Arkansas Notice to Owner & Mechanic's Lien — Ark. Code § 18-44-115 / § 18-44-114 / § 18-44-117 / § 18-44-119 Circuit Clerk Filing Guide (2026)
✓ Verified against Arkansas statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Arkansas mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
75 days — Notice to Owner
Mechanics Lien
120 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
15 months — From filing
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What Is the Arkansas Notice Framework and How Does the Lien Workflow Operate?
Arkansas's mechanic's lien framework is codified at Ark. Code § 18-44-101 et seq. (the Arkansas Mechanics' and Materialmen's Lien Law). What makes Arkansas distinctive is that the path to a perfected lien runs through TWO separate notice statutes, not one. The framework operates as a four-gate workflow. (1) The project-type-specific Ark. Code § 18-44-115 notice: on residential real estate of four or fewer units, the residential contractor delivers the pre-construction Notice to Owner and Contractor before work begins; on commercial projects, a sub-tier claimant gives the owner the § 18-44-115(b)(4) Notice of Nonpayment before 75 days elapse from furnishing. (2) The Ark. Code § 18-44-114 ten-day notice of intent, which every claimant must give the owner before the lien is filed. (3) The Ark. Code § 18-44-117 verified lien statement, filed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the property is located within 120 days after last furnishing. (4) The Ark. Code § 18-44-119 foreclosure suit, commenced in the Arkansas Circuit Court with a lis pendens filed within 15 months after the lien was filed.
Who Must File an Arkansas Mechanic's Lien?
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-101, every contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier who performs labor upon or furnishes materials, fixtures, machinery, or services for the construction or repair of any building or improvement to real property in Arkansas holds a lien upon the building or improvement and the land. The lien rights extend to general (prime) contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, laborers, and design professionals. Arkansas's contractor-licensing bar runs to the lien itself: under Ark. Code § 17-25-101 et seq., a commercial contractor license from the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board is required for commercial projects of $50,000 or more, and under Ark. Code § 17-25-103 no action may be brought at law or in equity to enforce any contract entered into in violation of the licensing chapter — Arkansas's 'no license, no sue' rule. Residential home-improvement and residential-builder work exceeding $2,000 is regulated under Ark. Code § 17-25-501 et seq. A claimant must also have actually improved the specific property charged.
Ark. Code § 18-44-115: The Dual-Track Notice to Owner
Arkansas's § 18-44-115 notice is two different requirements wearing one statute number. RESIDENTIAL (four or fewer units): under § 18-44-115(a), no mechanic's lien may be acquired unless the owner received — by personal delivery or certified mail — the statutory Notice to Owner and Contractor, and the duty to give it falls on the residential contractor, on behalf of all potential lien claimants, before the commencement of work; if the prime fails to give it, residential lien rights can be lost for the whole chain. COMMERCIAL: under § 18-44-115(b)(4), a subcontractor, service provider, material supplier, or laborer who is entitled to payment but unpaid must notify the owner before 75 days have elapsed from the time the labor was supplied or the materials furnished; the 75-day clock runs from this claimant's furnishing, not from a payment-due date. The safer practice is to send the commercial notice as the 75-day window approaches on every project, regardless of payment posture.
Ark. Code § 18-44-114: The 10-Day Notice of Intent Before Filing
Separate from — and in addition to — the § 18-44-115 notice, Ark. Code § 18-44-114 requires every claimant to give the owner ten (10) days' notice before the lien is filed, stating that the claimant holds a claim, setting forth the amount claimed and from whom it is due. The notice may be served by mail with return receipt requested and delivery restricted to the addressee or the addressee's agent, or by any means that provides written third-party verification of delivery, at any place where the owner maintains an office, conducts business, or resides. When served by an officer, the official return is proof of service; when served by anyone else, service is verified by the affidavit of the person who served it. The most dangerous Arkansas mistake is serving the § 18-44-114 ten-day notice but never giving the § 18-44-115 notice (or vice versa) — both are required.
Ark. Code § 18-44-117: The 120-Day Lien Filing With the Circuit Clerk
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-117, the verified Arkansas lien statement must be filed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the property is located within 120 days after the date the claimant last supplied labor, services, materials, machinery, fixtures, or equipment. The clock runs from THIS claimant's last furnishing — not from project-wide completion. In Arkansas, the clerk of the circuit court is ex officio recorder of deeds in most counties, so the lien is filed in the same office that records deeds and mortgages. The verified statement must include a just and true account of the demand due after credits and offsets, the owner's name, the contractor's name, a correct property description sufficient to identify it, and verification by affidavit. Filing in the wrong county is a fatal recording defect at the § 18-44-119 foreclosure stage. Arkansas has 75 counties — the largest construction markets are Pulaski (Little Rock), Benton (Bentonville — Walmart headquarters / Rogers), Washington (Fayetteville — University of Arkansas / Springdale — Tyson Foods), Sebastian (Fort Smith), Faulkner (Conway), Saline, Craighead (Jonesboro), Garland (Hot Springs), and Jefferson (Pine Bluff).
