Pennsylvania Mechanics Lien
File a Pennsylvania mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the six-month filing deadline, the 30-day notice of intention, and enforcement.
Introduction
A Pennsylvania mechanics lien is a legal claim filed against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once filed, the lien attaches to the property and clouds the title, and it can be enforced by a court judgment and sale. Pennsylvania grants the right under the Mechanics' Lien Law of 1963, but the lien only holds if you follow each step on time. A subcontractor must serve the owner a formal written Notice of Intention to file a claim at least 30 days before filing. The claim must be filed with the prothonotary within six months after your work is completed, and you must serve notice of filing on the owner within one month after filing. To keep the lien alive, you must then start a court action within two years of filing. DocDraft prepares a Pennsylvania mechanics 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
A Pennsylvania mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers who furnished labor or materials to erect, alter, or repair the property and were not paid can claim one under the Mechanics' Lien Law of 1963.
- 2
Subcontractors must give the owner formal notice. Under 49 P.S. section 1501 a subcontractor must serve a formal written Notice of Intention to file at least 30 days before filing the claim; on alteration or repair jobs a preliminary notice is also due by completion.
- 3
The claim must be filed within six months. Under 49 P.S. section 1502 the claim is filed with the county prothonotary within six months after the claimant's work is completed, and notice of the filing served on the owner within one month.
- 4
You must sue within two years of filing. Under 49 P.S. section 1701 an action to obtain judgment on the filed claim must be started within two years from the date the claim was filed, unless the owner extends the time in writing.
- 5
Pennsylvania reads the requirements strictly. Missing the 30-day formal notice, the six-month filing period, or the two-year deadline to sue generally forfeits the lien, though a separate breach-of-contract claim for the debt may remain.
- 6
There is no single mandated form. 49 P.S. section 1503 sets the required contents of the claim, and section 1501 sets the contents of the formal notice of intention, so the claim must include the details the statute lists.
- 7
Owner-occupied homes have a shield. Under 49 P.S. section 1301, a subcontractor has no lien against an owner-occupied one- or two-family residence when the owner has already paid the contractor the full contract price.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Pennsylvania, 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 guideCustomize your Mechanics Lien Template with DocDraft
Pennsylvania Requirements for Mechanics Lien
Pennsylvania Filing Deadline and Office
File the Pennsylvania mechanics lien in the correct office, a county recorder or court as Pennsylvania requires, within the state's deadline after you last furnish labor or materials. Pennsylvania applies the deadline strictly, so filing late or in the wrong office can void the lien.