Illinois Mechanics Lien
File an Illinois mechanics lien within 4 months of completion. Learn the recording rule, the 90-day subcontractor notice, and the 2-year deadline to enforce.
Introduction
An Illinois mechanics lien is a legal claim recorded against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or material 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 to collect the debt. That security is what gives the lien its leverage, and Illinois protects the right to it in the Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60. The lien only works if you meet each deadline. A subcontractor who did not contract with the owner must send the owner of record a written notice within 90 days after completing its work. A contractor must record the claim for lien within four months after completion to bind third parties, and any suit to foreclose must be filed within two years after the contract is completed. DocDraft prepares an Illinois claim for 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
An Illinois mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Under the Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60, contractors who deal directly with the owner, plus subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers who furnished work and were not paid, can claim one.
- 2
A subcontractor must give the owner written notice. Under 770 ILCS 60/24, a subcontractor or supplier without a direct contract with the owner must serve the owner written notice within 90 days after completing its work. A contractor who contracts with the owner does not.
- 3
The recording window turns on who you are protecting against. Under 770 ILCS 60/7 a contractor must record the claim for lien within four months after completion to be valid against third parties; as to the owner it may be filed within two years.
- 4
You must sue to foreclose within two years. Under 770 ILCS 60/9 the suit to enforce the lien must be commenced, or a counterclaim filed, within two years after completion of the contract, measured from completion rather than from the recording date.
- 5
Illinois construes the Act strictly against the lien claimant. Missing the subcontractor's 90-day owner notice, the four-month recording window, or the two-year deadline to sue generally forfeits the lien, though a separate breach-of-contract claim for the debt may survive.
- 6
No fill-in statutory form is prescribed. The claim for lien must state the required facts, including a description of the property, the amount due after credits, the name of the owner, and the labor or materials furnished, and be verified by the claimant's affidavit.
- 7
On an owner-occupied home, a subcontractor's lien rights hinge on the notice. The 770 ILCS 60/24 written notice to the owner within 90 days of completion is the key step, while the four-month recording and two-year suit deadlines still apply.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Illinois, 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 guideCustomize your Mechanics Lien Template with DocDraft
Illinois Requirements for Mechanics Lien
Illinois Filing Deadline and Office
File the Illinois mechanics lien in the correct office, a county recorder or court as Illinois requires, within the state's deadline after you last furnish labor or materials. Illinois applies the deadline strictly, so filing late or in the wrong office can void the lien.