How to file a mechanics lien in Louisiana

Step by step

13 steps for a subcontractor in Louisiana.

1. 1

   Step 1: Pull the parish mortgage records before you count a single day

   Before you start work, and again before you calculate any filing deadline.

   Everything about your Louisiana deadline depends on two facts you cannot get from your own paperwork: whether a notice of contract was recorded for this job, and whether a payment bond was attached to it. If the owner required and maintained a R.S. 9:4812 bond and recorded the notice of contract with that bond attached, the owner is relieved of every R.S. 9:4802 claim and of the privileges securing them. On that job there is no lien to file - your remedy is the bond and the contractor.

   Where it goes

   The recorder of mortgages for the parish where the immovable is located.

   How

   Search the mortgage records of the parish where the property is located. A notice of contract is recorded there under La. R.S. 9:4831(A).

   Proof to keep

   A dated copy of the recorded notice of contract with its registry number, or a search result showing none is on file.

   What the document must contain

   • The recorded notice of contract, if any, with its registry number and recording date
   • Whether a R.S. 9:4812 bond is attached to it
   • The owner's address as given in the notice of contract - that is the address you must later deliver your statement of claim to, and the address notices may be sent to under R.S. 9:4844(C)

   If you miss it: You will guess the wrong branch. Believing no notice of contract exists when one does turns a six-month window into 30 days. Recording a statement of claim on a properly bonded job exposes you to the owner's damages and reasonable attorney fees under R.S. 9:4833(B).

   La. R.S. 9:4802(C)(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: Ask the owner in writing to notify you when the job ends

   At the start of the job. It must reach the owner no later than the filing of the notice of termination, or no later than substantial completion or abandonment if no notice of termination is filed.

   Your filing clock starts when the owner records a notice of termination, and no one has to tell you. This written request is the only mechanism in the Act that makes the owner tell you. Read the limit before you rely on it: if you send the request and the owner ignores it, R.S. 9:4822(J) keeps your claim against the owner alive (suit within one year after the filing period expired) but says in terms that your PRIVILEGE is still extinguished by a late filing, whether or not the owner gave you notice. It is a warning system, not an extension.

   Where it goes

   To the owner - at the address given in the notice of contract, if one is on file (La. R.S. 9:4844(C)).

   How

   Certified or registered mail, or another tracked USPS method (La. R.S. 9:4844(A)).

   Proof to keep

   Certified mail receipt with deposit date and a copy of the request.

   What the document must contain

   • An express request that the owner notify you of substantial completion or abandonment of the work, or of the filing of a notice of termination
   • Your mailing address

   If you miss it: Nothing is forfeited by skipping it, but you go blind. The owner can record a notice of termination and you will never hear about it until your 30 days have already run.

   La. R.S. 9:4822(I)(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: Watch the parish mortgage records for a notice of termination

   From the start of the job until your own filing deadline has run.

   A notice of termination starts your filing clock on the day it is recorded. It does not only mean the job is done. Under R.S. 9:4822(E)(3) it can certify that the work is substantially complete, OR that it was abandoned by the owner, OR that the general contractor is in default, OR that the contract with the general contractor has terminated. The last two can happen months before the job is finished. Under R.S. 9:4822(G) it can also be recorded for one specified area of the property, starting a separate clock for the work done on that area - so a phased or multi-building job can have several clocks running at once.

   Where it goes

   The recorder of mortgages for the parish where the immovable is located.

   How

   Search the mortgage records of the parish where the property is located.

   Proof to keep

   Dated search results, and a copy of the notice of termination with its recording date if one appears.

   If you miss it: Your window may already be running - or already closed - before you learn the job ended. A deadline you calculated from "when the job finished" can be weeks late if the owner recorded a termination on default or contract-termination grounds.

   La. R.S. 9:4822(E)(3), (G)(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: Owner-occupied homes with no notice of contract: send a notice of nonpayment to buy 10 extra days

   Optional

   Before the 60-day period expires AND at least 10 days before you file your statement of claim. Both conditions, or it does nothing.

