North Dakota Notice of Intention to Claim Lien & Construction Lien — N.D.C.C. § 35-27-02 / § 35-27-13 / § 35-27-14 / § 35-27-25 County Recorder Filing Guide (2026)
✓ Verified against North Dakota statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
North Dakota mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
10 days — Notice of Intent
Mechanics Lien
90 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
3 years — From filing
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What Is the North Dakota Construction Lien Framework and How Does the Lien Workflow Operate?
North Dakota's construction lien framework is codified at N.D.C.C. ch. 35-27. (1) Before recording, the claimant gives written notice that a lien will be claimed to the legal or equitable owner by certified mail at least 10 days before recording under § 35-27-02(4). (2) The claimant perfects the lien by recording with the recorder of the county in which the property is situated within 90 days after the last contribution under § 35-27-13, stating the property description, the amount due, the dates of the first and last contribution, and the person contracted with. (3) The claimant enforces the lien by an action in the district court within three years of recording under § 35-27-25, after serving the § 35-27-24 notice of intention to enforce. North Dakota is distinctive in four respects: the § 35-27-14 priority rule (a missed 90-day deadline subordinates the lien but does not kill it, with a 3-year outer limit), the § 35-27-02(2) unpaid-balance cap, the paired § 35-27-16 over-statement forfeiture and § 35-27-24.1 owner fee award, and the § 35-27-25 three-year enforcement window with a 30-day demand trap.
Who May Claim a North Dakota Construction Lien — and the Unpaid-Balance Cap
Under § 35-27-02(1), any person that improves real estate under contract with the owner or with the owner's agent, trustee, contractor, or subcontractor has a lien; 'improve' is defined broadly in § 35-27-01 to include building, altering, repairing, demolishing, excavating, and furnishing materials, plus architectural, engineering, surveying, soil-testing, and landscaping services. Rights extend to original contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, manual laborers, and design professionals. The defining limit is the § 35-27-02(2) unpaid-balance cap: the lien is limited to the difference between the price the owner has paid and the value of the contribution, and no lien is allowed if the owner has paid in full — North Dakota is an unpaid-balance, not a full-price, state. A valid signed waiver bars a lien under § 35-27-02(3), and under § 35-27-02(5) a person furnishing under the oil-and-gas-well-lien chapter (ch. 35-24) cannot claim a construction lien under ch. 35-27 — a Bakken trap.
N.D.C.C. § 35-27-02(4) Notice a Lien Will Be Claimed: The 10-Day Pre-Lien Requirement
Under § 35-27-02(4), before recording a construction lien, the claimant must give written notice that a lien will be claimed to the legal or equitable owner by certified mail at least ten (10) days before recording. This is North Dakota's pre-lien notice — the Notice of Intention to Claim a Lien. Unlike many states' notices, it runs to the OWNER (not the general contractor) and must go by certified mail. The same subsection lets a claimant who extends credit demand evidence of the legal description and the owner's name. Because the lien is normally recorded within 90 days after the last contribution under § 35-27-13, the certified-mail notice must be sent no later than 10 days before recording — about day 80 after last furnishing. Common mistakes: sending it to the general contractor, sending it by ordinary mail, or sending it fewer than 10 days before recording.
N.D.C.C. § 35-27-13 & § 35-27-14: The 90-Day Recording Window That Is a Priority Deadline, Not a Cutoff
Under § 35-27-13, the claimant records with the recorder of the county where the property is situated within 90 days after all the claimant's contribution is done, stating the property description, the amount due, the dates of the first and last contribution, and the person contracted with. The distinctive rule is § 35-27-14: a failure to file within 90 days does NOT defeat the lien — except as against good-faith purchasers and encumbrancers for value whose rights accrue before the lien is filed, and as against the owner to the extent of amounts paid to a contractor before recording. A lien may not be filed more than three years after the first item of material is furnished. So the 90-day deadline is a priority deadline, not a hard cutoff: a late lien still attaches and is enforceable against the owner for the unpaid balance, but is subordinated to intervening buyers and lenders. North Dakota has 53 counties; the largest markets are Cass (Fargo), Burleigh (Bismarck), Morton (Mandan), Grand Forks, Ward (Minot), and the Bakken oil counties of Williams (Williston), McKenzie (Watford City), Stark (Dickinson), and Mountrail.
Two North Dakota Claimant Exposures: § 35-27-16 Over-Statement and § 35-27-24.1 Owner Fees
North Dakota punishes an inflated lien twice. Under § 35-27-16, a lien may not exist for a greater amount than the sum claimed, nor for any amount if it is made to appear that the claimant has knowingly demanded more than is justly due — a knowingly over-stated North Dakota lien can be void in its entirety, not merely reduced; the claimant is also concluded by the first-and-last-contribution dates it records. Under § 35-27-24.1, any owner who successfully contests the validity or accuracy of a construction lien in district court must be awarded the full amount of all costs and reasonable attorney's fees. A claimant who records an inflated or invalid lien risks losing the lien AND paying the owner's costs and fees. With the § 35-27-02(2) unpaid-balance cap (no lien if the owner has paid in full), North Dakota claimants should lien only the documented unpaid balance after just credits and offsets.
