How to file a mechanics lien in Georgia

Step by step

10 steps for a subcontractor in Georgia.

1. 1

   Step 1: Check whether the property is publicly owned before you count on a lien

   Before you start, and again the moment payment stops.

   You cannot lien public property in Georgia. If the owner is the state, a state agency or authority, a county, a city or a local authority, your remedy is a claim against the general contractor's payment bond, not a lien. The bond track runs on its own clock: if the general contractor did not file a notice of commencement, you give the general contractor written notice within 90 days of your last day of work; if it did file one, you give notice within 30 days of the later of that filing or your first delivery.

   Where it goes

   To the general contractor who furnished the payment bond — not to the public owner and not to any clerk. Ask the public owner or the general contractor for a copy of the bond.

   How

   Registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, addressed to the general contractor at an office, place of business or residence. Service the way a sheriff serves process also works.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of the payment bond, your notice letter, and the registered or certified mail receipt or overnight delivery record.

   What the document must contain

   • Your name, address and telephone number
   • The name and address of each party you are furnishing to
   • The name and location of the public construction site
   • A description of what you are providing, and if you know it, the contract price, anticipated value or amount now due
   • For the 90-day version, state with substantial accuracy the amount claimed and the name of the party you furnished to

   If you miss it: You lose the bond claim, and there is no lien to fall back on. Note also that a bond may not exist at all: on state contracts a payment bond is only required above $100,000, and on county, city and local authority work the public works chapter does not apply below $250,000 at all.

   O.C.G.A. § 13-10-63(a) (state projects); O.C.G.A. § 36-91-93(a) (county, city and local authority projects). Suit deadline for both: one year from completion of the contract and acceptance of the work, § 13-10-65 and § 36-91-95. Bond thresholds: § 13-10-60, § 36-91-90, § 36-91-22(a).(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: Ask the contractor in writing for a copy of the Notice of Commencement

   At contract signing, or as soon as you get on the job.

   A Notice of Commencement is filed with the Superior Court clerk within 15 days after the contractor starts work, and a copy is supposed to be posted on the job site. It tells you the owner's real name, the legal description, the lender and the bond surety — and whether you owe a Notice to Contractor at all. Ask for it in writing, because if the contractor does not give you a copy within ten calendar days of your written request, the Notice to Contractor requirement does not apply to you.

   Where it goes

   To the contractor. The filed copy is in the Superior Court clerk's records for the county where the project is, in a separate index from the ordinary real estate records. You can search statewide at search.gsccca.org.

   How

   A written request to the contractor. Keep it in writing so the ten-day clock is provable. Also look for the posted copy on the job site and search the county's records.

   Proof to keep

   A dated copy of your written request and proof of when it was sent, plus the contractor's response or the absence of one after ten days.

   What the document must contain

   • A Notice of Commencement must show the contractor's name, address and telephone number
   • The project name and location, and the legal description of the property
   • The true owner's name and address
   • The name and address of anyone other than the true owner at whose instance the work is being done
   • The name and address of the performance and payment bond surety, if any
   • The name and address of the construction lender, if any

   If you miss it: Nothing is forfeited, but you are now guessing. You will not know the owner's correct name and address for later notices, and you lose the ten-day escape that would otherwise excuse your Notice to Contractor.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.5(b)(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: Send the Notice to Contractor within 30 days of your first delivery

   Within 30 days of the day you first delivered labor, services or materials to the property. The statute actually gives you 30 days from the later of the notice of commencement being filed or your first delivery — but you usually cannot know whether a notice of commencement exists, so counting from your first delivery is the date that is never late.

   This is Georgia's preliminary notice. It only legally applies if a Notice of Commencement was filed, and only to claimants who are not in privity of contract with the contractor. Because you often cannot confirm either at the time, send it on every job. Sending one you did not owe costs you nothing.

   Where it goes

   To both the owner or the owner's agent AND the contractor, at the addresses shown on the Notice of Commencement.

   How

   Registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. Regular first class mail, email and hand delivery do not satisfy the statute.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of the notice, both addresses used, and the registered or certified mail receipt or statutory overnight delivery record for each recipient.

   What the document must contain

   • Your name, address and telephone number
   • The name and address of each party at whose instance you are furnishing labor, services or materials
   • The project name and location as set out in the Notice of Commencement
   • A description of what you are providing and, if you know it, the contract price, anticipated value, or the amount claimed to be due

   If you miss it: If a Notice of Commencement was filed and you were not in privity with the contractor, your lien is not good. You cannot cure it later.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.5(a), (c)(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: Record a Preliminary Notice of Lien Rights within 30 days of your first delivery

   Optional

   Within 30 days after the date you first delivered materials or provided labor or services.

