The county clerk, not the claimant, mails notice of the filed lien to the owner by certified mail within 5 business days of filing, using the address the claimant furnishes and a fee the claimant pays (§ 143.1(A)); if the owner can't be found with due diligence, the claimant may, within 60 days of filing, serve an occupant instead or post notice on the property if it's unoccupied (§ 143.1(B)) |
1 year from the date the lien statement was filed with the county clerk to bring a civil action enforcing it (§ 172); § 172 states a one-year outside limit and does not impose a minimum waiting period |
Two separate rules layer on for homestead property: a pre-lien notice becomes mandatory, with no dollar-amount or small-project exemption, for any lien on property "then occupied as a dwelling by an owner," and the entire lien is invalid without it (§ 142.6(B)(1)); separately, an equipment lessor has no lien rights at all against real property that qualifies for the homestead exemption or is used for agricultural purposes (§ 143.3) |
| Oregon verified 2026-08-22 | Oregon's Construction Lien Law, ORS 87.001 to 87.060 and 87.075 to 87.093, sits inside the broader Chapter 87 "Statutory Liens" (which also covers unrelated chattel, medical, and agricultural liens, not part of this survey); enacted 1975, amended piecemeal through 2010 |
Anyone performing labor, transporting or furnishing material, or renting equipment used in constructing an improvement at the owner's or the owner's construction agent's instance (§ 87.010(1)-(2)); trustees of an employee benefit plan owed contributions for labor on the improvement (§ 87.010(4)); and, unlike states that wall design professionals off into a separate statute, architects, landscape architects, land surveyors, and registered engineers who prepare plans or supervise construction at the owner's or agent's request, covered in this same section (§ 87.010(5)-(6)) |
Anyone who didn't furnish at the owner's own request must give a "notice of right to a lien" at some point during the project: it isn't a strict pre-filing deadline, but only protects work done in the 8 business days before it's delivered and afterward (§ 87.021(1)); claimants on a purely commercial improvement are exempt from sending this notice at all (§ 87.021(3)(b)), so in practice it mainly matters for residential claimants without owner privity |
General contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and equipment lessors (§ 87.010(1)-(2)) must perfect the lien within 75 days after their own last day of work or 75 days after completion of construction, whichever is earlier; every other claimant (design professionals, employee-benefit trustees) gets only the completion-based 75 days, with no own-last-day alternative (§ 87.035(1)) |
Rather than shortening a separately running deadline, a posted-and-recorded completion notice (or an abandonment notice, or 75 days of no work with no nonabandonment notice filed) is how "completion of construction" itself gets fixed for the § 87.035 75-day clock, since the fallback trigger is only "substantial completion," a fact-specific date the notice mechanism lets an owner, contractor, or mortgagee pin down in the county record instead (§ 87.045) |
The claimant must mail the owner and any mortgagee notice that the claim has been filed, with a copy attached, within 20 days of filing; missing this deadline doesn't dissolve the lien, it only forfeits the claimant's right to costs, disbursements, and attorney fees in a later foreclosure suit (§ 87.039) |
120 days after the claim of lien is filed to bring suit enforcing it, or 120 days after an extended-payment period stated in the claim itself expires, but never more than 2 years total from filing under any payment-plan extension; a separate notice of intent to foreclose must also reach the owner and mortgagee at least 10 days before suit is filed, on pain of losing costs and attorney fees (§§ 87.055, 87.057) |
Several residential-only rules layer on top of the general scheme: a subcontractor can't lien an owner-occupied residence being renovated at all if the contractor they dealt with was unlicensed when hired (§ 87.036); an original contractor loses all lien rights on residential work over $2,000 if a written contract was legally required and none exists (§ 87.037); and that same contractor must deliver a board-approved "Information Notice to Owner" at signing of any residential contract over $2,000, again forfeiting every lien right on the job if it's skipped (§ 87.093) |
| Pennsylvania verified 2026-08-22 | Mechanics' Lien Law of 1963, 49 P.S. §§ 1101-1902 (an unconsolidated act, not part of the numbered Pa.C.S. titles) |
