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Wisconsin Mechanics Lien

File a Wisconsin construction lien to secure payment for unpaid work. Learn the 30-day notice of intent, the six-month filing deadline, and enforcement.

Introduction

A Wisconsin mechanics lien, known as a construction lien, is a legal claim filed 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 Wisconsin grants the right in Chapter 779. The lien only works if you perfect it on time. On many projects a prime contractor and a subcontractor each owe the owner an early notice, and every claimant must serve a notice of intent at least 30 days before filing. You file the claim for lien with the clerk of circuit court within six months after you last furnish labor, services, or materials, and must sue to enforce within two years of filing. DocDraft prepares a Wisconsin construction 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 Wisconsin construction lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and others who furnished labor, services, materials, plans, or specifications to improve real property and were not paid can claim one under Chapter 779.

  2. 2

    Notice rules apply on both ends. A prime contractor gives the owner a written notice in the contract or within 10 days of first furnishing. Under section 779.02, a subcontractor not in privity with the owner serves the owner within 60 days of first furnishing.

  3. 3

    The filing deadline is six months. Under section 779.06 you file the claim for lien with the clerk of circuit court within six months from the date you last performed, furnished, or procured labor, services, materials, plans, or specifications.

  4. 4

    You have two years to enforce. Section 779.06 requires you to bring an action and file the summons and complaint within two years from the date you filed the claim for lien, or the lien no longer holds.

  5. 5

    Wisconsin reads these rules strictly. Missing the required owner notices, the 30-day notice of intent, the six-month filing window, or the two-year deadline to sue generally forfeits the lien, though a contract claim for the debt may remain.

  6. 6

    The statute prescribes specific language. Section 779.02 sets out bold, capitalized owner-notice wording that must be used, and section 779.06 lists the required contents of the claim for lien, including the property, the amount, and the dates.

  7. 7

    Wisconsin adds a notice of intent and a residential focus. Every claimant must serve the owner a notice of intent at least 30 days before filing, and the owner-notice rules aim at residential jobs; projects over four family dwelling units are exempt.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Mechanics Lien in Wisconsin, 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 FOR CONSTRUCTION LIEN (WISCONSIN)

Filed with the clerk of circuit court under Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 779. The undersigned claimant claims a construction lien against the real property described below to secure payment for labor, services, materials, plans, or specifications furnished to improve that property.

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

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

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

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

  5. LABOR, SERVICES, OR MATERIALS FURNISHED Description: [DESCRIPTION OF THE LABOR, SERVICES, MATERIALS, PLANS, OR SPECIFICATIONS FURNISHED]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date last furnished: [LAST DATE].

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

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

NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE A CLAIM FOR LIEN (served at least 30 days before filing, under Wisconsin Statutes 779.06(2))

To: [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] The claimant furnished labor, services, or materials to improve your property and has not been paid $[AMOUNT]. The claimant intends to file a construction lien against the property if the amount is not paid. This notice is given at least 30 days before the claim for lien is filed. Date served: [DATE]

Note: Wisconsin also requires an owner notice from the prime contractor (in the contract or within 10 days of first furnishing) and from a subcontractor not in privity with the owner (within 60 days of first furnishing), and section 779.02 prescribes bold, capitalized wording for those notices.

Note: This Wisconsin claim for construction lien follows Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 779, including the contents required by section 779.06. Confirm the current statutory language and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Wisconsin Requirements for Mechanics Lien

Wisconsin Filing Deadline and Office

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Wisconsin calls it a construction lien, but the mechanics lien works the same way: a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved a property and was not paid files a claim against that real estate. The claim clouds the owner's title, standing in the way of any sale or refinance, and it can be foreclosed through a court-ordered sale. Chapter 779 of the Wisconsin Statutes governs it.

Anyone who furnished labor, services, materials, plans, or specifications to improve real property and was not paid can claim a Wisconsin construction lien, including contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. Laborers employed by the prime contractor or a subcontractor, and parties on very large or certain nonresidential projects, may be handled differently under the notice rules.

You file the claim for lien with the clerk of circuit court in the county where the property sits within six months from the date you last performed, furnished, or procured labor, services, materials, plans, or specifications, under section 779.06. Wisconsin files the lien with the court rather than the register of deeds, and the six months are strict.

Often yes, and Wisconsin has layered notices. A prime contractor gives the owner a written lien notice in the contract or within 10 days of first furnishing. A subcontractor or supplier not in privity with the owner serves the owner within 60 days of first furnishing. Separately, every claimant must serve a notice of intent at least 30 days before filing the lien.

You must bring an action to foreclose the lien and file the summons and complaint within two years from the date you filed the claim for lien, under section 779.06. That two-year window is far longer than many states allow, but if you let it pass the lien expires and can no longer be enforced.

Missing an owner notice, the 30-day notice of intent, the six-month filing deadline, or the two-year deadline to sue generally means the Wisconsin lien is lost, because courts apply Chapter 779 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 provides.

Two Wisconsin features stand out. Every lien claimant must serve the owner a written notice of intent to file at least 30 days before filing the claim for lien, under section 779.06. And the claim itself is filed with the clerk of circuit court, not the register of deeds, so the perfecting step differs from most states.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should file a satisfaction of the lien to clear the title. A Wisconsin construction lien also expires if no foreclosure action is filed within two years of filing the claim. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can challenge it in court. Attorney review is available if you are unsure about the notice steps.