How to file a mechanics lien in New York

Step by step

21 steps for a subcontractor in New York.

1. 1

   Step 1: Find out which of New York's three lien clocks you are on

   Before you start work, or the day payment first slips — whichever comes first.

   New York does not have one lien deadline. It has three, and which one you get is set by the kind of property — not by what kind of contractor you are. Every claimant on the same job shares the same window: the general contractor, a second-tier sub, a supplier and a laborer all get the identical deadline. Private job on a single-family dwelling: 4 months. Any other private job — commercial, industrial, two-family, apartment building: 8 months. Public improvement owned by the State or a public corporation: 30 days after completion and acceptance. Federal property is not a New York lien job at all.

   Where it goes

   The county clerk's land records or the municipal tax record for the property; the contracting agency on a public job.

   How

   Confirm the property type and the owner of record. On a public job, get the name of the department or bureau in charge of the construction and the name of the comptroller or financial officer who holds the contract funds. On a federal job, get the payment bond.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of your contract, the property address plus tax block and lot, and the owner's name exactly as it appears in the county records.

   If you miss it: You count from the wrong clock. Using the 8-month window on a single-family dwelling puts you four months late. Using any last-day-based window on a public improvement can put you months late against a 30-day deadline.

   N.Y. Lien Law § 10(1) (private improvement); § 12 (public improvement)(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: Confirm there is nothing to send before you file

   Not applicable. There is no pre-work or in-progress notice to send.

   New York requires no pre-lien or preliminary notice of any kind, from any claimant, on private or public work. Article 2 of the Lien Law contains no preliminary-notice section, and nothing in it conditions your lien rights on a notice given before the lien is filed. New York puts the notice burden on the far end instead: after you file, you must serve the lien and then prove you served it. That is where New York liens actually die — see the 35-day step below.

   How

   No action required. Spend the effort on dated records instead.

   Proof to keep

   Nothing to keep for this step.

   If you miss it: Nothing. There is no preliminary notice in New York to miss.

   N.Y. Lien Law art. 2, §§ 3–39-c (the Article 2 section list contains no preliminary-notice provision)(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: Write down your first and last day on the job

   From your first day on site or your first delivery, and every working day after.

   Your lien clock runs from your own last item of work performed or materials furnished — not from when the whole building is finished, and not from when anyone else packs up. The notice of lien has to state the time when your first and last items of work were performed and materials were furnished, so those two dates go in the document and both have to be right.

   Where it goes

   Your own files.

   How

   Daily logs, signed and dated delivery tickets, dated field reports, dated photographs, time sheets.

   Proof to keep

   Signed delivery tickets and daily reports that independently establish your first and last item dates. Keep the signature, not just your own copy.

   If you miss it: You cannot prove when your window opened or closed, and a wrong first or last date is a Lien Law § 9 content defect the owner can use to get the lien summarily discharged under § 19(6).

   N.Y. Lien Law § 9(6); § 10(1)(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: Ask the owner in writing what is left on the contract above you

   Optional

   Any time you are worried about payment, and in any event before you file. The owner has 30 days to respond.

   New York caps your lien at the money the owner still owes above you on the day you file. If the owner has already paid the general contractor in full, a perfect lien can be worth nothing. Section 8 lets a subcontractor, laborer or materialman demand in writing that the owner state the terms of the owner–contractor contract and the amount due or to become due on it. There is a second edge to it: if the owner refuses, neglects, or falsely states the terms or the amount, and you later get a judgment against your contractor and execution comes back unsatisfied, the owner is liable for the loss — and your lien for labor and materials furnished after the demand is enforced as if you had been hired by the owner directly.

   Where it goes

   The owner of the property, or the owner's duly authorized agent.

   How

   A written demand delivered to the owner or the owner's duly authorized agent. Send it so you can prove it arrived and when.

   Proof to keep

   A copy of the demand and proof of delivery with the date. You will need the date to run the 30 days.

   What the document must contain

   • a demand for a statement of the terms of the contract between the owner and the contractor under which the improvement is being made
   • a demand for the amount due or to become due on that contract

   If you miss it: Nothing is forfeited — this is optional. But you file your lien without knowing whether there is any unpaid balance left for it to reach.

   N.Y. Lien Law § 8(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: On a public job, demand written notice of completion and acceptance

   Optional

   As soon as you are on the job. The clock you cannot see starts long before you would think to ask.

   Your public improvement lien window closes 30 days after the State or public corporation completes AND accepts the improvement. That is an act of the agency, not of you, and nobody is obliged to call you about it. Section 11-a lets a person performing labor or furnishing materials file a written demand asking to be told when it happens.

   Where it goes

   The head of the department or bureau having charge of the construction or demolition.

