How to file a mechanics lien in Arkansas

Step by step

12 steps for a subcontractor in Arkansas.

1. 1

   Step 1: Check first whether the property is publicly owned

   Before you do anything else on this list.

   Arkansas mechanics liens only attach to private property. If the owner is the State of Arkansas, a county, a city, a school district or any other public body, there is no lien to file — your money comes from the contractor's payment bond. A public construction contract over $50,000 must have one. Filing a lien anyway gets you nothing. Worth checking on private jobs too: a payment bond is also an option on private work, and on a 1-4 unit house a bond is one of the two things that switches off the preliminary-notice requirement entirely.

   Where it goes

   Clerk of the circuit court of the county where the construction work takes place.

   How

   Ask the circuit clerk in the county where the work is for the payment bond. The contractor is required to file it with that clerk before construction starts, and if they did not file it, the party who let the contract does not have to pay them until they do.

   Proof to keep

   A file-marked copy of the payment bond, and the name of the surety.

   If you miss it: If you file a mechanics lien against public property, you have no lien and you have burned time you needed for the bond deadlines, which are shorter.

   Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-44-503, 18-44-505, 18-44-507(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: If you are working under someone else: confirm the owner got the residential notice before you first furnish

   Before you start work or make your first delivery.

   On residential property with four or fewer units, nobody below the top gets a lien unless the owner received at least one copy of the Important Notice to Owner. It does not have to come from you — the general contractor's notice counts for everyone. But if nobody gave it, nobody has a lien, and you cannot fix that after the fact. You are allowed to give the notice yourself.

   Where it goes

   The owner of the residential real estate, the owner's authorized agent, or the owner's registered agent.

   How

   Personal delivery or certified mail, using the same exact statutory wording as the contractor's version. If you cannot confirm the owner already received one, send your own before you first furnish — a notice given before you commence work is effective for every claimant on the job.

   Proof to keep

   Either the contractor's written certification that the owner received it (see the next step) or your own certified mail proof of delivery.

   What the document must contain

   • The exact statutory text headed 'IMPORTANT NOTICE TO OWNER', word for word
   • Conspicuous, boldface, all capital letters

   If you miss it: If the owner never received a copy from anyone, you have no lien. And if the only notice the owner got was given by another claimant after the project had already started, your lien secures only what you supplied after that notice's effective date — everything you put in before it is unsecured and there is no way to cure it.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-115(a)(1), (a)(5)(A), (a)(5)(B), (a)(5)(C)(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: Demand the job list and the notice certification in writing

   Optional

   Any time during the job. Do it early — in the first week if you can.

   Arkansas gives subcontractors and material suppliers a statutory right to demand two things from the contractor or subcontractor above them: a list of everyone doing work or furnishing material on the job with the amount owed to each, and a certification that the owner received the residential preliminary notice. This is how you find out whether your lien rights actually exist while there is still time to protect them.

   Where it goes

   The contractor or subcontractor you are working under.

   How

   A written request to the contractor or subcontractor you are working under. They have five business days to give you a correct answer.

   Proof to keep

   Your dated written request and their written answer, including the certification.

   What the document must contain

   • A request for a list of all parties doing work or furnishing material and the amount due to each
   • A request for certification that the owner or the owner's agent received the § 18-44-115(a) preliminary notice

   If you miss it: No automatic penalty to you — this is a tool, not a deadline. But if they refuse, blow the five business days, or falsely certify that the owner received the notice, they are guilty of a violation punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 and you can sue in circuit court to enforce it, with damages, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee to the winner.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-108(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: Send the 75-day Notice of Nonpayment to the owner AND the contractor

   Within 75 days of the labor or materials you have not been paid for. The statute runs the 75 days 'from the time that the labor was supplied or the materials furnished' — keyed to the furnishing, not to the end of the job. On a job that runs for months, do not save it up for demobilization: send a fresh notice at least monthly for as long as you are unpaid, covering the amount currently due.

