Washington lien deadlines for subcontractors and suppliers

The notice of right to claim lien

If you do not have a direct contract with the owner, which describes almost every steel sub and supplier, the owner may have no idea you are on the job. The notice exists to fix that. It goes to the owner or reputed owner, and on construction financed by a lender, to the lender as well.

Serving it late does not destroy the lien. It shrinks it. A late notice limits the lien to the labor, professional services, materials, and equipment you furnished in the period immediately preceding service. Everything before that window is unsecured. On a job where you mobilized months before you got paid, that difference is most of your money.

The window is shorter on repair or remodel work at an owner-occupied residence of one to four units. Treat residential remodel as a different clock, not a variation of the same one.

Recording the lien

The claim of lien is recorded with the auditor in the county where the property sits, within 90 calendar days after the last day you furnished labor, professional services, materials, or equipment.

What counts as last furnishing is where claims get lost. Punch list work, warranty work, and a return trip to correct your own work generally do not restart the clock. Do not assume a callback in month four bought you a fresh 90 days.

Filing suit

Recording is not collection. Suit to foreclose must be filed within 8 months of recording, or the lien expires on its own and the recorded document becomes worthless.

Public and bonded work is a different system

You cannot lien public property. On public work the security is the payment bond and the retainage fund, and both run on their own notice requirements and their own deadlines, separate from the lien statute.

The mistake worth avoiding is assuming one calendar covers both. A job that is bonded and public needs the bond and retainage clocks tracked alongside, not instead of, anything you would normally calendar.

Practical handling

Two habits prevent most lost claims:

• Record the first and last furnishing date for every job as they happen, not from memory at the end.
• Serve the notice on every job as a matter of routine, early. It is not an accusation and it is not a threat. It costs almost nothing and preserves everything.

The deadline calculator on the home page runs these dates from your two furnishing dates.

Common questions

When is a Washington notice of right to claim lien due?

On commercial and new residential work, a subcontractor or supplier without a direct contract with the owner should serve the notice within 60 days of first furnishing labor, professional services, materials, or equipment. Served later, the lien is limited to what was furnished in the 60 days before service. Repair or remodel work at an owner-occupied residence of one to four units runs on a shorter window.

How long do I have to record a construction lien in Washington?

Within 90 calendar days after the last day labor, professional services, materials, or equipment were furnished. Punch list and warranty work generally do not restart that clock.

What happens after the lien is recorded?

Suit to foreclose must be filed within 8 months of recording. If nothing is filed, the lien expires and the recorded claim has no further effect.