How to file a mechanics lien in Wisconsin

Step by step

13 steps for a subcontractor in Wisconsin.

1. 1

   Step 1: Ask whether the prime contractor posted a payment bond

   As early as you can, ideally before your first day. Ask before you rely on any Wisconsin deadline, because the answer changes which clock you are on.

   If the prime contractor gave the owner a payment bond, then on that job all construction liens except the prime contractor's do not exist, and the 6-month lien filing rule does not apply to you at all. A bonded job looks identical from the field - same site, same owner, same general contractor. Your remedies become the bond and a claim on money still owed up the chain, on much shorter clocks. Prime contractors keep their own lien either way.

   Where it goes

   The prime contractor and the owner.

   How

   Ask in writing. When a subcontractor, supplier, laborer or mechanic asks, the prime contractor and the owner must tell you, and must give you a reasonable opportunity to inspect and examine the contract and the bond.

   Proof to keep

   Your written request, their written answer, and copies of the contract and bond if you get to inspect them.

   What the document must contain

   • Who you are and what you are furnishing on the job
   • A request to be told whether there is a s. 779.035 payment bond
   • A request to inspect and examine the contract and the bond

   If you miss it: You can spend six months preparing a lien you never had, while the deadline you actually have - a 60-day notice to the prime contractor - closes behind you.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.03(2) (bond removes the lien); s. 779.035(3) (right to inspect the contract and bond)(opens the statute in a new tab)
2. 2

   Step 2: Subcontractors and suppliers on a small residential job: serve the 60-day notice on the OWNER

   Within 60 days after the first labor, services, materials, plans or specifications you performed, furnished or procured on that job.

   On a wholly residential improvement of 4 or fewer family living units, everyone who is not the prime contractor has to tell the owner directly that they are on the job and may claim a lien. It goes to the owner, not to the general contractor. On commercial, mixed-use or 5-or-more-unit jobs this notice is not required at all - but whether a job is 'partly nonresidential' has been fought over in court, so serving it anyway on a job you are unsure about costs you nothing. Laborers and mechanics employed by a prime or a subcontractor are exempt from this notice.

   Where it goes

   The owner, or the owner's authorized agent, at the owner's last-known post-office address. Not the general contractor. The owner then has 10 days to pass a copy to any construction mortgage lender.

   How

   Written notice in 2 signed copies, served on the owner or the owner's authorized agent at the owner's last-known post-office address. Certified mail with a return receipt is the safest method because it produces proof. The statute also allows personal delivery, registered mail, service the way a summons is served under s. 801.14, or any delivery the recipient confirms in writing.

   Proof to keep

   Certified mail receipt and signed return card, or other written delivery confirmation, plus your file copy of the signed notice showing the date and the date of your first furnishing.

   What the document must contain

   • The notice language set out in s. 779.02(2)(b), substantially followed
   • Your name and address
   • A legal description, street address or other clear description of the property
   • 2 signed copies

   If you miss it: Serve it immediately anyway. A late but otherwise proper notice still gives you a lien for everything you furnish after the owner actually receives it - you carry the burden of proving what came after that date. Doing nothing gives you nothing.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.02(2)(b); exemptions at s. 779.02(1)(a), (c), (e); late-notice saving clause at s. 779.02(3)(opens the statute in a new tab)
3. 3

   Step 3: Public projects: serve the 60-day bond notice on the prime contractor

   No later than 60 days after the date you first performed, furnished or procured labor, services, materials, plans or specifications for the public work.

   There is no construction lien on public property in Wisconsin. Your security is the prime contractor's payment bond, and to use it you first have to put the prime on notice that you are on the job. You do not need this notice if your contract does not exceed $5,000, if the action is brought by an employee, or if you are named in the subcontractor list the prime keeps under s. 779.14(1e)(b), in a written contract, or in a document appended to a written contract. On highway improvement contracts let under s. 84.06(2), only claimants in direct contract with the prime qualify at all.

   Where it goes

   The prime contractor.

   How

   Written notice served on the prime contractor. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you the proof.

   Proof to keep

   Certified mail receipt and return card or other written delivery confirmation, dated, plus records fixing your first furnishing date.