   On commercial real estate — anything nonresidential, plus any residential building with five or more units — a subcontractor, supplier, laborer or design professional gets no lien unless they tell the owner in writing that they are currently entitled to payment and have not been paid. A general contractor dealing directly with a commercial owner does not send this one.

   Where it goes

   BOTH the owner (or the owner's authorized or registered agent) AND the contractor. Sending it only to the owner is not enough.

   How

   Serve it by an officer authorized to serve process in civil actions, or by mail with return receipt requested AND delivery restricted to the addressee or the addressee's agent, or by any means giving written third-party verification of delivery at a place where the owner or the owner's agent has an office, does business, or resides. Mailed service is complete when you mail it. If the mail comes back refused or unclaimed, immediately send another copy by first class mail — the unopened refused or unclaimed envelope is accepted as proof of service as of its postmark date.

   Proof to keep

   Return receipts or third-party delivery verification for both recipients, plus a copy of every notice you sent — these get attached to the lien.

   What the document must contain

   • A general description of the labor, service or materials furnished, and the amount due and unpaid
   • Your name and address
   • The name of the person who contracted for purchase of the labor, service or materials
   • A description of the job site sufficient to identify it
   • The prescribed statement headed 'NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER', in boldface type and all capital letters, worded as the statute sets out

   If you miss it: No lien on that commercial property for the work the notice should have covered.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-115(b)(2), (b)(3), (b)(4), (b)(5), (b)(6)(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: Serve the 10-day Notice of Intent by day 110

   At least 10 days before you file the lien. Because the lien itself is due within 120 days of your last day on the job, the practical deadline to serve this is day 110. That day-110 figure is arithmetic, not a number in the statute — the statute gives you the 10 days and the 120 days separately.

   Arkansas makes every single claimant do this, including a general contractor who contracted straight with the owner. Most states have no such requirement for a GC, so out-of-state contractors reliably miss it. It is separate from and on top of any preliminary notice you already sent, and the clerk checks for it at the counter.

   Where it goes

   The owner of the building or improvement. If the owner is not an Arkansas resident, has no agent in the county, lives in a different Arkansas county, or is concealing themselves or has absconded so you cannot serve them, you may file the notice with the county recorder of deeds instead, and it has the same effect as personal service.

   How

   Serve it by an officer authorized to serve process in a civil action; or by any person who would be a competent witness, who then verifies service by affidavit; or by mail with return receipt requested AND delivery restricted to the addressee or the addressee's agent; or by any means giving written third-party verification of delivery at a place where the owner has an office, does business, or resides. Mailed service is complete when you mail it. If it comes back refused or unclaimed, immediately send a copy by first class mail — you may then go ahead and file, and the unopened envelope counts as proof of service as of its postmark date.

   Proof to keep

   The officer's return endorsed on the notice, or the server's affidavit, or the signed return receipt, or the refused/unclaimed envelope. You must attach this proof to the lien — the clerk is required not to file a lien without it.

   What the document must contain

   • A statement that you hold a claim against the building or improvement
   • The amount of the claim
   • Who the amount is due from

   If you miss it: The circuit clerk is required by statute to refuse your lien account. If you discover this at day 112, the 120 days runs out before a notice served that day can ripen, and the lien is forfeited with no way to cure it.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-114; alternative service on an out-of-state or absconding owner under § 18-44-116(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: File the verified lien account within 120 days

   Within 120 days after you last furnished labor, services or materials. It runs from YOUR last day on the job, not from completion or abandonment of the whole improvement.

   This is the filing that creates the lien. Arkansas calls it a lien account, and it has to be sworn. The package is bigger than in most states because the proof of your notices goes in with it.

   Where it goes

   Clerk of the circuit court, acting as county recorder, of the county in which the building, erection or other improvement is situated.

