District of Columbia: Mechanic's Lien Deadlines & Notice Requirements

The short answer

In the District of Columbia, the notice that perfects a mechanic's lien and
the lien filing itself are the same act: a "notice of intent" recorded in
the land records during construction or within 90 days after the earlier of
the project's completion or termination. Only a general contractor in
privity with the owner, or a subcontractor, materialman, or laborer directly
employed by that contractor, can claim a lien — a sub-subcontractor or a
supplier to a supplier cannot. Within 5 business days after recording, the
claimant must mail a copy to the owner by certified mail, posting on the
property if that mail bounces back; a separate, older provision lets a
subcontractor instead deliver or post a copy, and only lets the owner keep
paying the contractor if the subcontractor skips this step. Once recorded,
the claimant has 180 days to sue to enforce the lien and must also record a
notice of pendency of action within 10 days of filing suit, or the lien
dies. D.C.'s homestead exemption protects a resident's entire home from most
creditors but expressly does not block a mechanic's lien.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

D.C.'s mechanic's lien law is D.C. Code Title 40, Chapter 3, "Mechanics,
Materialmen, and Contractors." Subchapter I (§§ 40-301.01 to 40-301.03)
creates the lien and its perfection mechanism; Subchapter II (§§ 40-303.01
to 40-303.20a) extends and conditions it for subcontractors, materialmen,
and laborers. It traces back to an 1901 act of Congress, but 2002 and 2005
amendments substantially rewrote it, unifying what used to be two separate
notice procedures (one for general contractors, one for subcontractors)
into a single "notice of intent" filing that both now share.

Who can claim

Section 40-301.01 creates a lien for "the contractor who contracted with
the owner" — a general or prime contractor in direct privity with the
owner. Section 40-303.01 extends "the same rights... and subject to the
same obligations" to anyone "directly employed by" that contractor: a
subcontractor, materialman, or laborer. That's only one tier down — a
sub-subcontractor or a supplier to a supplier has no lien rights under this
chapter. A subcontractor's lien is capped at whatever the owner still owes
the prime contractor at the time (§ 40-303.02(a)), and is defeated entirely
if the owner already paid the prime contractor in full in good faith,
unless the subcontractor gave the owner written notice of the amount due
while a balance remained (§ 40-303.02(b)). Chapter 3 itself doesn't
independently bar an unlicensed contractor from claiming a lien; it only
requires attaching license and good-standing documentation when perfecting
the notice, "to the extent available under applicable law."

Preliminary notice

None, separate from the lien itself. D.C. doesn't require any warning
before or during the work. The "notice of intent" under § 40-301.02 that
perfects the lien is the only notice the chapter requires, and it's
recorded during or after the work — not before it starts.

Deadline to file the lien

A notice of intent must be recorded "during the construction or within 90
days after the earlier of the completion or termination of the project"
(§ 40-301.02(a)(1)). That's a project-wide deadline, not an individual
one: it runs from when the WHOLE project wraps up, not from any one
claimant's own last day of work, and the same 90-day rule applies to
subcontractors, materialmen, and laborers through § 40-303.01. Missing the
window terminates the lien automatically, and a notice of intent that
doesn't include all the required content — the parties' names and
addresses, the amount claimed, dates of work and material delivery, a
property description, license/good-standing documentation where
applicable, and a sworn statement — is void outright.

Notice of completion effect

None. Chapter 3 gives owners no mechanism to record a notice of completion,
substantial completion, or termination that would shorten anyone's filing
deadline. The 90-day clock runs only from the project's actual completion
or termination, whichever the facts show came first.

Serving the lien on the owner

Two different provisions are both still in force here. The modern rule,
§ 40-301.02(a)(2), requires the claimant to mail the owner a copy of the
recorded notice of intent by certified mail within 5 business days after
recording, and to post a copy on the property if that certified mail comes
back unclaimed or undelivered. A separate, unamended 1966-era provision for
subcontractors specifically, § 40-303.03, instead calls for leaving a copy
with the owner or the owner's agent, or posting it if neither can be found.
Neither provision says that missing this service step — as opposed to
missing the 90-day recording deadline — kills the lien outright; § 40-303.03
says only that until the subcontractor complies, the owner may keep paying
the prime contractor, and the lien is discharged to the extent of those
payments.