   What the document must contain

   • A statement that you have performed, furnished or procured labor, services, materials, plans or specifications for the public work or improvement

   If you miss it: You lose your claim on the payment bond, which on a public job is usually the only security that exists.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.14(2)(am)1.; exceptions at s. 779.14(2)(am)2.; highway limitation at s. 779.14(1)(b)(opens the statute in a new tab)
4. 4

   Step 4: Public projects: serve your claim on the public body BEFORE it pays the prime contractor

   Before payment is made to the prime contractor. There is no day count. This window can close at any time, without warning to you.

   Separately from the bond, you can put a lien on the money the state, county, town or municipality still owes the prime contractor. It only reaches money that has not been paid out yet. This remedy does not exist in cities of the 1st class - in those cities the payment bond is your only route.

   Where it goes

   The public body that owes the money - in practice its clerk or treasurer, or the state department, board or commission - plus a concurrent copy to the prime contractor.

   How

   Serve a written notice of your claim on the debtor state, county, town or municipality, and serve a copy on the prime contractor at the same time. Where payment comes from the state, serve the department, board or commission that will pay, and the statute requires registered or certified mail for serving the state.

   Proof to keep

   Dated proof of service on the public body and on the prime contractor, and anything showing when payment was actually made to the prime.

   What the document must contain

   • A written statement of your claim

   If you miss it: Once the public body has paid the prime, there is no money left to attach and this remedy is gone.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.15(1), (2); cities of the 1st class excluded by s. 779.15(1); 'serve' defined at s. 779.01(2)(e)(opens the statute in a new tab)
5. 5

   Step 5: Bonded private job: notify the prime contractor within 60 days

   Within 60 days after you first performed or furnished labor, services, materials, plans or specifications.

   On a private job where the prime furnished a payment bond, this notice is what keeps your bond claim alive - it replaces the preliminary notice you would otherwise give the owner. You do not need it if your contract is under $5,000, if you are an employee, or if you are named in a written contract.

   Where it goes

   The prime contractor.

   How

   Written notice served on the prime contractor. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you the proof.

   Proof to keep

   Certified mail receipt and return card or other written delivery confirmation, dated, plus records fixing your first furnishing date.

   What the document must contain

   • A statement that you have performed or furnished labor, services, materials, plans or specifications for the improvement

   If you miss it: You lose the bond claim. On a bonded job you have no property lien to fall back on, so this is most of your security.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.035(2)(b); lien removed by s. 779.03(2)(opens the statute in a new tab)
6. 6

   Step 6: Bonded private job: serve your money claim on the owner and the lender before they pay

   Before payment is made to the prime contractor or the subcontractor who owes you. No day count - it can close at any time. Then a copy to the prime contractor or subcontractor within 7 days after you served the owner and lender.

   On a bonded private job you have no lien on the property. What you get instead is a lien on the money still owed up the chain, and it only attaches to money that has not been paid out yet. The owner and lender who ignore it can be personally liable.

   Where it goes

   Owner or authorized agent, and the construction mortgage lender. Then the prime contractor or the subcontractor.

   How

   Serve a written notice of your claim on the owner or authorized agent AND on any mortgage lender furnishing funds for construction of the improvement. Then serve a copy on the prime contractor or subcontractor within 7 days after you served the owner and lender.

   Proof to keep

   Dated proof of service on the owner, on the lender and on the prime or subcontractor, showing which went first and that the copy went inside 7 days.

   What the document must contain

   • A written statement of your claim

   If you miss it: Money already paid out is beyond your reach. If you serve the owner and lender but miss the 7-day copy to the prime, you have not completed the step the statute describes.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.036(1), (2); s. 779.03(2)(opens the statute in a new tab)
7. 7

   Step 7: Serve the Notice of Intent to File a Lien on the owner - this is your real deadline

   At least 30 days before you file the lien claim. Because the claim itself has to be filed within 6 months of your last day, the practical last day to serve this notice is about 5 months after your last furnishing - roughly day 150, not day 180.

