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Tennessee Mechanics Lien

File a Tennessee mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the 90-day recording deadline and separate enforcement rules for primes and subs.

Introduction

A Tennessee mechanics lien is a legal claim against real property held by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once perfected, the lien attaches to the property and clouds the title, and it can be enforced by a court-ordered sale. Tennessee grants the right under Title 66, Chapter 11, but the lien only holds if you follow each step on time. A remote contractor on a non-residential job must serve a notice of nonpayment within 90 days of the last day of each unpaid month. To preserve priority, the sworn statement of lien is recorded within 90 days after the improvement is complete or abandoned. Enforcement deadlines then split: a prime contractor's lien runs one year from completion, while a remote contractor's lien runs only 90 days from serving its notice of lien. DocDraft prepares a Tennessee mechanics lien and its notices from your project details, and attorney review is available before you record.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A Tennessee mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Prime contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers who furnished work to improve real property and were not paid can claim one under Title 66, Chapter 11, though remote claimants have narrower rights on homes.

  2. 2

    Remote contractors must serve notices of nonpayment. Under T.C.A. 66-11-145 a remote contractor on a non-residential project must serve the owner and prime contractor a notice within 90 days of the last day of each month it went unpaid, or lose that month's lien rights.

  3. 3

    The sworn statement of lien is recorded within 90 days. Under T.C.A. 66-11-112 the claimant records the sworn statement in the register of deeds no later than 90 days after the improvement is complete or abandoned to preserve the lien against later purchasers and lenders.

  4. 4

    Enforcement deadlines differ by role. Under T.C.A. 66-11-106 a prime contractor's lien continues one year after completion or abandonment. Under T.C.A. 66-11-115(b) a remote contractor's lien continues only 90 days from the date it served its notice of lien.

  5. 5

    Tennessee reads the requirements strictly. Missing the notice of nonpayment, the 90-day recording window, or the role-specific enforcement deadline generally forfeits the lien, though a separate breach-of-contract claim against the party that hired you may remain.

  6. 6

    The notices follow statutory forms. T.C.A. 66-11-112(d) gives the form of the sworn statement of lien, and T.C.A. 66-11-145 gives the form of the notice of nonpayment, so the wording should track the statute.

  7. 7

    Homes limit who can lien. On owner-occupied one- to four-family residences, T.C.A. 66-11-146 gives a lien only to the prime contractor; remote subcontractors and suppliers have no lien, and the notice of nonpayment does not apply.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Tennessee, 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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SWORN STATEMENT OF LIEN / NOTICE OF LIEN (TENNESSEE)

Recorded in the office of the register of deeds under T.C.A. Title 66, Chapter 11. The claimant claims a mechanics lien on the real property described below to secure payment for work, labor, materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished to improve that property.

  1. CLAIMANT Name: [CLAIMANT NAME] Role: [PRIME CONTRACTOR / REMOTE CONTRACTOR - SUBCONTRACTOR OR SUPPLIER] Address: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

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

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

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

  5. WORK OR MATERIALS FURNISHED General description of the work, labor, materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date the improvement was completed or abandoned: [COMPLETION OR ABANDONMENT DATE].

  6. AMOUNT OF THE LIEN The amount owed to the claimant, after deducting all just credits and offsets, is: $[AMOUNT].

  7. VERIFICATION The claimant, or the claimant's authorized agent, being duly sworn, states that the facts set forth in this statement of lien are true and correct to the best of the claimant's knowledge and belief.

Signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE] [NOTARY / SWORN ACKNOWLEDGMENT]

NOTE ON THE ENFORCEMENT DEADLINE FOR THIS CLAIMANT:

  • If the claimant is a PRIME CONTRACTOR: the lien continues one (1) year after the improvement is complete or abandoned, and a suit to enforce must be brought within that year (T.C.A. 66-11-106).
  • If the claimant is a REMOTE CONTRACTOR (subcontractor or supplier): a written notice of lien must be served on the owner within the 90-day recording period (T.C.A. 66-11-115(a)(2)), and the lien continues only 90 days from the date that notice of lien is served, within which an enforcement suit must be brought (T.C.A. 66-11-115(b)).

NOTICE OF NONPAYMENT (served by a remote contractor on a non-residential project on the owner and the prime contractor within 90 days of the last day of each unpaid month, under T.C.A. 66-11-145)

The undersigned remote contractor provided work or materials to improve the property described above during the month of [MONTH AND YEAR] and has not been paid $[AMOUNT] for that work. This notice of nonpayment is given to preserve the right to claim a mechanics lien for that month.

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

Note: This Tennessee statement of lien and notices follow T.C.A. Title 66, Chapter 11, including the forms in T.C.A. 66-11-112(d) and 66-11-145. Confirm the current statutory contents and the enforcement deadline for your role, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you record.

Tennessee Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Tennessee Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Enforced ultimately through a court-ordered sale, a Tennessee mechanics lien gives an unpaid contractor, subcontractor, or supplier a legal claim against the property they improved. The claim attaches to the real estate and clouds the title, leaving the owner unable to sell or refinance with ease until the debt is resolved. Title 66, Chapter 11 of the Tennessee Code governs it.

Prime contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers who furnished work to improve the property and were not paid can claim a lien. A prime contractor deals directly with the owner. A remote contractor, meaning a sub or supplier not in privity with the owner, has extra notice duties and no lien at all on owner-occupied one- to four-family homes.

To preserve the lien against later buyers and lenders, the claimant records a sworn statement of lien in the register of deeds no later than 90 days after the improvement is complete or abandoned, under T.C.A. 66-11-112. A prime contractor's lien against the owner also continues for one year without registration under T.C.A. 66-11-106.

A remote contractor on a non-residential project must serve a notice of nonpayment on the owner and the prime contractor within 90 days of the last day of each month in which it provided work or materials and was not paid, under T.C.A. 66-11-145. Miss it and the remote contractor loses lien rights for that month, except as to retainage. Prime contractors and one- to four-family residential work are exempt.

Tennessee sets two different enforcement clocks. Under T.C.A. 66-11-106 a prime contractor's lien continues for one year after the improvement is complete or abandoned, and until a suit properly brought within that year is decided. Under T.C.A. 66-11-115(b) a remote contractor's lien continues only 90 days from the date it served its notice of lien. Enforcement is by a suit seeking an attachment under T.C.A. 66-11-126.

Missing the notice of nonpayment, the 90-day recording window, or your role's enforcement deadline generally means the lien is lost, because Tennessee applies these rules strictly. A remote contractor who misses the 90-day enforcement window loses the lien even if a prime contractor on the same job still has time. You may still sue for breach of contract to recover the debt.

Generally no. Under T.C.A. 66-11-146, on an owner-occupied building of one to four dwelling units, only the prime contractor has a lien; remote subcontractors and suppliers do not. The notice of nonpayment also does not apply to one- to four-family residential units, so residential lien rights differ sharply from those on a commercial job.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should record a release of the lien with the register of deeds to clear the title. A lien also expires on its own if no enforcement suit is brought within the deadline for the claimant's role, whether that is the prime's one year or the remote contractor's 90 days. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can challenge it, and the lien can be bonded off.