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Missouri Mechanics Lien

File a Missouri mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the six-month filing deadline, the ten-day notice, and how to enforce the lien.

Introduction

A Missouri mechanics lien is a legal claim filed against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once filed, 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 Missouri sets out the right in Chapter 429. The lien only works if you perfect it on time. An original contractor must give the owner the written notice in section 429.012 before receiving any payment, and it is a condition of any general contractor lien. Every other claimant must give the owner ten days' notice before filing. The lien account must be filed within six months after the debt accrues, meaning your last work or materials, and you must sue to enforce within six months after filing. DocDraft prepares a Missouri mechanics lien, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A Missouri mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Original contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers who improved real property and were not paid can claim one under RSMo Chapter 429, sections 429.010 to 429.340.

  2. 2

    Missouri's notice rule splits by role. An original contractor must give the owner the section 429.012 written notice before receiving any payment, a condition precedent to a general contractor lien. Every other claimant must give the owner ten days' notice before filing, under section 429.100.

  3. 3

    The filing deadline is six months. Section 429.080 requires a just and true account of the demand to be filed within six months after the indebtedness accrued, meaning your last item of work or materials. Rental equipment and machinery follow a separate 60-day filing rule.

  4. 4

    You must sue within six months of filing. Section 429.170 requires all actions to enforce the lien to be commenced within six months after the lien is filed, or the lien can no longer be enforced.

  5. 5

    Missouri reads the steps strictly. Missing the section 429.012 notice, the ten-day notice, the six-month filing window, or the six-month deadline to sue generally forfeits the lien, though a separate contract claim for the debt may remain.

  6. 6

    The lien account must be verified. Section 429.080 requires a just and true account of the demand due, a description of the property, and the name of the owner, verified by the oath of the claimant or someone with knowledge of the facts.

  7. 7

    New-home buyers get extra protection. The section 429.012 original-contractor notice is aimed at residential owners and does not apply to new residences for which the buyer received mechanics'-lien protection through a Missouri-registered title insurance company.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Missouri, 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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STATEMENT AND JUST AND TRUE ACCOUNT OF MECHANICS LIEN (MISSOURI)

Filed under RSMo Chapter 429, sections 429.010 to 429.340. The undersigned claimant files this statement and just and true account of the demand against the real property described below to secure payment for labor or materials furnished to improve that property.

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

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

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

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

  5. JUST AND TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE DEMAND Itemized description of the labor or materials furnished: [ITEMIZED DESCRIPTION]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date the indebtedness accrued (last item furnished): [LAST DATE].

  6. AMOUNT CLAIMED The amount unpaid and now due, after deducting all just credits and offsets, is: $[AMOUNT].

  7. NOTICES GIVEN If an original contractor: the section 429.012 written notice was given to the owner on [DATE], before receiving any payment. If any other claimant: the ten days' notice required by section 429.100 was given to the owner or agent on [DATE], before filing.

  8. VERIFICATION I, the claimant or a person with knowledge of the facts, being duly sworn, state on oath that this is a just and true account of the demand due, after all just credits, and that the facts stated in it are true.

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

[NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT]

FILING AND ENFORCEMENT: File this account with the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the property is located within six months after the indebtedness accrued (RSMo section 429.080). An action to enforce the lien must be commenced within six months after filing (RSMo section 429.170).

Note: This Missouri mechanics lien statement follows RSMo Chapter 429. Confirm the current statutory notice language, contents, and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Missouri Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Missouri Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

The title to a Missouri property is what a mechanics lien clouds: once a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property but went unpaid files the claim, the owner can no longer sell or refinance freely. The lien attaches directly to the real estate, and enforcement can go as far as a court-ordered sale. Chapter 429 of the Missouri Revised Statutes governs it.

Original contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers who improved real property and were not paid can file. An original contractor must first give the owner the written notice required by section 429.012, and every other claimant must give the owner ten days' notice before filing. These notices are conditions of preserving lien rights.

You have six months. Section 429.080 requires a just and true account of the demand to be filed within six months after the indebtedness accrued, which is generally your last item of work done or materials furnished. Filing is done with the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the property is located. Rental equipment has a separate 60-day rule.

Yes, and which notice depends on your role. An original contractor must deliver the section 429.012 written notice to the owner before receiving any payment, and it is a condition precedent to the lien. Every claimant other than the original contractor must give the owner ten days' notice before filing the lien, under section 429.100, stating the amount and from whom it is due.

You must sue within six months of filing. Section 429.170 requires all actions to enforce a mechanics lien to be commenced within six months after the lien is filed. If you do not bring the enforcement action within that window, the lien expires and can no longer be enforced against the property, even though the underlying debt may still be owed.

Missing the section 429.012 notice, the ten-day notice, the six-month filing window, or the six-month deadline to sue usually means the lien is lost, because Missouri applies these steps strictly. You may still sue the party who hired you for breach of contract to recover the debt, but you give up the security a lien against the property provides.

Not always. The section 429.012 original-contractor notice is designed to protect residential owners, but it does not apply to new residences for which the buyer received mechanics'-and-suppliers'-lien protection through a title insurance company registered in Missouri. Additional residential owner protections appear at section 429.013, so confirm which rules apply to your project.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should file a release or satisfaction of the lien with the circuit court clerk to clear the title. A lien also expires if no enforcement action is commenced within six months of filing. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can raise that defense in the enforcement action or move to have it discharged.