Tennessee Notice of Nonpayment & Mechanic's Lien — Tenn. Code § 66-11-145 / § 66-11-112 / § 66-11-115 Register of Deeds Filing Guide (2026)
✓ Verified against Tennessee statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Tennessee mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
Notice-of-nonpayment — Sub: 90-day rolling notice
Mechanics Lien
90 days — From completion
Enforcement
1 year — From filing
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What Is the Tennessee Mechanic's Lien Framework and How Does the Lien Workflow Operate?
Tennessee's mechanic's and materialmen's lien framework is codified at Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-101 et seq. and turns on one defining feature: the recurring monthly Notice of Nonpayment. (1) On a non-residential project, a remote contractor serves the Tenn. Code § 66-11-145 Notice of Nonpayment on the owner and the prime contractor within 90 days of the last day of each month in which it furnished unpaid labor or materials. (2) The claimant records a sworn Tenn. Code § 66-11-112 Notice of Lien with the Register of Deeds within 90 days after the improvement is complete or abandoned and serves a copy on the owner within the same window (accelerated to 10 days residential / 30 days commercial after a § 66-11-143 Notice of Completion). (3) The claimant commences suit to enforce in the Tennessee Chancery or Circuit Court — within 90 days after recording for a remote contractor under § 66-11-115, or within 1 year for a prime contractor under § 66-11-106 (both cut to 60 days on a written owner demand). On one- to four-family owner-occupied residential property, remote contractors generally have no lien rights under § 66-11-146 — only the prime contractor does.
Who Must File a Tennessee Mechanic's Lien — and the Residential Carve-Out
Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-102, any person who, by contract with the owner or the owner's agent, furnishes labor or materials for the improvement of real property in Tennessee has a lien on the property. The rights extend to prime contractors (in direct contract with the owner), subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, and laborers. Tennessee draws the central distinction between the prime contractor (in direct privity with the owner) and the remote contractor (every other claimant): the prime contractor's lien exists by operation of law and continues 1 year under § 66-11-106, while the remote contractor must serve the § 66-11-145 Notice of Nonpayment, record the § 66-11-112 Notice of Lien, and sue within the § 66-11-115 90-day window. The critical carve-out is residential: under Tenn. Code § 66-11-146, on one- to four-family owner-occupied residential property, a remote contractor generally has NO lien rights against the owner — only the prime contractor in direct contract with the owner has a residential lien (the principal exceptions are a direct written owner contract or an owner acting as its own general contractor).
Tenn. Code § 66-11-145 Notice of Nonpayment: The Monthly Recurring Pre-Lien Requirement
Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-145, on a project other than one- to four-family owner-occupied residential, a remote contractor must serve a Notice of Nonpayment on the owner AND the prime contractor within 90 days of the last day of each month in which it furnished labor or materials for which it has not been paid, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. The recurring nature is what makes § 66-11-145 unusual: it is a month-by-month obligation, not a one-time pre-lien notice. A remote contractor with unpaid work in March, April, and May serves three separate Notices of Nonpayment, each within 90 days of the respective month's end. Failure to serve the Notice of Nonpayment for a given month forfeits the remote contractor's lien — and its payment-bond rights — for that month's labor and materials; months for which timely notice was served are preserved. The prime contractor is exempt because the owner is already in privity. The safer practice is to calendar the notice on the last day of every month and serve it on every unpaid commercial Tennessee project.
Tenn. Code § 66-11-112 Notice of Lien: The 90-Day Recording Window
Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-112, a remote contractor perfects its lien by recording a sworn Notice of Lien with the Register of Deeds of the county in which the property is located within 90 days after the improvement is complete or abandoned, and by serving a copy on the owner within the same 90-day window. The 90 days runs from completion or abandonment of the entire improvement — not from the remote contractor's own last day of work. If the owner records and serves a § 66-11-143 Notice of Completion, the recording window accelerates to 10 days (one- to four-family residential) or 30 days (commercial and larger projects). The Notice of Lien must be sworn (verified under oath) and must include the owner's name, the claimant's name and address, a reasonably certain property description, and the amount claimed after just credits and offsets. Tennessee has 95 counties; recording in the wrong county is a fatal defect at the § 66-11-115 enforcement stage. The largest markets are Davidson (Nashville), Shelby (Memphis), Knox (Knoxville), Hamilton (Chattanooga), Rutherford (Murfreesboro/Smyrna), Williamson (Franklin/Brentwood), Montgomery (Clarksville), and Maury (Spring Hill).
Recorded With the Register of Deeds — and the § 66-11-143 Notice of Completion Accelerator
The sworn Notice of Lien is recorded with the Register of Deeds of the county in which the property is located, and a copy is served on the owner within the same 90-day window. The most dangerous accelerator is the Tenn. Code § 66-11-143 Notice of Completion: an owner (or the owner's agent or the prime contractor) may record a Notice of Completion with the Register of Deeds and serve it on lienors and post it on the project, and once recorded and served, a claimant must record its Notice of Lien within 10 days (one- to four-family residential) or 30 days (commercial and larger projects) after the Notice of Completion — a sharp collapse from the default 90-day window. A remote contractor not monitoring the project records can lose nearly its entire recording window without direct warning. For the prime contractor, the lien exists by operation of law and continues 1 year under § 66-11-106, but recording within 90 days protects priority against subsequent purchasers and creditors.
