Create Your Mechanics Lien
Unpaid for construction work? Put your claim on the property itself. One guided form produces the Notice of Intent that usually gets the check — and the recordable, state-tailored Claim of Mechanics Lien when it doesn't. Deadline computed, required notices checked, notarization and recording steps included.
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What's Included in This Mechanics Lien Form
A mechanics lien is the construction trades' strongest payment tool — a statutory claim recorded against the property you improved, clouding its title until you're paid. It's also the most procedurally strict document in business law: every state sets its own deadline (45 days to 8 months, Legal Sources §2), prerequisite notices (§3), execution formalities (§4), and after-recording duties (§5) — and missing one typically kills the lien. This form manages all of it.
Notice of Intent to Lien
The pre-filing warning: pay by a set date or a lien follows. In practice this letter resolves a large share of disputes on its own — and in states like Wisconsin (≥30 days, §779.06(2)) and Colorado (≥10 days, §38-22-109(3)) it's a legal prerequisite the form enforces for you.
A Recordable Claim of Lien
The statutory document itself, built to your state's contents rules — claimant, owner, hiring party, work description, property, dates, and the amount "after deducting all just credits and offsets" (e.g., Cal. Civ. Code §8416) — with Georgia's mandatory 395-day dissolution wording printed verbatim where required (O.C.G.A. §44-14-361.1(a)(2)).
Your Deadline, Computed
Enter your last furnishing date and the form computes your recording deadline under your state's rule — Florida's 90 days (§713.08(5)), Texas's month-grid (Prop. Code §53.052), New York's 8/4-month split (Lien Law §10), Ohio's 60/75 days (R.C. §1311.06) — and warns you in amber at 21 days and red when the window has passed.
The "After You Record" Page
Recording isn't the finish line: Texas requires a copy to the owner within 5 business days (§53.055), Georgia within 2 (§44-14-361.1(a)(2)), Florida within 15 (§713.08(4)(c)), Ohio within 30 (§1311.07) — and every lien has an enforcement window (§6). Your PDF ends with a per-state instruction page so nothing slips.
Never Overstate a Lien
The claim must be the unpaid value of what you actually furnished, minus every credit — not lost profits, delay damages, or pressure padding. Overstating is dangerous: Texas fraudulent-lien liability runs $10,000+ (CPRC ch. 12), Florida makes it a third-degree felony and voids the lien (§713.31), and New York voids willfully exaggerated liens outright (Lien Law §§39, 39-a). This form computes your ceiling and only lets you adjust down.
Some Projects Can't Be Liened
Public property is immune — government projects use payment-bond claims instead (federal Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. §3131; state Little Miller Acts). And New Hampshire and Vermont have no ordinary recorded lien at all (suit + writ of attachment, RSA 447:9; 9 V.S.A. §1924). The form detects both and routes you to the right remedy instead of generating a document that can't work.
The Lien Process, In Order
Lien rights are a sequence with a clock. Do the steps in order — and never let the warning eat the filing window.
Preliminary Notices (during the work)
If you're a sub or supplier, many states require notice near the start: California's 20-day preliminary notice (Civ. Code §§8200–8216), Florida's Notice to Owner within 45 days (§713.06(2)(a)), Texas's monthly notices (§53.056). In nine states a missed notice is an absolute bar (§3) — the form checks yours by state and role.
Notice of Intent (the warning)
A firm, dated letter: pay by {date} or a lien will be recorded. Cheap, fast, and usually effective — and legally required before filing in AR, CO, MO, ND, PA, WI, WY and others (§3B). The form times it so your recording deadline stays protected.
Record the Claim (the lien)
Executed exactly as your state requires — sworn before a notary in TX/FL/NY/IL/OH (§4) — and recorded with the county where the property sits, before your computed deadline (§2). Then complete the state's service duty (§5).
Enforce or Release
A recorded lien has a shelf life: California 90 days (§8460), Florida and Texas about a year (§713.22; §53.158), Georgia self-voids at 395 days (§44-14-361.1), Illinois 2 years (770 ILCS 60/9). Foreclose within the window if unpaid — and record a release promptly once you're paid.
Liening the Right Way
A lien works because it's procedurally perfect and factually honest. These are the rules that keep yours enforceable — and keep you out of trouble.
Respect the Trigger Date
Deadlines run from your last real furnishing of labor or materials — courts routinely refuse to count warranty visits and punch-list touch-ups (a recurring fight under Fla. §713.08(5)). Don't stretch the date to buy time; an untimely lien is a liability, not leverage.
Execute It Exactly
Texas wants a sworn affidavit (§53.054); Florida a sworn, statutory-form claim (§713.08); New York a verified notice (Lien Law §9); Illinois a verified claim (770 ILCS 60/7); Ohio an affidavit (R.C. §1311.06). California isn't notarized — but omit its proof-of-service affidavit and the claim is unenforceable (Civ. Code §8416). The form renders the right block; sign it the right way.
Claim Honest Numbers
Contract price + approved change orders − everything you've been paid. That's the whole formula (§8416(a)(1): "after deducting all just credits and offsets"). The form computes it and blocks upward edits — because exaggeration voids liens (NY §39) and creates damages (TX CPRC ch. 12; FL §713.31).
Serve, Calendar, Enforce
After recording, serve the owner on your state's clock (TX 5 business days · GA 2 · FL 15 · OH 30 — §5), calendar the enforcement window (§6), and sue before it closes if you're still unpaid. A lien you never enforce quietly expires — and owners know it.
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Mechanics Lien
- Notice of Intent + Claim of Lien in one form
- Filing deadline computed from your dates
- Prerequisite-notice check by state and role
- Notary/verification blocks where required
- "After You Record" service-duty instructions
- Instant PDF download
Did you know?
