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Vermont Mechanics Lien

File a Vermont mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the 180-day deadline to record the memorandum of lien and how to enforce it.

Introduction

A Vermont mechanics lien is a legal claim asserted against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once perfected, the lien attaches to the property, clouds the title, and can be enforced by a court-ordered sale. That security is what gives the lien its leverage, and Vermont grants the right in Title 9, Chapter 51. The lien only holds if you perfect it on time. A subcontractor or supplier who did not contract with the owner must first give the owner written notice to have a lien at all. To keep the lien alive you record a written memorandum of lien with the town clerk within 180 days from when payment became due for your last labor or materials, then commence a suit and attach the property within 180 days of that filing. DocDraft prepares a Vermont 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 Vermont mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers who furnished labor or materials to improve real property and were not paid can assert one under Title 9, Chapter 51.

  2. 2

    A subcontractor or supplier who did not contract directly with the owner must give the owner written notice to obtain a lien under section 1921(b). The lien then reaches only the contract price still unpaid when the owner receives that notice.

  3. 3

    The recording deadline is 180 days. Under section 1921 you file a written memorandum of lien with the town clerk within 180 days from when payment became due for the last labor performed or materials furnished, or the lien lapses.

  4. 4

    Recording is not the last step. Section 1924 requires you to commence an action and have the property attached within 180 days from filing the memorandum, or within 180 days from when payment becomes due if it was not yet due when you filed.

  5. 5

    Vermont courts read lien rights narrowly. Missing the owner notice, the 180-day recording window, or the 180-day deadline to sue and attach the property generally forfeits the lien, though a contract claim for the unpaid debt may remain.

  6. 6

    No fill-in statutory form is prescribed. Section 1923 requires the recorded memorandum to be in writing, signed by the claimant, and to assert the claim; the lien charges the property from the visible start of work or first delivery of materials.

  7. 7

    Vermont perfects liens differently from most states. You file the memorandum with the town clerk, not a county recorder, and the lien is ultimately perfected by attaching the property in the enforcement suit rather than by recording alone.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Vermont, 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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MEMORANDUM OF MECHANICS LIEN (VERMONT)

Filed for record in the office of the town clerk under 9 V.S.A. Chapter 51. The undersigned claimant asserts a mechanics lien against the real property described below to secure payment for labor performed or materials furnished to improve that property.

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

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

  3. PROPERTY Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS] Town: [TOWN] Legal description: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION]

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

  5. LABOR OR MATERIALS FURNISHED Description: [DESCRIPTION OF THE LABOR PERFORMED OR MATERIALS FURNISHED]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date last furnished: [LAST DATE]. Date payment became due for the last labor or materials: [DATE PAYMENT BECAME DUE].

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

  7. CLAIM The claimant asserts a lien on the property described above for the amount stated, plus interest and costs allowed by law, and files this memorandum to continue that lien in force under 9 V.S.A. 1921 and 1923.

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

NOTICE TO OWNER (for a claimant not in direct contract with the owner, under 9 V.S.A. 1921(b))

To: [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] The claimant has performed labor or furnished materials to improve your property and gives written notice that it claims a lien on the property for $[AMOUNT] remaining unpaid. Date served: [DATE]

Note: This Vermont memorandum of mechanics lien follows 9 V.S.A. Chapter 51. Confirm the current statutory contents and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file and record it.

Vermont Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Vermont Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

A Vermont mechanics lien is a claim a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier asserts against 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. Vermont sets out the right in Title 9, Chapter 51 of the statutes.

General contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers who furnished labor or materials to improve real property and were not paid can claim a Vermont lien. A claimant who contracted directly with the owner has the right automatically. A subcontractor or supplier who did not must first give the owner written notice, which limits the lien to the amount still owed under the contract.

You must file a written memorandum of lien with the town clerk where the property sits within 180 days from the time payment became due for the last labor you performed or materials you furnished. Section 1921 states the lien does not stay in force past that 180-day window unless the memorandum is recorded, so treat the date as firm.

Vermont has no fixed pre-work preliminary notice with a day-count. The notice that matters comes from section 1921(b): a subcontractor or supplier who did not contract with the owner must give the owner written notice of the claim. Without it there is no lien, and the lien only reaches the part of the contract price left unpaid when the owner receives the notice.

Recording the memorandum is not enough on its own. Under section 1924 you must commence a lawsuit and have the property attached within 180 days from filing the memorandum, or within 180 days from when payment becomes due if it was not yet due at filing. Miss that window and the lien no longer holds against the property.

If you miss the owner notice, the 180-day recording deadline, or the 180-day deadline to sue and attach the property, the lien is generally gone, because Vermont applies these rules strictly. You can still pursue the party who hired you for the unpaid debt through a breach-of-contract claim, but you lose the leverage a lien against the property provides.

Vermont differs from most states in two ways. Liens are filed with the town clerk rather than a county recorder, and the lien is perfected by attaching the property in the enforcement suit, not by recording alone. Because payment timing drives both the 180-day recording clock and the 180-day suit clock, pin down when payment became due before you rely on either.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should record a discharge with the town clerk to clear the title. A Vermont lien also lapses on its own if the memorandum is not recorded within 180 days, or if no suit and attachment follow within the next 180 days. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can challenge it in court. Attorney review is available if the timing is unclear.