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Washington Mechanics Lien

File a Washington mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the 90-day recording deadline and the eight-month deadline to foreclose.

Introduction

A Washington 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 claim of 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 Washington grants the right in RCW Chapter 60.04. The lien only works if you perfect it on time. Most suppliers and subcontractors must first give the owner a notice of right to claim a lien, which protects work supplied in the 60 days before the notice, or 10 days for a new single-family home. You then record the claim of lien within 90 days after you last furnish labor, services, materials, or equipment, and must sue to foreclose within eight calendar months of recording. DocDraft prepares a Washington claim of 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 Washington claim of lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, material and equipment suppliers, and design professionals who furnished labor, professional services, materials, or equipment and were not paid can claim one under RCW Chapter 60.04.

  2. 2

    Most suppliers and subcontractors must give the owner a notice of right to claim a lien. Under RCW 60.04.031 it protects only work supplied in the 60 days before the notice, or 10 days for a new single-family home; a direct contractor is exempt.

  3. 3

    The recording deadline is 90 days. Under RCW 60.04.091 you record the claim of lien in the county where the property sits within 90 days after you last furnish labor, professional services, materials, or equipment.

  4. 4

    You must foreclose within eight calendar months of recording. RCW 60.04.141 says the lien binds the property no longer than eight calendar months after the claim of lien is recorded unless you file a foreclosure action within that time.

  5. 5

    Washington reads these rules strictly. Missing the notice of right to claim a lien, the 90-day recording window, or the eight-month deadline to foreclose generally forfeits the lien, though a separate contract claim for the debt may remain.

  6. 6

    The claim of lien has a prescribed form. RCW 60.04.091 provides a form that is sufficient if substantially followed, stating the claimant, the person indebted, the owner, a property description, the amount, and the first and last dates of work.

  7. 7

    New single-family homes change the notice math. RCW 60.04.031 shortens the notice look-back to 10 days for new single-family residence construction, and owner-occupied projects carry extra statutory disclosures the claimant must observe.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Washington, 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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CLAIM OF LIEN (WASHINGTON)

Recorded under RCW Chapter 60.04. The undersigned claimant records this Claim of Lien against the real property described below to secure payment for labor, professional services, materials, or equipment furnished to improve that property.

  1. CLAIMANT Name of the person claiming the lien: [CLAIMANT NAME] Role: [CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR / MATERIAL SUPPLIER / EQUIPMENT LESSOR / LABORER] Address and phone: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS AND PHONE]

  2. PERSON INDEBTED TO THE CLAIMANT Name of the person indebted to the claimant (who ordered the work): [HIRING PARTY].

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

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

  5. WORK FURNISHED Description of the labor, professional services, materials, or equipment furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Date the claimant first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date the claimant last furnished: [LAST DATE].

  6. AMOUNT CLAIMED The principal amount for which the lien is claimed, after deducting all just credits and offsets, is: $[AMOUNT].

  7. SIGNATURE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT The claimant, or the claimant's attorney or agent, signs and swears to this claim of lien. Signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE] [NOTARY ACKNOWLEDGMENT AS REQUIRED BY RCW 60.04.091.]

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO CLAIM A LIEN (for a claimant not in direct contract with the owner, under RCW 60.04.031)

To: [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] The claimant has begun or will begin to furnish labor, professional services, materials, or equipment to improve your property and gives notice of the right to claim a lien if it is not paid. This notice protects work supplied after a date 60 days before it is given (10 days for a new single-family residence). Date given: [DATE]

Note: This Washington claim of lien follows RCW Chapter 60.04, including the form in RCW 60.04.091. Confirm the current statutory contents and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before recording.

Washington Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Washington Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

A Washington mechanics lien, filed as a claim of lien, is a claim a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier records 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. RCW Chapter 60.04 governs it.

Anyone who furnished labor, professional services, materials, or equipment to improve real property and was not paid can claim a Washington lien, including contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, equipment lessors, architects, and engineers. Most who did not contract directly with the owner must first give the owner a notice of right to claim a lien to protect their claim.

You record the claim of lien in the county where the property is located within 90 days after you last furnish labor, professional services, materials, or equipment, under RCW 60.04.091. The clock runs from your last day of work, not the project's completion, so a supplier and a contractor can have different deadlines on the same job.

Usually yes. Under RCW 60.04.031 most suppliers and subcontractors must give the owner a notice of right to claim a lien. It is not a hard deadline but a look-back limit: the lien only covers work supplied after a date 60 days before you give the notice, or 10 days before it for a new single-family residence. Direct contractors and labor-only claimants are exempt.

You must file a foreclosure action within eight calendar months after the claim of lien is recorded. RCW 60.04.141 states that no lien binds the property for longer than eight calendar months after recording unless the claimant sues within that time. Miss the window and the lien stops binding the property.

Missing the notice of right to claim a lien, the 90-day recording deadline, or the eight-month deadline to foreclose generally means the lien is lost, because Washington applies these rules strictly. You may still sue the party who hired you for breach of contract to recover the debt, but you give up the security a lien against the property provides.

Washington's notice of right to claim a lien works as a look-back rather than a filing deadline. It protects only the work you supplied in the 60 days before you deliver the notice, so sending it late can shrink what your lien covers. For new single-family residence construction that window is just 10 days, which makes prompt notice important.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should record a release of the claim of lien to clear the title. A Washington lien also expires if no foreclosure action is filed within eight calendar months of recording. An owner can bond the lien off or ask the court to remove an invalid one. Attorney review is available if you are unsure how the deadlines apply.