   How

   File it with the circuit clerk. The account of what you are owed and the property description both have to be verified by affidavit, so get it sworn and notarized before you go. The recording fee is set by statute: $15 for one page, one side only, plus $5 for each additional page — a two-sided sheet counts as two pages. A complete lien package with affidavits and attached notices usually runs several pages, so budget accordingly.

   Proof to keep

   A file-marked copy showing the clerk's endorsed filing date.

   What the document must contain

   • A just and true account of the demand due or owing to you after allowing all credits
   • A correct legal description of the property, verified by affidavit — a street address is expressly NOT a correct description of real property
   • An affidavit of notice attached to the lien account
   • Inside that affidavit: a sworn statement evidencing compliance with the applicable notice provisions of §§ 18-44-114 through 18-44-116
   • Inside that affidavit: a copy of each applicable notice you gave under §§ 18-44-114 through 18-44-116
   • Inside that affidavit: a copy of the proof of service required under § 18-44-114
   • Notarization of the affidavits

   If you miss it: No lien. And the clerk is directed by statute not to file a lien account that lacks the required affidavits and attachments — so showing up on day 118 with an incomplete package is not a fixable defect you get a chance to correct. It is a missed deadline.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-117; recording fee at § 21-6-306(a)(1)(A)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: Tell the owner the lien is filed and start the 20-day attorney's fee clock

   Optional

   Right after you file. The 20 days runs from the date you serve the notice.

   Nothing in § 18-44-117 requires you to serve the recorded lien, and skipping this does not invalidate it. But it is how you get your legal fees paid. If you give the owner notice of the filed lien and 20 days pass without payment, and you then have to sue to enforce the claim, the court is required to award you a reasonable attorney's fee on top of what you are owed.

   Where it goes

   The owner of the property.

   How

   Use any of the service methods allowed by § 18-44-115(b)(5): an officer authorized to serve process in civil actions, restricted-delivery return-receipt mail, or a means giving written third-party verification of delivery.

   Proof to keep

   Proof of service and the exact date of service — the 20-day count depends on it.

   What the document must contain

   • Notice that you have filed the lien

   If you miss it: Your lien is still valid, but you may have no route to a fee award. Be aware the statute cuts both ways: if the owner is the prevailing party in the enforcement action, the court is required to award the OWNER a reasonable attorney's fee against you.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-128(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: Watch your mail — the owner can put you on a 3-day or 5-day clock

   Any time after you file. Check the address you gave the circuit clerk daily, and make sure it is an address you actually monitor.

   This is the part Arkansas contractors never see coming. Once your lien is on record, the owner, a mortgagee, anyone else with an interest in the property, or the contractor above you has two fast ways to get it off. They can post a surety bond for the amount of the lien, or they can file a lien protest lawsuit. Both run on clocks measured in days.

   Where it goes

   Circuit court of the county where the lien is filed.

   How

   Bond: if the clerk approves the surety, the clerk gives you three days' written notice that the bond was filed. Within those three days you may appear and question the sufficiency of the surety or the form of the bond. If you do not, or if the clerk finds the bond sufficient, the clerk notes it on the margin of the lien record, the lien is discharged, and you have recourse only against the principal and the surety on the bond. Protest suit: you will be served with a summons, a complaint and a court-issued notice. You have five days, not counting Sundays and legal holidays, to file a written objection to the claim.

   Proof to keep

   Everything you were served with and the date you were served. Diary the deadline the same day.

   If you miss it: If you do not file a written objection within those five days, the court is required to issue an order discharging your lien immediately — without anyone looking at whether you are actually owed the money. If you do object, the judge decides only two things: was the lien in the form § 18-44-117 requires, and were the applicable requirements of §§ 18-44-114 and 18-44-115 satisfied. If either answer is no, the lien is discharged. The prevailing party gets a reasonable attorney's fee and the costs of the protest.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-118(a), (b), (d), (f)(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: File suit AND record a lis pendens within 15 months

   Both within 15 calendar months after the date you filed the lien. This is calendar months, not a day count — work out the exact date from your filing date and put that date in your calendar. If the owner bonded the lien off, you still have to sue within the time prescribed for enforcement or the bond becomes null and void.

