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Minnesota Mechanics Lien

File a Minnesota mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the 120-day recording deadline, the 45-day prelien notice, and enforcement.

Introduction

A Minnesota 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 through a court-ordered sale. That security is what gives the lien its leverage, and Minnesota sets out the right in Chapter 514. The lien only works if you perfect it on time. A subcontractor who did not contract with the owner must give a prelien notice no later than 45 days after first furnishing labor, skill, or materials, while a general contractor gives it in the written contract or within 10 days. The lien statement must be filed with the county recorder and served on the owner within 120 days after the last item furnished, and you must sue to enforce within one year. DocDraft prepares a Minnesota mechanics lien from your project details, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A Minnesota mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and others who furnished labor, skill, or materials to improve real property and were not paid can claim one under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 514.

  2. 2

    A subcontractor must serve a prelien notice. Under section 514.011, a claimant who did not contract with the owner must give it no later than 45 days after first furnishing labor or materials. A general contractor instead gives it in the contract or within 10 days.

  3. 3

    The recording deadline is 120 days. Section 514.08 says the lien ceases 120 days after the last item of work or materials is furnished unless the lien statement is filed with the county recorder and a copy served on the owner within that period.

  4. 4

    You must sue to enforce within one year. Section 514.12, subdivision 3, requires the claimant to file a complaint or answer with the court administrator within one year after the date of the last item of the claim as set out in the recorded lien statement.

  5. 5

    Minnesota reads the deadlines strictly. Missing the 45-day prelien notice, the 120-day recording window, or the one-year enforcement deadline generally forfeits the lien, though a separate contract claim for the debt may remain.

  6. 6

    The prelien notice uses statutory wording. Section 514.011 prescribes the language for both the general contractor's contract notice and the subcontractor's notice, and the lien statement must state the amount due and be verified by the claimant.

  7. 7

    Large residential projects skip the prelien notice. Under section 514.011, subdivision 4b, the prelien notice is not required for an improvement that is wholly residential in character and provides more than four family units.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Minnesota, 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

MECHANICS LIEN STATEMENT (MINNESOTA)

Filed under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 514. The undersigned claimant files this lien statement against the real property described below to secure payment for the labor, skill, material, or machinery furnished to improve that property.

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

  2. AMOUNT OF THE CLAIM The amount unpaid and now due, after deducting all just credits and offsets, is: $[AMOUNT].

  3. OWNER OR REPUTED OWNER Name: [OWNER NAME] Address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  4. HIRING PARTY The claimant furnished the work at the request of, or under contract with: [PERSON OR COMPANY THAT ORDERED THE WORK].

  5. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK General description of the labor, skill, material, or machinery furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date last furnished (the last item of the claim): [LAST DATE].

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

  7. PRELIEN NOTICE The prelien notice required by Minnesota Statutes section 514.011 was given as follows, if applicable: [DATE AND METHOD, OR STATE THE EXEMPTION RELIED ON].

  8. VERIFICATION I, the claimant or the claimant's authorized agent, being duly sworn, state on oath that I have knowledge of the facts in this lien statement and that the statements in it are true.

Signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE]

[NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT]

FILING AND SERVICE: This lien statement must be filed with the county recorder, or the registrar of titles if the land is registered, and a copy served on the owner within 120 days after the last item of work, skill, material, or machinery is furnished (Minn. Stat. section 514.08). An action to enforce the lien must be filed within one year of the last item of the claim (Minn. Stat. section 514.12).

Note: This Minnesota lien statement follows Minnesota Statutes Chapter 514. Confirm the current statutory language, contents, and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Minnesota Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Minnesota Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

When a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier improves a Minnesota property and goes unpaid, the mechanics lien is the tool that secures what they are owed. Filed against the improved real estate, it clouds the title so the owner cannot readily sell or refinance, and a court can ultimately order the property sold to satisfy the debt. Chapter 514 of the Minnesota Statutes governs it.

Anyone who contributed to the improvement of real property and was not paid can file, including general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers who furnished labor, skill, or materials. A claimant who did not contract directly with the owner must first serve a prelien notice within 45 days of first furnishing to keep the right alive.

You have 120 days. Section 514.08 says the lien ceases 120 days after the last item of work, skill, material, or machinery is furnished unless, within that period, you file the lien statement with the county recorder, or the registrar of titles for registered land, and serve a copy on the owner. Both steps are required.

Usually, yes. A general contractor includes the prelien notice in the written contract, or delivers it within 10 days if there is no written contract. A subcontractor or supplier who did not deal with the owner must serve it no later than 45 days after first furnishing labor, skill, or materials, under section 514.011.

You must assert the lien within one year. Under section 514.12, subdivision 3, no lien is enforced unless the holder files a complaint or answer with the court administrator within one year after the date of the last item of the claim as set out in the recorded lien statement. Missing that year lets the lien lapse.

Missing the 45-day prelien notice, the 120-day recording window, or the one-year deadline to sue usually means the lien is gone, because Minnesota applies these steps strictly. You may still sue the party who hired you for breach of contract to recover the unpaid balance, but you lose the security a lien against the property provides.

Section 514.011 waives the prelien notice for a few projects. It is not required for an improvement that is wholly residential in character and provides more than four family units, under subdivision 4b. Subdivision 4a also waives it where the contractor is controlled by substantially the same people who control the owner.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should file a satisfaction or release of the lien with the county recorder to clear the title. A lien also lapses on its own if no enforcement action is filed within one year of the last item of the claim. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can challenge it in court.