   This one is optional and cheap — a $5 filing. It does not preserve your lien; you can enforce a lien without ever filing it. What it does is put your claim on the public record, which blocks the owner, a buyer or a lender from later dissolving your lien by producing a sworn statement that the price was paid, because that defence only works when nothing was of record at the closing or at final payment.

   Where it goes

   Clerk of the Superior Court of the county where the real estate is located. The copy goes to the contractor named on the property, or to the owner. You may rely on the building permit for the contractor's name.

   How

   File it with the Superior Court clerk. If you are anyone other than the contractor, you must also mail a copy within seven days by registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery.

   Proof to keep

   The stamped recorded copy with book and page, the $5 receipt, and the mailing receipt for the seven-day copy.

   What the document must contain

   • Your name, address and telephone number
   • The name and address of the contractor or other party at whose instance your labor, services or materials were furnished
   • The owner's name and a description good enough to identify the property
   • A general description of what you have furnished or will furnish

   If you miss it: Your lien is still valid. But if the owner, a buyer or a lender closes on the property or makes final payment with nothing of record from you, they can dissolve your lien with a sworn written statement that the price was paid.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.3; the defence it blocks is O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.2(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: File an Affidavit of Nonpayment within 90 days of signing any waiver you were not paid on

   Within 90 days of the date you signed the waiver and release. Count from the signing date, not from the date you expected the money.

   In Georgia a signed interim or final lien waiver becomes binding 90 days after you sign it even if the money never arrived. Contractors sign these every draw. If you have not been paid, you must file an Affidavit of Nonpayment before that 90 days runs out, or the waiver conclusively kills your lien and bond rights for that period. This clock runs separately from your 90-day lien clock and can expire first.

   Where it goes

   File in the county where the property is located. Mail the copy to the owner. If you are not in privity with the owner and a Notice of Commencement was filed, also mail it to the contractor at the address on that notice. If the owner is a company registered with the Georgia Secretary of State, mailing to the company address or the registered agent address on file is enough.

   How

   File it with the clerk in 12 point font, sworn and witnessed. Then, within seven days of filing, mail a copy by registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery.

   Proof to keep

   The recorded affidavit with book and page, plus the mailing receipts for the seven-day copies.

   What the document must contain

   • Who employed you and a description of the materials or labor you furnished
   • The project name, the city and county, and the owner's name
   • A description of the property — metes and bounds, land lot district / block / lot, or street address
   • The date of the waiver and release you signed
   • The amount stated in that waiver and how much of it is still unpaid
   • Your sworn signature, witnessed and notarised

   If you miss it: The waiver becomes conclusive on day 90 and your lien and bond rights for the amount covered by it are gone, even though you were never paid. Your ordinary breach of contract claim survives.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366(g)(2)(C)(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: Record your claim of lien within 90 days of your last day of work

   Within 90 days after the last day you performed labor, furnished services, or delivered materials or machinery. That is your own last day, not the day the whole project finished. Returning for warranty work, to fix your own defective work, or just to look at the job does not restart the 90 days.

   This is the lien itself. It is recorded, not filed in a lawsuit. Georgia reads the form requirements strictly, and two specific statements are make-or-break: leave either one out and the lien is invalid and the clerk is directed not to record it.

   Where it goes

   Clerk of the Superior Court of the county where the property is physically located. Georgia has 159 counties; each clerk records into that county's real estate records.

   How

   Record it in person, by mail, or through the county's e-recording portal. The statutory recording fee is $25 per instrument. Have it witnessed and notarised — the lien statute does not itself demand an oath, but Georgia's general recording statute requires a recordable instrument to be attested or acknowledged.

   Proof to keep

   The recorded copy showing the book, page and date of recording, and the fee receipt. The recording date starts two more clocks, so record it somewhere you will see it.

