How to file a mechanics lien in Kentucky

Step by step

11 steps for a subcontractor in Kentucky.

1. 1

   Step 1: Find out who owns the property before you do anything else

   Before you start work, and check again the day payment stops.

   Kentucky has two lien systems that share almost nothing. If the property is privately owned, you can lien the land. If it is owned by the state, a state agency, a city, a county, an urban-county, a charter county or a consolidated local government, you get no lien on the land at all — you get a claim against the money the public body still owes the contractor, and the deadlines are far shorter. Everything else in this guide depends on this one answer.

   Where it goes

   The contract, and the county property records where the job is.

   How

   Read the contract and confirm the record owner of the property. If a public body is the owner, follow the public-works steps, not the private ones.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of the contract and whatever identifies the property owner.

   If you miss it: You run a public job on the private calendar. Private work gives you six months to file and twelve months to sue. Public work can give you as little as about 60 days to file and six months to sue — and as little as 30 days if the contractor protests. Getting this backwards loses everything.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.210(1)(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: File a priority statement before the construction loan is recorded

   Optional

   Before the mortgage, contract lien or sale is recorded. In practice: before or during the work, not after payment stops.

   A lien you file later normally counts only from the day work started, so any mortgage recorded before that day beats you. If you file this short statement with the county clerk first, your lien takes priority over any mortgage or sale recorded after it. On a construction-loan job this is the difference between a lien that pays and a lien that is valid but worthless.

   Where it goes

   County clerk of the county where you have furnished or expect to furnish labor or materials.

   How

   File it with the county clerk. In all other respects it takes the same form as the lien statement described in § 376.080.

   Proof to keep

   The clerk's file-stamped copy showing the filing date.

   What the document must contain

   • That you have furnished or expect to furnish labor or materials
   • The amount of the labor or materials in full — your later lien cannot exceed the amount stated here, so do not understate it (§ 376.010(2)(b))

   If you miss it: Nothing is forfeited, but your lien relates back only to the day labor or materials commenced, so it is subordinate to any mortgage or bona fide conveyance for value recorded before that date.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.010(2); relation-back default at § 376.010(1)(c)(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: Send the 75-day notice on an owner-occupied home

   Within 75 days after the last day you furnished labor or materials. Do not wait — send it as soon as payment goes bad. Every day you wait can shrink what you can collect (see below).

   If the owner did not hire you directly, you get no lien on an owner-occupied single or double family dwelling unless you send this written notice. It also covers appurtenances and additions to that home, other agricultural or personal-use improvements on the same owner's contiguous land, and new single or double family homes built under a contract with the owner and intended as the owner's dwelling. This replaces the notice in the next step — you do not do both.

   Where it goes

   The property owner, or the owner's authorized agent. The contractor or subcontractor cannot be the owner's authorized agent for this notice — sending it to the general contractor does not count.

   How

   In writing. It is enough to prove you mailed it to the owner's last known address, or to the owner's duly authorized agent. Send it in a way that gives you a dated receipt.

   Proof to keep

   A dated copy of the notice, the address you used, and a certificate of mailing or certified-mail receipt showing the date it went out.

   What the document must contain

   • That you delivered the material or performed the labor
   • That you intend to hold the property liable
   • The amount for which you will claim a lien

   If you miss it: You get no lien on that home at all. Separately, and just as costly: the lien does not apply to whatever the owner-occupant already paid the contractor for work or materials before your notice arrived. A notice that is technically on time at day 74 can still leave you with nothing to lien, because the owner paid the contractor on day 30.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.010(5)(a)-(f)(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: Send the 75-day notice on every other private job

   Within 75 days after the last day you furnished labor or materials. The statute allows 120 days on a claim in excess of $1,000 — but 75 days is never late in Kentucky, and 120 days is flatly wrong for a claim of $1,000 or less. Use 75 and you are always safe.

   On private work that is not an owner-occupied home, you get no lien unless you send the owner written notice that you intend to hold the property liable. You are excused only if you contracted directly with the owner, the owner's agent, or the lessee.

   Where it goes

   The owner of the property to be held liable, the owner's authorized agent, or the lessee if applicable.

   How

   In writing. It is enough to prove you mailed it to the owner's last known address, or to the owner's duly authorized agent within the county where the property is located.

