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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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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.