   On residential work where no timely notice of contract was filed, giving the owner a notice of nonpayment pushes your own filing window from 60 days to 70 days. It is optional and it only helps you. It does not apply to a general contractor - the statute covers sellers and lessors who dealt with the owner (R.S. 9:4801(3), (4)) and everyone claiming under R.S. 9:4802.

   Where it goes

   To the owner.

   How

   Certified or registered mail, or another tracked USPS method (La. R.S. 9:4844(A)).

   Proof to keep

   Certified mail receipt with the deposit date - you will need to prove both that it went out before day 60 and that you waited 10 days before filing.

   What the document must contain

   • The amount of the obligation giving rise to the claim and privilege
   • The nature of that obligation

   If you miss it: You lose nothing you had; you simply keep the ordinary 60-day window. The danger is the reverse: counting on 70 days when you cannot prove the notice went out in time.

   La. R.S. 9:4822(D)(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: Private jobs: record the statement of claim or privilege AND deliver a copy to the owner

   Shortest safe answer: within 30 days after the owner records a notice of termination. Full rule - if a notice of contract was recorded on this job: 30 days after a recorded notice of termination, or 6 months after substantial completion or abandonment if no notice of termination is ever recorded. If no notice of contract was recorded: 60 days after whichever of those two events happened.

   Two obligations, one window. Recording alone does not preserve the claim when a notice of contract is on file: R.S. 9:4822(B) says you shall file the statement AND deliver to the owner, if the owner's address is given in the notice of contract, a copy of it - both inside the same period. Nothing judicial is needed; the privilege is preserved by recording (R.S. 9:4831(A)).

   Where it goes

   The recorder of mortgages for the parish where the immovable is located; and the owner, at the address given in the notice of contract.

   How

   File it for registry with the parish recorder of mortgages. Deliver the owner's copy by certified or registered mail or another tracked USPS method (La. R.S. 9:4844(A)).

   Proof to keep

   A certified copy of the recorded statement showing its registry number and recording date, plus the certified mail receipt for the owner's copy with its deposit date.

   What the document must contain

   • In writing
   • Signed by you or your representative
   • A reasonable identification of the immovable - the owner's name plus a street or mailing address, without more, is expressly NOT sufficient (La. R.S. 9:4831(B))
   • The amount and nature of the obligation, with its elements reasonably itemized, INCLUDING the person for whom the contract was performed, material supplied, or services rendered
   • Identification of the owner who is liable under R.S. 9:4806(B) - or, if that owner's interest does not appear of record, the person who appears of record to own the property
   • Do NOT state that unpaid invoices are attached unless they actually are - R.S. 9:4822(H)(4) does not require attaching them, but if the statement says they are attached, they must be

   If you miss it: The privilege is extinguished. Filing without delivering the owner's copy, where the owner's address is in the notice of contract, does not preserve the claim - you can be recorded and still lose.

   La. R.S. 9:4822(A), (B), (H)(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: Repair and remodel jobs with no notice of contract: if the site goes quiet 30 days, file within 60 days of the shutdown

   Within 60 days after the suspension commenced.

   On an addition, modification or repair of an existing building where no notice of contract was filed, a suspension of the work for 30 days or more splits the job into two separate works for ranking purposes. The work done before the suspension keeps its rank only if a statement of claim is filed within 60 days after the suspension started. This can bite while the job is still nominally open.

   Where it goes

   The recorder of mortgages for the parish where the immovable is located.

   How

   File it for registry with the parish recorder of mortgages, same as any statement of claim.

   Proof to keep

   Dated records showing when work stopped and restarted - daily reports, delivery tickets, payroll - plus the recorded statement.

   What the document must contain

   • The same contents required of any statement of claim or privilege by La. R.S. 9:4822(H)

   If you miss it: You keep your claim but lose your rank: your pre-suspension privilege no longer holds its original priority against interests that attach after the split.

   La. R.S. 9:4820(B)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: Public jobs: file a sworn statement in TWO places within 45 days of the recorded acceptance or default

   After your claim matures, and within 45 days after the recordation of acceptance of the work by the governing authority, or of notice of default of the contractor or subcontractor.

