Arizona Mechanics Lien
File an Arizona mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Serve the 20-day preliminary notice, record within 120 days of completion, and enforce.
Introduction
An Arizona mechanics lien is a legal claim recorded against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once recorded, the lien attaches to the property, clouds the title, and can be enforced by a court-ordered sale. That security is what gives the lien its leverage, and Arizona provides it under Revised Statutes Title 33, Chapter 7. Arizona is strict about the preliminary notice: nearly every claimant, including the general contractor, must serve a 20-day preliminary notice within 20 days after first furnishing labor or materials to the jobsite. You then record the lien within 120 days after the project is completed, or within 60 days after a notice of completion is recorded, and you must sue to foreclose within six months after recording. DocDraft prepares an Arizona mechanics lien and its notices from your project details, and attorney review is available before you record.
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Key Things to Know
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An Arizona mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, and design professionals who furnished work to the jobsite and were not paid can claim one under Revised Statutes sections 33-981 to 33-1008.
- 2
Arizona requires a 20-day preliminary notice from nearly every claimant, including the general contractor. Under section 33-992.01 it must be served within 20 days after you first furnish labor or materials to the jobsite; only a worker paid wages for labor is excepted.
- 3
Record the lien within 120 days after the building, structure, or improvement is completed. If the owner records a notice of completion, that window shortens to 60 days after recordation, under section 33-993.
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Recording is not the last step. Section 33-998 says the lien does not continue for more than six months after it is recorded unless you bring an action to foreclose it within that period.
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Arizona reads these rules strictly. Missing the 20-day preliminary notice, the 120-day recording window, or the six-month deadline to sue generally forfeits the lien, though a separate contract claim for the debt may survive.
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The preliminary notice follows prescribed language. Section 33-992.01 sets the form and content of the 20-day notice, and the recorded lien must state the amount claimed, the owner, the hiring party, and a description of the property and work.
- 7
Owner-occupied homes get special protection. Under section 33-1002 no lien attaches to the dwelling of someone who became an owner-occupant before the work, except for a claimant who signed a written contract directly with that owner-occupant.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Arizona, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Mechanics Lien guide walks through them.
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Arizona Requirements for Mechanics Lien
Arizona Filing Deadline and Office
File the Arizona mechanics lien in the correct office, a county recorder or court as Arizona requires, within the state's deadline after you last furnish labor or materials. Arizona applies the deadline strictly, so filing late or in the wrong office can void the lien.