Ark. Code § 18-44-119 15-Month Foreclosure Window and Arkansas's Public and Federal Projects
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-119, no Arkansas mechanic's lien continues to exist for more than 15 months after the lien is filed unless within that time an action to enforce the lien is commenced AND a lis pendens is filed — both steps are required. The enforcement action is filed in the Arkansas Circuit Court for the county where the property is located. Arkansas's 15-month window is more generous than the one-year windows in Oklahoma (42 O.S. § 172), New York (N.Y. Lien Law § 17), Illinois (770 ILCS 60/9), and Florida (Fla. Stat. § 713.22), but shorter than the two-year windows in New Mexico (NMSA § 48-2-10), Montana (Mont. Code § 71-3-562), and Texas non-residential (Tex. Prop. Code § 53.158). Arkansas has 75 counties organized into 28 judicial circuits. On Arkansas public works exceeding $50,000, no private lien attaches — pursue the prime's payment bond under the Arkansas Little Miller Act at Ark. Code § 18-44-503 and § 22-9-401 et seq., with a one-year bond-action limitation under § 22-9-403. On federal projects (Little Rock Air Force Base — the C-130 training center; Pine Bluff Arsenal; Ebbing Air National Guard Base at Fort Smith; Fort Chaffee; Camp Joseph T. Robinson; Hot Springs National Park; Buffalo National River; the Ozark-St. Francis and Ouachita National Forests; the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System), pursue the federal Miller Act payment bond under 40 U.S.C. § 3131 et seq.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Arkansas require a notice to owner before filing a mechanic's lien?
Yes — Arkansas runs a dual-track scheme under Ark. Code § 18-44-115. On residential real estate of four or fewer units, no lien may be acquired unless the owner received (personal delivery or certified mail) the statutory Notice to Owner and Contractor, which the residential contractor must give on behalf of all potential lien claimants before commencement of work. On commercial projects, under § 18-44-115(b)(4) a sub-tier claimant must notify the owner that it is entitled to payment but unpaid before 75 days elapse from furnishing. Both are separate from and in addition to the § 18-44-114 ten-day notice of intent every claimant must give before filing — Arkansas claimants routinely forfeit liens by serving only one of the two required notices.
What is the Arkansas 75-day commercial Notice of Nonpayment?
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-115(b)(4), on a commercial project a subcontractor, service provider, material supplier, or laborer who is entitled to payment but unpaid must notify the owner before 75 days have elapsed from when the labor was supplied or the materials furnished. The clock runs from furnishing — not from a payment-due date. Failure defeats the commercial lien of a sub-tier claimant lacking a direct contract with the owner. The safer practice is to send the notice as the 75-day window approaches on every commercial Arkansas project, regardless of payment posture.
What is the Arkansas residential pre-construction Notice to Owner and Contractor?
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-115(a), no lien may be acquired on residential real estate of four or fewer units unless the owner received (personal delivery or certified mail) the statutory Notice to Owner and Contractor, and it is the duty of the residential contractor to give that notice on behalf of all potential lien claimants before commencement of work. The notice warns the owner that unpaid subcontractors and suppliers may lien the property even if the owner paid the contractor in full. If the prime fails to give it, residential lien rights can be lost for the whole chain — downstream claimants should confirm it was given before furnishing.
What is the Arkansas 10-day notice of intent to file a lien?
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-114, every claimant must give the owner ten (10) days' notice before filing the lien, stating the claim, the amount, and from whom it is due. Service is by certified mail return receipt requested with delivery restricted to the addressee, or by any means providing written third-party verification of delivery, at any place where the owner maintains an office, conducts business, or resides. This ten-day notice is separate from the § 18-44-115 notices — it is the last gate before filing, not a substitute. Filing before the 10 days run, or without the notice, is a fatal defect.
When must an Arkansas mechanic's lien be filed?
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-117, the verified lien statement must be filed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the property is located within 120 days after the claimant last supplied labor or furnished materials. The clock runs from this claimant's last furnishing. In Arkansas the circuit clerk is ex officio recorder of deeds in most counties. Filing in the wrong county is a fatal recording defect at foreclosure — Arkansas has 75 counties.
How long does an Arkansas mechanic's lien last after it is filed?
Under Ark. Code § 18-44-119, no lien continues for more than 15 months after filing unless within that time the foreclosure action is commenced AND a lis pendens is filed — both steps are required. The suit is filed in the Arkansas Circuit Court for the county where the property is located. Arkansas's 15-month window is more generous than the one-year windows in Oklahoma, New York, Illinois, and Florida, but shorter than the two-year windows in New Mexico, Montana, and Texas non-residential. Arkansas has 28 judicial circuits.
Does Arkansas require a contractor license to file a mechanic's lien?
Arkansas's licensing bar is one of the strictest in the country. Under Ark. Code § 17-25-101 et seq., a commercial contractor license from the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board is required for commercial projects of $50,000 or more, and under Ark. Code § 17-25-103 — Arkansas's 'no license, no sue' rule — no action may be brought at law or in equity to enforce a contract entered into in violation of the licensing chapter, which bars an unlicensed contractor's lien-enforcement action. Residential home-improvement and residential-builder work over $2,000 is regulated under Ark. Code § 17-25-501 et seq. Verify licensure before contracting — the bar runs to the lien itself.