   How

   File a written demand requiring that notice of completion and acceptance be given to you upon the happening of that event.

   Proof to keep

   A date-stamped copy of the demand as filed, and anything the agency sends back.

   What the document must contain

   • your name and the address where notice should be sent
   • identification of the public improvement and the contract

   If you miss it: Nothing is forfeited by not filing it. But read this part carefully before you rely on it: § 11-a says the failure of the State, the public corporation or any officer or employee to give the notice shall not extend any period of time within which an act must be performed. If you file the demand and never hear a word, your 30 days ran anyway.

   N.Y. Lien Law § 11-a(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: Set the lien amount at exactly what you earned and were not paid

   When you prepare the notice of lien, before you file.

   Two separate rules squeeze this one number, and one of them can destroy the whole lien. First, the cap: your lien cannot be for more than the sum earned and unpaid on the contract at the time you file the notice of lien, plus any sum subsequently earned on it — and the owner can never be made to pay, across all liens, more than the value or agreed price of the labor and materials remaining unpaid when the liens were filed. Second, exaggeration: if a court finds you wilfully exaggerated the amount claimed, the lien is declared void, no recovery is had on it, and you are barred from filing any further lien for the same claim. Section 39-a then makes you liable to the owner or contractor for the premium on any bond given to discharge the lien, interest on any money deposited to discharge it, reasonable attorney's fees for securing the discharge, and the amount of the exaggeration itself.

   Where it goes

   The face of the notice of lien.

   How

   Total the labor performed and materials furnished at the agreed price or value, subtract every payment received, and put that number on the lien. Do not add interest, attorney's fees, collection costs, lost profit or damages you have not yet liquidated.

   Proof to keep

   Invoices, signed tickets, approved change orders and a payment ledger that add up to the exact figure on the lien — line by line, because § 38 can force you to produce exactly that within 5 days.

   What the document must contain

   • the labor performed or materials furnished and the agreed price or value thereof
   • the amount unpaid to you for that labor or those materials

   If you miss it: Padding costs you the entire lien, not just the padding, and bars you from filing another lien for the same claim, plus damages under § 39-a.

   N.Y. Lien Law § 4 (extent of lien); § 39 (wilful exaggeration voids the lien); § 39-a (damages)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: File the notice of lien with the county clerk — private job on a single-family dwelling

   At any time during the progress of the work and the furnishing of the materials, and no later than 4 months after the completion of the contract, or the final performance of the work, or the final furnishing of the materials — dating from your own last item. Count 4 calendar months from your last item and treat that date as hard. Do not convert it to a day count.

   This is the lien. It is a verified written notice filed in the county land records, and the filing is what creates the lien. New York expressly lets you file at any time during the progress of the work, so filing early is never a problem — only filing late is. 'Single family dwelling' here is about the property, not about who lives in it: a rented or vacant single-family house still gets only 4 months, while a two-family house gets 8. The statute carves out of 'single family dwelling' a dwelling unit that is part of a subdivision filed with a municipality where, at the time the lien is filed, the property is owned by the developer for purposes other than his personal residence.

   Where it goes

   The clerk's office of the county where the property is situated. If the property is situated in two or more counties, file in the office of the clerk of each of those counties.

   How

   File the signed and verified notice of lien with the county clerk. The statutory filing fee under CPLR 8021 is $30 in counties within the City of New York and $15 in all other counties; individual counties add their own recording surcharges on top. No fee is charged for filing a notice or order continuing, amending or cancelling the lien.

   Proof to keep

   The clerk's filed copy showing the filing date and file or index number, plus the fee receipt. That filing date starts two other clocks: your 35-day proof-of-service deadline and your one-year enforcement deadline.

   What the document must contain

   • your name and residence — and if you are a partnership or corporation, the business address
   • the name and address of your attorney, if any
   • the name of the owner of the real property against whose interest a lien is claimed, and the owner's interest so far as you know it
   • the name of the person by whom you were employed, or to whom you furnished or are to furnish materials — this is whoever actually hired you, not necessarily the general contractor
   • the labor performed or materials furnished and the agreed price or value thereof
   • the amount unpaid to you for that labor or those materials
   • the time when the first and last items of work were performed and materials were furnished
   • a description of the property subject to the lien sufficient for identification, including its location by street and number if in a city or village, and a statement of whether it is or is to be improved with a single family dwelling
   • verification by you or your agent that the statements are true to your knowledge except as to matters stated on information and belief

   If you miss it: No lien. The property stops being security for your money. You are left with a breach-of-contract claim and, if it fits, an Article 3-A trust fund claim — neither of which touches the real estate.