   Two things, not one. Arkansas says the lien stops existing 15 months after you filed it unless within that same time you have both started the lawsuit and filed a lis pendens. Doing one without the other is the same as doing neither.

   Where it goes

   Circuit court for the suit. Recorder of deeds — the circuit clerk — of the county where the property is situated, for the lis pendens.

   How

   File the foreclosure complaint in circuit court, then separately file a notice of the pendency of the suit for record with the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is. Prosecute the case without unnecessary delay to final judgment.

   Proof to keep

   File-marked copies of both the complaint and the recorded lis pendens.

   What the document must contain

   • A complaint alleging the facts necessary for securing a lien under the subchapter
   • A description of the property to be charged with the lien
   • A separate notice of the pendency of the suit, filed for record

   If you miss it: The lien expires. If you sued on time but never recorded the lis pendens, the lien is gone at 15 months even though your lawsuit is still alive, and you drop to an unsecured claim against a party who may have nothing to collect from.

   Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-119(a), (b); lis pendens under § 16-59-101; complaint contents at § 18-44-122(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: Release the lien within 10 days of being paid

    Within 10 days after payment.

    Once the debt secured by the lien is paid and satisfied, the statute makes it your duty to enter satisfaction of the lien on the record. This is an obligation on you, not on the owner.

    Where it goes

    Office of the clerk of the circuit court where the lien is recorded.

    How

    Enter satisfaction of the lien upon the record, or on the margin of the record, in the circuit clerk's office.

    Proof to keep

    A file-marked copy of the satisfaction.

    If you miss it: If you refuse or neglect to do it for 10 days after payment, you are liable to anyone injured by the delay for the amount of their injury plus the cost of suit. A stale lien on a title blocks closings, so the injury number can be real.

    Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-131(opens the statute in a new tab)
11. 11

    Step 11: Public jobs only: send the 90-day bond notice if you have no contract with the bonded contractor

    Within 90 days after the last date you performed labor, or the last of the material or services your claim is based on was furnished or supplied.

    On a bonded job, if you have no contractual relationship — express or implied — with the contractor who furnished the payment bond, you must give written notice before you can bring a bond claim. If you contracted directly with the bonded contractor, this step is not yours.

    Where it goes

    The contractor AND the surety.

    How

    Serve it by any means that provides written third-party verification of delivery to the contractor's residence or to any place the contractor maintains an office or conducts business, or in any manner appropriate under the rules of civil procedure for service of process in a civil action.

    Proof to keep

    Written third-party verification of delivery to both the contractor and the surety, plus a copy of the notice.

    What the document must contain

    • The amount claimed
    • The name of the party to whom the material was furnished or supplied, or for whom the labor was done or performed

    If you miss it: You cannot bring the civil action on the payment bond. On a public job that is your only remedy, so the claim is over.

    Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-508(d)(opens the statute in a new tab)
12. 12

    Step 12: Public jobs only: sue on the payment bond within one year

    Within one year of whichever happens first: final payment is made on the construction contract, or the principal contractor on the payment bond ceases work on the contract. If you are claiming on a performance bond instead, that window is two years from the earlier of the contractor receiving final payment or ceasing work.

    This is the deadline that replaces the 120-day lien filing and the 15-month enforcement window on public work. Note the clock does not start at your last day on site — it starts at final payment or when the bonded contractor stops work, whichever comes first, so it can be running before you know it.

    Where it goes

    An Arkansas court.

    How

    Bring a civil action against the corporate surety. The action cannot be brought outside the State of Arkansas.

    Proof to keep

    The file-marked complaint, plus your record of the date of final payment or the date the contractor left the job.

    If you miss it: The bond claim is time-barred and there is no lien to fall back on.

