Arkansas: Mechanic's Lien Deadlines & Notice Requirements
The short answer
On residential real estate of four or fewer units, no lien exists at all unless the owner got a specific pre-work notice before anyone started; the general contractor must give it on behalf of every future claimant. On commercial jobs there's no pre-work notice, but subcontractors and suppliers must send a Notice of Nonpayment within 75 days of finishing their part. Either way, every claimant must give the owner 10 days' written notice before filing, then file the lien account with the circuit clerk within 120 days of last furnishing labor or materials. Once filed, you have 15 months to sue and record a lis pendens or the lien simply ceases to exist.
| Governing law | 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), rooted in an 1895 act; separate subchapters in the same chapter cover wells/mines/quarries, railroads, and lien-discharge bonds |
|---|---|
| Who can claim a lien | 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)) |
| Preliminary notice | Splits sharply by project type. Residential real estate of 4 or fewer units: no lien at all unless the owner received a specific pre-work notice before any claimant starts, given by the residential contractor on behalf of everyone (§ 18-44-115(a)(1),(3)) — missing it bars that contractor from lien rights (§ 18-44-115(a)(4)), though other claimants keep theirs if any one party gave the notice. Commercial real estate (or 5+-unit residential): no pre-work notice, but every subcontractor, supplier, or service provider must send a Notice of Nonpayment to the owner and contractor within 75 days of last furnishing (§ 18-44-115(b)(3)-(5)) |
| Deadline to file the lien | 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)) |
| Notice of completion effect | None — Arkansas has no owner-recorded notice-of-completion mechanism anywhere in this subchapter; both the 120-day filing clock and the 10-day pre-filing notice run strictly from when the claimant last furnished labor or materials |
| Serving the lien on the owner | Not a post-recording step here: every claimant must instead give the owner 10 days' written notice of the claim BEFORE filing the lien (§ 18-44-114(a)); the filed lien account must include a sworn affidavit proving that notice was given, with a copy attached, and the circuit clerk must refuse to file an account missing it (§ 18-44-117(a)(3)) |
| Deadline to sue to foreclose | 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)) |
| Homestead/residential extras | Only residential real estate of 4 units or fewer gets the mandatory pre-work notice described above; a residential contractor who supplies a performance-and-payment bond, or who sells directly to the owner without going through a licensed home-improvement or residential-building contractor, is exempt from giving it at all (§ 18-44-115(a)(8)) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
The short answer
Arkansas's notice requirements depend entirely on what kind of property
is involved. On residential real estate of four or fewer units, there is
no lien at all — for anyone — unless the owner got a specific written
notice before work began, and it's the general contractor's job to send
it on behalf of every future claimant on the job. On commercial real
estate (or larger residential projects), there's no pre-work notice, but
subcontractors and suppliers must instead send a Notice of Nonpayment
within 75 days of finishing their part. Either way, every claimant must
give the owner 10 days' written notice of the actual claim before filing
a lien, then file the lien account with the circuit clerk within 120
days of last furnishing labor or materials. Once filed, the clock
tightens further: you have 15 months to both sue and record a lis
pendens, or the lien simply stops existing.
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Arkansas's lien law is Arkansas Code §§ 18-44-101 to 18-44-135
(Subchapter 1, General Provisions), part of the "Mechanics' and
Materialmen's Liens" chapter (Title 18, Subtitle 4, Chapter 44) that
traces back to an 1895 act. The same chapter has separate subchapters
for liens on wells, mines, and quarries, railroads, and bonds used to
discharge a lien — this survey covers only the general private-property
subchapter.
Who can claim
Section 18-44-101(a) gives a lien to "every contractor, subcontractor,
or material supplier" who supplies "labor, services, material,
fixtures, engines, boilers, or machinery" for construction or repair,
"by virtue of a contract with the owner, proprietor, contractor, or
subcontractor." Design professionals get their own section: § 18-44-105(a)
covers "every architect, engineer, surveyor, appraiser, landscaper,
abstractor, or title insurance agent" — but only for work done "under or
by virtue of any written agreement" with the owner. That written-contract
requirement is narrower than the general rule for contractors and
suppliers, which doesn't require a writing.
Preliminary notice
This is where Arkansas diverges sharply by project type. On residential
real estate with four or fewer units, § 18-44-115(a)(1) is blunt: "No
lien ... may be acquired ... unless the owner ... has received ... a copy
of the notice set out in this subsection," and § 18-44-115(a)(3) puts
that duty on "the residential contractor," who must give it "on behalf
of all potential lien claimants before the commencement of work." A
residential contractor who skips it loses their own lien rights
(§ 18-44-115(a)(4)), though other claimants on the job are protected as
long as anyone gave the notice. There's a narrow exemption in
§ 18-44-115(a)(8) for a contractor who posts a performance-and-payment
bond or sells directly to the owner. Commercial real estate runs
differently: there's no pre-work notice at all, but § 18-44-115(b)(4)
requires every "subcontractor, service provider, material supplier, or
laborer" to notify the owner in writing that they're "currently entitled
to payment but has not been paid," and § 18-44-115(b)(5)(A) sets the
deadline at "before seventy-five (75) days have elapsed from the time
that the labor was supplied or the materials furnished."
