New Hampshire Mechanic's Lien — RSA 447:2 / 447:5 / 447:6 / 447:10 Secret-Lien & Attachment Guide (2026)
✓ Verified against New Hampshire statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
New Hampshire mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
None — N/A
Mechanics Lien
120 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
1 year — From attachment
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What Is the New Hampshire Lien Framework and How Does the Lien Workflow Operate?
New Hampshire's lien framework is RSA chapter 447, built around two ideas most other states do not use: the lien is secret (never recorded) and it is secured by a court-ordered attachment rather than by filing a claim. The workflow is: (1) if the claimant is a subcontractor, supplier, or laborer not in privity with the owner, give the owner — or the person having charge of the property — the RSA 447:6 written notice that it will claim a lien, before furnishing any labor or materials, and provide the RSA 447:7 account whenever the owner requests it; (2) if the claimant is an original contractor in a direct contract with the owner, skip the notice — the lien is automatic under RSA 447:2; and (3) for every claimant, commence a civil action and obtain a writ of real-estate attachment under RSA 447:10 (through the RSA 447:12-a procedure) within 120 days of last furnishing, before the lien expires under RSA 447:9 or RSA 447:12. The attachment is what preserves and enforces the lien; there is nothing to record. New Hampshire is distinctive in three respects out-of-state contractors misjudge: the secret lien (no notice, claim, or memorandum recorded in the registry of deeds, so an unperfected lien is invisible on the land records); perfection strictly by attachment (the lien continues only 120 days and is kept alive only by a real-estate attachment obtained in that window); and the RSA 447:6 pre-notice and RSA 447:8 owner-retention cap (a non-privity claimant acquires a lien only by noticing the owner before it furnishes, and the lien is worth only what the owner still owes the contractor).
Who Must Give Notice — and Whose Lien Reaches How Much
New Hampshire sorts claimants by whether they contracted directly with the owner, because privity decides both whether the RSA 447:6 notice is required and, through the RSA 447:8 owner-retention cap, how much the lien is worth. An original (general) contractor in a direct contract with the owner has an automatic lien under RSA 447:2 on the building and the lot — no RSA 447:6 notice is required because the owner already knows of the claim through the contract — but the lien continues only 120 days under RSA 447:12, so it must be secured by a real-estate attachment under RSA 447:10 within that window. New Hampshire imposes no general-contractor license requirement, though electricians, plumbers, and other trades are separately licensed and licensing does not condition the lien. A claimant without a direct contract with the owner — a subcontractor, a lower-tier sub, a laborer, or a material supplier — has no lien unless it gives the owner the RSA 447:6 written notice that it will claim a lien, and that notice must come before the labor or materials for which the lien is claimed are furnished. Once given, the lien is the same lien a contractor has under RSA 447:2, but under RSA 447:8 it is valid only to the extent of the amount the owner still owes the contractor; the subcontractor must then secure the lien by attachment within 120 days like every other claimant.
The Secret Lien, the RSA 447:6 Notice & the 120-Day Attachment — New Hampshire's Perfection Path
Perfecting a New Hampshire mechanic's lien is unlike almost anywhere else, because the lien starts secret and is made real only by a court attachment. For a non-privity claimant there is a precondition and then a perfection step. The precondition is the RSA 447:6 notice: written notice to the owner, or the person having charge of the property, that the claimant will claim a lien, given before it furnishes the labor or materials — without it, no lien ever arises. An original contractor in privity with the owner skips this precondition; its lien is automatic under RSA 447:2. The perfection step, for every claimant, is the attachment under RSA 447:10. The lien — automatic or noticed — continues only 120 days after last furnishing (RSA 447:12 for contractors, RSA 447:9 for subcontractors), and it may be secured by attachment of the property upon which it exists at any time while the lien continues. Because an attachment of real estate ordinarily needs court approval before it can issue, RSA 447:12-a lets the claimant petition the Superior Court for the county where the property lies, show a valid lien, and obtain the attachment — in appropriate cases ex parte, subject to the owner's right to a prompt hearing. The writ is served and recorded against the property, which is the moment the secret lien becomes visible and enforceable.
RSA 447:6 Notice, the RSA 447:8 Owner-Retention Cap, and the 120-Day Attachment Deadline
The RSA 447:6 notice is given to the owner (or person in charge) before a non-privity claimant furnishes labor or materials. The attachment under RSA 447:10 must be obtained — through a civil action and the RSA 447:12-a procedure — within the 120-day life of the lien, measured from last furnishing, by every claimant, privity or not. The subcontractor must give written notice to the owner that it will claim a lien; provide the RSA 447:7 account of labor and materials, with names and contract, whenever the owner requests it; recognize that under RSA 447:8 the owner may retain out of money due the contractor enough to pay the claim and the lien is valid only to the extent of what the owner owes the contractor; and secure the lien by attachment within 120 days under RSA 447:9, RSA 447:10, and RSA 447:12-a. The 120-day clock is keyed to last furnishing — not the invoice date, a warranty call-back, or overall project completion — so fixing the correct last-furnishing date for the specific claimant is essential. A missed RSA 447:6 notice, a late notice that runs into the owner-retention cap, or a missed 120-day attachment exposes the claimant to having no lien, an empty lien, or a dissolved lien.
The Owner-Retention Cap, the Owner's Exposure, and Lien Waivers
New Hampshire's owner-retention cap is the central economic feature of its lien law for subcontractors and suppliers. Once a non-privity claimant gives the RSA 447:6 notice, RSA 447:8 lets the owner retain, out of money otherwise due the contractor, enough to pay the noticed claim — and the subcontractor's lien is valid only to the extent of the amount due or to become due from the owner to the contractor. So a sub or supplier that gives notice early, while the owner still holds contract funds, freezes those funds and protects the full value of its claim, while one that gives notice late, after the owner has paid the contractor, may hold a valid but empty lien. The RSA 447:7 account is how the owner calculates what to hold back, so keeping it current is part of protecting the claim. On the owner's side, the RSA 447:6 notice has teeth: once it is received, the owner that keeps paying the contractor instead of retaining under RSA 447:8 can be forced to pay twice, up to the amount it should have held back. Because a New Hampshire lien is secret until attached, an owner cannot rely on a clean title search to rule out exposure — a claimant who noticed the owner and has not yet run out its 120 days can still obtain a real-estate attachment. On the waiver side, a New Hampshire contractor or subcontractor may give ordinary conditional and unconditional lien waivers in exchange for progress and final payments and should never sign an unconditional waiver before the corresponding payment has cleared.
Filing Fees and Where to Bring the Attachment
Because New Hampshire records nothing to create or preserve the lien, there is no registry recording fee for a claim of lien — there is no claim of lien to record. The cost of a New Hampshire lien is the cost of the court step: the civil action and the RSA 447:12-a petition to attach the real estate, brought in the Superior Court for the county where the property lies — one of New Hampshire's 10 counties (Rockingham, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Strafford, Cheshire, Grafton, Belknap, Carroll, Sullivan, and Coos). That means a civil filing fee, service costs, and attorney time to prepare the attachment showing, plus the modest cost of recording the writ of attachment once the court grants it. The larger expense is built into New Hampshire's structure: unlike states where recording a claim is cheap and a foreclosure suit comes much later, New Hampshire requires the attachment lawsuit inside 120 days, so the litigation cost arrives early. A contested attachment — where the owner moves promptly to dissolve or reduce it — or a priority fight with a construction lender can run several thousand dollars. Confirming the correct Superior Court and current record owner before petitioning, that any non-privity claimant served the RSA 447:6 notice before furnishing, that the RSA 447:7 account is current, and that the RSA 447:10 attachment is calendared from the claimant's last-furnishing date is the most important intake step.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you file a mechanic's lien in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire is unusual: you do NOT 'file' or record a mechanic's lien in the registry of deeds at all. The lien arises automatically — for a contractor in a direct contract with the owner under RSA 447:2, and for a subcontractor or supplier who gave the owner the required RSA 447:6 written notice under RSA 447:5 — and it stays invisible on the land records. What you actually do to keep the lien alive is go to court: under RSA 447:9 (subcontractors) and RSA 447:12 (contractors) the lien continues only 120 days after your last labor or last-furnished materials, and under RSA 447:10 the lien is secured by an attachment of the property while the lien continues. So a New Hampshire claimant commences a civil action and obtains a writ of attachment against the real estate within 120 days of last furnishing. Because attaching real estate ordinarily requires court approval, RSA 447:12-a provides a special real-estate-attachment procedure a court may grant, often ex parte, on a showing of a valid lien. Miss the 120-day attachment and the lien dissolves — there is no recorded claim sitting on the land records to fall back on.
Does a New Hampshire subcontractor have to give the owner notice?
Yes, and it is the single most important step for a New Hampshire subcontractor or supplier. A claimant who furnishes labor or materials by virtue of a contract with a contractor or subcontractor — not with the owner — has NO lien at all unless it gives written notice to the owner, or to the person having charge of the property, that it will claim a lien. Under RSA 447:6 that notice must be given before the claimant performs the labor or furnishes the materials for which the lien is claimed, so it is a genuine pre-notice, not an after-the-fact filing. Once the notice is given, RSA 447:8 lets the owner retain, out of money otherwise due the contractor, an amount sufficient to pay the claim, and the subcontractor's lien is valid only to the extent of the amount due or to become due from the owner to the contractor. That is why timing is everything: a subcontractor that gives the RSA 447:6 notice early, before the owner has paid the contractor, freezes owner funds and preserves the full value of its lien, while one that gives notice late — after the owner has already paid the contractor in full — may find there is nothing left for the lien to reach. A contractor in a direct contract with the owner does not give the notice, because the owner already knows of its claim through the contract.
What is the deadline for a New Hampshire mechanic's lien?
The controlling deadline is 120 days, measured from the claimant's last labor or last-furnished materials. Under RSA 447:12 the contractor's lien and under RSA 447:9 the subcontractor's lien each continue only 120 days after the services are performed or the materials are furnished, unless payment is made — and under RSA 447:10 the lien can be secured by attachment of the property only while the lien continues. That means the claimant must commence a civil action and obtain a real-estate attachment within that 120-day window, or the lien is gone. Unlike states where a recorded claim of lien sits on the land records for months or a year before a separate foreclosure suit, New Hampshire never records anything, so the 120-day attachment is not a preliminary step — it is the whole ballgame. A subcontractor has an earlier, separate trigger too: the RSA 447:6 written notice to the owner must be given before it furnishes labor or materials, or the lien never arises in the first place. Because the 120 days run from last furnishing — not the invoice date, and not a punch-list or warranty return trip — fixing the true last day of work or delivery for the specific claimant is essential.
Do you record a mechanic's lien in New Hampshire's registry of deeds?
No. New Hampshire is a 'secret lien' state, and this surprises contractors and title searchers used to other states. There is no notice of lien, claim of lien, memorandum, or affidavit recorded in the registry of deeds under RSA chapter 447. The lien exists by operation of law — RSA 447:2 for a contractor in privity with the owner, RSA 447:5 for a subcontractor who gave the RSA 447:6 notice — and it does not appear anywhere in the land records until the claimant files suit and the court enters a writ of attachment, which is then recorded to give notice of the attachment. Practically, this has two consequences. First, a claimant who assumes it must 'file the lien' at the registry, or who waits to be told where to record, wastes the 120-day window on a step that does not exist and misses the attachment that actually matters. Second, an owner or lender searching title before closing will not see an unattached New Hampshire lien, because there is nothing to see — the exposure is invisible until an attachment is entered. The one thing that makes a New Hampshire lien visible and enforceable is the court-ordered attachment under RSA 447:10, obtained within the 120-day life of the lien.
How is a New Hampshire mechanic's lien secured by attachment?
Under RSA 447:10, a New Hampshire mechanic's lien may be secured by attachment of the property upon which it exists at any time while the lien continues — that is, within the 120-day life of the lien. Because an attachment of real estate ordinarily requires court approval before it can issue, RSA 447:12-a supplies a special procedure: the claimant petitions the Superior Court for the county where the property lies, shows that it holds a valid mechanic's lien, and the court may grant the attachment, in appropriate cases ex parte, subject to the owner's right to a prompt hearing to dissolve or reduce it. The writ of attachment is then served and recorded against the property, which is what makes the otherwise secret lien visible and enforceable and fixes its priority. The claimant proceeds with the underlying civil action to reduce the debt to judgment and, if necessary, to force a sale of the attached property to satisfy the lien. The attachment is the heart of New Hampshire lien practice: no attachment within 120 days means no enforceable lien, no matter how good the underlying debt is, so the attachment petition should be prepared as soon as nonpayment is clear rather than at the end of the 120 days.
What does the RSA 447:6 notice have to say, and what account can the owner demand?
The RSA 447:6 notice is a written statement, given to the owner or to the person having charge of the property, that the claimant will claim a mechanic's lien for the labor it performs or the materials it furnishes, given before that labor or those materials are furnished. It identifies the claimant, the property, and the intent to claim a lien, and it is what converts a non-privity subcontractor or supplier from having no lien into having the same lien a contractor would have under RSA 447:2. Separately, under RSA 447:7, the owner (or person in charge) may request from the claimant a written account of the labor and materials furnished so far, together with the names of the persons for whom and the contract under which they were furnished, and the claimant must provide it and a like account whenever thereafter requested. That account lets the owner calculate how much to retain out of the money due the contractor under RSA 447:8, since the subcontractor's lien is valid only to the extent of what the owner owes the contractor. Getting the RSA 447:6 notice delivered early and keeping the RSA 447:7 account current are the two housekeeping steps that keep a New Hampshire subcontractor's lien both alive and fully valued.
How does New Hampshire handle public projects and federal projects?
No mechanic's lien attaches to public property in New Hampshire. On state, county, municipal, and school construction, RSA 447:16 requires the public body to obtain a payment bond from the contractor sufficient to secure payment to those who furnish labor or materials, so an unpaid subcontractor or supplier pursues a claim against that public-works payment bond — on its own notice and suit deadlines under RSA 447:17 and 447:18 — rather than an attachment against public land. On federal projects — and New Hampshire's federal footprint includes the Pease Air National Guard Base in Newington (at the former Pease Air Force Base and Pease International Tradeport), the New Boston Space Force Station in New Boston, and the Manchester VA Medical Center — the federal Miller Act at 40 U.S.C. § 3131 et seq. governs, requiring payment bonds on federal construction contracts over $100,000 and giving unpaid subcontractors and suppliers a bond claim on their own 90-day notice and one-year suit timing. A claimant on a public or federal job should pursue the applicable bond, not a void lien or attachment against public land, and should calendar the bond-claim deadlines, which differ from the private-project notice-and-attachment timeline under RSA chapter 447.