Louisiana Mechanics Lien
File a Louisiana claim and privilege, the state's mechanics lien, to secure construction payment. Learn the 60-day filing deadline and one-year enforcement.
Introduction
A Louisiana mechanics lien, which the state calls a claim and privilege under the Private Works Act, is a claim filed against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved it and was not paid. Once filed, the privilege attaches to the property, clouds the title, and can be enforced by a court-ordered sale, and that security is what gives it leverage. Louisiana sets the rules in La. R.S. 9:4801 and following. No preliminary notice is required of a general contractor or subcontractor to hold the claim. The deadline to file the statement of claim or privilege is generally 60 days after a notice of termination is filed, or 60 days after substantial completion or abandonment if none is filed. You must then sue the owner to enforce within one year after filing. DocDraft prepares a Louisiana statement of claim and privilege from your project details, and attorney review is available before you file.
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Key Things to Know
- 1
A Louisiana claim and privilege secures payment against the improved property. General contractors hold a privilege under La. R.S. 9:4801, and subcontractors, laborers, and suppliers hold a claim against the owner and the contractor under 9:4802, for the price of their work.
- 2
General contractors and subcontractors need no preliminary notice. Under La. R.S. 9:4802 a subcontractor has a claim for the price of its work without advance notice. A seller of movables or materials, by contrast, must deliver a notice of nonpayment to preserve its own claim.
- 3
The filing deadline is usually 60 days. La. R.S. 9:4822 requires the statement of claim or privilege to be filed within 60 days after a notice of termination is filed, or 60 days after substantial completion or abandonment if none is filed.
- 4
You must sue the owner within one year. La. R.S. 9:4823 extinguishes the claim and privilege unless the claimant brings an action against the owner to enforce it within one year after filing the statement of claim or privilege.
- 5
Louisiana reads the Private Works Act strictly. Missing the filing period, misidentifying the property or owner, or failing to sue within the year can extinguish the privilege, though a separate contract claim against the party that hired you may remain.
- 6
The statement of claim or privilege has required contents. La. R.S. 9:4822 requires a signed writing that reasonably identifies the immovable and the owner, states the amount and nature of the obligation, and itemizes the claim; filing mechanics are set in 9:4831.
- 7
A notice of contract can change the clock. On work priced over $100,000, a general contractor must timely file a notice of contract under La. R.S. 9:4811, and when one is filed a subcontractor's period drops to 30 days after the notice of termination.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Louisiana, 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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Louisiana Requirements for Mechanics Lien
Louisiana Filing Deadline and Office
File the Louisiana mechanics lien in the correct office, a county recorder or court as Louisiana requires, within the state's deadline after you last furnish labor or materials. Louisiana applies the deadline strictly, so filing late or in the wrong office can void the lien.