Priority Among Liens, and After Recording: § 35-27-22 Classes and § 35-27-25 Enforcement
Under § 35-27-22, perfected liens rank by class: manual labor, then materials, then subcontractors other than manual laborers, then original contractors; within a class, liens filed within the 90-day period share ratably, while liens filed after rank by order of filing. Under § 35-27-03, the lien relates back to the first item of labor or material furnished, generally priming mortgages recorded after visible commencement (subject to the § 35-27-04 construction-mortgage exception). Under § 35-27-25, a lien is unenforceable unless the lienholder commences an action and records a lis pendens (under chapter 28-05) within three years after recording — one of the longest windows in the country — but a written owner demand delivered to the lienor and filed with the county recorder compresses it to 30 days or the lien is forfeited. Enforcement is in the district court after the § 35-27-24 pre-suit notice (10 days personal service / 20 days registered mail). Under § 35-27-09, an owner may withhold from the contractor and demand an itemized verified account within 15 days after completion.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the North Dakota Notice of Intention to Claim a Lien under N.D.C.C. § 35-27-02?
Under § 35-27-02(4), before recording a construction lien, the claimant must give written notice that a lien will be claimed to the legal or equitable owner by certified mail at least 10 days before recording. It runs to the owner (not the general contractor), must go by certified mail, and must precede recording by at least 10 days. Because the lien is normally recorded within 90 days after the last contribution under § 35-27-13, the notice must be sent by about day 80 after last furnishing. Section 35-27-02(2) also caps the lien at the unpaid balance: if the owner has paid the full value of the contribution, no lien is allowed.
When must a North Dakota construction lien be recorded, and what happens if you miss the 90 days?
Under § 35-27-13, a claimant perfects its lien by recording with the county recorder within 90 days after the last contribution. Under § 35-27-14, a failure to file within 90 days does NOT defeat the lien — except as against good-faith purchasers or encumbrancers for value whose rights accrue before filing, and as against the owner to the extent of amounts paid to a contractor before recording. A lien may not be filed more than 3 years after the first item of material is furnished. So the 90-day deadline is a priority deadline, not a hard cutoff: a late lien survives but loses priority to intervening buyers and lenders. Recording within 90 days preserves full priority and ratable sharing with the same class.
Where is a North Dakota construction lien recorded, and what must it contain?
Under § 35-27-13, the lien is recorded with the recorder of the county where the property is situated, and must describe the property and state the amount due, the dates of the first and last contribution, and the person with whom the claimant contracted. North Dakota has 53 counties; the largest markets are Cass (Fargo), Burleigh (Bismarck), Morton (Mandan), Grand Forks, Ward (Minot), and the Bakken oil counties of Williams (Williston), McKenzie (Watford City), Stark (Dickinson), and Mountrail. Recording in the wrong county is fatal at enforcement, and under § 35-27-16 the claimant is concluded by the first-and-last-contribution dates it records.
What happens if a North Dakota lien is filed for too much?
Under § 35-27-16, a lien may not exist for a greater amount than the sum claimed, nor for any amount if it is made to appear that the claimant has knowingly demanded more than is justly due — a knowingly over-stated North Dakota lien can be void in its entirety, not merely reduced. And under § 35-27-24.1, any owner who successfully contests the validity or accuracy of a lien in district court must be awarded full costs and reasonable attorney's fees. A claimant who records an inflated or invalid lien risks losing the lien AND paying the owner's costs and fees. Claimants must lien only the unpaid balance after just credits and offsets, remembering the § 35-27-02(2) cap that allows no lien if the owner has paid in full.
How long does a North Dakota construction lien last and when must suit be filed?
Under § 35-27-25, a North Dakota lien is unenforceable unless the lienholder commences an action and records a lis pendens (under chapter 28-05) within 3 years after recording — one of the longest enforcement windows in the country. But a written owner demand delivered to the lienor and filed with the county recorder compresses that window to 30 days, or the lien is forfeited, regardless of how the demand is delivered. Separately, under § 35-27-24, before enforcing the lien the lienholder must give the owner written notice of intention to enforce — personal service at least 10 days before suit, or registered mail at least 20 days before suit. The action is brought in the district court of the county where the property is situated.
How does North Dakota rank competing construction liens?
Under § 35-27-22, perfected liens have priority by class: first manual labor, then materials, then subcontractors other than manual laborers, then original contractors. Within a class, liens filed within the 90-day § 35-27-13 period share ratably, while liens filed after rank by order of filing. So a manual laborer or material supplier is paid ahead of a subcontractor or original contractor from the same security, and a timely lien shares ratably while a late one drops behind. As against other encumbrances, § 35-27-03 relates the lien back to the first item furnished, generally priming mortgages recorded after visible commencement (subject to the § 35-27-04 construction-mortgage exception).
How does North Dakota handle public works and federal projects?
No private construction lien attaches to public property. On North Dakota state, county, municipal, and school-district public works (North Dakota Department of Transportation, the North Dakota University System, K-12 schools, and Fargo / Bismarck / Grand Forks / Minot / Williston / Dickinson public works), pursue the prime contractor's payment bond required on public improvement contracts under N.D.C.C. ch. 48-01.2. On federal projects, the federal Miller Act at 40 U.S.C. § 3131 et seq. preempts state lien rights — Minot Air Force Base (the 5th Bomb Wing B-52H and the 91st Missile Wing Minuteman III ICBMs), Grand Forks Air Force Base (the 319th Reconnaissance Wing and the Grand Sky UAS park), Cavalier Space Force Station, the Garrison Dam, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and Bureau of Indian Affairs construction on the Standing Rock, Fort Berthold, Turtle Mountain, and Spirit Lake reservations across the Bakken oil region.