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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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 guide

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CLAIM FOR LIEN (ILLINOIS MECHANICS LIEN)

Recorded under the Illinois Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60, in the office of the recorder of the county where the property is located. The undersigned claimant records this verified Claim for Lien against the real property described below to secure payment for labor, services, or materials furnished to improve that property.

State of Illinois County of [COUNTY]

  1. CLAIMANT Name: [CLAIMANT NAME] Role: [CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR / MATERIAL SUPPLIER / LABORER] Address: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

  2. OWNER OF RECORD Name: [OWNER NAME] Address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  3. HIRING PARTY The claimant furnished the labor, services, or materials under a contract with: [PERSON OR COMPANY THAT ORDERED THE WORK].

  4. PROPERTY Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]. Legal description of the real property: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION].

  5. WORK OR MATERIALS FURNISHED General description of the labor, services, or materials furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Date the contract was completed, or the work or materials last furnished: [COMPLETION / LAST FURNISHING DATE].

  6. AMOUNT CLAIMED After allowing all credits, there is due and unpaid to the claimant the sum of: $[AMOUNT], for which the claimant claims a lien on the property.

  7. VERIFICATION The undersigned, being first duly sworn, states on oath that the undersigned has read the foregoing Claim for Lien and that the statements in it are true to the best of the undersigned's knowledge and belief.

Signature of claimant or authorized agent: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE]

[NOTARY / AFFIDAVIT AS REQUIRED FOR A VERIFIED CLAIM]

SUBCONTRACTOR NOTICE (if applicable) A subcontractor or supplier without a direct contract with the owner must serve the owner of record written notice of the claim within 90 days after completing its work, as required by 770 ILCS 60/24. Notice served on: [DATE].

Note: This Illinois claim for lien follows the Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60, including the recording rule in section 7. Confirm the current statutory contents, notice steps, and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before recording.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

An Illinois mechanics lien is a claim that a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier records against property they improved but were not paid for. Created by the Mechanics Lien Act, 770 ILCS 60, it attaches to the real estate, clouds the title, and can be foreclosed through a court-ordered sale to collect the unpaid amount.

Contractors who contract directly with the owner, along with subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers who furnished labor or materials to the project and were not paid, can claim a lien. The steps differ: a contractor deals directly with the owner, while a subcontractor must serve the owner a written notice of its claim to preserve its rights.

The Illinois deadline depends on whom the lien must bind. Under 770 ILCS 60/7, a contractor records the claim for lien within four months after completion to be valid against third parties like purchasers and lenders. As to the owner alone, the claim may be filed within two years after the contract is completed.

A subcontractor or supplier who did not contract with the owner must serve the owner of record a written notice of the claim within 90 days after completing its work, under 770 ILCS 60/24. This is the Act's key pre-recording notice for subcontractors. A contractor who contracted directly with the owner is not required to give it.

A suit to foreclose the lien must be commenced, or a counterclaim filed, within two years after completion of the contract, under 770 ILCS 60/9. This runs from completion of the contract, not from the date the claim for lien was recorded, so the enforcement clock and the recording clock start at the same point.

If a subcontractor misses the 90-day owner notice, or any claimant misses the four-month recording window or the two-year deadline to sue, the lien is generally lost, since Illinois reads the Act strictly. A separate breach-of-contract action against the party that hired you may still allow you to recover the debt.

Illinois splits the recording deadline by who is affected. Under 770 ILCS 60/7, recording within four months of completion protects the lien against third parties such as later buyers and mortgage lenders. If only the owner's interest is at stake and no third party has intervened, the claim can be filed up to two years after completion.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should record a release of the lien to clear the title. A lien also becomes unenforceable if no foreclosure suit is filed within two years of completion. An owner who disputes a lien can challenge it in court, and Illinois allows a lien to be bonded off by substituting a surety bond.