Mechanics lien questions, answered.

Which states does LienShield support?

49 of the 56 US lien jurisdictions: 46 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. LienShield does not prepare filings in American Samoa, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, New Hampshire, the Northern Mariana Islands or Puerto Rico. Most of those create a lien through a court proceeding, or have no recordable lien at all, so there is nothing for a document service to prepare; Louisiana is excluded because some of its rules cannot yet be calculated reliably. Each of the seven still has a guide that explains what the process involves.

All state guides

Who actually files the lien?

You do. LienShield prepares the document from your project and checks it for missing information; you (or your office manager) sign it, notarize it where the state requires, and record or serve it. Each state guide shows which office records it, the fee range, whether it must be notarized or sworn, and how it must be served. When you mark a document as sent or filed in LienShield, the reminders for that step stop and the next step takes over.

Example: the Tennessee guide

Can my whole team use one account?

Your company is one organization and everyone joins it free, with a role that controls what they can do. Everyone sees every project, deadline and document in the app. What one account cannot do is put LienShield in everyone's inbox: A plan covers one person. Deadline reminder emails and scheduled reports go to the person whose own plan includes them, so if your office manager is on Premium, that does not put the crew on Premium. Anyone who wants LienShield emailing them about a deadline needs their own paid plan. Reminder emails start at Pro. Where someone does receive them, admins and managers are reminded about every project by default and field staff about the projects they created; view-only members are never emailed. Each person changes their own reminder settings.

Does LienShield use AI, and is my data used to train it?

Deadlines are calculated by rules taken from each statute, not by AI. Two features use Anthropic's Claude: contract auto-fill, which runs only when you upload a contract, and an automatic review of each document you generate. Every request is processed on Anthropic's US infrastructure, and your contracts, projects and filings are never used to train AI models. An admin can turn both features off for your whole organization in Settings, under “AI & your data”; nothing from it is sent to Anthropic while they are off.

Privacy Policy, section 3Security

What happens if I miss a lien deadline?

Usually the lien for that work is gone: the statutes make the deadlines conditions of the lien. In Tennessee, for example, a remote contractor who does not serve the monthly Notice of Nonpayment "shall have no right to claim a lien" for that month's work (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-145). You may still have a contract claim or a payment-bond claim, and a few states give partial credit for a late notice: California's still covers work furnished in the 20 days before it was given (Cal. Civ. Code § 8204(a)), and Nevada's covers the 31 days before it was sent (NRS 108.245(6)). Ask counsel before you assume a missed date is fatal, and act the same day.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-145(opens the statute in a new tab)Cal. Civ. Code § 8204(opens the statute in a new tab)NRS 108.245(opens the statute in a new tab)

How long do I have to file a mechanics lien in Texas?

Texas counts in months. The lien affidavit is due by the 15th day of the 4th month on commercial work and the 15th day of the 3rd month on residential work (Tex. Prop. Code § 53.052). For an original contractor the months count from the month its own work under the original contract was completed, terminated or abandoned; for everyone else, from the month they last provided labor or materials. A claim for retainage follows § 53.052(d): the 15th day of the 3rd month after the month the original contract ended. Subcontractors and suppliers must also send a notice for each month of unpaid work, due by the 15th day of the 3rd month (commercial) or 2nd month (residential) after that month (§ 53.056).

Texas lien guideTex. Prop. Code § 53.052(opens the statute in a new tab)§ 53.056(opens the statute in a new tab)

Do I need to send a preliminary notice in California?

Usually, yes. Subcontractors, suppliers, equipment lessors and design professionals must give a preliminary notice within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 8200, 8204(a)). A direct contractor owes it only to the construction lender, and only when there is one (§ 8200(e)(2)), but on a lender-financed job skipping it invalidates the lien (§ 8200(c)). A late notice is not worthless: it still covers work furnished in the 20 days before it was given, so send it the day you realize it was missed.