   State, parish and city work is excluded from the Private Works Act by R.S. 9:4808, so none of the private-works deadlines above apply. There is no lien on public property. Your claim reaches the contract funds and the payment bond the public entity was required to take from the contractor on projects over $25,000 (R.S. 38:2241). Note it is a SWORN statement on public jobs - unlike the private-works statement, which needs only your signature.

   Where it goes

   The governing authority having the work done, and the office of the recorder of mortgages for the parish in which the work is done.

   How

   A sworn statement of the amount due you. File it with the governing authority AND record it with the recorder of mortgages. Both filings are required.

   Proof to keep

   A date-stamped receipt from the governing authority and a certified copy of the recorded statement with its registry number and recording date.

   What the document must contain

   • A sworn statement of the amount due you

   If you miss it: You lose the claim against the contract funds and the bond. Filing in only one of the two places does not satisfy the statute.

   La. R.S. 38:2242(B)(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: Public jobs, no contract with the general contractor: give the GC written notice within 45 days

   Within 45 days from the recordation of the notice of acceptance by the owner of the work, or of notice by the owner of default.

   If your contract is with a subcontractor and you have no contractual relationship with the general contractor, this notice is required IN ADDITION to the sworn statement under R.S. 38:2242(B). It is what gives you a right of action on the payment bond - and on a public job the bond is usually the only real money, because public property cannot be seized.

   Where it goes

   To the general contractor.

   How

   Served by mailing it by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid (La. R.S. 38:2247(E)).

   Proof to keep

   The registered or certified mail receipt with its deposit date and a copy of the notice.

   What the document must contain

   • The amount claimed, stated with substantial accuracy
   • The party to whom the material was furnished or for whom the labor was performed

   If you miss it: You have no right of action against the contractor or the surety on the payment bond. The sworn statement alone does not save you.

   La. R.S. 38:2247(A)(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: Private jobs, if your contract is with another subcontractor: give the GC 30 days' notice before you sue

   At least 30 days before you institute an action against the contractor or the surety.

   A subcontractor whose contract is with another subcontractor, with no direct contractual relationship with the general contractor, must notify the contractor before starting an action against the contractor or its surety. This is a look-back from the day you file suit, not a window running from when you started work.

   Where it goes

   To the contractor.

   How

   Written notice. Certified or registered mail or another tracked USPS method (La. R.S. 9:4844(A)).

   Proof to keep

   The certified mail receipt with its deposit date, so you can show 30 clear days before suit was filed.

   What the document must contain

   • The amount claimed
   • The name of the other subcontractor you contracted with

   If you miss it: You have no right of action to enforce the claim against the contractor or its surety.

   La. R.S. 9:4804(D)(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: Private jobs: sue the owner within one year of the day you FILED

    Within one year after you filed the statement of claim or privilege.

    The clock runs from your own filing date, not from the end of the filing window. This changed in the 2019 rewrite of the Act, and most older Louisiana lien guides still state the old rule. Filing early therefore costs you calendar time on the back end. A separate, longer window survives against the contractor or his surety: R.S. 9:4823(B) allows that action up to one year after the expiration of the R.S. 9:4822 filing period.

    Where it goes

    A court of competent jurisdiction.

    How

    Institute an action against the owner to enforce the claim or privilege. Being cited into and joining a concursus proceeding counts as instituting the action (La. R.S. 9:4841).

    Proof to keep

    The file-stamped petition with its filing date, and the recorded statement of claim showing your recording date, so the year can be measured.

    If you miss it: The claim and the privilege are extinguished as against the owner.

    La. R.S. 9:4823(A)(2)(opens the statute in a new tab)
11. 11

    Step 11: Private jobs: record a notice of pendency of action within one year of the day you filed

    Within one year after the date you filed the statement of claim or privilege.

    A second, completely separate one-year deadline running off the same date. Suing the owner in time is not enough. If no notice of pendency of action under Code of Civil Procedure article 3752 - identifying the suit required by R.S. 9:4823 - is recorded within one year of your filing date, the effect of the recordation and the privilege it preserved cease as to third persons. Two calendar entries, not one.

    Where it goes

    The recorder of mortgages for the parish where the immovable is located.

