Mechanic's Lien Deadlines & Notice Requirements in Montana
At a glance
| Governing law | 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 Laws ch. 202, which repealed the older single-track lien statute and renumbered the surviving sections into the current scheme |
|---|---|
| Who can claim a lien | 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)) |
| Preliminary notice | 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)) |
| Deadline to file the lien | 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)) |
| Notice of completion effect | 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)) |
| Serving the lien on the owner | 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 |
| Deadline to sue to foreclose | 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 |
| Homestead/residential extras | 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 |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Montana's private construction lien lives in Mont. Code Ann. Title 71, Chapter 3, Part 5, §§ 71-3-521 to 71-3-564, titled "Construction Liens." Section 71-3-521 states: “A nonconsensual lien against real estate for improvements made thereon may not arise except as provided in this part.”
Who can claim
Section 71-3-523 says a person furnishing services or materials under a real estate improvement contract “may claim a construction lien, only to the extent provided in this part, to secure the payment of the person's contract price” — with no separate track for a general contractor versus a subcontractor of any tier, or a supplier. Section 71-3-522(6)(a) defines "real estate improvement contract" broadly enough to include a subcontract, not just a contract directly with the owner, and it expressly lists "preparation of plans, surveys, or architectural or engineering plans or drawings" among the covered work — so architects and engineers qualify too, even if their plans are never actually built. Contracts for mining, timber removal, or crop work are carved out of lien coverage entirely (§ 71-3-522(6)(b)).
Preliminary notice
Montana requires a Notice of Right to Claim Lien, but the exceptions are wide enough to change who it actually applies to. Section 71-3-531(1) exempts an original contractor who deals directly with the owner, a wage earner or laborer, anyone furnishing work on a dwelling for five or more families, and anyone furnishing work on a project that is partly or wholly commercial — so in practice, the notice mostly matters for subcontractors and suppliers on smaller (one-to-four-unit) residential jobs. The notice is due within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials, or 45 days if the owner is paying with funds a regulated lender advanced and secured against the project — but that 45-day extension never applies to "a contract on an owner-occupied residence," which stays on the 20-day clock regardless of how the project is financed (§ 71-3-531(4)). Missing the deadline doesn't forfeit the lien outright: it narrows the lien to only the services or materials furnished within the 20 (or 45) days before notice was actually given (§ 71-3-531(3)). The claimant must also file a copy of the notice with the county clerk within 5 business days of giving it to the owner (§ 71-3-531(6)(a)). That filed notice lapses after one year unless renewed (§ 71-3-531(6)(c)), and an unexpired notice or continuation on file is a precondition to filing the lien (§ 71-3-531(6)(e)).
Deadline to file the lien
Section 71-3-535(1) makes filing necessary before a lien can attach or be enforced: “A person's lien does not attach and may not be enforced unless” the lien is filed within 90 days after the claimant's final furnishing or the owner's filing of a notice of completion. The same text applies to every claimant tier.
Notice of completion effect
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 a second 90-day trigger under § 71-3-535(1)(b) alongside their own last-furnished date. The publication requirement says “once each week for 3 successive weeks” in a county newspaper. The owner must also send a copy to anyone who already gave a preliminary Notice of Right to Claim Lien (§ 71-3-533(5)-(6)).
Serving the lien on the owner
Montana requires service before filing: the county clerk “may not file the lien unless it is accompanied by a certification” 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)). Because service is a filing precondition rather than a post-filing step, there's no separate grace period for late service; an unserved lien simply can't be filed.
Deadline to sue to foreclose
Section 71-3-562 sets a flat window: "All actions under this part must be commenced within 2 years from the date of the filing of the lien." Nothing in the chapter lets another party's notice or demand shorten that window, and nothing lets the parties extend it by agreement.
Homestead/residential extras
Two separate rules touch residential work. Inside the lien chapter, § 71-3-531(4)'s 45-day preliminary-notice extension for lender-funded projects never applies to "a contract on an owner-occupied residence" — that project always runs on the standard 20-day notice clock even when a bank is funding construction draws. Outside the lien chapter, § 28-2-2201(1)-(2) (Title 28, Contracts) requires a "residential construction contract" — an agreement between a general contractor and an owner to build a new residence — to be in writing and to include specific insurance, payment, change-order, inspection, and warranty disclosures. In Mandell v. Bayliss, 2016 MT 205, 384 Mont. 377, the Montana Supreme Court held 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 eliminated the contractor's lien rights for the construction services he provided. The court also held, though, that the statute doesn't bar a separate equitable claim (there, quantum meruit/unjust enrichment) for the value the owner actually received from the work.
What trips people up
The service-before-filing sequence catches people who assume Montana works like most other states: a claimant who records the lien first and plans to mail the owner a copy "in a few days" risks having the county clerk refuse the filing outright, since the certification of service has to accompany the lien, not follow it. Second, the preliminary-notice exemptions turn on the specific contract relationship and the project's size or character, not on a claimant's trade — the same subcontractor might owe no notice on a six-unit apartment building down the street while owing one on the single-family remodel next door, and the 45-day lender-funded extension quietly disappears the moment the project is an owner-occupied home. Third, a handshake deal for building a new house is a real trap for a general contractor: § 28-2-2201 requires that contract to be in writing, and Mandell v. Bayliss confirms that skipping it doesn't just weaken a breach-of-contract claim — it can eliminate the lien entirely for the construction work, leaving only a slower, no-lien equitable claim to recover the value delivered.
Common questions
Can I submit the notice or lien electronically? The county clerk may allow electronic filing of both the preliminary notice (§ 71-3-531(6)(b)) and the lien (§ 71-3-535(2)(a)); the statute does not require every clerk to accept it.
When does a lien for unused plans attach? If plans, surveys, or architectural or engineering drawings are not used to change the property, § 71-3-535(6) says the lien attaches when it is filed. That differs from the general commencement-of-work rule in § 71-3-535(5).
Statutes and sources
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-521 (scope) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0210/0710-0030-0050-0210.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-522 (definitions) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0220/0710-0030-0050-0220.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-523 (who may claim a construction lien) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0230/0710-0030-0050-0230.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531 (notice of right to claim lien; exceptions) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0310/0710-0030-0050-0310.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-533 (notice of completion) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0330/0710-0030-0050-0330.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-534 (filing with county clerk; notification of owner) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0340/0710-0030-0050-0340.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-535 (attachment of lien; filing; 90-day deadline) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0350/0710-0030-0050-0350.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-562 (limitation on actions; 2-year foreclosure window) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0620/0710-0030-0050-0620.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mont. Code Ann. § 28-2-2201 (residential construction contracts — disclosure and warranty requirements) — https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0280/chapter_0020/part_0220/section_0010/0280-0020-0220-0010.html (accessed 2026-10-06)
- Mandell v. Bayliss, 2016 MT 205, ¶¶ 17, 21 (oral residential construction contract and lien consequence) — https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4250464/ (accessed 2026-10-06)
Source links
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