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Michigan Mechanics Lien

File a Michigan construction lien, the state's mechanics lien. Learn the 90-day recording deadline, the 20-day Notice of Furnishing, and enforcement.

Introduction

A Michigan construction lien, often called a 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 recorded, 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. Michigan sets the rules in the Construction Lien Act, MCL 570.1101 and following. A subcontractor or supplier must serve a Notice of Furnishing within 20 days after first furnishing labor or material. Every claimant must record a claim of lien within 90 days after their own last furnishing, and serve a copy on the owner within 15 days after recording. You must then bring proceedings to enforce and foreclose the lien no later than one year after the claim of lien is recorded. DocDraft prepares a Michigan claim of 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

    A Michigan construction lien, commonly called a mechanics lien, secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers who furnished labor or material and were not paid can claim one under the Construction Lien Act, MCL 570.1101 and following.

  2. 2

    Subcontractors and suppliers must serve a Notice of Furnishing. Under MCL 570.1109(1) it is due within 20 days after first furnishing labor or material; a laborer has 30 days after wages are due. A general contractor in direct contract with the owner is exempt.

  3. 3

    The recording deadline is 90 days. Under MCL 570.1111(1) the claim of lien must be recorded within 90 days after the lien claimant's last furnishing of labor or material, and a copy must be served on the owner within 15 days after recording under 570.1111(5).

  4. 4

    You must sue to enforce within one year. MCL 570.1117(1) requires proceedings to enforce the lien and foreclose to be brought no later than one year after the date the claim of lien was recorded.

  5. 5

    Michigan reads the Construction Lien Act strictly. Missing the Notice of Furnishing, the 90-day recording deadline, the 15-day owner service, or the one-year enforcement window can defeat the lien, though a separate contract claim for the debt may remain.

  6. 6

    The notice and lien follow prescribed forms. MCL 570.1109 sets out the Notice of Furnishing form, and MCL 570.1111 sets out the Claim of Lien form, including the required contents the recorded claim must contain.

  7. 7

    Residential work requires a written contract. Under MCL 570.1114 a contractor has no construction lien on an owner's residential structure unless the improvement was provided under a written contract between the owner and contractor that states the contractor's residential builder license.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Michigan, 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 OF LIEN (MICHIGAN CONSTRUCTION LIEN)

Recorded with the register of deeds under the Construction Lien Act, MCL 570.1101 and following. The lien claimant claims a construction lien on the real property described below for labor or material furnished to improve it.

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

  2. OWNER OR LESSEE Name: [OWNER OR LESSEE NAME] Address: [OWNER OR LESSEE ADDRESS]

  3. HIRING PARTY The claimant furnished the labor or material under a contract with: [OWNER / CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR], namely [NAME OF HIRING PARTY].

  4. PROPERTY Legal description: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION] Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS] County: [COUNTY]

  5. LABOR OR MATERIAL FURNISHED Description: [DESCRIPTION OF THE LABOR OR MATERIAL] Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE] Date last furnished: [LAST DATE]

  6. AMOUNT OF THE LIEN The amount of the claimant's lien, after deducting all payments and credits, is: $[AMOUNT].

  7. VERIFICATION The lien claimant or the claimant's authorized agent verifies that the statements in this claim of lien are true.

Signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE] Subscribed and sworn to before me this [DATE]. [NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT]

[SERVE a copy of this recorded claim of lien on the owner or lessee (or designee) within 15 days after recording, under MCL 570.1111(5). A subcontractor, supplier, or laborer must also have served a Notice of Furnishing under MCL 570.1109 within 20 days after first furnishing labor or material, or 30 days for a laborer after wages are due. On a residential structure, a contractor's lien requires a written contract that states the contractor's residential builder license, under MCL 570.1114.]

Note: This Michigan claim of lien follows the Construction Lien Act, MCL 570.1101 through 570.1305. Record it within 90 days after last furnishing, and bring proceedings to enforce and foreclose no later than one year after recording. Confirm the current statutory contents and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before recording.

Michigan Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Michigan Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

In Michigan, what most people call a mechanics lien is a construction lien under the Construction Lien Act. A contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or laborer who improved real property and was not paid records it against the property. It clouds the title, so the owner cannot easily sell or refinance, and it can be enforced by a court-ordered sale. MCL 570.1101 and following govern it.

Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers who furnished labor or material to improve real property and were not paid can claim a construction lien. The main split is notice: a general contractor in direct contract with the owner is exempt, while a subcontractor or supplier must serve a Notice of Furnishing within 20 days of first furnishing to preserve full lien rights.

Record within 90 days. Under MCL 570.1111(1) you must record the claim of lien within 90 days after your own last furnishing of labor or material for the improvement. Michigan also requires you to serve a copy of the recorded claim on the owner or lessee within 15 days after recording, under 570.1111(5), so the owner's address matters at recording.

A subcontractor or supplier must serve a Notice of Furnishing within 20 days after first furnishing labor or material, under MCL 570.1109(1); a laborer has 30 days after wages are due but unpaid. A general contractor who contracts directly with the owner does not serve one. Serving late can reduce the amount a subcontractor is able to recover.

You have one year. Under MCL 570.1117(1) proceedings to enforce the construction lien and foreclose cannot be brought later than one year after the date the claim of lien was recorded. This deadline runs from the recording date, so the clock starts when you record the claim, not when you last worked on the project.

Missing the Notice of Furnishing, the 90-day recording deadline, or the one-year deadline to sue generally defeats the lien, because Michigan applies the Construction Lien Act strictly. You may still pursue the party that hired you for breach of contract to recover the unpaid amount, but you lose the security a construction lien places on the property.

Residential work has a strict gate. Under MCL 570.1114 a contractor gets no construction lien on an owner's or lessee's interest in a residential structure unless the improvement was provided under a written contract, with any changes also in writing, between the owner and the contractor, and that contract states the contractor's residential builder license under MCL 339.2401 and following.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should record a discharge of the claim of lien to clear the title. A lien also becomes unenforceable if no enforcement proceeding is brought within one year of recording, under MCL 570.1117(1). An owner who believes a lien is invalid can challenge it in the enforcement action, where the court decides whether the lien stands.