Deadline to sue to foreclose

The claimant has 180 days after the notice of intent is recorded to file
suit enforcing the lien, and must also record a notice of pendency of
action within 10 days of filing that suit (§ 40-303.13(a)(1)). Missing
either the 180-day deadline or the 10-day lis pendens deadline terminates
the lien, and the statute says this period cannot be extended.

Homestead/residential extras

Chapter 3 adds one residential-specific formality: if the project is done
under a "home improvement contract" — a written, Department-of-Buildings-
approved-form agreement between the same contractor and homeowner covering
repair or remodeling of residential property, aggregating all such
contracts within any 12-month period (§ 40-301.03(2)) — the claimant must
attach a copy of that contract to the notice of intent (§ 40-301.02(b)(8)).
Separately, D.C.'s general homestead exemption is unusually strong: it
shields a debtor's entire interest in their residence from attachment,
levy, or execution, with no dollar cap at all (§ 15-501(a)(14)). But the
same paragraph carves out exactly this situation by name: "nothing
relative to these exemptions shall impair the following debt instruments
on real property: deed of trust, mortgage, mechanic's lien, or tax lien."

What trips people up

A commercial lien-form template circulating for D.C. cites "D.C. Code
§ 40-303.06" for the 180-day suit deadline and the 10-day notice-of-pendency
requirement — but § 40-303.06 is actually titled "Advance payments" and has
nothing to do with enforcement deadlines; the real provision is § 40-303.13.
Second, the two overlapping service-on-owner rules can be confusing: the
newer certified-mail rule and the older personal-delivery-or-posting rule
for subcontractors are both still on the books, and only the certified-mail
route is spelled out for a general contractor. Third, the 90-day filing
deadline is measured from the WHOLE PROJECT's completion or termination, not
from an individual subcontractor's own last day of work — a sub who
finished early still gets the benefit of the full project timeline. Fourth,
the 180-day enforcement deadline and its 10-day lis pendens companion
cannot be extended for any reason once they start running.

Common questions

Do I need to send a notice before I start work in D.C.?
No. D.C. has no preliminary notice separate from the lien-perfecting notice
of intent, which is recorded during or after the work, not before.

How long do I have to record my lien?
During construction, or within 90 days after the earlier of the project's
completion or termination — whichever comes first for the project as a
whole.

Do I have to serve my lien on the property owner?
Yes. Send a certified-mail copy of the recorded notice of intent within 5
business days of recording, and post a copy on the property if that mail is
returned unclaimed or undelivered.

Can a lien reach an owner's home in D.C.?
Yes. D.C.'s homestead exemption protects a resident's entire home from most
creditors, but it expressly does not block a mechanic's, mortgage, deed of
trust, or tax lien.

Statutes and sources

• D.C. Code § 40-301.01 (mechanic's lien) —
  https://law.justia.com/codes/district-of-columbia/title-40/chapter-3/subchapter-i/section-40-301-01/
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• D.C. Code § 40-303.01 (subcontractor's lien — generally) —
  https://law.justia.com/codes/district-of-columbia/title-40/chapter-3/subchapter-ii/section-40-303-01/
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• D.C. Code § 40-303.02 (conditions and limitations; defense of payment) —
  https://law.justia.com/codes/district-of-columbia/title-40/chapter-3/subchapter-ii/section-40-303-02/
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• D.C. Code § 40-301.02 (notice of intent; 90-day deadline; contents;
  service) —
  https://law.justia.com/codes/district-of-columbia/title-40/chapter-3/subchapter-i/section-40-301-02/
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• D.C. Code § 40-301.03 (definitions, incl. "home improvement contract") —
  https://law.justia.com/codes/district-of-columbia/title-40/chapter-3/subchapter-i/section-40-301-03/
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• D.C. Code § 40-303.03 (notice to owner) —
  https://law.justia.com/codes/district-of-columbia/title-40/chapter-3/subchapter-ii/section-40-303-03/
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• D.C. Code § 40-303.13 (when suit to be commenced) —
  https://law.justia.com/codes/district-of-columbia/title-40/chapter-3/subchapter-ii/section-40-303-13/
  (accessed 2026-07-05)
• D.C. Code § 15-501 (exempt property of householder; homestead) —
  https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/15-501
  (accessed 2026-07-05)