California lien guideCal. Civ. Code § 8200(opens the statute in a new tab)

How long do I have to file a mechanics lien in Florida?

Generally 90 days from your own final furnishing of labor, services or materials to record a Claim of Lien in the county where the property is (Fla. Stat. § 713.08(5)). Most lienors who did not contract with the owner must also serve a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing (§ 713.06(2)(a)), and that notice stops working once the owner makes final payment to the contractor after the contractor's final-payment affidavit, so the real deadline is the earlier of the two. Going back to fix your own earlier work does not restart the 90 days.

Florida lien guideFla. Stat. § 713.06(opens the statute in a new tab)§ 713.08(opens the statute in a new tab)

What is the difference between a preliminary notice and a mechanics lien?

A preliminary notice is sent early, before anyone is in a dispute, to tell the owner (and often the general contractor and lender) that you are working on the job and may claim a lien. A mechanics lien is recorded against the property after you go unpaid. In many states the notice is a condition of the lien: in Arizona, for example, the 20-day notice and proof of serving it are required to enforce the lien, even for a general contractor (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 33-981(D), 33-992.01).

Arizona lien guideAriz. Rev. Stat. § 33-992.01(opens the statute in a new tab)

Can I file a mechanics lien without a written contract?

It depends on the state and on your role. Many states let an oral or implied contract support a lien if you can prove it with invoices, messages, change orders and signed tickets, but some do not. Oregon, for example, bars a contractor's lien on a residential job over $2,000 without a written contract (ORS 701.305). Check your state's guide, and keep the paperwork either way.

Oregon lien guideORS 701.305(opens the statute in a new tab)

Can I upgrade or downgrade at any time?

Yes, and it is your own plan to change whatever your role. Choose the plan you want on the pricing page or on Billing in LienShield and confirm; the change takes effect immediately and Stripe prorates the difference the standard way. There are no contracts and no cancellation penalties, and changing your plan never affects a teammate.

What counts as a document?

A document is any notice, lien, waiver, demand letter, bond claim or other filing LienShield prepares for you. It counts once, when it is created. Editing a draft, downloading the PDF again, or marking it sent or filed does not count again. That includes preliminary notices, demand letters, mechanics liens, lien releases and notices of intent, as well as the state-specific forms such as lien waivers, stop notices and Little Miller Act bond claims. The monthly count is yours alone: a teammate's documents do not come out of it.

Is there a free trial for paid plans?

The Free plan is your trial. Use it as long as you want, with 3 documents a month. It does not include emailed deadline reminders or scheduled reports — you see every deadline in the app instead. Upgrade only when you need more.

Do you store my payment information?

No. We never see or store a card number. Payment is handled by Stripe, a PCI Level 1 processor, and the card on file is changed on Stripe's own page, which you reach from Update payment method on the Billing page.

What happens if I cancel?

You keep your plan until the end of the billing period you have already paid for, then you move to the Free plan. Nothing is deleted: your projects, deadlines and documents stay in your account, you stay on every team you belong to, and your teammates are unaffected — a plan covers one person, so cancelling yours changes nothing for anyone else.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes, and it is your own subscription to cancel whatever your role: open Billing in LienShield and choose Cancel subscription. You see the exact date the plan ends before you confirm, and you get an email copy. Cancelling stops the next payment — you keep the plan until the end of the period you have already paid for, and then you move to the Free plan. Nothing is deleted: your projects, deadlines and documents stay in your account, you stay on your teams, and you can resume with one click any time before that date. Section 3 of the Terms explains refunds.

Terms of Service

Is LienShield a law firm?

No. LienShield is a document preparation and deadline tracking service and does not give legal advice. It prepares documents from the information you enter and shows the rule and statute behind every date. For a contested lien, a lawsuit or any judgment call about your rights, work with a licensed attorney in your state; many customers use LienShield to prepare the paperwork and send the final step through counsel.