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New Jersey Mechanics Lien

File a New Jersey construction lien to secure payment for your work. Learn the 90-day recording deadline, the residential NUB step, and enforcement.

Introduction

In New Jersey a mechanics lien is called a construction lien. It is a legal claim lodged against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once lodged for record, the lien attaches to the property, clouds the title, and can be enforced by a court-ordered sale. That security gives the lien its leverage, and New Jersey grants the right to it in the Construction Lien Law. The lien only works if you meet the deadlines. On nonresidential work no preliminary notice is required, and you lodge the lien claim within 90 days after last providing work or materials. Residential work is stricter: you first file a Notice of Unpaid Balance and demand arbitration, then lodge within 120 days. You must sue in Superior Court to enforce within one year of last furnishing. DocDraft prepares a New Jersey construction lien and its notices from your project details, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A New Jersey construction lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who furnished work, services, material, or equipment under a contract and were not paid can claim one under the Construction Lien Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-1 and following.

  2. 2

    Nonresidential work needs no preliminary notice. On a residential construction contract, though, the claimant must first file a Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien within 60 days of last providing work, then demand arbitration within 10 days under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-21.

  3. 3

    The nonresidential recording deadline is 90 days. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-6 the lien claim is lodged for record within 90 days following the date the last work, services, material, or equipment was provided. Warranty and service-call work does not restart the clock.

  4. 4

    You must sue to enforce within one year. N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-14 requires an action in the Superior Court within one year of the date the last work, services, material, or equipment was provided, or the claimant forfeits all rights to enforce the lien.

  5. 5

    New Jersey applies the rules strictly. Missing the recording window, the residential NUB and arbitration steps, or the one-year suit deadline generally forfeits the lien, though a separate contract claim for the unpaid balance may survive.

  6. 6

    The lien claim must use the statutory form. N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-8 sets the required contents, including the claimant, the owner, the amount due, the property, the contract, and the dates of first and last work, signed and acknowledged.

  7. 7

    Residential jobs follow a stricter path. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-21 the claimant must lodge the lien within 120 days of last work and within 10 days after receiving the arbitrator's determination, on top of the earlier NUB and arbitration demand.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in New Jersey, 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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CONSTRUCTION LIEN CLAIM (NEW JERSEY)

Lodged for record under the New Jersey Construction Lien Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-1 and following. The undersigned claimant lodges this Construction Lien Claim against the real property described below to secure payment for work, services, material, or equipment provided to improve that property.

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

  2. OWNER OF RECORD Name: [OWNER NAME] Address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  3. PARTY WHO CONTRACTED WITH THE CLAIMANT Name: [PERSON OR COMPANY THAT ORDERED THE WORK] Address: [ADDRESS]

  4. THE CONTRACT Date of the contract under which the work was provided: [CONTRACT DATE]. General description of the work, services, material, or equipment: [DESCRIPTION].

  5. WORK PROVIDED Date work, services, material, or equipment was first provided: [FIRST DATE]. Date last provided: [LAST DATE].

  6. AMOUNT OF THE CLAIM The amount due to the claimant as of the date of this claim, after deducting all just credits and offsets, is: $[AMOUNT].

  7. PROPERTY Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]. Block and lot: [BLOCK / LOT]. Legal description: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION]. County: [COUNTY].

  8. TYPE OF PROJECT [NONRESIDENTIAL] or [RESIDENTIAL]. If residential, confirm that the Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien was filed within 60 days of last work, that a demand for arbitration was served, and that the arbitrator's determination has been received (N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-21).

  9. VERIFICATION I, the claimant or the claimant's authorized agent, certify that the foregoing statements made by me are true. I am aware that if any of the foregoing statements made by me are willfully false, I am subject to punishment.

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

[ACKNOWLEDGMENT BEFORE A NOTARY OR ATTORNEY AS REQUIRED BY N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-8]

SERVICE ON THE OWNER

A copy of this lodged Construction Lien Claim must be served on the owner (and, where applicable, the contractor and any subcontractor) within 10 business days after it is lodged for record, under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-7.

To (owner): [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] Date served: [DATE]

Note: This New Jersey construction lien claim follows the Construction Lien Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-1 through 2A:44A-38, including the statutory form contents of 2A:44A-8. Confirm the current statutory language, the project type, and the deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before lodging it for record.

New Jersey Requirements for Mechanics Lien

New Jersey Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

In New Jersey a mechanics lien is called a construction lien. It is a claim a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier lodges against a property they improved but were not paid for. It attaches to the real estate, clouds the title so the owner cannot easily sell or refinance, and can be foreclosed through a court-ordered sale. The Construction Lien Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-1 and following, governs it.

A contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who provided work, services, material, or equipment under a written contract to improve the property and was not paid can file. The lien secures only the amount owed under that contract. On residential jobs, a claimant must complete the Notice of Unpaid Balance and arbitration steps before any lien can be lodged.

On nonresidential work you lodge the lien claim within 90 days following the date the last work, services, material, or equipment was provided, under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-6. Residential work runs on a 120-day cap, and the lien must also be lodged within 10 days after the arbitrator's determination. Warranty and service calls do not extend the window.

Not for nonresidential work; no advance notice is a condition of the lien. For a residential construction contract, N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-21 requires you to first file a Notice of Unpaid Balance and Right to File Lien within 60 days of last providing work, then serve a demand for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association within 10 days of lodging it.

You must commence an action in the Superior Court within one year of the date the last work, services, material, or equipment was provided, under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-14. Note that this clock runs from your last furnishing, not from the date you lodged the lien. Miss it and you forfeit all rights to enforce the lien.

Missing the 90-day nonresidential recording window, the residential NUB and arbitration steps, or the one-year deadline to sue generally means the lien is lost, because New Jersey reads the statute strictly. You may still sue the party who hired you for breach of contract to recover the unpaid amount, but you lose the security the lien provides against the property.

Residential jobs add mandatory pre-lien steps. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-21 the claimant files a Notice of Unpaid Balance within 60 days of last work, demands arbitration within 10 days, and only after the arbitrator's determination lodges the lien, which must be within 120 days of last work and within 10 days of that determination. Nonresidential work skips all of this.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should file a discharge of the lien claim to clear the title. A lien also lapses if no Superior Court action is filed within one year of last furnishing. An owner who disputes a lien can seek its discharge in court, and New Jersey allows a lien to be discharged by posting a surety bond in place of the property.