   N.Y. Lien Law § 10(1) (4-month window, filing office); § 9 (contents and verification); N.Y. C.P.L.R. 8021 (fee)(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: File the notice of lien with the county clerk — any other private job

   At any time during the progress of the work and the furnishing of the materials, and no later than 8 months after the completion of the contract, or the final performance of the work, or the final furnishing of the materials — dating from your own last item of work performed or materials furnished. If your notice of lien is for retainage, § 10(1) also allows filing within 90 days after the date the retainage was due to be released. Treat that as an extra route for the retainage only; it does not extend your 8 months for anything else you are owed.

   Same document, same office, longer window. This is the 8-month window, and it covers everything private that is not a single-family dwelling: commercial, industrial, two-family houses, apartment buildings, mixed use. The 8 months runs from your own last item, not from completion of the whole improvement, so two trades on the same job can have deadlines months apart.

   Where it goes

   The clerk's office of the county where the property is situated. If the property is situated in two or more counties, file in the office of the clerk of each of those counties.

   How

   File the signed and verified notice of lien with the county clerk. The statutory filing fee under CPLR 8021 is $30 in counties within the City of New York and $15 in all other counties, plus that county's own recording surcharges. No fee is charged for filing a notice or order continuing, amending or cancelling the lien.

   Proof to keep

   The clerk's filed copy showing the filing date and file or index number, plus the fee receipt.

   What the document must contain

   • your name and residence — and if you are a partnership or corporation, the business address
   • the name and address of your attorney, if any
   • the name of the owner of the real property against whose interest a lien is claimed, and the owner's interest so far as you know it
   • the name of the person by whom you were employed, or to whom you furnished or are to furnish materials
   • the labor performed or materials furnished and the agreed price or value thereof
   • the amount unpaid to you for that labor or those materials
   • the time when the first and last items of work were performed and materials were furnished
   • a description of the property subject to the lien sufficient for identification, including its location by street and number if in a city or village
   • verification by you or your agent that the statements are true to your knowledge except as to matters stated on information and belief

   If you miss it: No lien. You keep whatever contract claim you have, and any Article 3-A trust claim, but the property is no longer security.

   N.Y. Lien Law § 10(1) (8-month window and retainage proviso); § 9 (contents and verification); N.Y. C.P.L.R. 8021 (fee)(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: File the notice of lien on a public improvement — with the agency and the comptroller, not the county clerk

   At any time before the construction or demolition of the public improvement is completed and accepted by the State or by the public corporation, and within 30 days after such completion and acceptance. This deadline is not self-determinable — confirm the completion and acceptance date with the contracting agency rather than estimating it from your own last day on site.

   A public improvement lien is a different animal with a different target. It does not attach to the land. It attaches to the moneys of the State or of the public corporation applicable to the construction or demolition of the improvement, to the extent of the amount due or to become due on that contract. And the clock does not run from your last day — it runs from the agency's completion and acceptance of the improvement, which is a date you often will not be told and cannot control.

   Where it goes

   (1) the head of the department or bureau having charge of the construction or demolition, and (2) the comptroller of the State, or the financial officer of the public corporation charged with the custody and disbursement of the funds for the improvement.

   How

   File the verified notice of lien with BOTH offices. Do not file only with one. See the next public-work step: the copy must be served by certified mail before or at the same moment you file, and proof of that service must be on or filed with the notice itself.

   Proof to keep

   Date-stamped filed copies from BOTH offices, and the entry in the financial officer's lien book if you can get it.

   What the document must contain

   • your name and residence — and if a partnership, the names of the partners and the business address; if a corporation, the business address, and if a foreign corporation, its principal place of business within the State
   • the name of the contractor or subcontractor for whom the labor was performed or materials furnished
   • the amount claimed to be due and the date when it was due
   • a description of the public improvement upon which the labor was performed and materials expended
   • the kind of labor performed and materials furnished
   • materials actually manufactured for but not delivered
   • a general designation of the contract
   • verification by you or your agent that the statements are true to your own knowledge except as to matters stated on information and belief

   If you miss it: No lien on the contract funds. What remains is the payment bond claim under State Finance Law § 137, which has its own deadlines, and an ordinary contract claim.

   N.Y. Lien Law § 12 (filing, timing, contents, verification); § 5 (the lien attaches to public moneys)(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: Serve a copy of the lien on the owner — private job

    Within 5 days before, or 30 days after, you file the notice of lien.

    Filing creates the lien; serving it is what keeps it. Until the copy is served, an owner who did not have knowledge of the lien is protected against payments made in good faith. This is the first of the three post-filing acts, and all three have to happen.

    Where it goes

    The owner named in your notice of lien, at the address you used in it.

