Mechanic's Lien Deadlines & Notice Requirements in Arkansas

At a glance

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) as amended by the cited enrolled acts. 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, engine, boiler, 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)). The narrow bond and direct-sale exceptions appear below. Commercial real estate runs differently under § 18-44-115(b)(3)-(5)(A): 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)) — § 18-44-117(b)(3) bars the clerk from filing an account without the required attachments.

Notice of completion effect

Section 18-44-117(a)(1) measures the filing period from when the covered things were furnished or the work was done. Its 120-day clock does not refer to an owner-recorded notice of completion.

Serving the lien on the owner

The cited provisions put notice to the owner 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 narrow. A "direct sale" requires both an order from the property owner to the lien claimant and a claimant who is neither a home-improvement contractor nor a residential-building contractor. Ordering directly from one of those contractors does not satisfy the direct-sale exception. The separate performance-and-payment-bond route remains subject to its stated terms.

What trips people up

The residential pre-work notice is an early deadline: it has to happen before work starts unless a statutory exception applies. There is no grace period for a residential contractor who misses it. 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? For residential real estate of four or fewer units, the residential contractor ordinarily sends it on behalf of potential claimants before work begins (§ 18-44-115(a)(1),(3)). Check the bond and defined direct-sale exceptions in § 18-44-115(a)(8).

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 before 75 days have elapsed from supplying 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 § 18-44-119(b) says the lien does not continue.

Statutes and sources

• Ark. Code § 18-44-101(a) — “Every contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier ... shall have, to secure payment, a lien”; 1995 Act 1298 § 1 — https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F1995R%2FPublic%2F&file=1298.pdf&ddBienniumSession=1995%2F1995R (accessed 2026-10-06).
• Ark. Code § 18-44-105(a) — “Every ... architect, engineer, surveyor, appraiser, landscaper, abstractor, or title insurance agent” under a “written agreement”; 2009 Act 454 § 1 — https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2009R%2FPublic%2F&file=454.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2009%2F2009R (accessed 2026-10-06).
• Ark. Code §§ 18-44-114(a), 18-44-115(a)(1),(3), (b)(3)-(5)(A) — “ten (10) days' notice before the filing,” residential notice “before the commencement of work,” and commercial notice before “seventy-five (75) days have elapsed”; 2009 Act 454 § 3 — https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2009R%2FPublic%2F&file=454.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2009%2F2009R (accessed 2026-10-06).
• Ark. Code § 18-44-115(a)(4) — the residential contractor who omits notice “may not avail himself or herself of the benefit of the lien”; 2021 Act 984 § 1 — https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2021R%2FPublic%2F&file=984.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2021%2F2021R (accessed 2026-10-06).
• Ark. Code § 18-44-115(a)(8) — direct-sale exception; 2017 Act 808 § 1 — https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2017R%2FPublic%2F&file=808.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2017%2F2017R (accessed 2026-10-06).
• Ark. Code § 18-44-117(a)(1)-(3), (b)(3) — filing “within one hundred twenty (120) days,” with notice affidavit and attachments; 2019 Act 806 § 1 — https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2019R%2FPublic%2F&file=806.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2019%2F2019R (accessed 2026-10-06).
• Ark. Code § 18-44-119(a)-(b) — “within fifteen (15) months after filing the lien” to bring suit and file lis pendens; 2005 Act 2287 § 4 — https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2005R%2FPublic%2F&file=2287.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2005%2F2005R (accessed 2026-10-06).