Only a 'contractor' (direct contract with the owner) or 'subcontractor' (contract with the contractor, or with another subcontractor in direct privity with the contractor) may claim; sub-subcontractors and remote suppliers have no lien right at all (§ 1201(4)-(6)) |
Searchable project ($1.5 million+): if owner filed and posted Notice of Commencement, subcontractor files directory Notice of Furnishing within 45 days after first work/materials or forfeits lien (§§ 1201(18), 1501.3). Separately, every subcontractor gives owner 30 days' formal notice before filing unless using a court-ordered rule to file (§ 1501(b.1)) |
6 months after completion of the claimant's work, same count for contractors and subcontractors (§ 1502(a)(1)) |
No such mechanism exists in this act; an owner's optional 'Notice of Completion' filed on the state construction-notices directory is expressly informational only and cannot be used to determine any deadline (§ 1501.4(c)-(d)) |
Written notice of the filing must be served on the owner within 1 month after filing; failure to serve, or to file proof of service within 20 days after service, is grounds to strike the claim (§ 1502(a)(2)) |
2 years from the date the claim was filed to commence an action to obtain judgment on it, extendable only by the owner's written agreement (§ 1701(b)) |
A subcontractor has no lien right at all on a paid-up-front residential job: no lien if the owner or tenant already paid the contractor in full for a single/two-unit dwelling or townhouse the owner occupies or will occupy (§ 301(b)); an existing claim on such a property must be discharged, or reduced to the unpaid balance, on the owner's petition (§ 510(f)) |
| Rhode Island verified 2026-10-06 | R.I. Gen. Laws Title 34, ch. 28, §§ 34-28-1 to -37, the 'Rhode Island Mechanics' Lien Law' (short title, § 34-28-36) — an older, consent-based scheme where the lien arises directly from a contract with, or at the request of, the owner (or a tenant or limited owner), rather than a modern lien code split into separate preliminary-notice and lien-recording articles; substantially revised by P.L. 1991, ch. 328 and again by P.L. 2006, ch. 630 |
Persons furnishing work or materials under a contract or request from an owner, tenant, or limited owner may claim against that party's interest (§§ 34-28-1 to -3); equipment rental counts as materials (§ 34-28-3.1). Architects, engineers, and their subcontractors qualify for work whose result is used in construction (§ 34-28-7). |
A direct contractor other than a material supplier must give § 34-28-4.1 notice before work or delivery, in the written contract or by certified mail; without it, that contractor cannot claim a lien. Other claimants' lien rights survive the direct contractor's omission, which can also trigger indemnity (§ 34-28-4.1). All claimants still follow the separate Notice of Intention process (§ 34-28-4). |
Generally mail the Notice of Intention by registered or certified mail and record a copy within 200 days after work or materials (§ 34-28-4(a)). For architects, engineers, and their subcontractors, both steps are due before the LATER of 200 days after work or ten days after actual, visible construction begins (§ 34-28-7). |
No recorded completion notice shortens the § 34-28-4 deadline; the chapter index provides no such procedure. The separate § 34-28-7 date for design professionals runs from visible commencement, not completion. |
Mail the Notice of Intention to the owner and record it under § 34-28-4(a); there is no separate post-recording copy step. If mail is returned undelivered, file the notice and returned envelope within 30 days after return, and no later than 200 days after MAILING; this filing replaces the ordinary copy filing (§ 34-28-4(a)). |
Unusually short: the claimant must file BOTH a complaint to enforce the lien in Superior Court AND a notice of lis pendens in the land evidence records, with both landing within 40 days of the date the Notice of Intention was recorded, and the complaint and lis pendens no more than 7 days apart from each other (§ 34-28-10(a)). Missing that 40-day window makes the lien 'void and wholly lost' as to the work it covered, even if the claimant keeps working on the same project afterward |