    How

    If the owner is a natural person: personal delivery to the owner or to the owner's agent or attorney; or leaving it at the owner's last known residence with a person of suitable age and discretion; or registered or certified mail addressed to the owner's last known place of residence; or, if the owner cannot be found, by affixing a copy conspicuously on the property between the hours of nine o'clock in the forenoon and four o'clock in the afternoon. If the owner is a corporation: delivery to the president, vice-president, secretary, clerk, cashier, treasurer, a director or managing agent; or registered or certified mail to the last known business address; or the same conspicuous posting on the property between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

    Proof to keep

    Certified or registered mail receipt plus the return card; or the process server's affidavit; or, for posting, a dated affidavit naming the time of day plus a time-stamped photograph. You are going to have to file this with the clerk, so collect it now.

    What the document must contain

    • a true copy of the notice of lien as filed

    If you miss it: The lien is exposed on two fronts: an owner without knowledge is protected on good-faith payments made before service, and if proof of service is never filed with the clerk within 35 days, the notice is terminated as a lien.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 11(opens the statute in a new tab)
11. 11

    Step 11: Serve a copy on whoever hired you — and on the general contractor — private job

    Within 5 days before, or 30 days after, you file the notice of lien (or file an amendment to it).

    Separate from serving the owner, § 11-b requires a copy to go to the party in your own contract chain. If you were hired by a subcontractor rather than by the general contractor, the general contractor has to get one too. This is a certified-mail-only requirement — the posting and personal-delivery options in § 11 are not offered here.

    Where it goes

    The contractor, subcontractor, assignee or legal representative for whom you performed the labor or to whom you furnished the materials. If you are yourself a contractor or subcontractor, serve the person, firm or corporation with whom your contract was made. If your contract was with a subcontractor rather than with the general contractor, serve the general contractor as well.

    How

    Certified mail. Send each recipient separately and keep each receipt.

    Proof to keep

    A certified mail receipt for every person served, with the addresses legible. One missing receipt is one missing recipient.

    What the document must contain

    • a true copy of the notice of lien, or of the amendment, as filed

    If you miss it: Failure to file proof of this service with the county clerk within 35 days after the notice of lien is filed terminates the notice as a lien. A lienor who fails to serve as required can also be held liable for reasonable attorney's fees, costs and expenses as determined by the court.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 11-b(opens the statute in a new tab)
12. 12

    Step 12: File proof of service with the county clerk within 35 days — this is what kills New York liens

    Within 35 days after the date the notice of lien was filed. Not 35 days after you served it — 35 days after you filed it. If you use the full 30 days to serve, you have 5 days left.

    Serving the lien is not enough. You have to go back to the county clerk and file proof that you served it. Sections 11 and 11-b say the same thing in the same words: failure to file proof of such a service with the county clerk within thirty-five days after the notice of lien is filed shall terminate the notice as a lien. Nothing is mailed to you. Nothing is docketed against you. The lien simply stops being a lien, and most claimants find out a year later when the foreclosure case is dismissed. This is the single most common way a timely, correctly drafted New York lien still dies.

    Where it goes

    The same county clerk's office where you filed the notice of lien — and in each county, if you filed in more than one.

    How

    File the affidavit of service with the supporting receipts or returns attached, with the same county clerk who accepted the notice of lien.

    Proof to keep

    A clerk-stamped copy of the filed proof of service showing the date it was filed. Keep it with the filed lien.

    What the document must contain

    • an affidavit or other proof of the service you actually made, naming each person served, the method, the date and the address
    • the certified or registered mail receipts and return cards, the process server's affidavit, or the posting affidavit
    • the file or index number of the notice of lien so the clerk can match it

    If you miss it: The notice is terminated as a lien. You filed on time, drafted it correctly, served it correctly — and you have nothing.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 11; § 11-b(opens the statute in a new tab)
13. 13

    Step 13: Public job: serve the copy BEFORE or AT THE MOMENT you file, and file the proof with the notice

    Within 5 days before, or simultaneously with, filing the notice of lien under § 12 (or filing an amendment to it).

    Section 11-c is the private-work service rule with the grace period cut out. There is no 30 days after. There is no 35-day window to come back with proof. The copy goes out by certified mail within 5 days before or simultaneously with filing, and proof of that service has to be on or filed with the notice of lien itself. The statute's consequence is harsher too: failure to file proof of such service shall render the notice of lien a nullity. A claimant who applies the private-work habit here destroys the lien on sequencing alone.

    Where it goes

    The contractor, subcontractor, assignee or legal representative for whom you performed the labor or furnished the materials. If you are yourself a contractor or subcontractor, the person, firm or corporation with whom your contract was made. If your contract was with a subcontractor rather than the general contractor, the general contractor as well.

