How Long Does a Subcontractor Have to File a Mechanic's Lien?

Why Lien Filing Deadlines Matter to GCs

As a general contractor, lien filing deadlines matter to you for two reasons. First, they tell you how long you are exposed to a potential lien filing on any given project. Second, they tell you how urgently you need to collect signed lien waivers when a payment dispute arises. If a subcontractor misses their filing deadline they lose their lien rights permanently. The goal is to have every waiver signed well before that deadline so the question of lien exposure never becomes a real issue.

How Lien Deadlines Are Calculated

In most states lien filing deadlines are calculated from one of three trigger events: the last day the subcontractor furnished labor or materials to the project, the date of project completion, or the date the owner records a Notice of Completion. Different states use different trigger events and some states use a combination depending on the circumstances. Understanding which trigger applies in your state is important because it affects both how you manage your projects and how you respond when a payment dispute arises.

Lien Filing Deadlines by State

In Texas, subcontractors and suppliers must file a lien by the 15th day of the fourth month after the month in which they last furnished labor or materials.

In California, subcontractors and suppliers have 30 days from the recording of a Notice of Completion or Notice of Cessation to file a lien. If no notice is recorded the deadline is 90 days from actual project completion.

In Florida, the deadline to file a mechanic's lien is 90 days from the last day the lienor furnished labor, services, or materials to the project.

In Georgia, the deadline to file a lien is 90 days from the last day the claimant furnished labor or materials.

In Arizona, subcontractors and suppliers must file a lien within 120 days of the last day they furnished labor or materials or within 60 days after a Notice of Completion is recorded, whichever is earlier.

In Michigan, the deadline to file a construction lien is 90 days from the last day the claimant furnished labor or materials.

In Nevada, the deadline is 90 days from the date of completion of the project or from the last day the claimant furnished labor or materials, whichever is later.

In Utah, subcontractors and suppliers must file a lien within 90 days of the last day they furnished labor or materials or 180 days after project completion, whichever is earlier.

In Mississippi, the deadline to file a lien is 12 months from the date the debt was due.

In Wyoming, subcontractors and suppliers must file a lien within 120 days of the last day they furnished labor or materials.

In Missouri, the deadline to file a mechanic's lien is six months from the last day the claimant furnished labor or materials.

In Montana, subcontractors and suppliers must file a lien within 90 days of the completion of the claimant's work or the furnishing of materials.

What Happens After a Lien Is Filed

After filing, the claimant must also file a lawsuit to enforce the lien within a specified period or the lien expires. In most states this enforcement deadline is between 6 months and 2 years from the date of filing. A lien that is filed but never enforced will eventually expire and the title will be cleared automatically.

However do not rely on waiting out an enforcement deadline as your strategy for dealing with a filed lien. The cloud on title created by a filed lien can disrupt a sale or refinancing for months. See the full breakdown of your options for resolving a filed mechanic's lien.

How Signed Waivers Affect the Lien Timeline

A properly signed conditional lien waiver that covers a specific payment period directly contradicts any lien claim for that period. If a sub signs a conditional waiver confirming receipt of a progress payment and then attempts to file a lien claiming nonpayment for that same period, the signed waiver is your evidence that the claim is false.

This is why collecting waivers at every payment matters so much. It is not just about closing out a project cleanly. It is about building a documented record that makes any subsequent lien claim extremely difficult to sustain.

What Happens When a Sub Files at the Last Minute

A GC on a $2.7M medical office build considered the project fully closed. Final payment had been released to all subs, punch list was complete, and the certificate of occupancy had been on file for nearly three months. On day 88 of a 90-day lien filing window, a specialty millwork subcontractor recorded a mechanics lien for $41,000, claiming a disputed final payment had never resolved a change order from month four of the project. The GC had not calendared the filing deadline — the project felt done, so the deadline felt irrelevant. It wasn't. The lien was filed within the statutory window, it was valid on its face, and the GC had to respond to it as an active legal encumbrance on the property. The owner, who was in the early stages of refinancing, received notice from their lender that the loan process was on hold until the lien was resolved. A dispute that might have been settled for $15,000 at closeout cost significantly more once attorneys were involved.

