West Virginia Mechanic's Lien — W. Va. Code § 38-2-8 Notice of Lien, the 100-Day Recording Deadline & the 6-Month Enforcement Guide (2026)
✓ Verified against Virginia statutes · Reviewed August 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Virginia mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
None — N/A
Mechanics Lien
90 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
6 months — From filing
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What Is the West Virginia Lien Framework and How Does the Lien Workflow Operate?
West Virginia's lien framework is Chapter 38, Article 2 of the West Virginia Code, and compared with most states it is refreshingly linear: there is no preliminary notice to send at the start of a job, and almost every claimant is on the same 100-day clock to record its notice of lien. The workflow is: (1) within 100 days of completing the work or last furnishing labor or material, perfect the lien by recording a Notice of Lien in the office of the clerk of the county commission where the property lies — under § 38-2-8 for a general contractor, § 38-2-9 for a subcontractor, § 38-2-11 for a materialman or supplier, and § 38-2-13 for a mechanic or laborer — and, for every claimant not in privity with the owner, serve that notice of lien on the owner within the same 100 days; and (2) within six months of recording, commence a suit to enforce the lien in the circuit court under § 38-2-34, or the lien is discharged. Three features define West Virginia: the uniform 100-day deadline (most states split it by claimant type); the owner-service requirement for down-chain claimants (a subcontractor, supplier, or laborer must both serve the owner and record, and that service freezes the funds the owner still owes the general contractor); and the six-month enforcement suit (a recorded West Virginia notice of lien is not self-executing and must be sued upon in the circuit court within six months or it evaporates).
Who Must File — and What the Notice of Lien Must Contain
West Virginia extends lien rights to essentially everyone in the construction payment chain who improves real property with the owner's consent — general contractors, subcontractors at every tier, material suppliers, and laborers — but each claimant must perfect and enforce its own claim. An original (general) contractor in a direct contract with the owner perfects by recording the § 38-2-8 notice of lien with the clerk of the county commission within 100 days after completing the work, and enforcing within six months; because it dealt directly with the owner, it does not carry the separate owner-service step. Every claimant not in privity with the owner perfects with two acts inside the same 100 days — serving the notice of lien on the owner (by any method the law allows for a legal notice or summons) and recording it — under § 38-2-9 (subcontractor), § 38-2-11 (materialman or supplier), or § 38-2-13 (mechanic or laborer). The notice of lien itself is a verified writing stating a just and true account of the amount due, after allowing all credits, a description of the property, and the name of the owner, so it functions as both the perfecting instrument and the account of what is owed.
The 100-Day Notice of Lien & the 6-Month Enforcement Suit — West Virginia's Perfection Path
Perfecting and keeping a West Virginia mechanic's lien is a two-clock process, and the clocks run back to back. The first clock is the 100-day recording window under §§ 38-2-8 through 38-2-13: within 100 days of completion or last furnishing, the claimant records its verified notice of lien with the clerk of the county commission — and, if it is a subcontractor, supplier, or laborer not in privity with the owner, also serves the notice of lien on the owner within the same 100 days. Both acts (for down-chain claimants) must occur inside the window; recording alone does not perfect a subcontractor's or supplier's lien. The second clock is the six-month enforcement window under § 38-2-34. Recording the notice of lien does not preserve the lien on its own. Within six months after recording, the claimant must commence a suit to enforce the lien in the circuit court of the county where the property lies — a chancery-style action to enforce and, if necessary, foreclose the lien — or the lien is discharged. There is no long ripening period during which a recorded West Virginia claim simply sits: the enforcement suit is due within six months of recording. A West Virginia claimant should treat the recorded notice of lien as the start of a six-month countdown, not the finish line.
