How to file a mechanics lien in Missouri

Step by step

10 steps for a subcontractor in Missouri.

1. 1

   Step 1: Find out if the job is public and bonded before you rely on lien rights

   Before you start work, and definitely before you spend money preparing a lien.

   On a public works job where the public entity required a payment bond, subcontractors and suppliers have no mechanics lien at all. A lien filed anyway is void by statute and gets thrown out summarily. Your money comes from the bond instead. Missouri public entities have to require a bond on public works contracts estimated to cost more than $50,000.

   Where it goes

   The public body that awarded the contract — city, county, school district, state agency.

   How

   Ask the public entity or the general contractor for a copy of the payment bond and the bond number. Get it in writing.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of the bond, and the email or letter you sent asking for it.

   If you miss it: You file a mechanics lien on a bonded public job and it is void, unenforceable and summarily discharged. You spend the filing money and the six months for nothing, and the real deadline you needed to hit was the bond notice.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 107.170.2, .8(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: On residential repair or remodel work, get a signed CONSENT OF OWNER

   The statute does not set a date. But a signed copy has to be attached when you record your lien claim, so you need it in hand before you file.

   If the job is the repair or remodeling of, or an addition to, owner-occupied residential property of four units or less, then nobody except the original contractor gets a lien unless an owner signed a Consent of Owner under a written contract. It has to be printed in ten-point bold type and signed separately from the Sec. 429.012 notice to owner. This does not apply to building the original residential unit itself, or to other improvements that are part of the original development.

   Where it goes

   Signed by an owner of the property. A signature from one owner binds the others.

   How

   A written document in ten-point bold type, signed by an owner, separate from any other notice, backed by a written contract in which an owner agreed to be liable for the costs.

   Proof to keep

   The original signed consent, plus the written contract it sits under. You will attach a copy to your recorded lien claim.

   What the document must contain

   • The heading CONSENT OF OWNER
   • The statutory language from Sec. 429.013.2: CONSENT IS HEREBY GIVEN FOR FILING OF MECHANIC'S LIENS BY ANY PERSON WHO SUPPLIES MATERIALS OR SERVICES FOR THE WORK DESCRIBED IN THIS CONTRACT ON THE PROPERTY ON WHICH IT IS LOCATED IF HE IS NOT PAID.
   • Printed in ten point bold type
   • Signed separately from the Sec. 429.012 notice
   • An owner's signature

   If you miss it: You have no lien, no matter how perfectly you do everything else. Sec. 429.013.3 makes attaching a signed consent a condition precedent. And under Sec. 429.013.4, if the homeowner paid the contractor in full, that full payment is a complete defense to your lien. Faking an owner's signature on one of these is a class D felony (Sec. 429.013.5).

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.013.1, .2, .3, .4(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: On a residential job, watch the recorder for a notice of intended sale and record a NOTICE OF RIGHTS

   Not less than five calendar days before the intended closing date stated in the owner's recorded notice of intended sale. If that fifth day lands on a Saturday, Sunday or Missouri legal holiday, you get until the next day the recorder is open.

   This is the trap that wipes out whole claims in Missouri. On residential real property, if the owner records a notice of intended sale, every claimant who wants to keep lien rights has to record a notarized notice of rights with the recorder of deeds before the closing date stated in that notice. Miss it and you are deemed to waive and forfeit all lien rights — before your filing deadline has even run. The owner is required to record their notice at least 45 calendar days before the earliest date they intend to close, post a copy at the property, and give you a copy and the legal description within five days of your written request.

   Where it goes

   The office of the recorder of deeds for the county where the property is located. Note this is a different office from where your lien itself gets filed.

   How

   Record it. It has to be signed by someone authorized to sign for you, and that signature has to be notarized. The recorder indexes owners as grantors and claimants as grantees, and the owner's signature is not needed to record it.

   Proof to keep

   The file-stamped recorded copy. You have to attach a photocopy of it to your lien statement later.

   What the document must contain

   • Date of the document
   • Owner's name
   • Claimant's name and address
   • Legal description of the property
   • Name of the person contracting with the claimant for the work
   • Names of persons performing work for or supplying materials to the claimant
   • Notarized signature of a person authorized to sign for the claimant

   If you miss it: You waive and forfeit any right to assert a mechanics lien against that property (Sec. 429.016.6). And if you record it after the owner has already conveyed to a bona fide purchaser for value, it does not work at all — there is no relation back (Sec. 429.016.7).

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.016.3, .4, .5, .6, .7, .8, .9, .11(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: Keep a running itemized account of exactly what you furnished

   Every week of the job. Start on day one.

   Your lien statement has to be a just and true account of what you are owed after all just credits have been given. Missouri takes that literally. The account you file has to be built from real records — dated, itemized, showing every payment and credit you received — because the account is the lien. A lump sum with no itemization, or an account that mixes in things that are not lienable, is a problem you cannot fix after you file.