    How

    File it for registry with the parish recorder of mortgages (La. R.S. 9:4831(A)).

    Proof to keep

    The recorded notice of pendency with its registry number and recording date.

    What the document must contain

    • It must comply with La. Code of Civil Procedure article 3752
    • It must identify the suit required to be filed by La. R.S. 9:4823

    If you miss it: Your lawsuit stays alive, but the privilege stops affecting third persons - a buyer or a new mortgage lender takes the property free of your lien. The lien becomes worth nothing against anyone but the owner personally.

    La. R.S. 9:4833(E)(opens the statute in a new tab)
12. 12

    Step 12: Public jobs: sue the contractor or surety within one year of the RECORDED ACCEPTANCE - not of your filing

    Within one year from the registry of acceptance of the work, or of notice of default of the contractor.

    The public-works enforcement clock has a completely different anchor from the private one. It runs from the registry of acceptance of the work or of notice of default of the contractor. Because your sworn statement had to be filed within 45 days of that same recording, a claimant who files on day one and then waits a full year from their own filing date is up to 45 days late.

    Where it goes

    A court of competent jurisdiction.

    How

    Bring the action against the surety, the contractor, or both.

    Proof to keep

    A copy of the recorded acceptance or notice of default showing its registry date - that date, not your filing date, is the one that governs.

    If you miss it: You lose the action against the surety and the contractor. On a public job that is normally the end of the matter, because no lien attaches to the public property.

    La. R.S. 38:2247(A)(opens the statute in a new tab)
13. 13

    Step 13: After you are paid or the claim ends: deliver a written request for cancellation within 10 days of being asked

    Within 10 days after a written request for it is received by the person who filed the statement of claim or privilege.

    Once your statement of claim is improperly filed or has been extinguished, the owner or another interested person can demand in writing that you clear it off the records. You then have 10 days. Over-filing in Louisiana has real teeth, and this is the enforcement mechanism.

    Where it goes

    To the recorder of mortgages where the statement is recorded, as directed by the request.

    How

    Deliver a written request for cancellation, in proper form, to cancel the claim or privilege.

    Proof to keep

    The dated written demand you received, your dated request for cancellation, and proof of when you delivered it.

    What the document must contain

    • A written request for cancellation in proper form

    If you miss it: If you fail without reasonable cause, you are liable for the damages suffered by the owner or the person who requested the cancellation, and for their reasonable attorney fees.

    La. R.S. 9:4833(A)(3), (B)(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in Louisiana

Where you file

Office

Parish Clerk of Court as ex officio Recorder of Mortgages (mortgage records). Orleans Parish: Clerk of Civil District Court, Land Records Division.