Property transactions accelerate the risk. A commercial property was under contract for sale, with a closing date set and a title company engaged. Seven days before the scheduled closing, a lumber supplier who had a contract with one of the framing subcontractors filed a $19,000 mechanics lien. The supplier was within their filing window — the framing sub had been paid, but the supplier claimed the sub had never passed the payment through. The title company flagged the lien and informed all parties it could not issue title insurance on an encumbered property. The closing was cancelled. The buyer exercised a contract contingency and walked. The property went back on the market. The seller — the original owner — was forced to bond over the lien to clear title before relisting, adding attorney fees and bonding costs to a dispute between parties below them in the payment chain that they had no direct involvement in.

The worst position to be in when a last-minute lien arrives is having no paper trail. A GC who received a lien filing from a concrete supplier on day 75 of a 90-day window had the bank records to show payment had been made to the prime concrete subcontractor. What they did not have was a single signed waiver from that sub covering the payment period in question, and no documentation showing the sub had ever paid their supplier. Without waivers, the GC could not affirmatively prove that lien rights had been released — only that money had moved to the prime. The supplier's rights against the property were entirely independent of the GC's payment to the prime. The lien was valid. The GC paid the supplier's claim directly and pursued the concrete sub separately in a claim that took fourteen months to resolve.

The Practical Takeaway

Know the lien filing deadline for every state you operate in. Collect conditional progress waivers at every payment so that your documentation closes out each payment period as it happens. At project completion collect conditional final waivers from every party with lien rights. File your Notice of Completion promptly in states where it shortens the filing window.

The goal is to have zero unsigned waivers by the time any lien filing deadline approaches. Use the complete project closeout checklist to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. When your documentation is complete the statutory deadline becomes irrelevant because there is no legitimate basis for a lien claim.

The answer to every lien filing deadline concern is a complete lien waiver management process that collects waivers before deadlines become relevant.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a subcontractor have to file a mechanic's lien?

It depends on the state. Most states allow 60 to 120 days from the last day the claimant personally furnished labor or materials to the project. Some states have shorter windows when a Notice of Completion is recorded by the property owner or GC — in California, for example, the window drops from 90 days to 30 days after a Notice of Completion is filed. Always check the specific statute for the state where the project is located, and calendar the deadline from the day work was last performed.

Does the lien filing deadline start from the last day of work or project completion?

In most states it starts from the last day the claimant personally furnished labor or materials — not from overall project completion. A subcontractor who finished their scope in month three of a twelve-month project still has their full filing window from their last day on site, even if the GC is still actively working. This is an important distinction: a project that is still under construction is not necessarily past its lien deadline for all parties. Tier two suppliers who made their last delivery early in the project may still have an active filing window months later.

Can a subcontractor file a lien after signing a conditional waiver?

Only if they also file an Affidavit of Nonpayment — or a similar statutory document — within the applicable deadline, swearing under oath that the payment condition was never satisfied. A conditional waiver that became effective because payment was received is strong evidence against a subsequent lien claim and will typically defeat it. However, if the sub credibly claims the payment never arrived, the conditional nature of the waiver means it may be void — which is why confirming receipt of payment, not just transmittal, matters before treating a conditional waiver as final protection.

What shortens the lien filing deadline?

Recording a Notice of Completion with the county significantly shortens the filing window in states that recognize it. In California the window drops from 90 days to 30 days for most claimants after a valid Notice of Completion is recorded. In Arizona it drops from 120 days to 60 days. In states where this mechanism is available, filing the Notice of Completion promptly after project completion is one of the most effective administrative steps a GC or owner can take to accelerate the closure of lien exposure across all parties on the project.

What happens if a subcontractor misses the lien filing deadline?

They permanently lose their right to file a mechanics lien for that project. The deadline is a hard cutoff — there is no grace period, no exception for good cause, and no mechanism to extend it after it has passed. Their only remaining recourse is a breach of contract claim or other civil action against the party who owes them money, which is significantly more expensive, time-consuming, and uncertain than enforcing a mechanics lien. This is why lien deadlines are tracked carefully by subcontractors' attorneys — and why GCs who collect waivers consistently make any subsequent lien claim extremely difficult to sustain within that window.