After offering construction services, materials, or equipment to another party, a person who is struggling to recover money owed might need to file a mechanic’s lien form. Here, you will find a Mechanic’s Lien Template for download that you can use. Continue reading to learn more about how to file the legal form, what the purpose of the document is, and other tips on recovering your money.
A Mechanic’s Lien form is a document that allows someone who is providing labor services or materials—such as a contractor, subcontractor, tradesperson, or supplier—to claim money that he or she is owed from a client or other party. The person making the claim is known as the claimant, and the person the form is being filed against is known as the debtor. The legal document is also known as a “Construction Lien,” “Lien Affidavit,” or “Property Lien.”
The purpose of a Mechanic’s Lien form is to help the claimant recover the money that a debtor owes. Once filed, the lien is held against a property for a period of six to 12 months, depending on the jurisdiction and state law. This prevents the owner from selling the property until the lien is removed, which can only be done by paying off all outstanding debts to the claimant.
As mentioned, the primary purpose of a Mechanics Lien form is to help the claimant recover the money that a debtor owes for services or materials. Therefore, these forms are important for ensuring that contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers are financially protected whenever they provide their services to an individual or other third party. After you file a lien, the property on which the construction work or services took place cannot be sold until the outstanding balance for work performed is paid.
If you need to file a Mechanic’s Lien form, use our free printable Mechanic Lien form available for download that contains all of the required information and is correctly formatted to ensure that it will be legally binding. Below are descriptions of the sections on the Mechanic’s Lien template that you will need to fill in:
The sample Mechanics Lien form template below contains all the required information listed above. Fill in the blanks with the information relevant to the work you have performed. The Mechanics Lien template is available in both PDF and Word format. Simply choose which file format you would like to use, download the form and print it, and follow the steps to complete the document.
With the use of our free Mechanics Lien form, writing the document and filing the form has never been easier. Before you start, there are a few steps that you legally must go through first. Follow the guidelines below to process the Mechanic’s Lien form in your state.
Before filing Mechanic’s Liens, a claimant must serve a preliminary notice to the owner and general contractor of the property that is using his or her services or materials. This is known as a Notice to Owner (NTO).
The laborer must send a preliminary notice for all construction work, not just when outstanding payment is due. Many states require this notice to have been served before a Mechanic’s Lien form can be filed, typically 60 to 90 days after work has commenced. State law varies, and some US states require the NTO to be filed within a few days.
A Notice of Intent (NOI) is the next stage for recovering money owed for products and services. It informs the hiring company or individual that the money is due and that a Mechanic’s Lien form will be filed against the property unless payment is made promptly.
According to Mechanic’s Lien laws, this is only a legal requirement in ten US states (AR, CO, CT, IL, MD, MO, ND, PA, WI, and WY). In these ten jurisdictions, you cannot legally file a Mechanic’s Lien without first filing an NOI. However, it is still recommended to send an NOI in all other states, as most hiring companies will pay outstanding funds immediately to avoid the lien process.
If the debtor has still not paid the outstanding funds, it is time to download the sample Mechanic’s Lien template. Click the link on this page and choose a printable Mechanic’s Lien form in Word or PDF format. This is a generalized form for use across the US, but bear in mind that lien rights do vary between states. Therefore, you may wish to also contact a law firm that can provide legal advice on how to file a lien specific to your local jurisdiction and state law.
Once you have downloaded our free Mechanic’s Lien form, you need to fill in the blanks and provide all necessary information as stated in the previous sections. The claimant needs to sign the form and date the document, but this must be done in the presence of a Notary Public for the legal document to be valid. Therefore, be sure to wait to sign the form until a notary can be available and present to provide his or her signature as well.
A few states also require the signature of a verifier who can confirm that the work specified in the form has indeed been completed. This is usually a co-worker who has been helping with the project and can testify that the claims are true.
When you use this Mechanic’s Lien contract pdf, you assume all responsibility and liability. Lawrina retains no legal responsibility for the legal document’s accuracy, reliability, or functionality.
The unprofessional use of this legal form or other templates on this website could result in direct or indirect losses or damages. By downloading, printing, or using this agreement, you accept all liability for any loss or damage you may suffer.
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