    Ark. Code Ann. § 18-44-508(a), (b), (c), (e)(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in Arkansas

Where you file

Office

Clerk of the circuit court (county circuit clerk, acting as ex officio county recorder) of the county in which the building, erection, or other improvement to be charged with the lien is situated

Recording fee

$15–$40

Notarization

Required

Sworn or verified

Affidavit

How it is served

Certified mail

Copies

1

Fees and office procedures change; confirm them with the recording office before you file.

What trips people up in Arkansas

• Thinking you have 75 days on a house. You do not. On residential property with four or fewer units the notice must be RECEIVED by the owner before work begins — there is no grace period at all. The 75-day notice is the commercial one. Mixing these two up is the single most common way an Arkansas residential lien dies (§ 18-44-115(a)(1), (a)(3) vs. § 18-44-115(b)(5)(A)).
• Skipping the 10-day Notice of Intent because you are the general contractor and you deal with the owner directly. Arkansas says 'every person' — there is no privity exception and no claimant-type exemption. On a commercial job a GC owes no preliminary notice at all, which makes it very easy to believe you owe nothing, right up until the clerk refuses the filing (§ 18-44-114(a); § 18-44-117(b)(3)).
• Showing up at the counter on day 118 with an incomplete package. Arkansas is one of the states where the clerk is directed by statute to refuse a lien account lacking the required affidavits and attachments. You do not get a deficiency letter and a chance to fix it — you get turned away, and the 120 days keeps running (§ 18-44-117(b)(3)).
• Using a street address as the property description. The statute says in as many words that for real property a street address is not a correct description. Get the legal description off the deed or the county assessor's record (§ 18-44-117(a)(2)(B), (b)(1)(C)).
• Sending the 75-day commercial notice to the owner only. It has to go to the owner AND the contractor. This is a quiet, fatal shortcut (§ 18-44-115(b)(5)(A)).
• Saving up the 75-day commercial notice until you demobilize. The statutory words run the 75 days 'from the time that the labor was supplied or the materials furnished' — tied to the furnishing, not to the job. Many practitioners read it as 75 days from your last furnishing and no Arkansas appellate decision settles it, so the safe practice on a long job is to re-serve at least monthly while you are unpaid (§ 18-44-115(b)(5)(A)).
• Calling a five-unit apartment building 'residential'. At five units it is commercial real estate under the statute, which swaps the pre-construction notice for the 75-day notice. Count the units before you decide which notice you owe (§ 18-44-115(b)(2)(A)).
• Assuming the general contractor gave the residential preliminary notice. Nobody on the job has a lien unless the owner received at least one copy from someone. You have a statutory right to demand written certification that the owner got it, and the contractor has five business days to answer — use it in week one, not month six (§ 18-44-115(a)(5)(C); § 18-44-108).
• Ignoring what lands in your mailbox after you file. The owner can file a lien protest suit, and you have five days — excluding Sundays and legal holidays — to file a written objection or the court discharges your lien on the spot. The owner can also bond the lien off, giving you three days to challenge the surety or the bond's form. These are the shortest clocks in the whole process and the ones contractors most often sleep through (§ 18-44-118(b)(2), (f)(3)(B)).
• Filing suit within 15 months and stopping there. The lien dies at 15 months unless you have ALSO recorded a lis pendens. Contractors lose liens this way with a live lawsuit on the docket (§ 18-44-119(b)(2)).
• Treating the 15-month deadline as a rough day count. It is 15 calendar months from the date you filed the lien. Work out the actual date and diary it; approximating in days can put you a day past it (§ 18-44-119(a)).
• Being an architect or engineer hired in writing by the general contractor rather than by the owner. The lien only exists under a written agreement with the owner or the owner's agent. Perfect notices cannot rescue a claimant who never had lien rights (§ 18-44-105(a)).
• Filing a mechanics lien on a state, county, city or school district project. There is no lien against public property. Go to the contractor's payment bond, and note the bond clocks are shorter and start from different events (§§ 18-44-503, 18-44-508).
• Working without the license you needed. No action can be brought at law or in equity to enforce any contract entered into in violation of the contractor licensing chapter, and a license is generally required where the cost of the work in Arkansas is $50,000 or more. As of a 2025 amendment there is now a narrow route back: a contractor in violation may bring an action for unjust enrichment or quantum meruit if they timely pay any fines the Contractors Licensing Board assessed and properly apply to the board for a license. Older guidance saying quantum meruit is flatly barred is out of date (§ 17-25-103(a)(1)(A)(i), (d)).
• Believing that missing the residential preliminary notice also wipes out your contract claim. Under the current code, a residential contractor who fails to give the notice 'may not avail himself or herself of the benefit of the lien' — that is the whole provision. A broader bar on actions at law and in equity appears in superseded versions of this statute and is still repeated in older write-ups. The lien is gone and there is a fine up to $1,000; what happens to your contract remedies is a separate question this section does not answer (§ 18-44-115(a)(4), (a)(6)).
• Assuming the residential notice cannot be part of the contract. It can — the statute expressly allows it to be incorporated into or affixed to the contract, so long as it is conspicuous, boldface, all capitals and worded exactly as prescribed. Some guidance says the opposite (§ 18-44-115(a)(7)).

