Maine Mechanics Lien
File a Maine mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the 90-day recording deadline for subcontractors and the 120-day deadline to enforce.
Introduction
A Maine 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 secured, the lien attaches to the property, clouds the title, and can be enforced by a court-ordered sale, and that security is what gives the lien its leverage. Maine sets the rules in Title 10, sections 3251 to 3269. No advance preliminary notice is required to hold the lien. A subcontractor preserves it by recording a sworn statement in the register of deeds within 90 days after last furnishing labor, materials, or services, and mailing a copy to the owner. A general contractor who contracted with the owner can skip that recording. Everyone must then file a court action to enforce the lien within 120 days after last furnishing, and that clock runs from the last work, not from recording. DocDraft prepares a Maine mechanics lien from your project details, and attorney review is available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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A Maine mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. A contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who furnished labor, materials, or services to improve real property and was not paid can claim one under Title 10, sections 3251 and following.
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No preliminary notice is required in Maine. Lien rights are preserved by recording and by suing on time, not by advance notice. A general contractor in direct contract with the owner is even exempt from the recording step under section 3253.
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A subcontractor records within 90 days. Under 10 M.R.S. 3253 the lien dissolves unless the claimant records a sworn statement of the amount due, the property, and the owners in the register of deeds within 90 days after last furnishing labor, materials, or services.
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Enforcement is due within 120 days. Under 10 M.R.S. 3255 the claimant must file a court action against the debtor, owner, and other interested parties within 120 days after last furnishing. Unusually, this clock runs from the last work, not from the recording date.
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Maine reads the lien statute strictly. Missing the 90-day recording, the owner mailing, or the 120-day enforcement action can dissolve the lien, though a separate contract claim against the party that hired you may remain.
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The recorded statement must be sworn. Section 3253 requires a true statement, subscribed and sworn, of the amount due, a description of the property, and the names of the owners, and a copy must be sent to the owner by ordinary mail.
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The general contractor's path differs from the subcontractor's. A general contractor in direct contract with the owner does not record a section 3253 certificate at all and preserves the lien only by filing the 120-day enforcement action, while a subcontractor must both record and sue.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Maine, 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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Maine Requirements for Mechanics Lien
File the Maine mechanics lien in the correct office, a county recorder or court as Maine requires, within the state's deadline after you last furnish labor or materials. Maine applies the deadline strictly, so filing late or in the wrong office can void the lien.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Maine mechanics lien is a legal claim that a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier records against property they improved but were not paid for. It attaches to the real estate and clouds the title, so the owner cannot easily sell or refinance, and it can be enforced through a court-ordered sale. Maine sets out these liens in Title 10, sections 3251 through 3269.
Anyone who furnished labor, materials, or services to improve real property and was not paid can claim a lien under 10 M.R.S. 3251, including contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. Whether you must record a statement depends on privity: a general contractor in direct contract with the owner is exempt from recording, while a subcontractor must record within 90 days.
A subcontractor records within 90 days. Under 10 M.R.S. 3253 the lien is dissolved unless you record a sworn statement of the amount due, a description of the property, and the owners' names in the register of deeds within 90 days after you cease to labor, furnish materials, or perform services, and mail a copy to the owner. A general contractor in privity with the owner does not have to record.
No. Maine does not require any advance preliminary notice or notice of intent to preserve a mechanics lien. The claimant who records a section 3253 statement simply mails a copy to the owner by ordinary mail. The rights are protected instead by meeting the 90-day recording deadline and the 120-day deadline to file the enforcement action.
You have 120 days. Under 10 M.R.S. 3255 you must file a court action against the debtor, the owner, and other interested parties, in the Superior Court or District Court for the county where the property sits, within 120 days after the last labor, materials, or services. Maine measures this deadline from the last work, not from the date you recorded.
Missing the 90-day recording deadline or the 120-day deadline to sue generally dissolves the lien, because Maine applies these rules strictly. You may still sue the party that hired you for breach of contract to recover the unpaid amount, but you lose the security that the lien places on the property itself.
Two Maine points catch claimants out. A general contractor who contracted with the owner skips the 90-day recording entirely and preserves the lien only by filing the 120-day enforcement action, so a general contractor who never records can still be on the clock to sue. And the 120-day enforcement deadline runs from the last work, not from recording.
When the debt is paid, the claimant should discharge the recorded statement in the register of deeds to clear the title. A lien also dissolves on its own if no enforcement action is filed within 120 days after the last work. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can raise that in the enforcement proceeding, where the court decides whether the lien stands.