   What the document must contain

   • The statutory claim wording, naming which kind of claimant you are — mechanic, contractor, subcontractor, materialman, machinist, manufacturer, registered architect, registered forester, registered land surveyor, registered professional engineer, registered interior designer, or other person
   • The amount you claim. Leaving out the amount means the lien is not notice for any purpose
   • The date the claim became due. The statute defines this as the last date you supplied labor, services or materials. Leaving out this date also means the lien is not notice for any purpose
   • The owner's name and a description of the house, premises or real estate. Use the recorded legal description, not just a street address
   • This exact sentence in at least 12 point bold font: "This claim of lien expires and is void 395 days from the date of filing of the claim of lien if no notice of commencement of lien action is filed in that time period."
   • A notice to the owner that the owner has the right to contest the lien
   • Your signature, attested or acknowledged so the clerk can record it
   • Your name and mailing address printed legibly at the top of the first page, for return of the document
   • Your current mailing address — a Notice of Contest will be mailed to whatever address appears on the face of the lien

   If you miss it: After 90 days you have no lien. Nothing extends this. If you record inside 90 days but leave out the 395-day statement or the owner's right-to-contest notice, the lien is invalid and no release is even needed to clear it.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2); the mandatory 395-day statement is § 44-14-367; the amount-and-date requirement is § 44-14-364(c); attestation and the return-address block are § 44-2-14; the $25 fee is § 15-6-77(f)(1)(A)(ii)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: Mail a copy of the recorded lien within two business days

   No later than two business days after the date the lien is filed of record. Count business days, and count from the recording date — not from the day you sent it to the clerk.

   Sending the owner a true and accurate copy of the recorded lien is a condition of having an enforceable lien, not a courtesy. It comes due right when you feel finished, which is why it gets missed.

   Where it goes

   To the owner of the property. If you cannot find the owner's address, send it to the contractor as the owner's agent. If the owner is a company registered with the Georgia Secretary of State, sending to the company address or the registered agent address on file is enough. If a Notice of Commencement was filed, you must ALSO send a copy to the contractor at the address shown on that notice.

   How

   Registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. Nothing else counts.

   Proof to keep

   The registered or certified mail receipt or the statutory overnight delivery record for every recipient, showing a date within two business days of recording, plus the copy you sent.

   What the document must contain

   • A true and accurate copy of the claim of lien exactly as recorded

   If you miss it: Your lien is unenforceable. You recorded it correctly and on time and it still will not hold.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2)(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: Watch for a Notice of Contest of Lien — it cuts your year to 60 days

   From the day you record until the day you sue. Check the county records periodically and open your mail.

   The owner, the owner's agent or attorney, the contractor, or the contractor's agent or attorney can record a Notice of Contest of Lien at any time. It shortens your window to commence a lien action to 60 days from your receipt of the notice, and it separately kills the lien 90 days after the contest is filed if no notice of commencement of lien action is on file by then. This is the deadline that ambushes people, because nothing happens on your end to trigger it.

   Where it goes

   The notice is recorded with the Superior Court clerk and cross-referenced to your lien, and mailed to the address shown on the face of your lien. You can search statewide at search.gsccca.org.

   How

   Nothing to send. This is a watch step. The contesting party must mail you a copy within seven days of filing, by registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery — but service counts as complete on mailing, so time can run whether or not the letter reaches you. Keep the address on the face of your lien current, and check the county index yourself.

   Proof to keep

   The envelope and the notice with the postmark and the date you received it. Those two dates define the deadline, so do not throw the envelope away.

   What the document must contain

   • The notice you receive will be in boldface capitals, at least 12 point, and will say: "THE TIME WITHIN WHICH YOU MAY COMMENCE A LIEN ACTION TO ENFORCE YOUR LIEN IS LIMITED TO 60 DAYS FROM RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE."
   • It will also tell you that the lien is void unless you both sue within 60 days and file a notice of commencement of lien action within 30 days of suing

   If you miss it: The lien is extinguished by operation of law. No release is filed and nothing tells you it happened — the lien is simply disregarded.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-368(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: File your lien lawsuit within 365 days of recording

   Within 365 days from the date you recorded the claim of lien. If you have received a Notice of Contest of Lien, the deadline is instead 60 days from your receipt of that notice.

   Recording the lien does not collect anything; you have to sue. Who you sue matters as much as when. Georgia generally requires you to get a judgment on the underlying debt against the party you actually contracted with. A subcontractor who sues only the owner can lose on that ground alone.

   Where it goes

   A court of competent jurisdiction, or the arbitration forum your contract names.

   How

   File a lien action in court, or commence arbitration if your contract requires it. A proof of claim in the contracting party's bankruptcy also counts as commencing the action. A separate lis pendens notice is not required.

   Proof to keep

   The file-stamped complaint or arbitration demand showing the filing date, the case number and the court or forum. You will need all of it for the next step, which is due immediately.

   What the document must contain

   • A claim against the party you contracted with for the amount owed
   • A claim to enforce the lien against the property
   • You are relieved of having to get a judgment against your contractor or subcontractor first only in narrow situations: that party absconds, dies, leaves the state so it cannot be served, or is adjudicated bankrupt; or no final judgment can be obtained because of death or bankruptcy; or your contract says you do not get paid until your contractor gets paid. In those cases you may proceed directly against the property, but the judgment is limited to the property itself.