Chapter 28 itself sets no special formality for a homeowner's own property — no separate residential deadline or disclosure lives inside the lien chapter. A different consumer-protection statute does touch residential work: Title 5, ch. 65 (Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board), § 5-65-18 requires every written contract between a registered contractor and a property owner to state that the contractor, subcontractors, or material suppliers may file a mechanics' lien, but § 5-65-24(a)(6) limits that specific disclosure duty to a contractor who 'regularly... engage[s] in construction activities... on residential structures.' Unlike some states, skipping this disclosure doesn't void the lien itself under Chapter 28 — the consequence runs through the contractor's registration instead, since the board may suspend it until any resulting lien is satisfied (§ 5-65-18) |
| South Carolina verified 2026-10-06 | S.C. Code Title 29, Ch. 5, "Mechanics' Liens" (§§ 29-5-10 to -440); a statutory scheme tracing to 1869-era acts, amended piecemeal (notice-of-project-commencement and payment-bond provisions added in 1992-2014), not a modern recast lien code |
Anyone owed a debt for labor performed or materials furnished and actually used in erecting, altering, or repairing a building or structure, or boring/equipping wells, by agreement with or consent of the owner or someone rightfully acting for the owner (§ 29-5-10(a)); separately extended to surveyors (§ 29-5-21(A)), private security guards on-site (§ 29-5-25), construction/demolition debris haulers (§ 29-5-27), landscape-service providers under a written agreement over $5,000 (§ 29-5-26), and equipment/tool renters for reasonable rental value (§ 29-5-22); a contractor must be able to show a required license or registration to file at all (§ 29-5-15(A)) |
No single mandatory pre-work notice for every claimant. A subcontractor, laborer, or materialman with no direct contract with the owner must give the owner written notice of the labor or materials furnished and their value just for the lien to attach against the true owner at all, capped at what the owner still owes the contractor (§ 29-5-40); a sub-subcontractor or supplier one tier further removed must send a more detailed certified/registered-mail notice to avoid having its lien capped at what the contractor owes its own hiring subcontractor (§ 29-5-20(B)); separately, a prime contractor may (but need not) file a Notice of Project Commencement within 15 days of starting work, and skipping it strips the sub-subcontractor notice of its full effect (§ 29-5-23) |
90 days after the claimant's own last day of labor or last materials furnished to both serve the owner and file a sworn statement of account, or the lien is dissolved (§ 29-5-90); one flat deadline for every claimant tier |
None. Chapter 5 has no owner-recorded notice of completion or substantial completion that shortens any claimant's 90-day deadline; a separate tool, the owner's "notice of nonresponsibility" (§ 29-5-80), only disclaims liability for work the owner didn't authorize and does not shorten any filing deadline |
Bundled into the same 90-day deadline as filing, not a separate later step: the claimant must serve the owner (or, if the owner can't be found, the person in possession, or proceed by sheriff's affidavit of diligent search) within the same 90 days as filing the sworn statement (§ 29-5-90) |
6 months after the claimant ceased laboring on or furnishing labor or material for the project to both commence suit and file a notice of pendency of the action (lis pendens), or the lien is dissolved (§ 29-5-120(A)) |
No heightened execution formality for homestead property in Chapter 5 itself. The one residential-specific rule is a narrower carve-out for a single claimant category: a real estate licensee's special commercial-marketing lien under § 29-5-21(B) explicitly cannot attach to residential real estate at all (§ 29-5-21(B)(3)) |
| South Dakota verified 2026-10-06 | S.D. Codified Laws ch. 44-9 (private mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens). |
Labor, services, equipment, and material providers requested by an owner, agent, contractor, or subcontractor (§ 44-9-1). |
If a notice of project commencement is filed and posted, sub-subcontractors and suppliers to subcontractors must notify the named contractor and owner within 60 days of last furnishing (§§ 44-9-50, -51, -53). |
File a verified lien statement within 120 days of the claimant’s last work or item furnished (§§ 44-9-15, -16). |
No separate completion-notice cutoff; § 44-9-15 measures 120 days from the claimant’s own last work or item. |
Before filing, mail the statement to the owner by certified or registered mail and attach the postal receipt to the filing (§ 44-9-17). |
Six years from the last item of the claim; 30 days after service of an owner’s, agent’s, or contractor’s written demand to sue (§§ 44-9-24, -26). |
