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New Hampshire Mechanics Lien

Secure a New Hampshire mechanics lien for unpaid construction work. The lien lasts 120 days and is perfected by a court attachment, not a county recording.

Introduction

A New Hampshire mechanics lien is a legal claim on real property held by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. The lien attaches to the property and can be enforced through a court-ordered sale, which is what gives it leverage. New Hampshire works differently from most states: there is no lien to record with the county. Instead, under RSA Chapter 447, the lien arises by law, and a person who did not contract with the owner must first give the owner written notice that they will claim a lien. The lien then continues for only 120 days after the last labor or materials are furnished, and within that window you must secure it by getting a court to attach the property, with the writ stating that lien purpose. Miss the 120 days and the lien is lost. DocDraft prepares the New Hampshire lien notice and attachment paperwork, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A New Hampshire mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and design professionals who furnished labor, professional design services, or materials to improve real property and were not paid can claim one under RSA Chapter 447.

  2. 2

    A non-privity claimant must give notice. Under RSA 447:5, a person working under the owner's agent, contractor, or subcontractor must give the owner written notice that they will claim a lien. Given before the work, it secures the full amount; the threshold is $15.

  3. 3

    There is nothing to record with the county. Under RSA 447:9 the lien arises by operation of law and continues for 120 days after the last labor or materials are furnished. New Hampshire does not use a recorded claim of lien the way most states do.

  4. 4

    You perfect the lien by court attachment. Under RSA 447:10 the lien is secured by an attachment of the property, obtained at any time while the lien continues, that is within the 120 days, with the writ and return distinctly stating that lien purpose.

  5. 5

    New Hampshire reads the steps strictly. Missing the RSA 447:5 notice, or failing to attach the property within the 120-day life of the lien, generally forfeits it, though a separate contract claim for the unpaid amount may remain.

  6. 6

    There is no statutory lien form. The claim is perfected through the writ of attachment, which must state its lien purpose and describe the property, rather than through a prescribed claim-of-lien form. RSA 447:5 requires only a written notice to the owner.

  7. 7

    The homestead exemption does not defeat the lien. Chapter 447 has no owner-occupied carve-out, so the RSA 447:5 owner-notice rule applies to residential and commercial jobs alike, and the mechanics lien is not blocked by the RSA 480 homestead exemption.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in New Hampshire, 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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NEW HAMPSHIRE MECHANICS LIEN PAPERWORK (RSA CHAPTER 447)

New Hampshire does not use a recorded claim of lien. The lien arises by law, continues for 120 days after the last labor or materials are furnished (RSA 447:9), and is secured by a court attachment of the property within that period (RSA 447:10). This packet contains the RSA 447:5 notice to the owner and the attachment request that secures the lien.

=== PART 1: NOTICE OF INTENT TO CLAIM LIEN (RSA 447:5) === (Required of a claimant who contracted with the owner's agent, contractor, or subcontractor rather than the owner.)

To (owner or person in charge of the property): [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] Role: [SUBCONTRACTOR / SUPPLIER / DESIGN PROFESSIONAL]

The undersigned is furnishing, or will furnish, labor, professional design services, or materials for the improvement of the property at [PROPERTY ADDRESS], under a contract with [AGENT / CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR NAME]. The undersigned gives notice under RSA 447:5 that they will claim a mechanics lien on that property for the amount that becomes due for the work or materials furnished.

Date: [DATE] Signature: [SIGNATURE]

=== PART 2: PETITION FOR ATTACHMENT TO SECURE MECHANICS LIEN (RSA 447:10) ===

Court: [SUPERIOR / CIRCUIT COURT, COUNTY]

  1. CLAIMANT / PLAINTIFF Name: [CLAIMANT NAME] Address: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

  2. OWNER / DEFENDANT Name: [OWNER NAME] Address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  3. PROPERTY TO BE ATTACHED Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]. Description: [DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTY]. County: [COUNTY].

  4. WORK OR MATERIALS FURNISHED Description: [DESCRIPTION OF THE LABOR, DESIGN SERVICES, OR MATERIALS PROVIDED]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date last furnished: [LAST DATE].

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

  6. LIEN PURPOSE OF THE ATTACHMENT The claimant requests an attachment of the property described above for the express purpose of securing the mechanics lien created by RSA 447:2 through 447:7, and requests that the writ and the return distinctly express that purpose (RSA 447:10). The lien continues for 120 days after the last labor or materials were furnished, and this attachment is sought within that period.

  7. VERIFICATION The claimant or the claimant's authorized agent states under oath that they have read this petition and that the facts stated in it are true.

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

Note: New Hampshire mechanics liens under RSA Chapter 447 are perfected by attachment through the court, not by recording, and the 120-day period runs from the last labor or materials. Confirm the current statutory requirements and your court's attachment procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

New Hampshire Requirements for Mechanics Lien

New Hampshire Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

A New Hampshire mechanics lien is a legal claim that a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier holds against a property they improved but were not paid for. It attaches to the real estate and can be enforced through a court-ordered sale. Unlike most states, New Hampshire does not have you record a claim of lien; the lien arises by law under RSA Chapter 447 and is secured through the court.

Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and design professionals who furnished labor, design services, or materials of $15 or more to improve real property and were not paid can claim a lien. A claimant who contracted with the owner's agent, contractor, or subcontractor, rather than the owner directly, must first give the owner written notice under RSA 447:5 that they will claim a lien.

You do not record one. New Hampshire has no county filing for a mechanics lien. Under RSA 447:9 the lien exists by operation of law and continues for 120 days after the last labor or materials are furnished. To keep it alive, you secure it by having a court attach the property within that 120-day window, rather than filing a document with the registry of deeds.

If you did not contract directly with the owner, yes. RSA 447:5 requires a person working under the owner's agent, contractor, or subcontractor to give the owner, or the person in charge of the property, written notice that they will claim a lien. Notice given before you perform the work secures the full amount; given later, the lien reaches only what the owner still owes the contractor.

You secure and enforce the lien by attachment. Under RSA 447:10, while the lien continues, that is within the 120 days after your last labor or materials, you obtain an attachment of the property, with the writ and return distinctly expressing that it is to secure the lien. The action then proceeds to judgment under ordinary civil practice, and the property can be sold to satisfy the claim.

The lien is lost. If you do not secure the property by attachment within 120 days after the last labor or materials are furnished, the lien created by RSA 447:2 through 447:7 ends. You may still sue the party who hired you for breach of contract to recover the unpaid amount, but you give up the security that the lien against the property provides.

There is no recorded claim of lien and no separate record-then-sue sequence. The lien arises by statute, lasts 120 days from your last labor or materials, and is perfected by a court attachment whose writ states the lien purpose. New Hampshire also has no homestead carve-out for construction liens, and the RSA 480 homestead exemption does not defeat the lien.

Because there is no recorded lien to cancel, the lien ends when payment is made, when the 120 days pass without an attachment, or when any attachment obtained to secure it is dissolved or discharged by the court. If an attachment is on the property, the owner can move to discharge it, often by posting a bond, and the court can release the property.