    How

    Certified mail, sent before or at the same time as the filing, with the certified mail proof attached to or filed with the notice of lien.

    Proof to keep

    Certified mail receipts dated on or before the filing date, and the filed notice showing the proof of service was included with it.

    What the document must contain

    • a true copy of the notice of lien, or the amendment, as filed
    • proof of the certified mailing, on or filed together with the notice of lien

    If you miss it: The notice of lien is a nullity — it never was a lien at all. Failure to serve as required can also make you liable for reasonable attorney's fees, costs and expenses as determined by the court.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 11-c(opens the statute in a new tab)
14. 14

    Step 14: Public job: if you had no contract with the general contractor, give written bond notice within 120 days

    Within 120 days from the date on which the last of the labor was performed or the last of the material was furnished by you.

    Public work in New York carries a payment bond guaranteeing prompt payment of moneys due to all persons furnishing labor or materials to the contractor or any subcontractors. It is a completely separate track from the public improvement lien, with its own clock, and it survives independently of whether your lien worked. If you have no direct contractual relationship with the contractor who furnished the bond, you must give that contractor written notice.

    Where it goes

    The general contractor who furnished the payment bond.

    How

    Delivering the notice personally to the contractor, or mailing it by registered mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the contractor at the contractor's place of business or residence.

    Proof to keep

    The registered mail receipt or the server's affidavit, plus a dated copy of the notice.

    What the document must contain

    • a statement of the amount claimed
    • the name of the party to whom the labor was performed or the material furnished

    If you miss it: You lose the bond claim. Note the two other dates on this track while you are here: you cannot bring the action until 90 days after the day you last performed labor or furnished material, and no action on the bond may be commenced after one year from the date the public improvement was completed and accepted by the public owner.

    N.Y. State Fin. Law § 137(3), (4)(opens the statute in a new tab)
15. 15

    Step 15: Answer an itemized-statement demand within 5 days

    Within 5 days after the written demand is made by the owner or contractor.

    After your lien is on record, the owner or the contractor can serve a written demand for a breakdown of it. You have 5 days. This is short enough that most claimants blow it simply by being on a job site when the letter arrives.

    Where it goes

    To the owner or contractor who made the demand.

    How

    Deliver a written statement, verified in the same form as your notice of lien.

    Proof to keep

    A copy of the statement as delivered and proof of when it was delivered.

    What the document must contain

    • the items of labor and/or material and the value of each that make up the amount for which you claim a lien
    • the terms of the contract under which those items were furnished
    • verification in the same form as the notice of lien

    If you miss it: The party who demanded it can petition the court, and after a determination that you failed to comply and 5 days' notice to you, the court may make an order cancelling the lien.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 38(opens the statute in a new tab)
16. 16

    Step 16: If you are served with a demand to start your lawsuit, your year just ended — private job

    By the date the notice specifies, which can be as little as 30 days from the day it is served on you.

    A docketed New York lien is not a safe year. This is the lever the other side pulls, and most contractors never see it coming. The owner — or anyone with an interest in the property, or a surety on a bond given to discharge the lien — can serve you with a notice requiring you to commence an action to enforce the lien within a time specified in the notice, not less than thirty days from the time of service. Your real enforcement deadline is whichever comes first: one year from filing, or the date written in that notice. A demand served in month two can cut a 365-day window down to 30 days.

    Where it goes

    The foreclosure action is commenced in court; the show-cause appearance is at a special term of a court of record, or at a county court.

    How

    The notice is served on you personally, or left at your last known place of residence with a person of suitable age with directions to deliver it to you. Once served, you must either commence the action to enforce the lien within the time specified, or show cause why the notice of lien filed or the bond given should not be vacated and cancelled.

    Proof to keep

    The notice itself with the date you received it, and your filed summons and complaint plus the notice of pendency.

    If you miss it: The court may vacate and cancel the lien — or the bond or deposit given to discharge it — on affidavit proof. You lose up to eleven months of the year you thought you had.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 59(opens the statute in a new tab)
17. 17

    Step 17: Public job: the same demand exists — answer it within the time it states

    By the date the notice specifies, which shall be not less than thirty days from the time of service.

    The public-improvement side has its own version of the demand to commence. A lien against the amount due or to become due a contractor from the State or a public corporation may be vacated and cancelled by order of the supreme court on this route.

    Where it goes

    Supreme court.

    How

    The notice is served on you personally or in such manner as the court may direct. You must commence an action to enforce the lien within the time specified, or appear and show cause why the lien should not be vacated and cancelled.

    Proof to keep

    The notice with its service date, and your filed pleadings plus the notice of pendency filed with the comptroller.