The lien does not reach rights in an exempt homestead (§ 44-9-5). |
| Tennessee verified 2026-08-16 | Tenn. Code Ann. Title 66, ch. 11, Part 1, "General Provisions" (§§ 66-11-101 to -150); a traditional single-chapter statutory lien law, substantially reorganized by 2007 Tenn. Acts ch. 189, not tied to any uniform act |
A prime contractor (direct privity with the owner) and a remote contractor (any tier below) who complies with the contractor-licensing statute, Title 62 ch. 6 — an unlicensed lienor gets no lien at all (§ 66-11-102(a)); land surveyors and architects/engineers under contract with the owner also qualify, except design-professional liens don't reach an owner-occupied one- or two-family detached home (§ 66-11-102(b)-(c)); on residential real property generally, only the prime contractor has lien rights at all (§ 66-11-146(a)) |
No pre-work notice; the closest analog is a monthly Notice of Nonpayment a remote contractor must serve on the owner and prime contractor within 90 days of the last day of each unpaid month, required only for non-residential work — missing any month's notice permanently forfeits lien rights for that month (§ 66-11-145) |
A prime contractor records a sworn notice within 90 days of completion or abandonment to preserve priority against later purchasers/encumbrancers, though recording isn't required as against the owner itself (§ 66-11-112(a)); a remote contractor must instead serve a written notice of lien on the owner within that same 90-day window (§ 66-11-115(a)) |
An owner-recorded notice of completion accelerates any unregistered claimant's deadline to serve written notice of claim: 10 days for a one- to four-family residential project, 30 days for everything else, or lien rights expire outright (§ 66-11-143(e)) |
A remote contractor's lien requires actually serving a written notice of lien on the owner (§ 66-11-115(a)); a prime contractor's lien needs no owner service, only recording to protect priority. Service by registered/certified mail, hand delivery, or a tracked commercial carrier, presumed complete on a set schedule for each method (§ 66-11-149) |
A prime contractor's lien continues, and suit must be brought, for 1 year after completion or abandonment (§ 66-11-106); a remote contractor's lien continues only 90 days from the date its notice of lien was served, and suit must be filed within that same 90 days (§ 66-11-115(b)) |
On residential real property (a building of 1-4 dwelling units where the owner resides or intends to reside), lien rights exist only in favor of the prime contractor — no subcontractor, supplier, or other remote contractor has lien rights there at all (§ 66-11-146(a)); an unlicensed firm doing licensed residential construction/home improvement gets no lien on residential property either (§ 66-11-150); the completion-notice deadline is also shorter there (10 vs. 30 days) |
| Texas verified 2026-08-23 | Prop. Code Ch. 53, extensively rewritten by 2021 HB 2237 (eff. 2022-01-01, contracts from that date only); 2025 SB 929 added the weekend/legal-holiday rollover rule in § 53.003(e); a separate self-executing constitutional lien also exists (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 37) |
Anyone who labors or furnishes labor/materials for an improvement, specially fabricates material, is a licensed architect/engineer/surveyor, a landscaper, or a demolition contractor (§ 53.021); design professionals no longer need direct privity with the owner |
No single up-front notice. Instead, a subcontractor/supplier must send a monthly notice of unpaid claim to both the owner and original contractor, due the 15th day of the 3rd month (commercial) or 2nd month (residential) after the month worked (§ 53.056); a Saturday, Sunday, or legal-holiday deadline rolls forward under § 53.003(e) |
Original contractor: 15th day of the 4th month (commercial) or 3rd month (residential) after the month its work was completed, terminated, or abandoned. Other claimants: same formula, measured from the month they last furnished labor/materials (§ 53.052). A Saturday, Sunday, or legal-holiday deadline rolls forward (§ 53.003(e)) |
None for this deadline — it runs from the claimant's own last work or the contract's completion/termination/abandonment, not from anything the owner files. An owner's optional affidavit of completion is only prima facie evidence of the completion date and separately affects retainage-fund liens (§ 53.106) |
A copy of the filed affidavit must be sent to the owner at their last known address no later than the 5th day after filing (§ 53.055(a)); the § 53.003(e) weekend/legal-holiday rollover applies |