   Nobody can file a Wisconsin lien claim without first serving this notice on the owner. It applies to every claimant on every private job - general contractors in direct privity with the owner included - and it applies whether or not you gave, or had to give, a preliminary notice under s. 779.02. It is also a required attachment to the lien claim itself, so you literally cannot assemble a conforming claim document without it. This is the single most commonly missed step in Wisconsin.

   Where it goes

   The owner of the property.

   How

   Written notice served on the owner. Certified mail with a return receipt is the safest method because it produces proof; the statute also allows personal delivery, registered mail, service the way a summons is served under s. 801.14, or any delivery where the recipient confirms in writing. The statute does not itself prescribe a method, so use the one that leaves a record.

   Proof to keep

   Certified mail receipt and signed return card or other written delivery confirmation showing the service date, plus your file copy of the notice. You will attach a copy of this notice to the lien claim, so keep it clean.

   What the document must contain

   • A brief description of the nature of your claim
   • The amount of your claim
   • The land and the improvement to which the claim relates

   If you miss it: No lien claim may be filed, and no action may be brought on one. And because the 30 days has to fit inside the 6 months, serving this notice much past the 5-month mark leaves no room for a timely filing.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.06(2); filing bar at s. 779.06(1); mandatory attachment at s. 779.06(3); 'serve' defined at s. 779.01(2)(e)(opens the statute in a new tab)
8. 8

   Step 8: File the claim for lien with the clerk of circuit court

   Within 6 months from the date YOU last performed, furnished or procured labor, services, materials, plans or specifications. Count from your own last day, not from when the project finished. If you are counting in days, count 180 and do not round up - six calendar months can be as short as 181 days.

   This is the filing that creates the lien. It goes to the clerk of circuit court of the county where the land is, and the clerk enters it in the judgment and lien docket. It does NOT go to the register of deeds. A register of deeds will often accept and record the document and hand you a receipt, and your 6 months will keep running the whole time.

   Where it goes

   The office of the clerk of circuit court of the county in which the lands affected by the lien lie. Not the register of deeds.

   How

   File the claim document with the clerk. It must be signed by you or your attorney. It does not need to be verified, sworn or notarized - the statute says it need not be verified. The fee under s. 814.61(5)(am) is $5 through October 31, 2026 and $14 from November 1, 2026 (2025 Wis. Act 179); counties may charge extra for certified copies.

   Proof to keep

   The clerk's file-stamped copy showing the filing date and time, the fee receipt, and your dated records establishing your own last furnishing date.

   What the document must contain

   • A copy of any s. 779.02 notice you gave, attached to the claim
   • A copy of the s. 779.06(2) notice of intent, attached to the claim
   • A statement of the contract or demand the claim is founded on
   • The name of the person against whom the demand is claimed
   • Your name, and the name of any assignee
   • The last date you performed, furnished or procured labor, services, materials, plans or specifications
   • A legal description of the property - a street address alone is not enough
   • A statement of the amount claimed
   • All other material facts in relation to the claim
   • Your signature, or your attorney's

   If you miss it: No lien exists and no action to enforce one can be maintained. Filing it in the wrong office does not stop the clock.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.06(1); contents at s. 779.06(3); docketing at s. 779.07(1); fee at s. 814.61(5)(am)(opens the statute in a new tab)
9. 9

   Step 9: Serve a copy of the filed claim on the owner within 30 days after filing

   Within 30 days after you file the claim.

   Filing is not the last step. The statute separately requires you to serve a copy of the filed claim for lien on the owner of the property. Contractors routinely treat filing as the finish line and stop here, leaving a defective lien behind them.

   Where it goes

   The owner of the property on which the lien is placed.

   How

   Serve a copy of the filed claim on the owner. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you the proof; personal delivery, registered mail, service the way a summons is served under s. 801.14, or any delivery the recipient confirms in writing also satisfy the statutory definition of 'serve'.

   Proof to keep

   Certified mail receipt and signed return card or other written delivery confirmation, dated inside the 30 days, filed with your stamped copy of the claim.

   What the document must contain

   • A complete copy of the claim for lien as filed, including its attachments

   If you miss it: You have completed every step most people track and still have a lien with a statutory defect in it that the owner can raise against you.