    If you miss it: The supreme court may order the notice of lien vacated and cancelled of record.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 21-a(opens the statute in a new tab)
18. 18

    Step 18: Start the foreclosure action AND file the notice of pendency within one year — private job

    Within one year from the date the notice of lien was filed — or sooner, if a § 59 demand has been served on you.

    No lien under Article 2 is a lien for longer than one year after the notice of lien has been filed. Two things keep it alive past that: commencing an action to foreclose it and filing a notice of the pendency of that action with the county clerk, or filing an extension (next step). Suing alone does not do it — the notice of pendency has to be filed. And a lien kept alive by a notice of pendency terminates anyway once that notice has been cancelled or has ceased to be effective as constructive notice.

    Where it goes

    The county clerk of the county where the property is situated, for the notice of pendency.

    How

    Commence the action to enforce the lien, then file the notice of pendency of that action with the county clerk. The lien is enforced against the property described in the notice of lien and against any person liable for the debt, as prescribed in Article 3 of the Lien Law.

    Proof to keep

    Filed summons and complaint with the index number, and the clerk-stamped notice of pendency showing its filing date.

    What the document must contain

    • notice of pendency stating the names of the parties to the action, the object of the action, a description of the property affected, and the date of filing

    If you miss it: The lien is discharged for failure to begin an action to foreclose it or to secure an order continuing it within one year from the time of filing the notice of lien. Your underlying money claim may survive if it is otherwise timely; the security on the property does not.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 17 (duration); § 19(2) (discharge by lapse of time); § 24 (enforcement)(opens the statute in a new tab)
19. 19

    Step 19: Buy one more year with an extension — but not on a single-family dwelling

    Optional

    Before the one year from the original filing expires. On a single-family dwelling, allow real time to get a court order — you cannot do this at the counter.

    On most private jobs you can extend the lien yourself. File an extension with the county clerk within one year from the filing of the original notice of lien; the lien is redocketed as of the date the extension is filed and continues — for no more than one year from the filing of the extension. That is one self-help extension, not an indefinite renewal. After it runs, only an order of a court of record continues the lien, and a new order and entry may be made in each of two successive years. On real property improved or to be improved with a single family dwelling there is no self-help extension at all: the lien may only be extended by an order of a court of record, or a judge or justice thereof. If you are on a single-family job and planning to extend at month eleven, there is no form to file.

    Where it goes

    The county clerk of the county where the property is situated.

    How

    For non-single-family private property: file the extension with the county clerk. CPLR 8021 charges no fee for filing a notice or order continuing, amending or cancelling a lien. For a single-family dwelling: obtain an order of a court of record, or of a judge or justice thereof, and have the entry made.

    Proof to keep

    A clerk-stamped extension showing the filing date and the redocketed date; or the signed court order and the clerk's entry.

    What the document must contain

    • identification of the original notice of lien, including its filing date and file or index number

    If you miss it: If an action is not commenced to foreclose the lien within the extended period, the lien is extinguished unless a court order continues it. On a single-family dwelling, a claimant who assumed a counter filing was available discovers at month eleven that it is not.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 17(opens the statute in a new tab)
20. 20

    Step 20: Public job: keep the lien alive with the comptroller, not the county clerk

    Within one year from the date the notice of lien was filed.

    A public improvement lien does not continue for a longer period than one year from the time of filing the notice of such lien. It continues if you commence an action to foreclose within that year and file a notice of the pendency of that action with the comptroller, or if you file an extension with the comptroller within one year from the filing of the original notice — which continues it for one more year at most. After that, only an order of a court of record continues it, and a new order and entry may be made in each of two successive years. One useful wrinkle: if you are made a defendant in another lienor's enforcement action and that plaintiff filed the notice of pendency in time, your lien is thereby continued.

    Where it goes

    The comptroller of the State, or the financial officer of the public corporation — the office where the notices of lien are filed.

    How

    Commence the foreclosure action and file the notice of pendency with the comptroller; or file an extension with the comptroller; or obtain a court order continuing the lien.

    Proof to keep

    Date-stamped copies of whatever you file with the comptroller, and your filed pleadings.

    What the document must contain

    • identification of the original notice of lien and its filing date

    If you miss it: The lien is discharged when one year has elapsed since the filing of the notice of lien or an extension of it, unless an extension, an order continuing the lien, or a notice of pendency has been filed before it expired.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 18; § 21(2)(opens the statute in a new tab)
21. 21

    Step 21: Know that Article 3-A trust fund rights exist separately from the lien

    Optional

    Not governed by the lien filing deadlines in § 10 or § 12.