Suit to foreclose must be brought within 1 year after the last day the claimant could have filed the lien affidavit; extendable to 2 years by a recorded written agreement with the current owner (§ 53.158) |
A lien on homestead property requires a written contract executed and filed as Prop. Code § 53.254 requires, on top of the constitutional requirement that the work be contracted for in writing with both spouses' consent for a family homestead (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 50(a)(5)(A)); a missing § 53.254 contract or notice content is an independent ground to invalidate the lien (§ 53.160(b)(6)) |
| Utah verified 2026-10-06 | Utah Code Title 38, Ch. 1a: separate preconstruction and construction liens (§§ 38-1a-101, -301); Ch. 11 restricts residence liens (§ 38-11-101) |
A person providing preconstruction service or construction work on project property (§§ 38-1a-102(11),(29), -301(1)); residence restrictions may bar downstream claimants (§ 38-11-107) |
Preconstruction service notice and construction preliminary notice each generally due in registry within 20 days; late construction notice protects only work from 5 days after filing (§§ 38-1a-401(1), -501(1)) |
Preconstruction: within 90 days after completing unpaid service (§ 38-1a-402(1)); construction: 180 days after final contract completion, or 90 days after completion notice, capped at 180 days; late substantial subcontractor work has its own rule (§ 38-1a-502(1)) |
A filed construction completion notice shortens the construction lien period to 90 days, capped at 180 days after final completion, and makes a preliminary notice ineffective if filed more than 10 days later (§§ 38-1a-501(1)(d), -502(1), -507) |
Send or deliver a lien copy to the owner within 30 days; missed service bars costs and attorney fees against the owner, rather than invalidating the lien (§§ 38-1a-402(5), -502(4)) |
Sue within 180 days after filing either lien (bankruptcy-stay exception); record notice of the action within that period (§ 38-1a-701(2)–(4)) |
Paid-in-full written-contract protection and a separate small-contract bar can block downstream liens on owner-occupied homes; residential lien and lawsuit notices also required (§§ 38-11-107(1), -204(4)(a)–(b), 38-1a-502(2)(i), -701(6)) |
| Vermont verified 2026-10-06 | 9 V.S.A. ch. 51, subch. 1, §§ 1921-1928, Contractors’ Liens for Labor or Material. |
A person furnishing labor or materials under an improvement contract may claim (§ 1921(a)); a person working through an agent, contractor, or subcontractor obtains the lien by written notice to the owner (§ 1921(b)). |
A claimant contracting through an agent, contractor, or subcontractor must give written owner notice; the resulting lien reaches only the unpaid contract balance when notice arrives (§ 1921(b)). |
Record a signed lien memorandum with the town clerk within 180 days after payment became due for the last labor or materials (§§ 1921(c), 1923). |
Section 1921(c) uses the payment-due date for the last labor or materials; the chapter supplies no owner notice-of-completion filing trigger. |
Section 1921(b) requires owner notice from a claimant working through an agent, contractor, or subcontractor; § 1923 requires town-clerk recording of the memorandum. |
Commence the debt action and attach the property within 180 days after memorandum filing if payment was then due, or 180 days after later payment due (§ 1924); record the judgment within five months (§ 1925). |
The subchapter applies to homestead property (§ 1927); § 1928 separately addresses a married woman’s assent to a contract charging her real estate. |
| Virginia verified 2026-10-06 | Va. Code Title 43, Ch. 1 (§§ 43-1–43-23.2); lien memorandum and claimant-specific notices govern perfection |
Labor or at least $150 of materials/equipment value for covered work (§ 43-3(A)); owner-contract, subcontract and lower-tier routes (§§ 43-1, 43-7, 43-9); required license limits labor liens (§ 43-3(D)) |
On a one- or two-family dwelling with a named lien agent, most claimants notify the agent within 30 days of first work or permit issuance; late notice limits the lien to later work (§ 43-4.01(C)) |
Record by 90 days after the last day of the claimant’s last work month and by 90 days after project completion/termination; sums older than 150 days generally excluded, with retainage exception (§ 43-4) |
Section 43-4 measures the outside deadline from actual completion or termination; it provides no owner-recorded completion notice trigger |