Recording fee

$30–$150

Notarization

Not required

Sworn or verified

Sworn statement

How it is served

Certified mail

Copies

2

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

What trips people up in Louisiana

• USING A 60-DAY DEADLINE WHEN YOU HAVE 30. R.S. 9:4822(A) gives 60 days - but R.S. 9:4822(B)(1) gives every R.S. 9:4802 claimant (subcontractor, laborer, seller, lessor, consultant) only 30 days once a notice of contract was filed and the owner records a notice of termination. The general contractor's 60 is not your 60.
• NOT KNOWING THE OWNER RECORDED A NOTICE OF TERMINATION. Your clock starts on the recording date and nobody has to tell you. Worse, R.S. 9:4822(E)(3) lets the owner record one certifying that the general contractor is in default, or that the contract has terminated - months before the job is actually finished. A deadline you calculated from "when the job wrapped up" can already be blown. The R.S. 9:4822(I) written request is the only mechanism that makes the owner tell you, and it is a warning system, not an extension: R.S. 9:4822(J) says the privilege is extinguished by a late filing regardless of whether the owner failed to notify you.
• RECORDING BUT NOT DELIVERING. On a job with a notice of contract on file, R.S. 9:4822(B) requires you to file the statement AND deliver a copy to the owner at the address in the notice of contract, inside the same window. Recording alone does not preserve the claim.
• SENDING THE SUPPLIER'S MONTHLY NOTICE TO ONLY ONE RECIPIENT, OR ONLY ONCE. R.S. 9:4804(C) requires a separate notice of nonpayment for EACH calendar month of delivery, to BOTH the owner AND the contractor, within 75 days after that month's last day. One notice covering six months of deliveries protects one month. A notice to the contractor alone protects nothing. The public-works twin, R.S. 38:2242(F), works the same way.
• A GENERAL CONTRACTOR OVER $100,000 WITH NO NOTICE OF CONTRACT. R.S. 9:4811(D): no privilege at all, and no right to file a statement of claim for any amount. It is uncurable, and it requires the owner's signature on the notice before you mobilize (R.S. 9:4811(A)). If the owner will not sign, you need to know at bid time.
• FILING ON A BONDED JOB WHERE NO LIEN EXISTS. Under R.S. 9:4802(C), if the owner required and maintained a R.S. 9:4812 bond and recorded the notice of contract with the bond attached, the owner is relieved of every R.S. 9:4802 claim and of the privileges securing them. Recording anyway exposes you to the R.S. 9:4833 cancellation demand, damages and attorney fees. Pull the notice of contract before you promise anyone a lien.
• PUTTING THE STREET ADDRESS IN AS THE PROPERTY DESCRIPTION. R.S. 9:4831(B) states flatly that the owner's name plus a street or mailing address of the immovable, "without more," is not sufficient. A lien prepared from the address on your invoice is defective on its face. If a notice of contract with a complete property description is on file, referencing it plus its registry number works instead (R.S. 9:4831(C)) - but if that notice of contract does not reasonably identify the property, the reference alone will not hold up against third persons (R.S. 9:4831(D)).
• A DESIGN PROFESSIONAL COUNTING FROM FIRST FURNISHING. R.S. 9:4804(A) runs 30 days from the date you were ENGAGED, not from when you started work or first billed. Counting from first furnishing is typically two months late on a requirement whose penalty is total loss of the claim.
• AN ORAL EQUIPMENT RENTAL. R.S. 9:4801(4) and 9:4802(A)(4) require a WRITTEN lease. No written lease, no privilege - before you even get to the R.S. 9:4804(B) notice.
• ASSUMING PUBLIC JOBS WORK LIKE PRIVATE ONES. R.S. 9:4808 pulls state and political-subdivision work out of the Private Works Act entirely. Public jobs: 45 days from the recorded acceptance or default, a SWORN statement, filed in TWO places (R.S. 38:2242(B)), and suit within one year FROM THE REGISTRY OF ACCEPTANCE, not from your own filing (R.S. 38:2247(A)). Federal projects are governed by neither of these Louisiana acts - this guide does not cover them.
• FILING EARLY AND THEN WAITING A FULL YEAR FROM "THE DEADLINE." R.S. 9:4823(A)(2) now runs one year from your ACTUAL filing date. Pre-2020 law ran it from the expiration of the filing period, and many Louisiana lien guides still say so. If you filed early, you have less time than those guides promise.
• SUING IN TIME BUT NOT RECORDING THE NOTICE OF PENDENCY. R.S. 9:4833(E) is a separate one-year clock off the same filing date. Meet the first and miss the second and your suit survives while your lien stops binding any buyer or lender.
• TREATING THE LIEN AS A WAY TO RECOVER YOUR LEGAL BILLS. R.S. 9:4803(C): the privileges granted by R.S. 9:4801 and the claims and privileges granted by R.S. 9:4802 do not secure attorney fees or other expenses of litigation. The filing fee for the statement is secured (R.S. 9:4803(A)(1)); your lawyer is not.
• NAMING THE WRONG OWNER. R.S. 9:4806(B) limits claims to the owner or owners who contracted with the contractor, plus any owner who agreed in writing to the price and work and expressly agreed in writing to be liable. Naming a co-owner who did neither creates no liability and no privilege on that owner's interest.
• LOUISIANA IS PARISHES, NOT COUNTIES, AND FEES ARE NOT UNIFORM. There are 64 parishes and you record in the mortgage records of the one where the property sits (R.S. 9:4831(A)). R.S. 13:841 sets statutory CEILINGS for clerks' fees ($20 initialization, $6 first page, $4 each additional page, $2 per name indexed) and says fees "may be less than, but shall not exceed" those amounts - it is not a price list. Confirm the actual charge and the intake requirements with that specific parish before your window is short.
• LETTING A REPAIR OR REMODEL JOB GO QUIET. R.S. 9:4820(B): on an addition, modification or repair with no notice of contract on file, a 30-day suspension splits the job into two works for ranking, and your pre-suspension privilege keeps its rank only if you file within 60 days of the suspension starting. You can lose priority while the job is still nominally open.