After you file

• The clerk endorses the filing date on the account and makes an indexed abstract of it. Get a file-marked copy showing that date — every later deadline counts from it (§ 18-44-117(b)(1)).
• Serve the owner with notice of the filed lien using a § 18-44-115(b)(5) method. If 20 days pass without payment and you have to sue, the court is required to award you a reasonable attorney's fee. If the owner prevails instead, the court is required to award the owner a fee against you (§ 18-44-128).
• Expect a counterattack, and watch the mail at the address you gave the clerk. The owner, a mortgagee, anyone with an interest in the property, or the contractor above you can post a surety bond for the amount of the lien. You get three days' written notice from the clerk to question the sufficiency of the surety or the form of the bond. After those three days the clerk notes the bond on the lien record, the lien is discharged, and you can collect only from the principal and surety (§ 18-44-118(a), (b)).
• They can also file a lien protest suit. You will be served with a summons, complaint and a court notice, and you have five days — not counting Sundays and legal holidays — to file a written objection. Miss it and the court issues an order discharging the lien immediately. If you do object, the only issues the judge decides are whether the lien was in the form § 18-44-117 requires and whether the applicable requirements of §§ 18-44-114 and 18-44-115 were satisfied. The prevailing party gets a reasonable attorney's fee and the costs of the protest (§ 18-44-118(f)).
• Within 15 calendar months of the filing date you must BOTH commence the enforcement action and file a lis pendens with the recorder of deeds in the county where the property is. Both, inside the same 15 months. The complaint must allege the facts necessary to secure the lien and describe the property (§§ 18-44-119, 18-44-122, 16-59-101).
• If the lien was bonded off, the suit deadline still matters: if no action to enforce is filed within the time prescribed for enforcement against the surety, the bond becomes null and void (§ 18-44-118(c)).
• Priority is set independently of when you filed. Mechanics liens have equal priority among themselves regardless of filing date, and all date back to when construction or repair first commenced — meaning the first visible manifestation of activity on the site, such as a significant delivery of materials, grading or excavating, laying out lines or grade stakes, or demolition. But a mortgage or security interest given to fund the construction and recorded before commencement takes priority over all of them, and a lender can lock that in with an inspector's affidavit filed within four business days before or after recording. If the sale proceeds do not cover every lien, they are paid pro rata (§ 18-44-110).
• When you are paid, enter satisfaction of the lien on the record within 10 days. Neglect it and you are liable to anyone injured for the amount of the injury plus the cost of suit (§ 18-44-131).