   Proof to keep

   A dated copy of the notice, the address used, and a mailing receipt.

   What the document must contain

   • That you intend to hold the property liable
   • The amount for which you will claim a lien

   If you miss it: You acquire no lien. There is no cure and no later filing that fixes it.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.010(4)(a)-(b)(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: Record the sworn lien statement with the county clerk

   Within six months after the last day you worked or delivered materials. It runs from the day YOU ceased — not from the day the whole building was finished and not from the owner's completion date.

   This is the lien itself. It must be signed under oath, not just signed. Kentucky courts require strict compliance here: a Kentucky Court of Appeals decision voided a lien because the statement closed with substitute wording instead of the statutory phrase 'subscribed and sworn to.'

   Where it goes

   County clerk of the county in which the building or improvement is situated.

   How

   Sign it under oath before a notary, using the exact words 'subscribed and sworn to.' File it with the clerk. The statutory recording fee is $33 for a filing of five pages or less, plus $3 for each additional page and $4 for each additional reference to the same instrument (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 64.012(1)(a)1); confirm the total with the clerk before you go.

   Proof to keep

   The clerk's file-stamped copy showing the exact filing date. You need that date for both of the next two steps.

   What the document must contain

   • The amount due you
   • All just credits and set-offs known to you
   • A description of the property accurate enough to identify it
   • The name of the owner, if known
   • Whether you furnished the materials or performed the labor by contract with the owner, or with a contractor or subcontractor
   • Your name and address
   • If you are a corporation: the name and address of your process agent, or another address where service of process can be made
   • Signature, subscribed and sworn to by you or by someone on your behalf

   If you miss it: The lien is dissolved. A lien statement that is filed on time but not properly sworn is also void.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.080(1)(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: Mail the owner a copy within 7 days of recording

   Within 7 days of the day the county clerk files your lien statement. Count from the clerk's file stamp.

   This is a separate act after the filing, and it is the single most common way a good Kentucky lien dies. The statute says the lien is dissolved if you do not send the owner a copy of the statement you filed. Most people record the lien, feel finished, and lose it a week later.

   Where it goes

   The property owner, at the owner's last known address.

   How

   Regular mail is what the statute requires. Certified mail is more than required and gives you better proof — either is fine, but you must be able to show it went out inside the 7 days.

   Proof to keep

   A certificate of mailing or certified-mail receipt dated within 7 days of the clerk's file stamp, plus a copy of exactly what you mailed and the address used. Keep the file-stamped lien copy with it so the two dates sit together.

   What the document must contain

   • A copy of the lien statement you filed with the county clerk

   If you miss it: The lien is dissolved. You filed a perfect, timely lien and it is gone anyway.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.080(1)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: File suit within 12 months of the day you recorded

   Within 12 months from the day you filed the lien statement in the clerk's office.

   A recorded lien is not self-executing. You have to sue to enforce it, and the clock runs from the day you filed with the clerk — not from your last day on the job. The suit is an equitable action, and you must bring in the debtor and everyone else holding a lien on or an interest in the property.

   Where it goes

   The Circuit Court. The debtor (or their personal representative, heirs or devisees) and all persons with liens on or interests in the property must be made parties.

   How

   By equitable proceedings. The petition must allege the facts necessary to secure a lien and describe the property and the interest you want subjected. Other lienholders may join as plaintiffs; those who do not are made defendants.

   Proof to keep

   The file-stamped complaint and proof of service on every required party.

   If you miss it: The lien is deemed dissolved. Negotiating, mediating, a partial payment or a promise to pay do not extend this. The only extension written into the statute is if the debtor dies before the 12 months run — then you get 6 more months from the date their personal representative qualifies.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.090(1); procedure at § 376.110(1)(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: PUBLIC JOBS ONLY: record the lien statement within 60 days of month end

   Within 60 days after the LAST DAY OF THE MONTH in which you furnished labor, materials or supplies, or by the date of substantial completion, whichever is later. If you worked in March, count from March 31.

   On public property you cannot lien the land. You file a statement that attaches to the unpaid money the public body still owes the contractor. The clock is not measured from your last day — it is measured from the end of the month you worked in, which is a different and much shorter deadline than private work.

