Colorado Notice of Intent to Lien & Mechanic's Lien — C.R.S. § 38-22-109 / § 38-22-110 County Clerk & Recorder Filing Guide (2026)
✓ Verified against Colorado statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Colorado mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
10 days — Notice of Intent before filing
Mechanics Lien
4 months — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
6 months — From filing
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What Is the Colorado Mechanic's Lien Framework and How Does the Lien Workflow Operate?
Colorado's mechanic's lien framework is codified at C.R.S. § 38-22-101 et seq. and turns on one defining feature: the mandatory 10-day Notice of Intent to File a Lien Statement. (1) Every claimant serves the C.R.S. § 38-22-109(3) Notice of Intent on the owner and the principal/prime contractor at least 10 days before recording, by personal service or registered/certified mail return receipt requested. (2) The claimant records the sworn lien statement with the County Clerk and Recorder — together with the affidavit of service of the Notice of Intent — within 2 months after completion for laborers, or 4 months after completion (or last labor/materials) for all other claimants under § 38-22-109(5). (3) The claimant commences a foreclosure action in the Colorado District Court within 6 months under § 38-22-110 and records a notice of lis pendens within 60 days after commencing the action. Recording fewer than 10 days after the Notice of Intent, or without the recorded affidavit of service, voids the lien.
Who Must File a Colorado Mechanic's Lien — and the Single-Family Homeowner Cap
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-101 and § 38-22-102, every person who furnishes labor, materials, machinery, or equipment used in the construction or improvement of real property in Colorado — and design professionals such as architects, engineers, and surveyors — has a lien on the property. The rights extend to general/principal contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, and laborers. The Colorado lien relates back to the time the claimant began furnishing labor or materials for priority. The critical carve-out is residential: under C.R.S. § 38-22-102(3.5), on a single-family owner-occupied dwelling, a subcontractor's or supplier's lien is limited to the amount the owner still owes the principal contractor where the owner has paid the principal contractor in good faith — protecting a homeowner who already paid the general contractor from paying twice.
C.R.S. § 38-22-109(3) Notice of Intent: The Mandatory 10-Day Pre-Lien Requirement
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-109(3), before recording a lien statement, every lien claimant must serve a Notice of Intent to File a Lien Statement on the owner or reputed owner (or the owner's agent) AND the principal or prime contractor (or the contractor's agent) at least ten (10) days before recording, by personal service or registered/certified mail return receipt requested. The claimant may not record until at least 10 days after the Notice of Intent is served, and must file an affidavit of that service for record with the lien statement — the affidavit is conclusive proof of service. A lien statement recorded fewer than 10 days after the Notice of Intent, or recorded without the affidavit of service, is invalid. The Notice of Intent runs on every Colorado claimant, including the principal contractor (who serves it on the owner). This two-part requirement — the 10-day waiting period plus the recorded affidavit — is the single most important Colorado lien step and the most common Colorado forfeiture.
C.R.S. § 38-22-109(5) Lien Statement: The 2-Month / 4-Month Recording Window
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-109(5), the lien statement must be recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder of the county in which the property is located within 2 months after completion for laborers (claims for labor done by the day or piece without furnishing materials), and within 4 months after completion — or after the day the last labor or materials were furnished — for all other claimants. Under C.R.S. § 38-22-109(7), completion is deemed to occur on issuance of a certificate of occupancy or final inspection by the building department, or on the cessation of all labor on the structure for a continuous period of three months. Under C.R.S. § 38-22-109(6), recording a Notice Extending the Time to File a Lien Statement before the deadline can extend the window. The lien statement must be sworn and must include the owner's name, the claimant's name, the contractor's name (when the claimant is not the contractor), a sufficient property description, and the amount due after just credits and offsets. Colorado has 64 counties; recording in the wrong county is a fatal defect at the § 38-22-110 enforcement stage. The largest markets are the City and County of Denver, El Paso (Colorado Springs), Arapahoe (Aurora), Jefferson (Lakewood/Golden), Adams, Douglas, Larimer (Fort Collins), Weld (Greeley), Boulder, Pueblo, Mesa (Grand Junction), and the mountain resort counties (Eagle/Vail, Pitkin/Aspen, Summit/Breckenridge, Routt/Steamboat).
Two Colorado Claimant Exposures: § 38-22-128 Excessive Liens and § 38-22-127 Trust Funds
Colorado imposes two claimant-side rules far stronger than in most states. First, the excessive-lien penalty: under C.R.S. § 38-22-128, any person who files a lien statement for an amount greater than is due, with intent to defraud, forfeits ALL rights to the lien and is liable to the owner for the costs of the action and reasonable attorney fees — an inflated Colorado lien is not simply reduced, the whole lien can be void. Second, the trust-fund statute: under C.R.S. § 38-22-127, all funds disbursed to a contractor or subcontractor on a Colorado project are held in trust for downstream subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers, and diversion can constitute civil theft under C.R.S. § 18-4-405 (treble damages plus costs and attorney fees) with personal liability for the individual principals, often nondischargeable in bankruptcy. The trust-fund / civil-theft claim is a powerful parallel remedy to the mechanic's lien and reaches the individuals who took the money, even when the lien is impaired.