   Wis. Stat. s. 779.06(1); 'serve' defined at s. 779.01(2)(e)(opens the statute in a new tab)
10. 10

    Step 10: Start the foreclosure action - and file the summons and complaint - within 2 years

    Within 2 years from the date you filed the claim for lien. The clock runs from the filing date, not from your last day on the job. If you are counting in days, 730 and do not round up.

    The statute requires two things inside the 2 years: the action must be brought AND the summons and complaint must be filed. Commencing an action without filing does not preserve the lien. The suit follows chapter 846 foreclosure procedure as far as it applies.

    Where it goes

    Circuit court.

    How

    Bring the action and file the summons and complaint in circuit court. All lien claimants may join as plaintiffs; anyone who does not join may be made a defendant, and holders of subsequent liens must be joined as defendants.

    Proof to keep

    The file-stamped summons and complaint showing the filing date, next to your file-stamped lien claim showing the date the 2 years started.

    What the document must contain

    • A summons and complaint, filed - not merely served or prepared

    If you miss it: No action to enforce the lien can be maintained. If the lien was bonded off under s. 779.08, the clerk returns the security to whoever posted it on request and without notice to you.

    Wis. Stat. s. 779.06(1); procedure and parties at s. 779.09; release of security at s. 779.08(5)(opens the statute in a new tab)
11. 11

    Step 11: Public projects: sue before the bars close

    Three different clocks, and the shortest one wins. (1) On the money claim: if the prime disputes your claim, you have 3 months from the date you served the s. 779.15(1) notice. (2) If the officer holding the funds mails you a proportional-distribution notice, you have 20 days from that mailing. (3) On the payment bond: one year after the completion of work under the contract.

    On the money claim, if the prime contractor does not dispute your claim within 30 days after service, the amount is supposed to be paid to you. If the prime does dispute it, you have to sue and also file notice of the action with the officer holding the claim. The bond suit is a separate remedy on a separate clock, and that clock runs from completion of the work under the contract - a different date from every other deadline in this guide.

    Where it goes

    Circuit court, plus the officer of the public body holding the funds for the money claim.

    How

    Bring the action in circuit court. For the s. 779.15 money claim you must also file notice that you brought the action with the officer holding the claim.

    Proof to keep

    File-stamped pleadings, the dated notice filed with the officer, your dated s. 779.15(1) notice, any proportional-distribution notice with its mailing date, and records fixing when work under the contract was completed.

    What the document must contain

    • A complaint commencing the action
    • For the money claim, a notice of the bringing of the action filed with the officer holding the claim

    If you miss it: Your lien rights on the money are barred. Miss the 20-day window after a proportional-distribution notice and the funds are simply distributed as determined. Miss the one-year bond window and the bond is gone.

    Wis. Stat. s. 779.15(3), (4)(a), (4)(b); bond action at s. 779.14(2)(a)(opens the statute in a new tab)
12. 12

    Step 12: Bonded private job: sue before the bars close

    On the money claim: within 3 months from the time you served your s. 779.036(1) notice - and only 20 days after service of a proportional-distribution notice, if one is served on you. On the bond: not later than one year after the completion of the contract for the construction of the improvement.

    Neither of these runs from your last day on the job, and neither is 6 months or 2 years. The bond clock runs from completion of the contract, which is a project fact you may have to go find out.

    Where it goes

    Circuit court.

    How

    Bring the action in your own name against the prime contractor and the sureties on the bond for the bond claim, or against the parties holding the funds for the money claim.

    Proof to keep

    File-stamped pleadings, your dated s. 779.036(1) notice and the 7-day copy to the prime, any proportional-distribution notice with its service date, and records of when the contract was completed.

    What the document must contain

    • A complaint commencing the action

    If you miss it: Your lien rights on the money are barred if the action is not brought within 3 months of your notice. Miss the one-year window and the bond claim is gone. You have no property lien to fall back on.

    Wis. Stat. s. 779.036(3), (4)(a); bond action at s. 779.035(2)(a)(opens the statute in a new tab)
13. 13

    Step 13: Once you are paid, deliver the satisfaction

    On request, after you have been paid. Also promptly, if you learn you filed against the wrong property.