After Recording: § 66-11-115 / § 66-11-106 Enforcement Windows
Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-115, a remote contractor must commence suit to enforce its lien within 90 days after the Notice of Lien is served and recorded; the window is shortened to 60 days if the owner serves a written demand that the lienor commence suit. Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-106, a prime contractor's lien continues 1 year after the improvement is complete or abandoned, and the prime must sue within that year (also cut to 60 days on a written owner demand). Tennessee's 90-day remote-contractor enforcement window is one of the shortest in the United States — far shorter than the one-year windows in Oklahoma (42 O.S. § 172), New York (N.Y. Lien Law § 17), Illinois (770 ILCS 60/9), Florida (Fla. Stat. § 713.22), and Kansas (K.S.A. § 60-1105), and the two-year windows in New Mexico (NMSA § 48-2-10) and Montana (Mont. Code § 71-3-562). The enforcement suit is filed in the Tennessee Chancery Court (or Circuit Court) for the county in which the property is located, with a lis pendens. An owner may discharge a recorded lien by giving a bond. Retainage and progress-payment disputes are governed by the Tennessee Prompt Pay Act of 1991 at Tenn. Code § 66-34-101 et seq.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Tennessee Notice of Nonpayment under Tenn. Code § 66-11-145?
On a project other than one- to four-family owner-occupied residential, a remote contractor (any claimant other than the prime contractor in direct contract with the owner) must serve a Notice of Nonpayment on the owner AND the prime contractor within 90 days of the last day of EACH month in which it furnished unpaid labor or materials — a separate notice for every unpaid month, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. Failure to serve it for a given month forfeits the lien and payment-bond rights for that month's work. The prime contractor is exempt because the owner is already in privity. The safer practice is to serve it on the last day of every month on every unpaid commercial Tennessee project.
When must a Tennessee mechanic's lien (Notice of Lien) be recorded?
Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-112, a remote contractor records a sworn Notice of Lien with the Register of Deeds within 90 days after the improvement is complete or abandoned, and serves a copy on the owner within the same 90-day window. The 90 days runs from completion or abandonment of the entire improvement — not from the claimant's own last day. A § 66-11-143 Notice of Completion accelerates the window to 10 days (residential) or 30 days (commercial). A prime contractor's lien exists by operation of law and continues one year under § 66-11-106, but recording within 90 days protects priority.
Where is a Tennessee mechanic's lien filed?
With the Register of Deeds of the county in which the property is located, with a copy served on the owner within the same 90-day window. Tennessee has 95 counties; the largest markets are Davidson (Nashville), Shelby (Memphis), Knox (Knoxville), Hamilton (Chattanooga), Rutherford (Murfreesboro/Smyrna), Williamson (Franklin/Brentwood), Montgomery (Clarksville/Fort Campbell), and Maury (Spring Hill/GM). Recording in the wrong county is a fatal defect at enforcement. The lien is foreclosed in the Tennessee Chancery Court (or Circuit Court) for the county.
Do subcontractors and suppliers have lien rights on Tennessee residential property?
Generally no. Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-146, on one- to four-family owner-occupied residential property, a remote contractor (a subcontractor, supplier, or laborer not in direct contract with the owner) generally has NO lien rights against the owner — only the prime contractor in direct contract with the owner has a residential lien. The principal exceptions are a direct written contract with the owner, or an owner acting as its own general contractor. On residential work, remote contractors generally must pursue contract and bond remedies against the party that engaged them rather than a lien on the home.
How does the Tennessee Notice of Completion accelerate lien deadlines?
Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-143, when an owner records and serves a Notice of Completion, a claimant must record its Notice of Lien within 10 days (one- to four-family residential) or 30 days (commercial and larger projects) after the Notice of Completion — a sharp acceleration from the default 90-day window under § 66-11-112. The Notice of Completion is Tennessee's most dangerous lien-timing accelerator because a remote contractor not monitoring the records can lose nearly its entire recording window. The safer practice is to record the Notice of Lien promptly after completion.
How long does a Tennessee mechanic's lien last and when must suit be filed?
Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-115, a remote contractor must commence suit to enforce within 90 days after the Notice of Lien is served and recorded (shortened to 60 days if the owner serves a written demand to enforce). Under Tenn. Code § 66-11-106, a prime contractor's lien continues one year after completion or abandonment, and the prime sues within that year (also cut to 60 days on a written owner demand). The suit is filed in the Tennessee Chancery or Circuit Court for the county. Tennessee's 90-day remote-contractor window is one of the shortest in the country.
How does Tennessee handle public works and federal projects?
No private mechanic's lien attaches to public property. On Tennessee state, county, municipal, and school-district public works, pursue the prime contractor's payment bond under the Tennessee Little Miller Act at Tenn. Code § 12-4-201, with prompt-payment and retainage protections under the Tennessee Prompt Pay Act of 1991 at Tenn. Code § 66-34-101 et seq. On federal projects (Fort Campbell — the 101st Airborne Division; Arnold Air Force Base and the Arnold Engineering Development Complex; Naval Support Activity Mid-South; the Oak Ridge Reservation; Holston and Milan Army Ammunition Plants; Tennessee Valley Authority facilities; Great Smoky Mountains National Park), the federal Miller Act at 40 U.S.C. § 3131 et seq. preempts state lien rights.