Mechanic's Lien Deadlines & Notice Requirements in West Virginia
At a glance
| Governing law | W. Va. Code ch. 38, art. 2 (§§ 38-2-1 to -41) creates private construction liens and sets notice, recordation, priority, and enforcement rules. When perfected, a lien attaches as of the start of furnishing (§ 38-2-17). |
|---|---|
| Who can claim a lien | Direct contractors (§ 38-2-1), subcontractors including those working for another subcontractor (§ 38-2-2), material suppliers to owners or contractors/subcontractors (§§ 38-2-3, -4), and mechanics/laborers (§§ 38-2-5, -6) can claim. Architects, surveyors, engineers, and landscape architects follow the corresponding claimant role (§ 38-2-6a). |
| Preliminary notice | Section 38-2-20 permits, but does not generally require, a prework notice from a person employed by a party contracting with the owner; it addresses a 60-day account-and-notice filing unless the owner requests it in writing. Separately, § 38-2-19 allows an owner to demand an itemized account at any time; a claimant who does not provide it within 10 days loses lien coverage for earlier work or materials. |
| Deadline to file the lien | Perfect within 100 days: after contract completion for a direct contractor, subcontract completion for a subcontractor, or last furnishing/work for suppliers, mechanics, and laborers (§ 38-2-7). Sections 38-2-8 to -13 specify the corresponding recording and owner-notice acts. |
| Notice of completion effect | Article 2 sets claimant-specific completion and last-furnishing triggers (§ 38-2-7); it provides no owner-recorded completion notice that shortens those periods. The owner’s separate itemized-account demand appears in § 38-2-19. |
| Serving the lien on the owner | Direct claimants record with the county clerk within 100 days (§§ 38-2-8, -10, -12). Subcontractors, suppliers to contractors/subcontractors, and their mechanics/laborers must serve the owner or agent by a legal-notice or summons method and record the notice within the same period (§§ 38-2-9, -11, -13); missed recordation discharges the lien. |
| Deadline to sue to foreclose | Begin enforcement in circuit court within six months after filing notice with the clerk or the lien is discharged; one claimant’s timely action preserves other liens on the same property, and other claimants may intervene (§ 38-2-34(a)). |
| Homestead/residential extras | For the single-family and owner-occupied dwelling categories in §§ 38-2-21(b) and 38-2-34(b), an owner may defend an enforcement suit by proving no debt, or a smaller debt, is owed to the contractor. This is an affirmative full or partial defense, despite the general rule that owner payment does not impair subcontractor liens (§ 38-2-21(a)). |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Chapter 38, Article 2 creates the lien and sets separate perfection steps. Under § 38-2-17, a perfected lien attaches as of the date qualifying work or materials began to be furnished, which matters for priority against later liens.
Who can claim
The claimant's contract determines the route. Sections 38-2-1 through -6 cover direct contractors, subcontractors including those hired by another subcontractor, suppliers, and mechanics or laborers. Section 38-2-6a places architects, surveyors, engineers, and landscape architects in the matching role for perfection and preservation.
Preliminary notice
Section 38-2-20 permits a person working for someone who contracted with the owner to warn the owner before work that the claimant will look to the owner for payment if unpaid. It says that a sender need not file an account and notice with the owner within 60 days after last work or furnishing unless the owner requests that filing in writing within that period, provided the lien is otherwise perfected. This is distinct from § 38-2-19: the owner may demand an itemized account at any time, and failure to provide it within 10 days releases the property from liens for work or materials supplied before the demand.
Deadline to file the lien
Section 38-2-7 assigns the 100-day period to each claimant's own trigger: completion of the contract or subcontract, or the last furnishing of materials or labor. The claimant must perform the applicable recordation and, where required, owner-service steps in §§ 38-2-8 through -13 before the period expires.
Serving the lien on the owner
A contractor under § 38-2-8, a supplier to the owner under § 38-2-10, or a worker directly for the owner under § 38-2-12 records a notice with the county clerk. Claimants under §§ 38-2-9, -11, and -13 must also serve notice on the owner or agent by a method available for legal notices or summonses. Section 38-2-9 expressly discharges a subcontractor's lien if recording is missed.
Deadline to sue to foreclose
Section 38-2-34(a) gives six months after filing notice with the clerk to begin a circuit-court enforcement action. A timely suit by one lienholder preserves other liens on the same property, and their holders may intervene.
Homestead/residential extras
Sections 38-2-21(b) and 38-2-34(b) permit an owner to show that the owner owes the contractor nothing, or less than the lien amount, as a full or partial defense in an enforcement suit involving the listed single-family or owner-occupied dwellings. The defense is narrower than the general rule in § 38-2-21(a) that owner payments do not impair a subcontractor's lien.
What trips people up
The optional prework notice in § 38-2-20 does not eliminate § 38-2-19's separate written-demand procedure. A claimant receiving an itemized-account demand has 10 days to respond or risks losing lien coverage for earlier work or materials. A nonprivity claimant must also account for both service and recording within the 100-day window (§§ 38-2-9, -11, -13).
Common questions
Can a subcontractor hired by another subcontractor claim a lien? Yes. Section 38-2-2 expressly covers a contract with a subcontractor for part of the work.
Does one lienholder's timely suit help the others? Yes. Section 38-2-34(a) preserves the liens of others on the same property and permits their intervention.
Statutes and sources
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-1 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-1/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-2 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-2/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-4 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-4/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-6a — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/signed_bills/1994%5C1994-RS-SB289-SUB1%20ENR_signed.pdf (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-7 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-7/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-20 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-20/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-19 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-19/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-9 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-9/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-8 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-8/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-34 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-34/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-21 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-21/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-3 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-3/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-5 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-5/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-6 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-6/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-10 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-10/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-11 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-11/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-12 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-12/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-13 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-13/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
- W. Va. Code § 38-2-17 — https://code.wvlegislature.gov/38-2-17/ (accessed 2026-10-06).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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