After Recording: § 38-22-110 Enforcement and the 60-Day Lis Pendens
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-110, a claimant must commence an action to enforce the lien within 6 months after completion or the last labor/materials, AND record a notice of lis pendens for record within 60 days after commencing the action. Both steps are required: filing suit without recording the lis pendens within 60 days, or letting the 6-month window lapse, lets the lien expire. Colorado's 6-month enforcement window is shorter than the one-year windows in Illinois (770 ILCS 60/9), New York (N.Y. Lien Law § 17), Florida (Fla. Stat. § 713.22), Oklahoma (42 O.S. § 172), and Kansas (K.S.A. § 60-1105), and far shorter than the two-year windows in New Mexico (NMSA § 48-2-10) and Montana (Mont. Code § 71-3-562). The enforcement action is filed in the Colorado District Court for the county. An owner may discharge a recorded lien by substituting a bond under C.R.S. § 38-22-131 to § 38-22-133, which transfers the claim to the bond and clears title.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Colorado Notice of Intent to Lien under C.R.S. § 38-22-109(3)?
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-109(3), every lien claimant — general/principal contractor, subcontractor, supplier, equipment lessor, or laborer — must serve a written Notice of Intent to File a Lien Statement on the owner (or reputed owner) AND the principal/prime contractor at least 10 days before recording the lien statement, by personal service or registered/certified mail return receipt requested. The claimant must then file an affidavit of that service for record with the lien statement; the affidavit is conclusive proof of service. A lien recorded fewer than 10 days after the Notice of Intent, or without the recorded affidavit, is invalid. This is the single most important Colorado lien step and the most common Colorado forfeiture.
When must a Colorado mechanic's lien statement be recorded?
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-109(5), the lien statement is recorded with the County Clerk and Recorder within 2 months after completion for laborers (labor by day or piece without materials), and within 4 months after completion (or last labor/materials) for all other claimants. Under § 38-22-109(7), completion means issuance of a certificate of occupancy or final inspection, or the cessation of all labor for a continuous 3 months. Recording a Notice Extending the Time to File a Lien Statement under § 38-22-109(6) before the deadline can extend the window. Because the 10-day Notice of Intent must precede recording, serve it no later than 10 days before the recording deadline.
Where is a Colorado mechanic's lien filed?
With the County Clerk and Recorder of the county in which the property is located, and it is foreclosed in the Colorado District Court for that county. Colorado has 64 counties; the largest markets are the City and County of Denver, El Paso (Colorado Springs), Arapahoe (Aurora), Jefferson (Lakewood/Golden), Adams, Douglas, Larimer (Fort Collins), Weld (Greeley), Boulder, Pueblo, Mesa (Grand Junction), and the mountain resort counties (Eagle/Vail, Pitkin/Aspen, Summit/Breckenridge, Routt/Steamboat). Recording in the wrong county is a fatal defect at enforcement.
What happens if a Colorado lien is filed for too much?
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-128, any person who files a lien statement for an amount greater than is due, with intent to defraud, forfeits ALL rights to the lien and is liable to the owner for the costs of the action and reasonable attorney fees. An inflated Colorado lien is not merely reduced to the correct figure — the entire lien can be void and the claimant can pay the owner's litigation costs. Claimants must lien only the actual amount due after just credits and offsets, and exclude speculative or unliquidated change-order, delay, and extra-work claims unless genuinely owed and documented.
Are Colorado construction funds held in trust?
Yes. Under C.R.S. § 38-22-127, all funds disbursed to a contractor or subcontractor on a Colorado construction project are held in trust for the downstream subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers. A contractor or subcontractor that diverts those funds — and the individual principals who control them — can face personal liability and civil theft under C.R.S. § 18-4-405 (treble damages plus costs and attorney fees), often nondischargeable in bankruptcy. The trust-fund claim is a powerful parallel remedy to the mechanic's lien and reaches the individuals who took the money, even when the lien is impaired.
How long does a Colorado mechanic's lien last and when must suit be filed?
Under C.R.S. § 38-22-110, a claimant must commence an action to enforce the lien within 6 months after completion or last labor/materials, AND record a notice of lis pendens within 60 days after commencing the action, in the Colorado District Court for the county. Both steps are required — missing either lets the lien expire. Colorado's 6-month enforcement window is shorter than the one-year windows in most states. An owner may discharge a recorded lien by substituting a bond under C.R.S. § 38-22-131 to § 38-22-133, which transfers the claim to the bond and clears title.
How does Colorado handle public works and federal projects?
No private mechanic's lien attaches to public property. On Colorado state, county, municipal, and school-district public works (Colorado Department of Transportation, University of Colorado and Colorado State University, K-12 schools, and Denver / Colorado Springs / Aurora / Lakewood / Fort Collins / Boulder public works), pursue the prime contractor's payment bond under the Colorado Little Miller Act at C.R.S. § 38-26-105 et seq. — filing a verified statement of the amount due with the contracting public entity before the advertised final settlement under § 38-26-107. On federal projects (Fort Carson, Peterson / Schriever / Buckley Space Force Bases, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Cheyenne Mountain, the Pueblo Chemical Depot, the Denver Federal Center, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and Rocky Mountain / Mesa Verde / Great Sand Dunes / Black Canyon National Parks), the federal Miller Act at 40 U.S.C. § 3131 et seq. preempts state lien rights.