   Where it goes

   Your own files. Nothing gets filed at this stage.

   How

   Keep dated daily tickets, delivery slips, invoices, change orders and a payment ledger showing credits applied.

   Proof to keep

   The contract or purchase order, every invoice, every delivery ticket, and a statement of account showing payments and credits.

   What the document must contain

   • Itemized amounts due, not a lump sum
   • All payments and credits already received, applied against the total
   • Only lienable work and material for this property
   • The first and last dates you furnished labor or material

   If you miss it: When you file, you will not be able to produce a just and true account after all just credits, and Missouri courts have treated a padded or lump-summed account as defeating the whole lien, not just the bad lines.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.080(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: Serve the ten-day notice on the owner before you file

   At least ten days before you file the lien. It runs backward from your filing date, so if you plan to file on day 175, serve it by day 165.

   Everybody except the original contractor has to give the owner ten days' notice before the lien gets filed, saying how much is owed and who owes it. This is a separate document from anything the original contractor serves. If you contracted directly with the owner, this is not your notice — see the NOTICE TO OWNER step instead.

   Where it goes

   The owner, the owners, or the owner's agent.

   How

   Two ways only. By an officer authorized by law to serve process in civil actions — their official return on the notice is your proof. Or by any person who would be a competent witness, in which case that person has to verify the service by affidavit. If the owner is not a Missouri resident, has no agent in the county, is concealing themselves, has absconded, or is away from their usual place of abode, you can instead record the notice with the recorder of deeds for that county, and it has the same effect as service (Sec. 429.110).

   Proof to keep

   The officer's official return endorsed on the notice, or the process server's affidavit of service. If you recorded it under Sec. 429.110, the file-stamped recorded copy and the recording fee receipt.

   What the document must contain

   • The amount due
   • From whom it is due
   • Reference to the claim against the building or improvement

   If you miss it: The notice is a statutory precondition to your lien. Serve it late, serve it fewer than ten days out, or serve it by a method the statute does not allow, and you are defending the validity of your lien instead of collecting on it.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.100; Sec. 429.110(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: File your lien statement with the circuit clerk within six months

   Within six months after the indebtedness accrued, which is your own last day of furnishing labor or material on the job.

   This is the lien itself. You file a sworn, itemized account of what you are owed with the clerk of the circuit court. Missouri measures the six months from when your indebtedness accrued — your own last day of furnishing labor or material — not from when the overall project finished.

   Where it goes

   The clerk of the circuit court of the county where the property is located. Not the recorder of deeds. Filing at the recorder does not perfect your lien.

   How

   File it in person or by the county's accepted filing method, verified by oath. The account has to be sworn to by you or by some credible person on your behalf.

   Proof to keep

   The file-stamped copy from the circuit clerk showing the filing date. That date starts your six-month suit clock.

   What the document must contain

   • A just and true account of the demand due you, after all just credits have been given
   • A true description of the property, or close enough to identify it
   • The name of the owner or the contractor, or both, if known
   • Verification by the oath of yourself or some credible person for you

   If you miss it: You have no lien. The six-month period cannot be extended or waived by agreement.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.080; Sec. 429.030 (extent of the land covered)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: On a residential job, attach the extra paperwork to the lien statement

   At the moment you file the lien statement.

   Residential filings carry a document package that commercial filings do not. If you recorded a notice of rights under Sec. 429.016, a file-stamped photocopy of it goes in with your lien statement. And on an owner-occupied repair or remodel of four units or less, a copy of the signed Consent of Owner has to be attached to the recording of your lien claim.

   Where it goes

   The clerk of the circuit court, with the lien statement.

   How

   Attach copies to the lien statement you file.

   Proof to keep

   The complete file-stamped filing package as accepted by the clerk.

   What the document must contain

   • A photocopy of the file-stamped notice of rights and any renewals
   • The name and address of the person or entity you contracted with
   • A copy of any contract, purchase order or proposal — or, if there was no written agreement, a general description of the scope of work
   • All invoices you submitted for your work on the property
   • An accurate statement of account showing all payments and credits
   • The last date you performed any work or labor on the property
   • On owner-occupied residential repair, remodel or addition of four units or less: a copy of the Consent of Owner signed by an owner (Sec. 429.013.3)

   If you miss it: The Consent of Owner attachment is a condition precedent under Sec. 429.013.3 — without it there is no lien for anyone other than the original contractor. The Sec. 429.016.15 documents are what the statute says the claimant shall provide with the lien statement, so a short package invites a challenge you did not need to face.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.016.15; Sec. 429.013.3(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: Sue within six months of filing, or the lien stops existing

   Within six months after the date you filed the lien. Note that this clock starts at filing, not at your last day of work.