The Notice of Lien, the Deadlines & What West Virginia Requires
The Notice of Lien is recorded with the clerk of the county commission — and, for down-chain claimants, served on the owner — within 100 days of completion or last furnishing. The enforcement suit under § 38-2-34 must follow in the circuit court within six months of recording, or the lien is discharged. Required items: a verified notice of lien stating a just and true account of the amount due, after allowing all credits; a description of the real property sufficient to identify it; the name of the owner; recording within 100 days after completion of the work (general contractor, § 38-2-8); serving the owner AND recording within 100 days after completing the subcontract (subcontractor, § 38-2-9), after ceasing to furnish material (materialman or supplier, § 38-2-11), or after ceasing to labor (mechanic or laborer, § 38-2-13); recording in the office of the clerk of the county commission where the property sits; and commencing a suit to enforce in the circuit court within six months of recording under § 38-2-34, or the lien is discharged. Both clocks are keyed to completion or last furnishing — not the invoice date, a warranty call-back, or overall project completion by others. A notice of lien recorded but not served on the owner, a notice recorded in the wrong county, or a missed six-month enforcement suit exposes the claimant to an unperfected lien, a lien on the wrong records, or a discharged lien.
The Owner's Position, the Contract-Balance Limit & Lien Waivers
West Virginia's owner-service requirement is how the payment system works. When a subcontractor or supplier serves the notice of lien on the owner under § 38-2-9 or § 38-2-11, the owner is put on notice that it should stop paying the general contractor over the claimed amount; an owner that keeps paying the general contractor after receiving a served notice of lien risks paying twice. A subcontractor's or supplier's lien is generally limited to what the owner still owes the general contractor — so the sooner the owner is served, the more of the contract balance remains to satisfy the claim, and a late-served claimant may find the owner has already paid out most of the contract price. For the owner, West Virginia's own six-month enforcement deadline is often the best defense: if the claimant does not file the § 38-2-34 suit within six months of recording, the lien is discharged and title clears. On the waiver side, a West Virginia contractor or subcontractor may give 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 Enforcement Action
A West Virginia mechanic's lien has two cost centers. The first is recording the notice of lien in the clerk of the county commission's office, which carries a modest per-document recording fee that varies by county, plus the cost of serving the owner (for down-chain claimants). The second and larger cost is the enforcement suit: because § 38-2-34 requires a suit in the circuit court within six months, the litigation cost arrives well within the year. The enforcement suit is filed in the circuit court of the county where the property lies — Kanawha County for Charleston, Cabell County for Huntington, Monongalia County for Morgantown, Wood County for Parkersburg, Ohio County for Wheeling, Berkeley County for Martinsburg, Raleigh County for Beckley, Harrison County for Clarksburg, and so on across the state's 55 counties. That means a civil filing fee, service costs, and attorney time to prepare and file the complaint within the six-month window. A contested lien — where the owner disputes the amount or the perfection steps — or a priority fight with a construction lender can run several thousand dollars. Confirming the correct county clerk of the county commission before recording, the correct circuit court before filing, that the notice of lien was both served and recorded within 100 days, and that the six-month enforcement deadline is calendared from the recording date are the key intake steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you file a mechanic's lien in West Virginia?
West Virginia perfects a mechanic's lien by recording a notice of lien within 100 days under Chapter 38, Article 2 of the West Virginia Code. The exact section depends on who you are: a general contractor records within 100 days after completing the work under W. Va. Code § 38-2-8; a subcontractor within 100 days after completing the subcontract under § 38-2-9; a materialman or supplier within 100 days after ceasing to furnish material under § 38-2-11; and a mechanic or laborer within 100 days after ceasing to labor under § 38-2-13. The notice of lien is a verified writing that states a just and true account of the amount due (after allowing all credits), a description of the property, and the name of the owner, and it is recorded in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county where the property sits — there are 55 counties. If you did not contract directly with the owner, you must also serve the notice of lien on the owner within the same 100 days, not just record it. Then, under § 38-2-34, you must file a suit to enforce the lien in the circuit court within six months after recording, or the lien is discharged.
What is the deadline to file a West Virginia notice of lien?
The deadline is 100 days, and West Virginia applies it uniformly to nearly every claimant. A general contractor records within 100 days after completing the work (§ 38-2-8); a subcontractor within 100 days after completing the subcontract (§ 38-2-9); a materialman or supplier within 100 days after ceasing to furnish material (§ 38-2-11); and a mechanic or laborer within 100 days after ceasing to labor (§ 38-2-13). In every case the 100 days run from completion or last furnishing — not the invoice date, a warranty call-back, or overall project completion by others. For a general contractor the single act is recording with the clerk of the county commission. For everyone down the chain there are two acts inside the same 100 days: serving the notice of lien on the owner and recording it. Doing only one is not enough. Because 100 days is short and runs from your own last day on the job, the West Virginia clock should be calendared the day work ends.