    Article 3-A of the Lien Law makes the money paid on a construction job trust assets in the hands of the party holding it. Beneficiaries are persons having claims for payment of amounts for which the trustee is authorized to use trust assets — and § 71(4) says they qualify whether or not they have filed or had the right to file a notice of lien as provided in Article 2. That matters in New York for two specific reasons. First, because § 4 caps your lien at what the owner still owed above you when you filed, a perfectly executed lien can secure nothing if the owner already paid the general contractor in full. Second, a missed lien deadline does not by itself end a trust claim, which is governed by its own rules rather than by § 10(1).

    How

    This is a separate claim with its own procedure and its own limitations period. Confirm the timing and the mechanics with counsel rather than assuming the lien dates control.

    Proof to keep

    The same payment records the lien needs: contracts, invoices, approved change orders, and a ledger of what was paid to whom and when.

    If you miss it: Nothing about the lien changes. But if the owner has already paid the general contractor in full, the lien may be the weaker of your two claims and you would not know it from the lien deadline alone.

    N.Y. Lien Law § 71(4) (art. 3-A, §§ 70–79-a)(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in New York

Where you file

Office

County Clerk of the county where the property is situated (private improvement); if the property lies in two or more counties, file in each. PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT liens are NOT filed with the county clerk - they are filed with the head of the department or bureau having charge of the construction or demolition AND with the comptroller of the state or the financial officer of the public corporation (or other officer or person charged with the custody and disbursement of the applicable funds).

Recording fee

$15–$215

Notarization

Required

Sworn or verified

Sworn statement

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 New York

• Filing a perfect, timely lien and never filing proof of service with the county clerk. Sections 11 and 11-b both say failure to file proof of such a service with the county clerk within thirty-five days after the notice of lien is filed shall terminate the notice as a lien. The lien dies silently — nothing is served on you, nothing is docketed — and most claimants learn about it a year later when the foreclosure is dismissed. This is the number one way a good New York lien is lost.
• Counting the 35 days from the date you served instead of the date you filed. The 35 days run from the filing of the notice of lien. Serving on day 30 leaves you 5 days to get the proof on file.
• Applying the private-work service habit on a public job. Section 11-c allows no 30-day grace: service by certified mail within 5 days before or simultaneously with filing, and proof of service on or filed with the notice — otherwise failure to file proof of such service shall render the notice of lien a nullity. Serving a public improvement lien a week after filing destroys it.
• Using the 8-month window on a single-family dwelling. Section 10(1) gives only 4 months there, and the test is the nature of the property, not owner-occupancy: a rented or vacant single-family house is still 4 months, while a two-family house is 8.
• Using any last-day-based window on a public improvement. The public deadline is 30 days after the improvement is completed AND accepted by the State or public corporation (§ 12) — a date set by the agency, not by your last day on site. A § 11-a demand for notice of that event does not extend any period of time within which an act must be performed.
• Filing a New York mechanic's lien on a federal job. No New York lien reaches federally owned property. The remedy is a Miller Act payment bond claim under 40 U.S.C. §§ 3131–3133, which has its own notice and suit deadlines and is not a lien at all.
• Treating the one-year enforcement period as a safe year. Under § 59 the owner, anyone with an interest in the property, or a surety on a discharge bond can serve a notice requiring you to sue within a time not less than thirty days from service, and the court can then vacate and cancel the lien. Section 21-a is the public-improvement equivalent. Section 38 adds a 5-day itemized-statement demand that can lead to an order cancelling the lien. Your lien can be killed in month two.
• Suing within the year but forgetting the notice of pendency. Section 17 continues the lien only if the action is commenced and a notice of the pendency of that action is filed with the county clerk; § 19(2) discharges the lien for failure to begin an action or secure an order continuing it within one year. A lawsuit with no lis pendens does not save the lien.
• Planning to renew a single-family-dwelling lien at the counter. Section 17 allows extension of a single-family-dwelling lien only by an order of a court of record, or a judge or justice thereof. There is no self-help extension to file. And even on other property, the self-help extension buys one year, once — after that it is court orders only.
• Padding the number. Section 39 voids the entire lien for wilful exaggeration, allows no recovery on it, and bars filing any further lien for the same claim; § 39-a adds the owner's bond premium, deposit interest, attorney's fees for discharging the lien, and the amount of the exaggeration. Interest, attorney's fees, collection costs and anticipated profit are the usual way this happens.
• Assuming a timely lien secures everything you are owed. New York is an unpaid-balance state: § 4 caps the lien at the sum earned and unpaid on the contract at the time of filing plus any sum subsequently earned, and the owner is never liable across all liens for more than the value of labor and materials remaining unpaid when the liens were filed. If the owner already paid the general contractor in full, a flawless subcontractor lien can be worth zero. Section 8 is the tool for finding that out before you file.
• Filing against condominium common elements. Under Real Property Law § 339-l, once the declaration is recorded no lien of any nature shall thereafter arise or be created against the common elements except with the unanimous consent of the unit owners, and liens may arise only against the several units and their respective common interests. Labor or materials furnished to an individual unit cannot support a lien against a non-consenting unit owner except for emergency repairs. Board-authorized common-element work frequently has no lienable target.
• Believing a defective lien can be fixed later. Section 12-a permits amendment within sixty days of the original filing, on twenty days' notice to existing lienors, mortgagees and the owner, only where no enforcement action has begun and only to reduce the amount — and the exaggeration question survives the amendment. Otherwise you need a court order nunc pro tunc, which cannot prejudice an existing lienor, mortgagee or good-faith purchaser. Meanwhile § 19(6) lets the owner summarily discharge a lien that fails § 9's content requirements. Getting the § 9 elements right the first time is the reliable path, even though § 23 directs that the article be construed liberally and that substantial compliance suffices.
• Relying on a lien waiver you signed in advance, or thinking the one you got protects you. Section 34 makes any contract, agreement or understanding waiving the right to file or enforce an Article 2 lien void as against public policy and wholly unenforceable. A waiver is good only if executed and delivered simultaneously with or after payment, or as an agreement to subordinate, release or satisfy a lien already filed.
• Racing to file first for priority. Section 13 says persons shall have no priority on account of the time of filing their respective notices of liens, but all liens shall be on a parity — except that laborers for daily or weekly wages have preference over all other claimants. Filing early buys deadline safety, not position.
• Converting calendar months into a fixed number of days. Section 10(1) speaks in four months and eight months. Computing 8 × 30 = 240 days happens to be conservative; computing 8 × 30.44 = 243 days would be late. Count calendar months to the same date and file before it.
• Assuming the retainage proviso is a longer general deadline. Section 10(1) allows a notice of lien for retainage to be filed within ninety days after the date the retainage was due to be released. That is an additional route for the retainage itself — it does not extend the 4- or 8-month window for the rest of what you are owed.
• Naming the general contractor as the hiring party when someone else hired you. Section 9(4) requires the name of the person by whom you were employed or to whom you furnished the materials, which is not always the GC — and § 11-b then requires service on that party and, if it was a subcontractor, on the GC too.