   If you miss it: The claim of lien is unenforceable. Filing on day 366 does not work, and neither does filing against the wrong defendant on day 350.

   O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(3); the narrow exception is § 44-14-361.1(a)(4); shortened by § 44-14-368(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: File the Notice of Commencement of Lien Action within 30 days of filing suit

    Within 30 days after you commence the lien action. Not 30 days from service, and not whenever the case settles down.

    Suing on time is not enough. This is a second, separate filing that goes back to the clerk who recorded your lien, and it is what keeps the lien alive. Georgia courts have thrown out liens where the suit was timely and only this notice was late — one case where it was filed 110 days after the complaint. If it is not on file, the lien can be disregarded at 395 days from recording even though your lawsuit is still running.

    Where it goes

    Clerk of the Superior Court of the county where your lien was recorded. That may not be the county where you filed the lawsuit.

    How

    File it with the clerk, sworn under oath by you or your attorney of record. If you forget to swear it, that specific defect can be amended before the pretrial order and the fix relates back — but the filing itself must happen on time. The recording fee is the same $25 as the lien.

    Proof to keep

    The recorded notice showing its own book and page, and the clerk's entry cross-referencing it to your lien.

    What the document must contain

    • A caption naming the current owner of the property the lien was filed against
    • A reference to a deed or other recorded instrument in that property's chain of title
    • The court or arbitration venue where the lien action is brought
    • The style and number of the lien action, including the names of all parties
    • The date you filed the lien action
    • The book and page number where your claim of lien is recorded
    • Your oath, or your attorney of record's oath

    If you miss it: The lien becomes unenforceable and can be disregarded at 395 days from the date you recorded it — while your lawsuit continues with no lien behind it. If a Notice of Contest was filed, the lien dies even sooner: 90 days after that contest was filed.

    O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(3); consequences in § 44-14-367 and § 44-14-368(c)(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in Georgia