   Where it goes

   For property owned by the state, a county, charter county, urban-county, consolidated local government or city: only the county clerk of the county where that public owner's SEAT OF GOVERNMENT is located. For a Kentucky state agency that is the capital county, not the county where you worked. Confirm the seat of government of your specific public owner before you file.

   How

   In writing, verified by affidavit of you, your authorized agent or your attorney. Ask the clerk for attested (certified) copies at the same time — you need them for the very next step.

   Proof to keep

   The clerk's file-stamped copy and the attested copies you ordered.

   What the document must contain

   • The amount due for which the lien is claimed
   • The date on which labor, materials or supplies were last furnished
   • The name of the canal, railroad, bridge, public highway or other public improvement the lien is claimed on
   • Verification by affidavit of the claimant, authorized agent or attorney

   If you miss it: The lien is dissolved. Filing in the county where the work was done, instead of the seat-of-government county, is a filing in the wrong office.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.230(1)-(2)(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: PUBLIC JOBS ONLY: do the two other acts that actually perfect it

   As soon as the clerk attests your copies. The statute sets no separate deadline of its own, but your lien attaches to the unpaid balance only from the moment the attested copy is delivered to the public owner, so every day of delay is money paid out that you cannot reach.

   Filing with the clerk does not perfect a public-works claim. Perfection takes three acts, and most claimants do only the first. Until the attested copy reaches the public owner, your claim does not attach to the money at all.

   Where it goes

   The public authority that made the contract for the improvement.

   How

   Send the contractor's copy by certified mail return receipt requested, or by registered mail — the post office receipt is part of what you file.

   Proof to keep

   The public authority's date-stamped receipt of your attested copy, the post office receipts, and copies of the letter and everything you filed. The date the authority received the attested copy also starts the contractor's protest clock, so record it.

   What the document must contain

   • Deliver an attested copy of the filed lien statement to the public authority that made the contract
   • File with that public authority a signed copy of a letter addressed to the contractor or subcontractor at the address given in the contract
   • File with that public authority a post office receipt showing that an attested copy of the lien statement was sent to the contractor or subcontractor by certified mail return receipt requested or by registered mail

   If you miss it: Your claim never reaches the money. The lien attaches to the unpaid balance due the contractor only from the time the attested copy is delivered to the owner or the owner's authorized agent.

   Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.240; attachment rule at § 376.210(3)(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: PUBLIC JOBS ONLY: if a protest notice arrives, you have 30 days to sue AND serve

    Within 30 days after the written notice of the protest is mailed to you. The clock runs from the mailing date, not from the day you opened the envelope.

    This is the move the other side makes, and it is the shortest deadline in Kentucky construction lien law. Once your attested copy is delivered, the contractor has 30 days to file a written protest with the public authority. If they do, the authority must mail you notice by certified mail return receipt requested. From that mailing you have 30 days to both file suit and get summons served on the public authority. The contractor decides when this clock starts, and the contractor's whole incentive is to protest and free up the withheld money — so on any disputed public job, expect it.

    Where it goes

    Circuit Court of the county where the improved property is located. If the property is owned by a public university, the Circuit Court of the county containing the university's main campus. Summons goes to the public authority or its chairman.

    How

    You must do two things inside the 30 days: institute the suit, and have summons in that suit served on the public authority or its chairman. Filing alone is not enough.

    Proof to keep

    The certified-mail notice of protest and its envelope with the postmark — the 30 days runs from the mailing date, so the postmark is the evidence that matters. Then the file-stamped complaint and the return showing summons was served on the public authority.

    If you miss it: The lien is automatically released, and the money the public body was holding back for you is released and promptly paid to the contractor. No court has to rule; it happens by operation of the statute.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.250(2)-(5)(opens the statute in a new tab)
11. 11

    Step 11: PUBLIC JOBS ONLY: otherwise sue within 6 months of filing

    Within six months from the day you filed the claim in the county clerk's office.

    If no protest arrives, this is your enforcement deadline — six months from filing, half the twelve months you would get on private work. Note that the statute makes its own six months expressly subject to the 30-day protest rule above, so a protest overrides this date.

    Where it goes

    Circuit Court of the county where the improved property is located (or the county of a public university's main campus, if a public university owns it).

