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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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NOTICE OF MECHANICS LIEN (WEST VIRGINIA)

Recorded under West Virginia Code Chapter 38, Article 2. The undersigned claimant records this Notice of Lien against the real property described below to secure payment for work or materials furnished to improve that property.

  1. CLAIMANT Name: [CLAIMANT NAME] Role: [GENERAL CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR / MATERIALMAN / LABORER] Address: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

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

  3. HIRING PARTY The claimant furnished the work or materials under a contract with: [PERSON OR COMPANY THAT ORDERED THE WORK].

  4. PROPERTY Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS] District and county: [DISTRICT AND COUNTY] Legal description: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION]

  5. WORK OR MATERIALS FURNISHED Description: [DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK PERFORMED OR MATERIALS FURNISHED]. Date work completed (or subcontract completed): [COMPLETION DATE].

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

  7. VERIFICATION The undersigned states under oath that the notice of lien is true and correct and that the amount claimed is justly due. Signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE] [NOTARY / OATH AS REQUIRED BY WEST VIRGINIA CODE 38-2.]

NOTICE OF LIEN TO OWNER (for a subcontractor, materialman, or laborer, under West Virginia Code 38-2-9)

To: [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] The claimant furnished work or materials to improve your property under a contract with [HIRING PARTY] and gives notice of a lien for $[AMOUNT] remaining unpaid. This notice is served within 100 days after completion of the subcontract. Date served: [DATE] Method of service: [METHOD PROVIDED BY LAW FOR SERVICE OF A LEGAL NOTICE].

Note: This West Virginia notice of lien follows West Virginia Code Chapter 38, Article 2, including the form language in sections 38-2-8 and 38-2-13. Confirm the current statutory contents and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before recording.

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

A West Virginia mechanics lien is a claim a contractor, subcontractor, materialman, or laborer records against property they improved but were not paid for. Filed as a notice of lien, 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. Chapter 38, Article 2 of the Code governs it.

General contractors, subcontractors, materialmen, and laborers who furnished work or materials to improve real property and were not paid can file a West Virginia notice of lien. A general contractor records the notice with the county clerk. A subcontractor or supplier who did not contract with the owner must both serve the owner and record within the same window.

You record the notice of lien with the clerk of the county commission where the property sits within 100 days. For a general contractor, section 38-2-8 measures the 100 days from completion of the work under the contract; for a subcontractor, section 38-2-9 measures it from completion of the subcontract. Both are strict.

West Virginia has no early preliminary or prelien notice with a fixed pre-work deadline. The only owner notice is part of perfecting the lien: a subcontractor, materialman, or laborer who did not contract with the owner must serve the owner a notice of lien, using a method for legal service, within 100 days after completing the subcontract under section 38-2-9.

You must bring suit to enforce the lien within six months after you file the notice of lien in the clerk's office, under section 38-2-34. If you do not sue within those six months, the lien is discharged and no longer enforceable. The six months run from the filing date, so record the exact day you file.

Missing the 100-day deadline to record or serve the notice of lien, or the six-month deadline to sue, generally means the West Virginia lien is lost, because courts apply these rules strictly. You may still pursue the party who hired you for breach of contract to recover the debt, but you give up the security a lien places on the property.

West Virginia's trap is the single 100-day window for subcontractors. A subcontractor must both serve the owner with a notice of lien and record that notice with the county clerk within 100 days after completing the subcontract. Doing only one of the two, or doing either late, can defeat an otherwise valid claim, so treat the 100 days as covering both steps.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should record a release of the notice of lien to clear the title. A West Virginia lien is also discharged if no enforcement suit is filed within six months of recording. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can challenge it in court. Attorney review is available if you are unsure how the deadlines apply.