Did you know?
Most mechanics liens never get recorded — because the Notice of Intent does the job first. A dated letter stating that a lien will attach to the property on a specific date changes the owner's math completely: a recorded lien clouds title, blocks sales and refinancing, and can end in foreclosure, so writing the check is almost always cheaper. That leverage is also why the law polices liens so strictly. Deadlines are short and unforgiving — 60 days for Ohio residential work (R.C. §1311.06), 90 in Florida and Georgia (§713.08(5); O.C.G.A. §44-14-361.1), a month-grid in Texas (Prop. Code §53.052) — nine states void your rights if a preliminary notice wasn't sent during the work (Legal Sources §3), five of the biggest construction states require the claim itself to be sworn before a notary (§4), and every state punishes exaggerated claims, up to Florida's third-degree felony (§713.31). This form exists to get all of that right: the warning first, the claim when needed, the deadline computed, and the after-recording steps printed on your document.
Featured — Spotlight
Tailored to your state's lien law.
No legal document changes more by state than a mechanics lien. The deadline: 90 days from final furnishing in Florida (§713.08(5)) and Georgia (O.C.G.A. §44-14-361.1(a)(2)); the 15th day of the 3rd or 4th month after your last work month in Texas, depending on residential vs commercial (Prop. Code §53.052); 8 months commercial but only 4 for a single-family dwelling in New York (Lien Law §10); 60 residential / 75 commercial days in Ohio (R.C. §1311.06); 4 months to bind third parties in Illinois (770 ILCS 60/7); 90 days in California — 60 or 30 if a Notice of Completion was recorded (Civ. Code §§8412, 8414). The prerequisites: California subs need a 20-day preliminary notice (§§8200–8216), Florida non-privity lienors a 45-day Notice to Owner (§713.06(2)(a)), Texas subs monthly notices (§53.056) — and in Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin, missing the notice can end lien rights entirely. The execution: sworn and notarized in Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, and Ohio; signed with a proof-of-service affidavit in California; exact statutory dissolution wording on the face in Georgia. Select your state and the form applies all of it — deadline, notices, execution block, service duties, and enforcement window.
What people are saying
Real jobs, real leverage
Join the contractors and suppliers who got paid without a lawyer
"A GC owed me $8,400 on a remodel for four months. The Notice of Intent gave him ten days — his office called on day six. What sold me was the deadline math: I had no idea Texas runs on a month-grid until the form computed my exact filing date."
Ray M.
Fort Worth, TX
"As a supplier I'd already sent my Notice to Owner, so when the invoice went unpaid I generated the lien claim, signed it at the notary like the form said, and recorded it the same week. It printed the 15-day service step right on the last page — paid in full 20 days later."
Elena V.
Orlando, FL
"Auto-body and light construction work — a customer left a truck bed job unpaid for months. I almost missed that Ohio residential gives you just 60 days. The red warning got me moving, the notary block was ready, and the county recorder took it first try."
Dominik S.
Columbus, OH
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about mechanics liens
A statutory security interest in real property for unpaid construction labor, services, or materials. Recorded with the county where the property sits, it clouds the owner's title — blocking clean sales and refinancing — and can be foreclosed to pay your debt from the property itself (e.g., Cal. Civ. Code §8460). It's available to general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers on private projects in every state except New Hampshire and Vermont, which use a suit-and-attachment process instead (RSA 447:9; 9 V.S.A. §1924).
Sometimes by law, always by strategy. Wisconsin requires it at least 30 days before filing (§779.06(2)), Colorado 10 days (§38-22-109(3) — and missing it bars the lien), with similar rules in AR, MO, ND, PA, and WY (Legal Sources §3B). Everywhere else it's optional — but it's the cheapest, fastest escalation there is, and most disputes end here. This form generates either document and enforces the required order in NOI-mandatory states.
It depends on the property's state and the project type, and the windows are short: 90 days from final furnishing in Florida (§713.08(5)) and Georgia (§44-14-361.1(a)(2)); the 15th day of the 3rd (residential) or 4th (non-residential) month after your last work month in Texas (Prop. Code §53.052); 4 months (single-family) or 8 months in New York (Lien Law §10); 60/75 days in Ohio (R.C. §1311.06); 90 days in California, shortened if a Notice of Completion was recorded (Civ. Code §§8412–8414). The form computes your date from your last furnishing and warns you when it's close — or past.
In many states, yes: Texas (sworn affidavit, Prop. Code §53.054), Florida (sworn claim, §713.08(1)), New York (verified, Lien Law §9), Illinois (verified by affidavit, 770 ILCS 60/7), and Ohio (affidavit, R.C. §1311.06). California is the famous exception — no notarization, but the claim must include a proof-of-service affidavit showing the owner was served, or it's unenforceable (Civ. Code §8416). Your document renders the correct execution block for your state; the Notice of Intent is a plain signed letter everywhere.
Three duties, all printed on your document's "After You Record" page. Serve the owner: within 5 business days in Texas (§53.055), 2 business days in Georgia (§44-14-361.1(a)(2)), 15 days in Florida (§713.08(4)(c)), 30 days in Ohio (§1311.07), and New York's §11 window. Calendar your enforcement deadline: 90 days in California (§8460), ~1 year in Florida and Texas (§713.22; §53.158), 365(+30) days in Georgia, 2 years in Illinois (770 ILCS 60/9). And once paid, record a release promptly. A lien you don't enforce within the window simply expires. This is a self-help document, not legal advice — for a large or contested claim, consult a construction attorney in the property's state.
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Mechanics Lien