    After payment, an interested person can ask you for a satisfaction, and you have to execute and deliver it. The clerk then enters the satisfaction on the judgment and lien docket. The same duty applies if your lien landed on the wrong parcel.

    Where it goes

    To the person who requested it, for entry by the clerk of circuit court on the judgment and lien docket.

    How

    Execute and deliver the necessary satisfaction to the interested person, who pays the cost of the satisfaction. Expect the same clerk fee as the filing.

    Proof to keep

    A copy of the executed satisfaction, proof of delivery, and the clerk's docket entry showing it was satisfied.

    What the document must contain

    • A satisfaction of the claim for lien, executed by you

    If you miss it: You owe the person who asked a sum equal to one-half of the amount claimed in your lien. The same penalty applies if you do not satisfy a lien filed against the wrong property within a reasonable time after written notice.

    Wis. Stat. s. 779.13(opens the statute in a new tab)

Who can claim a lien in Wisconsin

Where you file

Office

County Clerk of Circuit Court

Recording fee

$5–$14

Notarization

Not required

How it is served

Certified mail

Copies

1

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

What trips people up in Wisconsin

• Filing at the register of deeds. Wisconsin construction liens are filed with the CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT (s. 779.06(1)). The register of deeds will often accept and record the document and give you a receipt, which feels like you are done - and the 6 months keeps running.
• Treating the 6-month filing date as your deadline. The 30-day notice of intent has to be served before a TIMELY filing, so your real last day to act is about 5 months after your last furnishing. Serve it on day 175 and you cannot file in time - the lien is gone.
• Assuming the notice of intent is a subcontractor step. s. 779.06(2) applies to every claimant, including a general contractor in direct privity with the owner, and applies whether or not you were required to give, or did give, a preliminary notice under s. 779.02.
• Quoting the 6-month lien deadline on a job with a payment bond. Under s. 779.03(2) a s. 779.035 payment bond extinguishes every lien except the prime contractor's, and switches off s. 779.06 entirely. Your substitute windows are far shorter: a 60-day notice to the prime, a money claim that dies when payment goes out, a 3-month suit bar, and as little as 20 days after a proportional-distribution notice. Ask about the bond before you count anything.
• A general contractor on a 4-or-fewer-unit residential job using the 60-day figure. Its window is 10 days from first furnishing, and if there is a written contract with the owner the statutory language has to be inside that contract in 8-point bold or capital letters. s. 779.02(2)(c) then strips the GC of its own lien for the failure.
• A subcontractor serving the 60-day preliminary notice on the general contractor. s. 779.02(2)(b) requires service on the OWNER, in 2 signed copies, at the owner's last-known post-office address.
• Stopping at filing. s. 779.06(1) separately requires you to serve a copy of the FILED claim on the owner within 30 days after filing.
• Filing the claim without the attachments. s. 779.06(3) requires a copy of any s. 779.02 notice AND a copy of the s. 779.06(2) notice of intent to be attached to the claim document. A claim without them is defective on its face.
• Putting a street address in the claim instead of a legal description. s. 779.06(3) requires a legal description. A street address IS acceptable in the s. 779.02(2)(b) preliminary notice, which is exactly what invites the mistake.
• Measuring 6 months from project completion, or from the general contractor's last day on site. The statute runs it from the date THE LIEN CLAIMANT last performed, furnished or procured. For an early-trade sub or a supplier that can be many months before the job ends.
• Rounding calendar periods up. Six calendar months can be as short as 181 days, three months as short as 89 days. Round down: 180, 730, 365, 89 are the safe integers.
• Thinking you satisfied the 2-year window by commencing an action. s. 779.06(1) requires the action to be brought AND the summons and complaint to be filed within the 2 years.
• Chasing a notary. s. 779.06(3) says the claim need not be verified. It is signed by you or your attorney - that is all. Delaying a filing to find a notary is a self-inflicted wound.
• Assuming no preliminary notice is needed because the job 'looks commercial'. The s. 779.02(1)(c) character test - more than 4 family living units, or partly or wholly nonresidential - has been litigated repeatedly. If you are unsure, serve the 60-day notice: it is free insurance, and s. 779.02(3) means even a late one salvages post-notice work.
• Treating a missed 60-day notice as a total loss. s. 779.02(3) preserves a lien for everything furnished after the owner actually receives a late but otherwise proper notice. Serve it now anyway.
• Expecting to lien a public project. There is no lien on public property in Wisconsin. The s. 779.15 money claim must be served BEFORE payment reaches the prime - an event with no day count that can expire at any moment - and cities of the 1st class are excluded from s. 779.15 entirely, leaving only the s. 779.14 bond.
• A second-tier supplier on a s. 84.06(2) highway contract assuming it has a bond claim. s. 779.14(1)(b) limits the class to those in direct contract with the prime.
• An architect, engineer, construction manager or surveyor hired by the owner assuming they are on the 60-day track. s. 779.01(2)(d)1. names them as prime contractors, which puts them on the 10-day track.
• Signing a lien waiver expecting it to cover only the current pay application. s. 779.05(1) makes a waiver cover ALL of the signer's lien rights for the whole improvement unless the document specifically and expressly limits itself, makes it binding whether or not consideration was paid and whether signed before or after the work, and construes every ambiguity AGAINST the signer. You are entitled to refuse to furnish a waiver unless paid in full, and a contract provision requiring a waiver before payment is void under s. 779.135(1).
• Accepting an out-of-state forum clause or a true pay-if-paid clause. s. 779.135(2) voids provisions making a Wisconsin improvement contract subject to another state's law or requiring litigation, arbitration or dispute resolution in another state. s. 779.135(3) voids provisions making payment from someone with no contract with you a condition precedent to the prime's payment obligation - though a clause that merely delays payment until the prime is paid is permitted.
• Not knowing the owner can bond the lien off. Under s. 779.08 the person against whom the lien is claimed, or any other interested party, can file security worth 125 percent of the claim, and the clerk removes the lien from the judgment and lien docket. Your claim moves to the security. The 2-year suit deadline still runs - and if you miss it, the clerk returns the security to whoever posted it 'on request, and without notice' to you.

