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Iowa Mechanics Lien

Perfect an Iowa mechanic's lien by posting to the MNLR within 90 days of your last work. Learn the registry rules, notices, and the two-year enforcement window.

Introduction

An Iowa mechanic's lien is a legal claim against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once perfected, 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 Iowa grants the right to it under Chapter 572 of the Iowa Code. Iowa is different: you do not record a lien with the county. You perfect it by posting a verified statement of account to the Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry, the state's online MNLR. Posting within 90 days after your last labor or materials preserves full rights against the owner. Any action to enforce the lien must be brought within two years from the end of that 90-day period. DocDraft prepares an Iowa mechanic's lien and its registry notices from your project details, and attorney review is available before you post.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    An Iowa mechanic's lien secures payment against the improved property. Under Chapter 572 of the Iowa Code, a general contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who furnished labor or materials to improve real property and was not paid can perfect one.

  2. 2

    Residential construction triggers registry notices. Under Iowa Code 572.13A the general contractor or owner-builder must post a notice of commencement to the MNLR within 10 days of starting work, and under 572.13B a subcontractor must post a preliminary notice to preserve full lien rights.

  3. 3

    You perfect by posting, not recording. Under Iowa Code 572.8 the claimant posts a verified statement of account to the MNLR; posting within 90 days of last furnishing preserves full rights, and the outer deadline is two years and ninety days under 572.9.

  4. 4

    You must sue within a fixed window. Iowa Code 572.27 requires any action to enforce the lien to be brought within two years from the expiration of the 90-day period that runs after the last labor or materials were furnished.

  5. 5

    Iowa's registry rules are exacting. A lien posted after the 90-day window is enforceable only to the extent of the balance the owner still owes the general contractor, under Iowa Code 572.11, and missing the two-year enforcement deadline forfeits it entirely.

  6. 6

    No fill-in statutory form is prescribed. Iowa Code 572.8 lists the required contents of the verified statement of account posted to the MNLR, and the registry itself is an online system administered by the secretary of state under 572.34.

  7. 7

    On owner-occupied one- or two-family homes, the general contractor must give the owner a written lien-warning notice or forfeits its lien under Iowa Code 572.13. A subcontractor's full rights depend on posting a preliminary notice to the MNLR under 572.13B.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Iowa, 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

MECHANIC'S LIEN - VERIFIED STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT (IOWA, POSTED TO THE MNLR)

Posted to the Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry (MNLR) under Iowa Code Chapter 572. Iowa perfects a mechanic's lien by posting this verified statement of account to the MNLR, the statewide online registry administered by the secretary of state under Iowa Code 572.34, not by recording with a county office. The claimant claims a lien on the real property described below to secure payment for labor or materials furnished to improve that property.

State of Iowa County of [COUNTY]

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

  2. OWNER Name of the owner of the property: [OWNER NAME] Address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  3. HIRING PARTY The claimant furnished labor 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]. County: [COUNTY WHERE PROPERTY IS LOCATED].

  5. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT Description of the labor or materials furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date last furnished: [LAST DATE].

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

  7. VERIFICATION The undersigned, being duly sworn, states on oath that this statement of account is true and correct 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 / OATH AS REQUIRED FOR A VERIFIED STATEMENT]

REGISTRY NOTICES (residential construction) On residential construction, the general contractor or owner-builder must post a notice of commencement of work to the MNLR within 10 days of commencing (Iowa Code 572.13A), the general contractor must give the owner a written lien-warning notice (572.13), and a subcontractor must post a preliminary notice to the MNLR to preserve full lien rights (572.13B).

Note: This Iowa mechanic's lien is perfected by posting the verified statement of account to the Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry, following the required contents in Iowa Code 572.8. Posting within 90 days after the last labor or materials preserves full rights. Confirm the current registry requirements and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before posting.

Iowa Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Iowa Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

An Iowa mechanic's lien is a claim that a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier makes against property they improved but were not paid for. Unlike most states, it is not recorded at the county. Under Chapter 572 of the Iowa Code it is perfected by posting to the state's Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry, and once perfected it can be foreclosed through a court-ordered sale.

A general contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier who furnished labor or materials to improve real property and was not paid can perfect a lien. On residential construction, the general contractor must also give the owner a written lien-warning notice, and subcontractors must post a preliminary notice to the registry to keep full lien rights.

You do not record an Iowa lien; you post it. Under Iowa Code 572.8 you post a verified statement of account to the Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry. Posting within 90 days after your last labor or materials preserves full rights against the owner; the outer limit for posting at all is two years and ninety days under 572.9.

It depends on the project. On residential construction, Iowa Code 572.13A requires the general contractor or owner-builder to post a notice of commencement to the registry within 10 days of starting, and 572.13B requires a subcontractor to post a preliminary notice to preserve full rights. Non-residential construction does not require a preliminary notice.

Any action to enforce an Iowa mechanic's lien must be brought within two years from the expiration of the 90-day period that follows your last labor or materials, under Iowa Code 572.27. In practice that gives roughly two years and three months from your last day of work to file the foreclosure suit.

If you post after the 90-day window, the lien is not automatically void, but under Iowa Code 572.11 it is enforceable only up to the balance the owner still owes the general contractor. Miss the two-year enforcement deadline in 572.27 entirely and the lien is lost, leaving only a possible breach-of-contract claim against whoever hired you.

The Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry, or MNLR, is Iowa's statewide online system for construction liens on residential property, administered by the secretary of state under Iowa Code 572.34. Instead of filing paper at a county recorder, contractors and subcontractors post commencement notices, preliminary notices, and lien statements to this registry.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should post an acknowledgment of satisfaction to the registry to clear the lien. A lien also becomes unenforceable if no foreclosure action is brought within the two-year enforcement window. An owner who disputes a lien can challenge its validity in court or, in some cases, post a bond to discharge it.