   Filing the lien is not the end. Missouri gives you six months from the filing date to commence an action on it, and the statute says no lien continues to exist beyond six months from filing unless an action is instituted within that time. The lien does not just become unenforceable — it ceases to exist.

   Where it goes

   Circuit court. The parties to the contract have to be made parties to the suit; anyone else interested in the property may be made a party, and anyone not made a party is not bound by the result (Sec. 429.190).

   How

   Commence a civil action to enforce the lien. Pleadings run as in other civil cases (Sec. 429.180). If an equitable mechanics lien action is already pending, an answer, other pleading, motion, or entry of appearance followed by pleading, filed within your six months, counts as commencing your action (Sec. 429.310).

   Proof to keep

   The file-stamped petition or pleading and the case number, dated inside the six months.

   If you miss it: The lien ceases to exist. You may still have a breach of contract claim against whoever owes you, but the security interest in the property is gone.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.170; Sec. 429.310; Sec. 429.190(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: Watch for an equitable mechanics lien action — it takes over your case

   Any time after a lien statement has been filed. It is not on your schedule — check the circuit court docket for the property after you file.

   This is the lever the other side can pull. Any lien claimant after their statement is filed, and also any owner, lessee, mortgagee or other encumbrance holder, can start an equitable action to sort out everyone's liens at once. Once that action is brought, it is exclusive of other remedies for enforcing mechanics liens, all other pending mechanics lien suits are stayed and not further prosecuted, and no new separate lien suit can be filed. You do not get to run your own case anymore — you have to appear in theirs, and you still have to do it inside your own six months from filing.

   Where it goes

   The circuit court where the equitable action is pending.

   How

   Appear in the equitable action and plead. An answer, other pleading, motion, or entry of appearance followed by pleading, filed within six months of your own lien filing, is what counts as commencement by you.

   Proof to keep

   Your file-stamped answer or pleading in the equitable action, dated inside your six months.

   If you miss it: Your own separate suit is stayed and goes nowhere, and if you did not plead or appear in the equitable action within six months of filing your lien, your lien ceases to exist under Sec. 429.170. Being named by someone else is not the same as commencing your own action.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.270; Sec. 429.290; Sec. 429.300; Sec. 429.310(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: File an acknowledgment of satisfaction once you are paid

    Within ten days after payment and a request to enter satisfaction.

    When the debt secured by the lien is paid or satisfied, you have to file an acknowledgment of that satisfaction if you are asked to. It is a small step with a real penalty attached.

    Where it goes

    The clerk of the circuit court.

    How

    File a written acknowledgment of satisfaction. If your lien covered multiple lots or tracts and you are releasing only some of them, Sec. 429.032 sets out a Partial Release of Mechanic's Lien form with notary blocks for individuals and for corporations.

    Proof to keep

    The file-stamped satisfaction, and the date you received payment and the request.

    If you miss it: Refuse to enter satisfaction within ten days after payment and request and you are liable to any person injured for the amount of the injury plus the cost of suit.

    Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 429.120; Sec. 429.130; Sec. 429.032(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in Missouri