After you file

• Three acts follow the filing and all three are on a clock. On private work: serve the copy on the owner (§ 11) and on your hiring party and the general contractor (§ 11-b) within 5 days before or 30 days after filing, then file proof of both services with the county clerk within 35 days after the filing. On public work all of it has to be done before or simultaneously with filing (§ 11-c), with proof on or filed with the notice itself.
• Watch the mail. Section 38 gives you only 5 days to deliver a verified itemized statement of the labor and materials, their value, and the contract terms, and non-compliance can lead to an order cancelling the lien. Section 59 (private) and § 21-a (public) let the other side demand that you commence your enforcement action within a time not less than thirty days from service — that date replaces your one year.
• The owner or contractor can take the lien off the property without paying you. Under § 20 a lien may be discharged by depositing with the county clerk a sum of money equal to the amount claimed with interest, and under § 37 an owner or contractor may file a bond that discharges the property from every contractor's, subcontractor's, materialman's and laborer's lien. You are not wiped out — your claim attaches against and is secured by the bond or the deposit instead — but the target of your enforcement action changes, so read the bond and the order before you plead.
• Corrections are tightly limited. Section 12-a allows you to amend within sixty days of the original filing, on twenty days' notice to existing lienors, mortgagees and the owner, only if no action to enforce or cancel has begun, and only to reduce the amount. Anything else needs a court order, which cannot prejudice an existing lienor, mortgagee or good-faith purchaser.
• Your one-year enforcement clock runs from the filing date, not from the service date or the last day of work. Diary it the day you file, along with the 35-day proof-of-service date.
• Before the year runs out you must either commence the foreclosure action and file the notice of pendency (with the county clerk on private work under § 17, with the comptroller on public work under § 18), or file an extension. The extension is a county-clerk filing on most private property, a comptroller filing on public work, and a court order only on a single-family dwelling. CPLR 8021 charges no fee for a notice or order continuing, amending or cancelling a lien.
• Your lien value is not your invoice value. Section 4 measures it by what the owner still owed above you at the moment of filing. If that number turns out to be zero, the lien is not the claim that gets you paid — Article 3-A trust fund rights under §§ 70–79-a exist whether or not you filed or had the right to file a notice of lien, and on public work the State Finance Law § 137 payment bond runs on its own clock (120-day notice if you had no direct contract with the GC, no suit before 90 days after last furnishing, no suit after one year from completion and acceptance).