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Connecticut Mechanics Lien

File a Connecticut mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Record the lien certificate within 90 days of finishing, then enforce within one year.

Introduction

A Connecticut 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 with the town clerk, 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 Connecticut grants it under General Statutes Title 49, Chapter 847. Connecticut runs almost everything off a single 90-day clock. Any claimant must lodge the certificate of lien with the town clerk within 90 days after ceasing to perform services or furnish materials. A subcontractor or materialman must also give the owner and the original contractor written notice of intent within that same 90 days. You then have one year from recording to bring a foreclosure action. DocDraft prepares a Connecticut 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

  1. 1

    A Connecticut mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who furnished services or materials to construct, raise, remove, or repair a building and were not paid can claim one under General Statutes sections 49-33 and following.

  2. 2

    A subcontractor or materialman must give written notice of intent to the owner and to the original contractor not later than 90 days after ceasing to furnish materials or services, under section 49-35. The original contractor is exempt from this notice.

  3. 3

    Lodge the certificate of lien with the town clerk within 90 days after you cease to perform services or furnish materials, under section 49-34. You must also serve the certificate on the owner within 30 days after lodging it.

  4. 4

    Recording is not the last step. Under section 49-39 the lien does not continue longer than one year after it is perfected unless you commence a foreclosure action and record a notice of lis pendens within that year.

  5. 5

    Connecticut reads these rules strictly. Missing the 90-day recording window, the subcontractor's 90-day notice of intent, the 30-day service, or the one-year deadline to foreclose generally forfeits the lien, though a contract claim for the debt may remain.

  6. 6

    Connecticut prescribes no fixed lien form. Sections 49-34 and 49-35 instead set what the certificate must contain and how it is served, so the certificate should state the amount, describe the property, and be subscribed and sworn to.

  7. 7

    Do not overlook the 30-day service step. Lodging the certificate with the town clerk is not enough; section 49-34 also requires serving a copy on the owner within 30 days, and a missed service can undermine an otherwise timely lien.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Connecticut, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Mechanics Lien guide walks through them.

Open the Mechanics Lien guide

Customize your Mechanics Lien Template with DocDraft

CERTIFICATE OF MECHANICS LIEN (CONNECTICUT)

Lodged under Connecticut General Statutes Title 49, Chapter 847 (sections 49-33 and following), with the town clerk of the town where the property is located. The undersigned claimant records this Certificate of Mechanics Lien against the real property described below to secure payment for services or materials furnished to construct, raise, remove, or repair the improvement on that property.

  1. CLAIMANT Name: [CLAIMANT NAME] Role: [ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR / MATERIALMAN] Address: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

  2. AMOUNT OF THE CLAIM The amount due to the claimant, after deducting all just credits and offsets, is: $[AMOUNT].

  3. OWNER Name: [OWNER NAME] Address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  4. HIRING PARTY The claimant furnished the work at the request of, or under contract with: [PERSON OR COMPANY THAT ORDERED THE WORK].

  5. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK OR MATERIALS General description of the services or materials furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date ceased to furnish services or materials: [LAST DATE].

  6. PROPERTY Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]. Legal description: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION]. Town: [TOWN].

  7. VERIFICATION I, the claimant or the claimant's authorized agent, being duly sworn, state that I have read this certificate of mechanics lien and that the facts stated in it are true.

Signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE]

Subscribed and sworn to before me this [DATE]. [NOTARY]

Service: A copy of this certificate must be served on the owner within 30 days after it is lodged with the town clerk.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO CLAIM A MECHANICS LIEN (for subcontractors and materialmen, served on the owner and the original contractor not later than 90 days after ceasing to furnish, under Connecticut General Statutes section 49-35)

To: [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] and [ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR NAME AND ADDRESS] You are notified that the undersigned has furnished services or materials for the improvement of the property at [PROPERTY ADDRESS], has not been paid $[AMOUNT], and intends to claim a mechanics lien on that property. From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] Date: [DATE]

Note: The original contractor is exempt from the section 49-35 notice of intent. Confirm the current statutory language, the certificate contents and service requirements, and the recording and enforcement deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before recording.

Connecticut Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Connecticut Filing Deadline and Office

File the Connecticut mechanics lien in the correct office, a county recorder or court as Connecticut requires, within the state's deadline after you last furnish labor or materials. Connecticut applies the deadline strictly, so filing late or in the wrong office can void the lien.

Frequently Asked Questions

A mechanics lien in Connecticut is a claim an unpaid contractor, subcontractor, or supplier records against the property they improved. Recorded with the town clerk, it attaches to the real estate and clouds the title, so the owner cannot easily sell or refinance, and it can be foreclosed by court order. Connecticut's lien law is in General Statutes Title 49, Chapter 847.

Anyone who furnished services or materials to construct, raise, remove, or repair a building and was not paid can claim a lien, including general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. Subcontractors and materialmen who did not deal directly with the owner must give the owner and original contractor a written notice of intent to preserve the right.

You must lodge the certificate of lien with the town clerk within 90 days after you cease to perform services or furnish materials, under section 49-34. The same 90-day window applies to the general contractor and to subcontractors. You must also serve a copy of the certificate on the owner within 30 days after lodging it.

It depends on your role. The original contractor needs no advance notice. A subcontractor or materialman, however, must give the owner and the original contractor a written notice of intent not later than 90 days after ceasing to furnish materials or services, under section 49-35. Without that notice, a subcontractor's lien is not valid.

You have one year from the date the lien is recorded to enforce it. Under section 49-39 the lien does not continue in force beyond one year unless you commence an action to foreclose it and record a notice of lis pendens within that year. Let the year pass without suing and the lien becomes unenforceable.

Missing the 90-day recording window, the subcontractor's 90-day notice, the 30-day service on the owner, or the one-year deadline to foreclose usually means losing the lien, because Connecticut applies these rules strictly. You may still sue the party who hired you for the unpaid amount, but you lose the security a lien places on the property.

Connecticut is unusual in running the subcontractor's notice of intent and the recording deadline off the same 90-day clock, both measured from when you cease work rather than from project completion. On top of that, section 49-34 requires serving the recorded certificate on the owner within 30 days. Track both dates carefully so neither slips.

Once the debt is paid, the claimant should record a release with the town clerk so the title is clear. A lien also lapses if no foreclosure action is commenced within one year of recording. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can apply to the court to have it discharged and the title cleared.