Where you file

Office

Clerk of the Circuit Court

Recording fee

$5

Notarization

Required

Sworn or verified

Affidavit

How it is served

Personal service

Copies

1

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

What trips people up in Missouri

• Filing at the recorder of deeds. Sec. 429.080 sends the lien statement to the clerk of the circuit court. Missouri is one of the few states that does it this way, and a filing at the recorder does not perfect anything. Confusing, because two other Missouri filings — the Sec. 429.016 notice of rights and the Sec. 429.110 recording for an absent owner — do go to the recorder.
• An original contractor serving the ten-day notice instead of the NOTICE TO OWNER. Sec. 429.100 opens with 'Every person except the original contractor.' It is not your notice. Yours is the ten-point bold Sec. 429.012 disclosure, due before you collect any money, and Sec. 429.012.2 makes it a condition precedent to your lien existing at all.
• Serving the ten-day notice by certified mail. Sec. 429.100 allows service by an officer authorized to serve civil process, whose official return is the proof, or by any person competent to be a witness whose service is then verified by affidavit. Certified mail is not one of the listed methods.
• Equipment lessors using the six-month deadline. Sec. 429.080 gives rental equipment rented to others 60 days from the date the last of the equipment was removed from the property. A lessor who waits for the six-month date is four months late, and the removal date is often later than the last invoiced rental day — measure from removal.
• Equipment lessors assuming they have a lien. Sec. 429.010.2 means there is no rental lien on residential property at all, none for a claim of $5,000 or less, and none if the 15-business-day notice did not reach the owner after use began. Three gates, all three have to open.
• Measuring six months from project completion. Sec. 429.080 runs from when your indebtedness accrued — your own last furnishing. A sub who finishes framing in March and waits for the building to top out in October is months out of time.
• Treating six months as 180 days without checking the calendar. The statute says six months. Count the actual calendar date and file well before it; do not build a plan around a day count that may not line up with the month.
• Skipping the Consent of Owner on a residential remodel. On repair, remodeling of, or an addition to owner-occupied residential property of four units or less, Sec. 429.013.2 gives nobody but the original contractor a lien without a ten-point bold consent signed by an owner, and Sec. 429.013.3 makes attaching it a condition precedent. Then Sec. 429.013.4 lets the homeowner defeat you outright by proving they paid the contractor in full.
• Assuming the Consent of Owner rule covers new construction. It does not — Sec. 429.013.1 expressly excludes building or erecting the initial or original residential unit and improvements forming part of the original development. New residential construction runs on Sec. 429.016 instead. Getting the wrong one of these two regimes is the single most common residential error in Missouri.
• Not watching the recorder of deeds on residential jobs. The owner can record a notice of intended sale and start a clock you never see. You then have until five calendar days before the stated closing date to record a notice of rights, and if you miss it you waive and forfeit all lien rights under Sec. 429.016.6 — regardless of how much time is left on your filing deadline. Recording it after conveyance to a bona fide purchaser is worthless (Sec. 429.016.7).
• Assuming the notice of rights buys you time. It does not. Sec. 429.016.12 says recording it does not extend the Sec. 429.080 filing deadline. It does, however, relieve you of the Sec. 429.100 ten-day notice (Sec. 429.016.14).
• Filing a mechanics lien on a bonded public works job. Sec. 107.170.8 makes it void, unenforceable and summarily discharged. Worse, a remote supplier who spends the season preparing a lien blows through the 90-day written notice to the contractor that was its only real remedy.
• Filing a lump-sum or padded account. Sec. 429.080 requires a just and true account after all just credits. Missouri courts have treated an account that commingles non-lienable items or is stated as a lump sum as defeating the entire lien, not just the offending amounts.
• Filing the lien and then waiting. The six-month enforcement clock in Sec. 429.170 starts on the filing date, and the lien ceases to exist at six months if no action is instituted. Being named as a defendant in someone else's equitable action does not commence your action — Sec. 429.310 requires you to answer, plead, move, or enter appearance and then plead, within your own six months.
• Relying on older lien summaries. Plenty of secondary sources still print the pre-2005 Missouri rule giving laborers 60 days and subcontractors four months. Missouri's own Revisor page for Sec. 429.100 carries a 1964 annotation referring to 'the four-month provision of 429.080.' That is repealed law. The current Sec. 429.080, effective 28 August 2007, gives six months to original contractors, journeymen, day laborers and every other person alike.
• Signing a lien waiver to win the job. Sec. 429.005 makes an agreement to waive lien rights, given in anticipation of and in consideration for the award of a contract, against public policy and unenforceable. But the same section leaves contractual provisions requiring lien waivers as a condition for payment perfectly valid — so the waiver you sign at each pay application is real.

After you file

• Your six-month clock restarts. Sec. 429.170 gives you six months from the date you filed the lien to commence an action, and says no lien continues to exist beyond six months from filing unless an action is instituted within that time. Put the filing date and the six-month date on the wall.
• Check the circuit court docket for the property periodically. Under Sec. 429.270, any lien claimant, or the owner, lessee, mortgagee or other encumbrance holder, can start an equitable action once a lien statement is on file. Once it is brought, Sec. 429.290 makes it exclusive of other remedies and Sec. 429.300 stays every other mechanics lien suit and bars new ones. You have to appear and plead in it.
• Whatever route the case takes, you personally have to plead or appear inside your own six months. Sec. 429.310 counts an answer, other pleading, motion, or entry of appearance followed by pleading as commencement — but only if it lands within six months of your lien filing and the equitable action is still pending.
• If you are the original contractor and a sub or supplier files a lien on your job, Sec. 429.140 requires you to defend any action brought on it at your own expense. Meanwhile the owner may withhold from you the amount the lien is filed for, deduct any judgment and costs from what they owe you, and if they already paid you in full, recover back from you what they had to pay out.
• Your lien is preferred to encumbrances that attached to the building, improvement or ground after the commencement of the building or improvement (Sec. 429.060), and it reaches the whole tract the improvement sits on, but only to the extent of the right, title and interest the owner actually has in it (Sec. 429.030).
• When you get paid, file an acknowledgment of satisfaction with the circuit clerk if you are asked to (Sec. 429.120). Refuse for more than ten days after payment and request and you are liable to anyone injured for their injury plus the cost of suit (Sec. 429.130).
• On a bonded public works job, the bond is your remedy instead of a lien (Sec. 107.170.8). Sec. 107.170 does not itself state a deadline for suing on the bond, so that date has to come from the bond's own terms or from separate advice — do not assume it matches the lien timeline.