General contractor files an owner-mailing certification with the memorandum (§ 43-4); subcontractor gives owner written claim notice (§ 43-7); lower-tier claimant also notifies general contractor (§ 43-9) |
Sue by the later of six months after memorandum recording or 60 days after completion/termination (§ 43-17) |
One- or two-family dwellings use the named lien-agent notice rule, with exceptions for § 43-3(B) claims, memoranda recorded before permit issuance, or permits naming no agent (§ 43-4.01(C)) |
| Washington verified 2026-10-06 | RCW Title 60, ch. 60.04 (Mechanics' and Materialmen's Liens); a single-chapter statutory lien law, substantially rewritten by 1991 c 281, not tied to any uniform act |
Anyone furnishing labor, professional services, materials, or equipment for an improvement, at the owner's or their agent's instance (RCW 60.04.021); a contractor/subcontractor only counts as the owner's lien-establishing "construction agent" if registered under ch. 18.27 or licensed under ch. 19.28 (RCW 60.04.041) |
A written notice of the right to claim a lien is required of everyone except those contracting directly with the owner, laborers, and subs contracting directly with the prime; it can be sent anytime but only protects work from 60 days before it's sent (10 days for new single-family residential construction) (RCW 60.04.031) |
Flat 90 days after the claimant personally ceases furnishing labor, services, materials, or equipment — no split by claimant tier (RCW 60.04.091); each unit in a multi-unit residential project gets its own 90-day clock (RCW 60.04.101) |
None — Washington's chapter has no owner-recorded notice of completion or cessation; the 90-day filing clock always runs from the individual claimant's own last date of furnishing |
The claimant must mail (certified/registered) or personally serve a copy of the recorded lien on the owner within 14 days of recording; missing that deadline only forfeits the claimant's right to attorneys' fees and costs, it does not invalidate the lien (RCW 60.04.091) |
Sue within 8 calendar months after recording, or after stated credit expires, and serve the owner within 90 days of filing; a court may dismiss an action not brought to judgment within 2 years (§ 60.04.141). |
Existing owner-occupied home repairs/remodels: a claimant dealing directly with the owner-occupier needs no notice and gets a lien for the full contract amount; anyone else must give notice and their lien is capped to what the owner still owed the prime contractor when the notice was received (RCW 60.04.031(3)) |
| West Virginia verified 2026-10-06 | W. Va. Code ch. 38, art. 2 (§§ 38-2-1 to -41) creates private construction liens and sets notice, recordation, priority, and enforcement rules. When perfected, a lien attaches as of the start of furnishing (§ 38-2-17). |
Direct contractors (§ 38-2-1), subcontractors including those working for another subcontractor (§ 38-2-2), material suppliers to owners or contractors/subcontractors (§§ 38-2-3, -4), and mechanics/laborers (§§ 38-2-5, -6) can claim. Architects, surveyors, engineers, and landscape architects follow the corresponding claimant role (§ 38-2-6a). |
Section 38-2-20 permits, but does not generally require, a prework notice from a person employed by a party contracting with the owner; it addresses a 60-day account-and-notice filing unless the owner requests it in writing. Separately, § 38-2-19 allows an owner to demand an itemized account at any time; a claimant who does not provide it within 10 days loses lien coverage for earlier work or materials. |
Perfect within 100 days: after contract completion for a direct contractor, subcontract completion for a subcontractor, or last furnishing/work for suppliers, mechanics, and laborers (§ 38-2-7). Sections 38-2-8 to -13 specify the corresponding recording and owner-notice acts. |
Article 2 sets claimant-specific completion and last-furnishing triggers (§ 38-2-7); it provides no owner-recorded completion notice that shortens those periods. The owner’s separate itemized-account demand appears in § 38-2-19. |
Direct claimants record with the county clerk within 100 days (§§ 38-2-8, -10, -12). Subcontractors, suppliers to contractors/subcontractors, and their mechanics/laborers must serve the owner or agent by a legal-notice or summons method and record the notice within the same period (§§ 38-2-9, -11, -13); missed recordation discharges the lien. |
Begin enforcement in circuit court within six months after filing notice with the clerk or the lien is discharged; one claimant’s timely action preserves other liens on the same property, and other claimants may intervene (§ 38-2-34(a)). |
