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West Virginia Mechanics Lien

File a West Virginia mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the 100-day recording deadline and the six-month deadline to sue.

Introduction

A West Virginia 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 notice 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 West Virginia grants the right in Chapter 38, Article 2. The lien only works if you perfect it on time. West Virginia has no early preliminary notice, but a subcontractor must serve the owner a notice of lien within 100 days after completing the subcontract. You record the notice of lien with the county clerk within 100 days after your work is complete, then must sue to enforce within six months after you file it. DocDraft prepares a West Virginia notice 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 West Virginia mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. General contractors, subcontractors, materialmen, and laborers who furnished work or materials to improve real property and were not paid can record a notice of lien under Chapter 38, Article 2.

  2. 2

    West Virginia requires no early preliminary notice. A subcontractor, materialman, or laborer who did not contract with the owner must instead serve the owner a notice of lien, by a method for legal service, within 100 days after completing the subcontract, under section 38-2-9.

  3. 3

    The recording deadline is 100 days. Under section 38-2-8 a general contractor records the notice of lien with the clerk of the county commission within 100 days after completing the work provided for in the contract.

  4. 4

    Recording is not the last step. Section 38-2-34 requires you to bring suit to enforce the lien within six months after you file the notice of lien in the clerk's office, or the lien is discharged.

  5. 5

    West Virginia reads these rules strictly. Missing the 100-day deadline to record or serve the notice of lien, or the six-month deadline to sue, generally forfeits the lien, though a separate contract claim for the unpaid amount may remain.

  6. 6

    The notice of lien has a prescribed form. Sections 38-2-8 and 38-2-13 provide language that is sufficient if in the form and effect stated, covering the claimant, the owner, the property, the work, and the amount due.

  7. 7

    For subcontractors the 100 days does double duty. Within that same window a subcontractor must both serve the owner with the notice of lien and record it with the county clerk, so one missed date can defeat the entire claim.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in West Virginia, 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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West Virginia Requirements for Mechanics Lien

  • West Virginia Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions