Do You Need a Lis Pendens to Foreclose a Mechanics Lien? 50-State Rules
✓ Verified against state statutes · Reviewed October 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
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What Is a Lis Pendens in a Mechanics Lien Foreclosure?
A lis pendens, or notice of pendency of action, is a short recorded document stating that a lawsuit affecting title to a specific parcel has been filed. It names the court, the parties, the case number, and the legal description, and it goes into the land records a title examiner searches. Anyone who buys the property or takes a mortgage after it is recorded takes subject to the judgment. The mechanics lien is the claim against the property; the lis pendens announces that a foreclosure suit is pending and the property may be sold. Most states have a general lis pendens statute, such as California Code of Civil Procedure 405.20, Texas Property Code 12.007, and Illinois 735 ILCS 5/2-1901. On top of that, 22 state lien statutes impose their own lis pendens requirement, and 17 of them attach a penalty to it. Example: a Colorado drywall subcontractor owed $142,300 files a timely foreclosure complaint in month five but never records the notice; C.R.S. 38-22-110 says the lien does not hold the property beyond six months unless the action is commenced and a notice that it has been commenced is filed for record within that time, so the lien is released.
How Does the Lis Pendens Requirement Work in Each State?
Lien lost, 10 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. New York Lien Law section 17 says no lien lasts longer than one year unless an action is commenced and a notice of pendency is filed within that time; Connecticut C.G.S. 49-39 makes the lien invalid and discharged as a matter of law; South Carolina 29-5-120 says the lien must be dissolved. Lost against buyers and lenders, 7 states: Alaska, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Utah; the lien still binds the owner. Required with no stated penalty, 5 states: California, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and South Dakota. General statute only, 24 states, where the lien statute is silent; in Ohio (R.C. 2703.26), Iowa, and Kansas, filing the complaint is itself notice in that county, and West Virginia 55-11-2 says a missing notice does not defeat enforcement of a recorded lien. Attachment instead, 3 states: New Hampshire (RSA 447:9-10), Vermont (9 V.S.A. 1924), and Tennessee (66-11-126). Delaware bars a notice of pendency to enforce a mechanic's lien (25 Del. C. 1601(b)(2)); the statement of claim filed with the Prothonotary serves as the complaint.
What Are the Deadlines to Record a Lis Pendens?
Counted from the suit: California within 20 days after the action is commenced (Civ. Code 8461); Georgia a sworn notice of commencement of lien action with the clerk of superior court within 30 days after filing (O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.1); Massachusetts an attested copy of the complaint recorded within 30 days (c. 254 section 5); Maine a clerk's certificate, affidavit, or attested copy within 60 days (10 M.R.S. 3261); Arizona within 5 days of filing (A.R.S. 12-1191). Counted from the lien or the work: Rhode Island 40 days from recording the notice of intention (34-28-10); Colorado and South Carolina 6 months; Arizona 6 months from recording; Utah within the 180-day suit window; North Carolina 180 days from last furnishing; Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, and Connecticut 1 year; Arkansas 15 months; North Dakota 3 years or 30 days after an owner's demand. Alaska and Florida set no fixed deadline, but the lien is not enforceable against a buyer or lender who records first. Service clocks: Washington 60 days (RCW 4.28.320), Minnesota 90 days (557.02), Kansas 90 days, Oklahoma 120 days, North Dakota 60 days (28-05-07), Wisconsin 1 year (840.10).
Who Records the Lis Pendens, and Where?
The claimant who files the foreclosure suit records it, usually through its attorney, in the land records where the property sits: the county recorder, register of deeds, or county clerk; town and city land records in Connecticut and Rhode Island; the clerk of superior court in Georgia; the circuit court clerk in Indiana. A project that crosses county lines needs a notice in every county; North Carolina 44A-13 and 1-116 and Kansas 60-2201 both require filings outside the county of suit. In South Dakota (SDCL 44-9-28), filing the notice of pendency brings other lien claimants into the same action.
What Happens If You Miss the Lis Pendens Deadline?