Where you file

Office

Clerk of Superior Court

Recording fee

$25

Notarization

Not required

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 Georgia

• Counting the 90 days from project completion, from the invoice date, or from the last time anyone was on site. It runs from YOUR own last furnishing. Genuine remaining original work, including real punch-list items, counts. Warranty callbacks, fixing your own defective work, and inspection or administrative visits do not. When the last visit is arguably remedial, count from the last day of unquestionably original work. The statutory lien form makes the point itself: the date the claim became due is "the same as the last date the labor, services, or materials were supplied to the premises." (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(2))
• Recording a perfect lien on day 89 and then missing the two-business-day window to mail a copy to the owner. It is a condition of enforceability, it counts business days, and it runs from the recording date — not from the day you handed the document to the clerk. It comes due at the exact moment you feel you have won. (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(2))
• Trusting a static 365-day countdown. An owner or the general contractor can record a Notice of Contest of Lien at any time and cut you to 60 days from receipt. You find out only by mail sent to whatever address is on the face of your lien — and service counts as complete on mailing, so the clock can run on a letter you never opened. Keep that address current and check the county index yourself. (§ 44-14-368)
• Suing on time and stopping there. You must also file a Notice of Commencement of Lien Action with the clerk within 30 days. Georgia appellate courts have held liens unenforceable where only this notice was late — in one case 110 days after the complaint — and held for a homeowner where the contractor simply never filed it. (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(3))
• Signing an interim waiver for a progress payment that never lands, and not filing an Affidavit of Nonpayment within 90 days of signing. The waiver then conclusively wipes out your lien and bond rights for that draw even though nobody paid you. This clock starts on a document you sign every month and can run out before your lien-recording clock does. (§ 44-14-366(g)(2)(C))
• Suing the owner instead of the party you contracted with. Georgia normally requires a judgment on the underlying debt against your own contractor or subcontractor. Going straight at the owner or the property is allowed only when that party absconds, dies, leaves the state, or is adjudicated bankrupt, when no final judgment can be had because of death or bankruptcy, or when your contract conditions your payment on your contractor being paid first. A wrong-defendant suit filed on day 350 cannot be repaired. (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(4))
• Leaving out either of the two mandatory statements. The 395-day expiration sentence must appear on the face of the lien in at least 12 point bold font, and a notice of the owner's right to contest must appear too. The statute says the absence of either "shall invalidate the lien," and the clerk is directed to refuse it. (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(2), § 44-14-367)
• Leaving out the amount claimed or the date the claim became due. A separate statute provides that failing to specify both means the lien does not constitute notice for any purpose — a quiet third way to file a lien that does nothing. (§ 44-14-364(c))
• Serving anything by regular first-class mail, email, courier or hand delivery. Every notice in the Georgia scheme requires registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, and the statutes are construed strictly against you.
• Assuming the wrong people owe a Notice to Contractor. A general contractor in privity with the owner does not. A first-tier subcontractor in privity with the general contractor does not. Registered architects, foresters, land surveyors, professional engineers and interior designers are outside the notice section entirely. The dangerous direction of that error is telling an equipment rental supplier it is exempt — rental suppliers are expressly inside the notice regime. Because tier is so often mis-identified in the field, sending the notice anyway is free insurance. (§ 44-14-361.5(a))
• Waiting to find out whether a Notice of Commencement was filed before sending the Notice to Contractor. The legal deadline is the later of that filing or your first delivery, but you cannot rely on the later date without confirming it. Ask for the Notice of Commencement in writing at contract signing — and note that if the contractor does not give it to you within ten calendar days of your written request, the notice requirement does not apply to you at all. (§ 44-14-361.5(b))
• Filing a lien on a public project. Georgia liens do not attach to publicly owned property; the payment bond is the route. Worse, the bond may not exist: state contracts require a payment bond only above $100,000, and since July 1, 2025 the public works chapter — and with it the local bond requirement — does not apply to county, city or local authority projects that can be done for less than $250,000. Note this change hit the LOCAL threshold; the state threshold in § 13-10-60 is still $100,000. (§ 13-10-60, § 36-91-22(a), § 36-91-90)
• Claiming more than the owner's contract price. All liens on the improvement together are capped at the contract price, so a facially valid lien can be worth nothing when the general contractor is underwater — and an inflated number invites a Notice of Contest. (§ 44-14-361.1(e))
• Letting a closing or a final payment happen with nothing of record from you. An owner, a buyer or a lender can dissolve your lien with a written waiver or with a sworn statement that the price was paid, provided no preliminary notice or claim of lien was of record at settlement. A $5 Preliminary Notice of Lien Rights recorded within 30 days of your first delivery takes that defence away. (§ 44-14-361.2, § 44-14-361.3)
• Handing the clerk a document that cannot be recorded. Georgia's general recording statute requires a recordable instrument to be an original and to be attested or acknowledged, and requires the name and mailing address of the person it is to be returned to at the top of the first page. The lien statute itself does not demand an oath, but a rejected filing on day 88 is the same as no lien. (§ 44-2-14)

After you file

• Mail the owner a true and accurate copy of the recorded lien within two business days of recording, by registered mail, certified mail or statutory overnight delivery — and also to the contractor at the Notice of Commencement address if one was filed. Keep the receipts. (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(2))
• Diary three dates off the recording date, not one: 365 days to sue, 30 days after suing to file the Notice of Commencement of Lien Action, and 395 days as the outer wall at which the lien can be disregarded if that notice is not on file. (§ 44-14-361.1(a)(3), § 44-14-367)
• Keep checking the county records and your mail for a Notice of Contest of Lien. If one arrives, your window drops to 60 days from receipt, and the lien dies 90 days after the contest was filed unless the Notice of Commencement of Lien Action is on file by then. Keep the address on the face of your lien current, because that is the only address they have to use. (§ 44-14-368)
• Expect the owner or the general contractor to bond the lien off. They can discharge it by getting a bond approved by the clerk — double the amount you claimed, except where the property is the owner's domicile, in which case it equals the amount claimed. The property comes free of your lien but the bond stands in its place, and you still have to sue within 365 days of when you recorded the lien. They should mail you notice of the bond within seven days, but a failure to do so does not undo the discharge. (§ 44-14-364)
• If you settle or the amount owed drops, you can record an amended claim of lien reducing the amount. It relates back to the original recording date, and it must be sent to the owner the same way the original was. (§ 44-14-361.1(a.1))
• If you filed an Affidavit of Nonpayment and were then paid in full, you must on request execute a recordable affidavit confirming payment. Recording it voids the affidavit of nonpayment. (§ 44-14-366(g)(3))
• Budget for the paperwork: the claim of lien, the notice of commencement of lien action and the later cancellation are each a $25 recording instrument, plus whatever your county's e-recording service adds. The optional preliminary notice is $5. (§ 15-6-77(f), § 44-14-361.1(f), § 44-14-361.3(c))
• Nothing in the waiver statute shortens your time to record a claim of lien — but nothing in the lien statute saves you from a waiver either. Track both clocks separately. (§ 44-14-366(g)(4))