    How

    By proper proceedings in equity, with other lienholders made parties. If the owner is the state, an agency, a city, county, urban-county or charter county government, that owner must be given notice of the action but is not required to respond or participate.

    Proof to keep

    The file-stamped complaint, proof of notice to the public owner, and your delivery records. If you are a supplier, keep the sales records showing the items were sold and delivered for use on that particular public work — that evidence makes a prima facie case that they were used in the contract (§ 376.260(2)).

    If you miss it: You lose the claim against the withheld funds.

    Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 376.260(1)-(2)(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in Kentucky

Where you file

Office

County Clerk — PRIVATE work: the county where the building or improvement is situated (KRS 376.080(1)). PUBLIC work on property owned by the state or any county, charter county, urban-county, consolidated local government or city: ONLY the county clerk of the county where the public owner's SEAT OF GOVERNMENT is located (KRS 376.230(2), 376.210(3)) — Franklin County for Commonwealth projects, regardless of where the work was performed. Other public improvements (canal, railroad, privately-owned public improvement): each county in which labor, materials or supplies were furnished (KRS 376.230(1)).

Recording fee

$43–$75

Notarization

Required

Sworn or verified

Sworn statement

How it is served

Regular mail

Copies

2

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

What trips people up in Kentucky

• Recording the lien and stopping there. Kentucky requires you to mail the owner a copy of the filed statement within 7 days of recording, and says the lien 'shall be dissolved' if you do not. This is the most common way a perfectly timed Kentucky lien dies. § 376.080(1).
• Sending the owner-occupied-home notice on day 74 because day 75 is the deadline. The lien does not apply to whatever the owner already paid the contractor before your notice arrived, so a technically timely notice can be worth nothing. On a home, the notice is not a deadline to hit — it is a valve you close as early as possible. § 376.010(5)(d).
• Running a public job on the private calendar. Private work: six months to file, twelve to sue. Public work: 60 days from the end of the month you worked in, and six months to sue. Nothing on a jobsite tells you which one you are on. §§ 376.230(1), 376.260(1).
• Treating the contractor's protest notice as junk mail. On public work, once the contractor protests, the public authority mails you notice and you have 30 days from that mailing to both file suit and serve summons on the public authority — or the lien is automatically released and the withheld money goes to the contractor. It is the shortest deadline in Kentucky construction law and a third party decides when it starts. § 376.250(2)-(4).
• Filing the public-works lien in the county where the job was. It has to be filed only in the county clerk's office of the county containing the public owner's seat of government. Filing in the obvious county is filing in the wrong office. § 376.230(2).
• Thinking the public-works filing is done when the clerk stamps it. Perfection takes three acts: file with the clerk, deliver an attested copy to the public authority, and file with that authority a signed copy of your letter to the contractor plus the post office receipt showing an attested copy went to the contractor by certified or registered mail. § 376.240.
• Using the 120-day notice window on a small claim. The statute gives 120 days only on claims 'in excess of' $1,000 and 75 days on claims 'amounting to less than' $1,000 — a claim of exactly $1,000 falls in neither clause. And on an owner-occupied home the 120-day option does not exist at all, whatever the amount. 75 days is never late. § 376.010(4)(a), (5)(a).
• Signing the lien instead of swearing it. The statement must be 'subscribed and sworn to' — an oath before a notary, using those words. In Prodigy Construction Corp. v. Brown Capital, Ltd. (Ky. App. 2017) a lien was held defective precisely for failing to use that statutory language. A document that carries a notarial acknowledgment or substitute closing wording instead of a sworn jurat is a void lien. § 376.080(1).
• Reading the lien amount as the amount you will recover. All liens combined cannot exceed the original contractor's contract price, and if they do, the contract price is distributed pro rata among the lienholders. If the owner already paid the GC most of the contract, a flawless subcontractor lien can pay cents on the dollar. § 376.010(1)(d).
• A design professional who was hired by the GC or by the architect assuming a notice will fix it. It will not — no person who has not contracted directly with the owner or the owner's agent acquires a lien under § 376.075. There is no cure. § 376.075(3).
• Liening the building's fee on a tenant build-out. A lessee is not the owner's agent unless the owner designated the lessee in writing, and the lien extends only to the interest of the party who contracted. It does reach the lessor's interest where the lessee made the improvements under an agreement with the lessor — so read the lease before you assume either way. Note the 2023 changes to this subsection do not apply to leases entered before June 29, 2023. § 376.010(1)(b), (3)(a).
• Missing that the lease may bar liens on the landlord's interest. If the lease says so, the lessee must tell you before you start; a knowing or willing failure to tell you makes your contract with the lessee voidable at your option. § 376.010(3)(b).
• A rental house claiming a year of rent. The lien for rental equipment or machinery cannot exceed six months' aggregate rental, and cannot exceed 60% of the agreed value of the machinery. Supply liens are also subordinate to labor and material liens. § 376.010(7)(b).
• Overstating the claim on a public job. If you file against contract funds for more than is actually due, you are liable to anyone damaged by it, including their court costs and attorney's fees. § 376.220(3).
• Letting the enforcement deadline run while 'working it out.' Neither the private twelve months nor the public six months is tolled by negotiation, mediation, partial payment or a promise to pay. The only statutory extension is the debtor's death. § 376.090(1).
• Assuming your priority is automatic. Without the optional pre-work statement, the lien relates back only to the commencement of labor, so a construction mortgage recorded before you broke ground outranks you. § 376.010(1)(c), (2)(a).
• Assuming a lien waiver in the contract is unenforceable. On non-residential work a contract provision waiving KRS Chapter 376 rights is void — except partial waivers given by a contractor or subcontractor for progress payments. But the Fairness in Construction Act does not apply to residential construction at all, so that protection is not there on a house. §§ 371.405(2)(b), 371.425(1).
• Filing a Kentucky lien on a federal job. KRS Chapter 376 liens reach public improvements owned by Kentucky, its subdivisions and agencies, and its cities and counties — not federal property. Claimants on federal work proceed under the federal Miller Act instead, which this guide does not cover. § 376.210(1).
• Counting 180 and 365 days. The statutes say 'six (6) months' and 'twelve (12) months' — calendar months, not day counts. Six calendar months is 181 to 184 days. Counting days will usually make you early, which is safe, but do not use a day count to argue you are still in time.

