Mechanic's Lien Deadlines & Notice Requirements in Indiana
At a glance
| Governing law | 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 |
|---|---|
| Who can claim a lien | 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) |
| Preliminary notice | 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) |
| Deadline to file the lien | 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)) |
| Notice of completion effect | 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 |
| Serving the lien on the owner | 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 |
| Deadline to sue to foreclose | 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) |
| Homestead/residential extras | 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)) |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Indiana's mechanic's lien law is Indiana Code Title 32, Article 28, Chapter 3, "Mechanic's Liens" (§§ 32-28-3-1 to -18). It was recodified into this numbering by P.L.2-2002 from the older Title 32-8-3 sections, without substantive change — the chapter's own history notes track "Pre-2002 Recodification Citation" for every section. It's a traditional single-chapter statutory lien scheme, not built on any uniform act.
Who can claim
Section 32-28-3-1(a) lists "a contractor, a subcontractor, a mechanic, a lessor leasing construction and other equipment and tools... a journeyman, a laborer, or any other person performing labor or furnishing materials or machinery" for construction, alteration, repair, or removal of a building or similar structure. The owner and prime contractor may agree that no lien attaches for listed Class 2 structures, qualifying utility work, or preparation for Class 2 residential construction. To bind lower-tier claimants, the written, acknowledged contract with the land description must be recorded within five days; prior work remains lienable (§ 32-28-3-1(e)-(f)). Outside that narrow carve-out, Section 32-28-3-16 makes any contract clause that waives lien rights, or that bars filing a notice of intention to hold a lien, void.
Preliminary notice
Indiana has no general notice requirement before or during ordinary construction work. Instead, two residential-only notice tracks function as the real equivalent — see Homestead/residential extras below. Outside residential work, § 32-28-3-9(b) lets a subcontractor, journeyman, or laborer give the owner written notice of an unpaid claim, but that notice's purpose is narrower: it establishes and caps the owner's direct liability at "not more than the amount that is due and may later become due from the owner to the employer or lessee," rather than serving as a precondition to the lien itself.
Deadline to file the lien
§ 32-28-3-3(a) sets one flat rule for essentially every claimant: file a sworn "statement and notice of the person's intention to hold a lien" with the county recorder "not later than ninety (90) days after performing labor or furnishing materials or machinery." There's no separate, shorter window for subcontractors or suppliers the way many other states split it. The one exception is subsection (b): work related to a "Class 2 structure" or its auxiliary improvement on the same land gets a shorter 60-day deadline instead.
Notice of completion effect
Indiana's chapter has no mechanism letting an owner record a notice of completion to shorten a claimant's filing window. The 90-day deadline in Section 32-28-3-3 always runs from the claimant's own last day of labor or delivery, regardless of when — or whether — the overall project as a whole is finished.
Serving the lien on the owner
Indiana puts this step on the government, not the claimant. Section 32-28-3-3(d) requires the county recorder — not the lien claimant — to "mail, first class, one (1) of the duplicates of the statement and notice of intention to hold a lien to the owner named in the statement and notice not later than three (3) business days after recordation." A subcontractor, journeyman, or laborer relying on Section 32-28-3-9 to hold the owner directly liable separately serves its own written notice on the owner (or the owner's agent, if the owner is absent), independent of the recorder's mailing.
Deadline to sue to foreclose
Section 32-28-3-6(a) generally gives a lien claimant one year after recording to file a complaint in circuit or superior court. A credit period extends the deadline only if the written credit terms are signed by the lienholder and all record owners and recorded within that year (§ 32-28-3-6(c)). Otherwise, subsection (b) voids an unenforced lien. An owner doesn't have to wait out the full year, though — Section 32-28-3-10 lets the owner or anyone with an interest in the property serve written notice demanding that the lienholder file a foreclosure action; if suit isn't filed within 30 days of that demand, "the lien is void," no matter how much of the 1-year period remains.
Homestead/residential extras
Indiana layers two separate notice tracks onto a single or double family dwelling, distinguished by the kind of work involved. For "the alteration or repair of an owner occupied single or double family dwelling," anyone selling materials, labor, or machinery on credit to someone other than the occupying owner must give that owner written notice of the delivery and of lien rights "not later than thirty (30) days after the date of first delivery or labor performed" — Section 32-28-3-1(h) makes this "a condition precedent to the right of acquiring a lien" at all. For "the original construction of a single or double family dwelling for the intended occupancy of the owner," the window is longer but doubled: Section 32-28-3-1(i) requires written notice to the owner and a filed copy with the county recorder, both "not later than sixty (60) days after the date of the first delivery or labor performed" — again a condition precedent, not a mere formality. Subsection (j) adds a bona fide purchaser protection: an "innocent purchaser for value" of such a dwelling takes free of an original-construction lien unless the notice of intention was recorded before the purchaser's deed.
Statutes and sources
- Ind. Code § 32-28-3-1 (lien authorized; residential notice tracks) — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_28/Chapter_3.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Ind. Code § 32-28-3-3 (filing deadline; recorder's owner-mailing duty) — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_28/Chapter_3.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Ind. Code § 32-28-3-6 (foreclosure and recorded-credit deadlines) — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_28/Chapter_3.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Ind. Code § 32-28-3-9 (subcontractor/journeyman/laborer notice; owner liability cap) — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_28/Chapter_3.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Ind. Code § 32-28-3-10 (owner's demand-to-foreclose acceleration) — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_28/Chapter_3.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Ind. Code § 32-28-3-16 (void lien-waiver contract provisions) — https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_28/Chapter_3.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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