For the single-family and owner-occupied dwelling categories in §§ 38-2-21(b) and 38-2-34(b), an owner may defend an enforcement suit by proving no debt, or a smaller debt, is owed to the contractor. This is an affirmative full or partial defense, despite the general rule that owner payment does not impair subcontractor liens (§ 38-2-21(a)). |
| Wisconsin verified 2026-10-06 | Wis. Stat. ch. 779, subch. I, the construction lien law (§§ 779.01-.17; § 779.01(1)) |
Any person who performs, furnishes, or procures work, labor, services, materials, plans, or specifications for an improvement, at any tier, so long as any notice required by § 779.02 is given; "prime contractor" includes an architect, engineer, construction manager, or surveyor hired directly by the owner, and an owner who acts as their own prime contractor (§ 779.01(2)-(3)) |
A prime using subcontractors or suppliers puts notice in the owner contract or serves it within 10 days if unwritten; a nonexempt downstream claimant serves 2 signed copies within 60 days. Late downstream notice preserves only later work. Laborers, some direct claimants, and larger or nonresidential projects are exempt (§ 779.02(1)-(3)) |
6 months after the claimant's own last labor, services, or materials furnished, to file a claim for lien with the clerk of circuit court — but only after first serving the separate 30-day notice of intent to file described below; skip either step and "no lien... shall exist" (§ 779.06(1)-(2)) |
The filing period is measured from the claimant's last furnishing; § 779.06(1) states no shorter period after an owner notice of completion |
A copy of the filed claim for lien must be served on the owner within 30 days after filing (§ 779.06(1)) — a separate, later step from the 30-day notice of intent to file that must precede the filing itself (§ 779.06(2)) |
2 years from the date the claim for lien is filed to bring an action (summons and complaint filed) to enforce it, or the lien is unenforceable (§ 779.06(1)) |
Early notice is potentially required for work on 4 or fewer wholly residential family units; it is exempt for more than 4 wholly residential units or partly or wholly nonresidential work (§ 779.02(1)(c)) |
| Wyoming verified 2026-10-06 | W.S. Title 29, chapters 1 and 2 govern private construction liens; definitions and perfection appear in chapter 1, with claimant and timing rules in chapter 2 (§§ 29-1-201, 29-1-312, 29-2-101, 29-2-106). |
Contractors, subcontractors, and materialmen furnishing work or material under contract may claim a lien (§ 29-2-101(a)-(b)). A directly contracted architect, engineer, or surveyor is a contractor; subcontractors may work for another subcontractor, and materialmen may furnish to an owner, contractor, or subcontractor (§ 29-1-201(a)). |
Every contractor, subcontractor, and materialman must send the owner or agent a written right-to-lien notice: contractor before receiving any owner payment; subcontractor or materialman within 30 days after first furnishing. Missing it bars the lien (§ 29-2-112(a)). A separate notice of intention to file, stating the amount and debtor, must be sent at least 20 days before filing (§ 29-2-107(a)). |
A contractor files within 150 days and every other claimant within 120 days of the earlier of last contract work/materials or substantial completion; a subcontractor also has the last day of directed work as a statutory trigger (§ 29-2-106(a)). A signed, acknowledged, recorded agreement may extend filing time up to twice the ordinary period, without affecting nonsigners (§ 29-2-106(e)). |
An owner may record a substantial-completion notice. Its recording date is presumed to be substantial completion and the notice must warn that the filing period presumptively begins then; the presumption is rebuttable (§ 29-2-106(c)-(d)). The notice cannot extend an otherwise earlier deadline, and failure to send a copy does not change the filing time. |
The lien claimant must send the last record owner or agent notice within 30 days after filing; failure to send this notice does not invalidate the lien (§ 29-1-312(c)). |
Start an action to foreclose or enforce within 180 days after filing; without suit, the lien does not continue beyond that period (§ 29-2-109). |
A Wyoming resident has a homestead exemption of up to $100,000 from execution and attachment (§ 1-20-101); property is not exempt from execution for its purchase money (§ 1-20-108(a)). These provisions do not state how that exemption applies to a construction-lien foreclosure. |
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