After you file

• Serve a copy of the filed claim on the owner within 30 days after filing. This is a separate statutory requirement, not a courtesy (s. 779.06(1)).
• The clerk of circuit court enters your claim in the judgment and lien docket immediately on filing, showing who the lien is claimed against, your name and any assignee, your attorney, your last date of furnishing, a description of the notices attached to the claim, the date and time of filing, the property description, the amount claimed and, later, satisfaction (s. 779.07(1)).
• Watch for the lien being bonded off. Any interested party can file an undertaking or deposit security equal to 125 percent of your claim, and once the court approves the surety the clerk removes the lien from the docket. Your claim then rides on the security instead of the property (s. 779.08(1), (2), (4)).
• Your 2 years runs from the FILING date. Both the action and the filing of the summons and complaint have to happen inside it (s. 779.06(1)). If the lien was bonded off and you miss the window, the clerk hands the security back on request and without notice to you (s. 779.08(5)).
• Foreclosure follows chapter 846 as far as applicable. Other lien claimants may join as plaintiffs or be made defendants, and holders of subsequent liens must be joined as defendants (s. 779.09). An annotation under s. 779.09 notes that s. 840.10(1)(a) lis pendens is not required of a defendant lien claimant who files a cross-claim - which implies the plaintiff carries it.
• When you are paid, execute and deliver a satisfaction on request, and expect the same clerk fee as the filing. Failing to do so costs you one-half of the sum claimed in your lien, as does failing to promptly clear a lien filed against the wrong property after written notice (s. 779.13).
• If the lien has lapsed, the trust-fund remedy may still be there. On private work, money the owner or a mortgage lender pays the prime or a subcontractor is a trust fund in their hands, and using it for anything else before all claims are paid is theft, with personal liability for the responsible officers, directors, members, partners or agents (s. 779.02(5)). The same rule applies to public-work payments under s. 779.16.
• Nothing the owner files shortens your window. Chapter 779, subchapter I contains no notice of commencement, no notice of completion, no notice of contest and no owner's demand to commence suit. The levers on the other side are the payment bond (which removes the lien before you ever start), the s. 779.08 undertaking (which moves it off the property), the lien waiver you sign, and - on public and bonded jobs - money simply going out the door.