In the 10 lien-lost states the lien ends even if the lawsuit was timely: North Dakota 35-27-25 says it is deemed satisfied, and Rhode Island 34-28-10 says void and wholly lost. The contract claim against whoever hired you usually survives; New York Lien Law section 17 says a lapsed notice does not end the action against anyone personally liable. In the 7 lost-against-buyers states, the lien is lost only if the property is sold or refinanced before judgment; Minnesota 514.12 calls the missing notice conclusive evidence that the lien cannot be enforced against a bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, or encumbrancer. In the general-statute states, the judgment may not bind anyone who bought or lent before the notice was recorded; Missouri 527.260 and Oregon 93.740 give notice only from recording.
The 5 Most Common Lis Pendens Mistakes in Lien Foreclosure
(1) Treating the complaint as the finish line in a state that requires a recorded notice. (2) Counting from the wrong event: California, Georgia, and Massachusetts count from the filing of the suit, and Rhode Island from the notice of intention. (3) Recording the wrong document, such as a generic lis pendens in Georgia instead of a notice of commencement of lien action, or no attested copy of the complaint in Massachusetts. (4) Recording a notice and never serving the defendants, so the lis pendens itself expires. (5) Recording a lis pendens where the law forbids it or uses attachment instead: Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Tennessee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a lis pendens to foreclose a mechanics lien?
In 10 states, yes, or the lien is lost: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and South Carolina make a recorded lis pendens (or Georgia's notice of commencement of lien action, or Massachusetts' attested copy of the complaint) a condition of keeping the lien. In 7 more, including Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Utah, the lien survives against the owner but is lost against later buyers and lenders. In most other states a lis pendens is optional but still the safe practice.
What happens if you file a mechanics lien foreclosure suit but never record a lis pendens?
It depends on the state. In Colorado, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, the lien lapses even though the suit was filed on time. Connecticut's C.G.S. 49-39 says the lien becomes invalid and discharged as a matter of law, and North Dakota's 35-27-25 says the lien is deemed satisfied. In Utah, Minnesota, Louisiana, Maine, and Florida, the lien still binds the owner but a later buyer or lender without notice is not bound by it. In the remaining states, the suit goes forward, but a buyer who records before you may not be bound by the judgment.
How long do you have to record a lis pendens on a mechanics lien?
The shortest windows run from the filing of the suit: California requires the notice of pendency within 20 days after the action is commenced (Civ. Code 8461), Georgia requires its notice of commencement of lien action within 30 days after filing (O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.1), Massachusetts requires the attested copy of the complaint to be recorded within 30 days (c. 254, 5), and Maine allows 60 days (10 M.R.S. 3261). Rhode Island requires the lis pendens and complaint within 40 days of recording the notice of intention. Other states tie it to the suit window: 6 months in Colorado and South Carolina, 1 year in New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota.
Is a lis pendens the same as a mechanics lien?
No. The mechanics lien is the security interest itself, recorded against the property to claim payment. A lis pendens, or notice of pendency of action, is a separate recorded notice that a lawsuit affecting title to that property has been filed. It warns anyone who buys or lends against the property that they take subject to the outcome of the suit. In some states the lien cannot be enforced without one; in others the lis pendens only protects the claimant against later buyers and lenders.
Which states do not use a lis pendens for mechanics lien foreclosure?
Delaware expressly bars a notice of pendency to enforce a mechanic's lien (25 Del. C. 1601(b)(2)); the statement of claim filed with the Superior Court Prothonotary serves as the complaint. New Hampshire (RSA 447:9-10), Vermont (9 V.S.A. 1924), and Tennessee (T.C.A. 66-11-106, -126) enforce the lien by attaching the real estate instead. In Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas, filing the complaint or petition itself gives notice to third parties, so no separate recording is needed in the county where the suit is filed.
Where do you record a lis pendens for a mechanics lien?
In the land records of the county (or, in Connecticut and Rhode Island, the town or city) where the property sits, usually with the county recorder, register of deeds, or county clerk. Georgia's notice of commencement of lien action goes to the clerk of superior court in the county where the lien was filed, and Indiana's lis pendens notice goes to the circuit court clerk. If the property lies in more than one county, record in each one: North Carolina's G.S. 1-116 and Kansas K.S.A. 60-2201 both require a separate filing in every other county.