Mechanics Lien Deadlines
Pick your state, your last day on site, and the tier you contracted from, and get the date to record the lien, the days left, and the suit window after it.
Most states run the clock from your own last day of labor or materials; a substantial group runs it from completion of the improvement. Entering the completion date matters on those states.
How the math works
- The trigger is not portable: most states run the clock from your own last day of labor or materials. A substantial group runs it from completion of the whole improvement, which can fall months after your trade demobilized. Oregon and Wyoming run it from the earlier of the two, so finishing early can close the window while the job is still running.
- The owner can shorten your window: in at least ten states an owner-recorded notice of completion cuts the period, and the claimant may never see the recording. California cuts 90 to 60 days for a direct contractor and to 30 for everyone else (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 8412, 8414). Arizona cuts 120 to 60 (A.R.S. § 33-993), Nevada 90 to 40 (NRS § 108.226), Utah 180 to 90 (Utah Code § 38-1a-502), and Alaska 120 to 15 (AS § 34.35.068) when a notice of right to lien was not recorded.
- Recording is only half the job: a second statute sets the window to sue to enforce, usually measured from the recording date. Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, New Jersey, and South Dakota measure it from the work itself, so recording late eats the time left to sue. Texas measures from the filing deadline, not from the filing (Tex. Prop. Code § 53.158(a)).
- Month rules: Texas counts to the 15th day of the 4th month after the month of last furnishing, the 3rd month on residential, with monthly notices required below the prime (Tex. Prop. Code § 53.052). Virginia counts 90 days from the last day of the month in which you last worked and caps it at 90 days from completion; both limbs must be met (Va. Code § 43-4).
- Enforcement dates here assume recording on the filing deadline. Recording earlier extends the window in most states, and shortens nothing except in the states that measure from the work.
- Months are converted to calendar days at 30 days a month, 365 a year, 730 for two, and 1,095 for three: the printed date is a working target, a few days early, never late.
How many days do I have to file a mechanics lien?
Between 30 and 240 days depending on the state and the tier you sit in: Ohio gives 75 days, California 90 from completion, Texas the 15th day of the 4th month, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin six months, and New York eight months on most property. Tennessee is the widest ordinary window for a prime contractor at one year from completion; Alabama gives a day laborer 30 days. There is no national default.
Does my deadline start when the job ends?
In most states, no: it starts on your own last day of furnishing labor or materials. It starts on completion of the improvement in Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Utah, and California, and on contract termination in Florida. It starts on the earlier of your cessation and completion in Oregon and Wyoming, which is the worst trap in the table.
What happens if I miss the lien deadline?
The lien right is gone, and courts treat these windows as conditions on the right, not as ordinary limitations periods you can get excused from. California says the claim expires and is unenforceable, Utah makes an unenforced lien automatically void, and Alabama says the lien is lost. The debt survives; the security for it does not.