After you file

• Mail the owner a copy within 7 days. On private work this is a post-filing obligation and it dissolves the lien if you skip it. Diary it against the clerk's file-stamp date the moment you walk out of the clerk's office. § 376.080(1).
• On public work, finish perfecting. Deliver the attested copy to the public authority and file your letter-to-contractor copy and post office receipt with that authority. The public body then endorses the date of receipt, files the copy, and withholds the amount of your claim (plus the clerk's fee) from what is due the contractor — or from the next payments if not enough is due now. § 376.240; § 376.250(1).
• Then watch the mail. On public work the contractor has 30 days from delivery of the attested copy to file a written protest. If they do not, the withheld amount is paid over to you and charged to the contractor's account. If they do, you get a certified-mail notice and a 30-day fuse to sue and serve. Note that your filing in the clerk's office counts as constructive notice to the contractor, so they will know. § 376.250(2)-(4).
• Expect the lien to be bonded off. On private work the owner, the claimant of the property, anyone contracting with them, or a subcontractor in privity with the contractor may post a bond for double the lien amount with the county clerk at any time before judgment, and the lien on the property is discharged. The claim survives — you can make the bond obligors parties to your action and take judgment against any of them — but the property is released. The public-works equivalent works the same way and must be secured by cash, a bank letter of credit or surety insurance. §§ 376.100, 376.212.
• Do not let the enforcement clock run out while the bond or the negotiation is being sorted. The twelve months (private) and six months (public) keep running regardless. § 376.090(1); § 376.260(1).
• When you do sue on private work, name everyone. The debtor or their personal representative, heirs or devisees, and all other persons holding liens on or interests in the property must be made defendants; other lienholders may join as plaintiffs. Missing a necessary party is a problem you fix late and expensively. § 376.110(1).
• Keep the delivery paperwork. On public work, evidence that the items were sold and delivered for use on that particular project makes a prima facie case that they were used in performing the contract — which is most of a supplier's proof problem. § 376.260(2).
• If the property owner dies before your twelve months run on a private lien, you get a further six months from the date their personal representative qualifies. That is the only extension in the statute. § 376.090(1).