After you file

• DELIVER THE OWNER'S COPY IN THE SAME WINDOW. If a notice of contract is on file and it gives the owner's address, R.S. 9:4822(B) makes delivery of a copy of your recorded statement to the owner a co-requisite of filing, not a courtesy. Do it inside the same 30 days and keep the certified mail receipt.
• SET TWO CALENDAR ENTRIES, NOT ONE, BOTH OFF YOUR FILING DATE. (1) Sue the owner within one year of filing (R.S. 9:4823(A)(2)). (2) Record a notice of pendency of action under C.C.P. art. 3752 within one year of filing (R.S. 9:4833(E)). Missing the second leaves your suit alive but your privilege worthless against any purchaser or mortgagee.
• THERE IS A LONGER, SEPARATE WINDOW AGAINST THE CONTRACTOR AND SURETY. R.S. 9:4823(B) preserves an action against the contractor or his surety up to one year after the EXPIRATION of the R.S. 9:4822 filing period - a different anchor from the action against the owner.
• EXPECT THE OTHER SIDE TO BOND AROUND IT. Under R.S. 9:4835 any interested person can deposit a surety bond, cash or certified funds with the recorder of mortgages equal to 125% of the principal amount of the claim, plus interest, costs and attorney fees where owed. The privilege is then cancelled off the property and your claim follows the security instead.
• EXPECT A CONCURSUS. After the R.S. 9:4822 filing period expires, the owner or any other interested person may convoke a concursus and cite all claimants who preserved their claims or privileges, to establish validity and rank (R.S. 9:4841). Being cited in and joining is how many Louisiana claims actually get resolved.
• RESPOND TO A CANCELLATION DEMAND IN 10 DAYS. Once the claim is paid, extinguished or was improperly filed, R.S. 9:4833(A)(3) gives you 10 days from receipt of a written request to deliver a written request for cancellation. Ignoring it without reasonable cause means damages and reasonable attorney fees under R.S. 9:4833(B).
• KNOW WHERE YOU RANK. R.S. 9:4821 sets the order among Private Works Act privileges. Laborers rank first and, unlike other claimants, are not subordinated to pre-existing bona fide mortgages and vendor's privileges.
• WATCH THE FIVE-YEAR LAPSE ON LONG JOBS. R.S. 9:4834: the effect of filing a notice of contract ceases five years after it is filed unless a written notice of reinscription is properly and timely filed. On a multi-year project, a general contractor's own privilege can lapse with it.
• ON A BONDED PRIVATE JOB, SELLERS HAVE A SEPARATE PATH TO THE SURETY. R.S. 9:4812(F), added in 2024, lets a seller compel the surety where it sends a notice of nonpayment to the general contractor, the surety and the owner no sooner than 45 days after delivery of the movables and has not been paid in full by 90 days after delivery. This is in addition to the R.S. 9:4804(C) monthly notice, not a substitute for it.
• ON A PUBLIC JOB, THE AWARDING AUTHORITY CAN BECOME PERSONALLY LIABLE. R.S. 38:2242(D): if the awarding authority makes final payment to the contractor without deducting the total of all outstanding claims served on it, or without obtaining a bond covering them, the awarding authority becomes liable for those claims. This is the closest thing Louisiana has to a stop notice, and it exists only on public work.
• THERE IS NO STOP NOTICE ON PRIVATE WORK. The functional substitute is R.S. 9:4802(A), which gives subcontractors, laborers, sellers, lessors and consultants a direct claim against the owner as well as against the contractor - and R.S. 9:4802(E) says you can assert it against the contractor, the surety or the owner without joining the others, and it is not subject to a plea of discussion or division.