Deadline to file the lien
Section 18-44-117(a)(1) requires filing "with the clerk of the circuit
court of the county in which the building ... is situated" within "one
hundred twenty (120) days after" the labor or materials were last
furnished. The filing has to include more than the account itself: an
"affidavit of notice" proving compliance with the notice sections above,
with a copy of each notice attached (§ 18-44-117(a)(3)) — the clerk is
not allowed to accept a lien account missing these attachments.
Notice of completion effect
Arkansas has no such mechanism in this subchapter. Nothing here lets an
owner record a notice of completion to shorten the 120-day filing window
or the 10-day pre-filing notice; both run strictly from when the
claimant last furnished labor or materials.
Serving the lien on the owner
Arkansas doesn't have a separate post-recording "serve a copy of the
recorded lien" step the way California or Utah do. Instead, the service
requirement comes BEFORE filing: § 18-44-114(a) requires "ten (10) days'
notice before the filing of the lien ... to the owner ... setting forth
the amount and from whom it is due." Proof of that notice then becomes
part of the filing itself — the sworn "affidavit of notice" required by
§ 18-44-117(a)(3).
Deadline to sue to foreclose
Section 18-44-119(a) requires that "all actions ... shall be commenced
within fifteen (15) months after filing the lien," and § 18-44-119(b) is
explicit about the consequence: the lien simply "shall not continue to
exist" past that point unless suit is filed and "a lis pendens is filed"
in the same window. Both steps — suing and recording the lis pendens —
have to happen inside the 15 months, not just one of them.
Homestead/residential extras
The mandatory pre-work notice described above is Arkansas's residential
formality, and it only reaches "residential real estate containing four
(4) or fewer units" (§ 18-44-115(a)(1)); a project of five units or more
is treated as commercial real estate for notice purposes
(§ 18-44-115(b)(2)(A)). The bond and direct-sale exemptions in
§ 18-44-115(a)(8) are the only ways out of giving it on a qualifying
residential job.
What trips people up
The residential pre-work notice is the single biggest trap in Arkansas's
scheme, because it has to happen before work even starts — there's no
grace period or late-filing fallback the way some states allow for a
missed preliminary notice. A general contractor who forgets it doesn't
just weaken their lien, they lose it entirely, even though a
subcontractor further down the chain might still be protected if anyone
else on the job gave the notice. Separately, don't confuse the § 18-44-114
pre-filing notice (10 days, required of everyone, right before you file)
with the § 18-44-115 residential pre-work notice (before work starts) or
the commercial Notice of Nonpayment (75 days after finishing) — these
are three different notices tied to three different moments in the
project, and a lien account missing proof of the ones that actually
apply gets refused at the clerk's window.
Common questions
Do I need to send a notice before I even start work?
Only on residential real estate of four or fewer units, and only the
general contractor has to send it — but they send it on behalf of every
future subcontractor and supplier on the job (§ 18-44-115(a)(1),(3)).
What if I'm a subcontractor on a commercial project?
No pre-work notice is required, but you must send the owner and
contractor a written Notice of Nonpayment within 75 days after you last
supply labor or materials (§ 18-44-115(b)(4)-(5)).
How much time do I have after I file the lien?
Fifteen months to sue and record a lis pendens (§ 18-44-119). Miss
either one and the lien stops existing on its own — there's no need for
anyone to go to court to formally cancel it.
Statutes and sources
- Ark. Code § 18-44-101(a) (who has lien rights) —
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-4/chapter-44/subchapter-1/section-18-44-101/
(accessed 2026-07-04) - Ark. Code § 18-44-105(a) (design-professional lien, written-contract requirement) —
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-4/chapter-44/subchapter-1/section-18-44-105/
(accessed 2026-07-04) - Ark. Code § 18-44-114(a) (10-day pre-filing notice) —
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-4/chapter-44/subchapter-1/section-18-44-114/
(accessed 2026-07-04) - Ark. Code § 18-44-115 (residential pre-work notice and commercial Notice of Nonpayment) —
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-4/chapter-44/subchapter-1/section-18-44-115/
(accessed 2026-07-04) - Ark. Code § 18-44-117 (filing the lien account) —
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-4/chapter-44/subchapter-1/section-18-44-117/
(accessed 2026-07-04) - Ark. Code § 18-44-119 (15-month limitation and lis pendens) —
https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-18/subtitle-4/chapter-44/subchapter-1/section-18-44-119/
(accessed 2026-07-04)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.