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Texas Mechanics Lien

File a Texas mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the month-based affidavit deadline, the monthly notice rule, and how to enforce it.

Introduction

A Texas mechanics lien is a legal claim recorded against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once recorded, the lien attaches to the property and clouds the title, and can be enforced by a court-ordered foreclosure sale. Chapter 53 of the Property Code grants the right, but its deadlines are set by calendar month, not a simple day count. A subcontractor or supplier must send the owner and original contractor a monthly notice, due on a non-residential job by the 15th day of the third month after each unpaid month. An original contractor files the lien affidavit with the county clerk by the 15th day of the fourth month after the work was completed, terminated, or abandoned; residential deadlines fall a month earlier. You must then sue to foreclose within one year. DocDraft prepares a Texas 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. 1

    A Texas mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Original contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, laborers, and certain design professionals who improved real property and were not paid can claim one under Chapter 53 of the Property Code.

  2. 2

    Derivative claimants must send monthly notices. Under Property Code section 53.056 a subcontractor or supplier notifies the owner and original contractor by the 15th day of the third month after each unpaid month on a non-residential job, or the second month on residential work.

  3. 3

    The lien affidavit is filed by month, not by day count. Under section 53.052 an original contractor files by the 15th day of the fourth month after the work was completed, terminated, or abandoned; residential deadlines move a month earlier, to the third month.

  4. 4

    You must sue to foreclose within one year. Under section 53.158 suit must be brought not later than the first anniversary of the last day a claimant could file the lien affidavit under section 53.052, subject to a limited exception.

  5. 5

    Texas reads the requirements strictly. Missing a monthly notice, the month-based affidavit deadline, or the one-year suit deadline generally forfeits the lien, though a separate breach-of-contract claim against the party that hired you may remain.

  6. 6

    The affidavit and notices are prescribed. Section 53.054 lists the required contents of the lien affidavit, and sections 53.056 and 53.057 set the notice language, so the affidavit and notices must follow the statute.

  7. 7

    Homesteads demand a written contract first. Under section 53.254 a lien on a homestead requires a contract signed before work begins, signed by both spouses if married, filed with the county clerk, with the affidavit carrying the statutory 'NOTICE: THIS IS NOT A LIEN' warning.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Texas, 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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AFFIDAVIT CLAIMING MECHANIC'S LIEN (TEXAS)

Filed with the county clerk under Tex. Property Code Chapter 53. The claimant claims a mechanic's, contractor's, or materialman's lien on the real property described below to secure payment for labor or materials furnished to improve that property.

  1. CLAIMANT Name: [CLAIMANT NAME] Role: [ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR / MATERIAL SUPPLIER / LABORER] Mailing address: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

  2. AMOUNT OF THE CLAIM The amount claimed, after all lawful offsets, payments, and credits, is: $[AMOUNT].

  3. OWNER OR REPUTED OWNER Name: [OWNER NAME] Mailing address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  4. ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR AND HIRING PARTY Original contractor: [ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR NAME]. The claimant furnished the labor or materials under an agreement with: [PERSON OR COMPANY THAT ORDERED THE WORK].

  5. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK General statement of the kind of work done or materials furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Month(s) the labor or materials were provided and unpaid: [MONTH(S) AND YEAR]. Date work was completed, terminated, or abandoned, or claimant last furnished: [DATE].

  6. PROPERTY Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]. Legal description sufficient to identify the property: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION]. County: [COUNTY].

  7. AFFIDAVIT / VERIFICATION Before me, the undersigned authority, personally appeared the claimant or the claimant's authorized agent, who swore that the statements in this affidavit are true and correct.

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

DEADLINE NOTE (Texas uses a calendar-month deadline, not a fixed day count): Under Property Code section 53.052, on a non-residential project an original contractor files this affidavit by the 15th day of the fourth month after the work was completed, terminated, or abandoned, and a subcontractor or supplier files by the 15th day of the fourth month after the month it last provided labor or materials. On residential construction, both deadlines fall on the 15th day of the third month.

HOMESTEAD WARNING (include if the property is a homestead, per section 53.254(f)): NOTICE: THIS IS NOT A LIEN. THIS IS ONLY AN AFFIDAVIT CLAIMING A LIEN.

MONTHLY NOTICE OF UNPAID BALANCE (sent by a subcontractor or supplier to the owner and the original contractor under section 53.056; non-residential by the 15th day of the third month after each unpaid month, residential by the 15th day of the second month)

The undersigned provided labor or materials to improve the property described above during the month of [MONTH AND YEAR] under an agreement with [HIRING PARTY], and $[AMOUNT] remains unpaid. This notice is given to preserve the right to claim a lien and to trap funds owed by the owner to the original contractor.

To (owner): [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] To (original contractor): [ORIGINAL CONTRACTOR NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] Date sent: [DATE]

Note: This Texas lien affidavit and notices follow Tex. Property Code Chapter 53, including sections 53.052, 53.054, 53.056, and 53.254, as amended by House Bill 2237 effective January 1, 2022. Confirm the current statutory contents, the month-based deadlines, and any homestead requirements, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Texas Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Texas Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

A Texas mechanics lien starts when an unpaid contractor, subcontractor, or supplier records a claim against a property they helped improve. That recording attaches the claim to the real estate and clouds the title, so the owner cannot easily sell or refinance, and it can be enforced through a court-ordered foreclosure sale. Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code governs it.

Original contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, laborers, and some design professionals who furnished work to improve the property and were not paid can file. An original contractor deals directly with the owner and files without the monthly notice. A derivative claimant, such as a subcontractor or supplier, must send monthly fund-trapping notices to preserve lien rights.

Texas measures the deadline by calendar month, not a fixed day count. Under Property Code section 53.052, on a non-residential job the lien affidavit is filed with the county clerk by the 15th day of the fourth month: for an original contractor, after work is completed, terminated, or abandoned; for a subcontractor or supplier, after the month it last furnished. On residential construction, both move up to the 15th day of the third month.

A subcontractor or supplier must send monthly notices to the owner and original contractor to trap funds and preserve lien rights, under section 53.056. On a non-residential project the notice is due by the 15th day of the third month after each month the claimant went unpaid; on residential work it is due by the 15th day of the second month. An original contractor does not send these notices.

Recording the affidavit is not the last step. Under section 53.158 you must bring suit to foreclose the lien not later than the first anniversary of the last day you could have filed the affidavit under section 53.052, with a limited exception. After House Bill 2237, a single one-year period applies rather than separate residential and non-residential clocks.

Missing a required monthly notice, the month-based affidavit deadline, or the one-year suit deadline usually means the lien is lost, because Texas reads Chapter 53 strictly. You may still sue the party that hired you for breach of contract to recover the money, but you give up the security a lien provides against the property itself.

Only if you set it up correctly before starting. Under section 53.254 the labor or materials provider and the owner must sign a written contract before any work is done, both spouses must sign if the owner is married, the contract must be filed with the county clerk, and the lien affidavit must carry the statutory 'NOTICE: THIS IS NOT A LIEN' warning.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should file a release of the lien with the county clerk to clear the title. A lien also becomes unenforceable if no foreclosure suit is filed within one year of the last day to file the affidavit. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can ask a court to remove it, and Texas allows a lien to be bonded around.