Does a West Virginia subcontractor have to serve the owner, or just record the lien?
Both. Under W. Va. Code § 38-2-9, a subcontractor who did not contract directly with the owner must, within 100 days after completing the subcontract, both give the owner (or the owner's authorized agent) a notice of the lien — served by any of the methods the law allows for service of a legal notice or summons — and record the notice of lien with the clerk of the county commission. The same two-step applies to a materialman or supplier under § 38-2-11 and to a mechanic or laborer under § 38-2-13. A general contractor under § 38-2-8 records the notice of lien but is not subject to the separate owner-service step, because it is already in a direct contractual relationship with the owner. A down-chain claimant that records a perfect notice of lien but never serves the owner — or serves the owner but never records — has not perfected and can lose the lien. The owner service also puts the owner on notice to stop paying the general contractor, which is how a subcontractor reaches the funds still owed up the chain.
Where do you record a West Virginia mechanic's lien?
You record the notice of lien in the office of the clerk of the county commission of the county where the real property is situated. West Virginia records liens by county — the clerk of the county commission is the county's recorder of deeds — and the state has 55 counties, so a claimant on a Charleston project records in Kanawha County, one in Huntington in Cabell County, one in Morgantown in Monongalia County, one in Wheeling in Ohio County, and one in Martinsburg in Berkeley County. Recording in the wrong county, or in a municipal office rather than the county commission clerk, wastes days a West Virginia claimant cannot spare, because the recording deadline is only 100 days and is immediately followed by the six-month enforcement clock. The enforcement suit itself is filed in the circuit court of the county where the property lies, under § 38-2-34.
How long do you have to enforce a West Virginia mechanic's lien?
Six months. Under W. Va. Code § 38-2-34, a claimant must commence a suit to enforce the lien in the circuit court within six months after it records the notice of lien, or the lien is discharged and cannot be enforced. This is the deadline that quietly kills valid West Virginia liens: a claimant records a proper notice of lien, the debtor makes promises, the parties negotiate, and six months slip past — and the recorded lien becomes unenforceable by operation of law, no matter how genuine the debt. Unlike a few states that give a year or more to sue, West Virginia's window is a firm six months from recording. The enforcement action is a chancery-style suit to enforce and, if necessary, foreclose the lien, brought in the circuit court of the county where the property sits. Because the recording deadline (100 days) and the enforcement deadline (six months from recording) run back to back, a West Virginia claimant should treat the recorded notice of lien as the start of a six-month countdown.
Does West Virginia require a preliminary notice before you can lien?
No. West Virginia does not use a preliminary notice, a notice of commencement, or a pre-work notice of the kind many western and southern states require. There is nothing a West Virginia claimant must send at the start of the job to preserve lien rights. Instead, the entire mechanism is the notice of lien recorded — and, for down-chain claimants, served on the owner — within 100 days of completion or last furnishing, under §§ 38-2-8 through 38-2-13. That makes West Virginia simpler to enter than a preliminary-notice state, but it also removes the early warning a preliminary notice would give and concentrates all of the risk into the 100-day post-completion window and the six-month enforcement window that follows. A West Virginia claimant does not have to do anything special on day one, but must be disciplined about the back end: fix the true last day of work, calendar 100 days to record and (for subs and suppliers) serve the owner, and calendar six months from recording to sue.
How does West Virginia handle public projects and federal projects?
No mechanic's lien attaches to public property in West Virginia. On state, county, and municipal public construction, West Virginia's Little Miller Act at W. Va. Code § 38-2-39 requires the prime contractor to furnish a payment bond, so an unpaid subcontractor or supplier pursues a claim against that public-works payment bond — on its own notice and suit deadlines — rather than recording a notice of lien against public land, which would be void. On federal projects — West Virginia's federal footprint includes the FBI CJIS Division in Clarksburg, NIOSH in Morgantown, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service in Parkersburg, and the Beckley, Clarksburg, Huntington, and Martinsburg VA Medical Centers — 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 payment bond, not a void lien against public land.