Kentucky mechanic's liens: the deadlines that decide whether you get paid

What a lien is, in one paragraph

When you improve real property in Kentucky and do not get paid, KRS 376.010 gives you a claim against the property for the value of the labor and materials you furnished. Once filed with the county clerk, the lien clouds the title: the owner cannot sell or refinance cleanly until it is paid or resolved, which is why liens get paid when phone calls do not. The lien applies whether you contracted directly with the owner or worked as a subcontractor or supplier for someone who did.

The three deadlines

1. File within 6 months.Your lien statement must be filed in the county clerk's office of the county where the property sits within six months after you last furnished labor or materials. Not six months from the invoice, or from when they stopped answering; from your last day on the job. A punch-list visit can restart the clock, but do not count on a court agreeing that a courtesy trip counts.
2. Owner-occupied homes: written notice within 75 days. If you did not contract directly with the owner (you were a sub or a supplier) and the property is an owner-occupied single-family or two-family home, you must send the owner written notice of your intent to claim a lien within 75 days of your last furnishing, regardless of the amount. Miss it and you have no lien on that house. For other property, the notice window for subs and suppliers is 120 days. Send it by certified mail and keep the receipt.
3. Sue within 12 months of filing. A filed lien is not self-executing. To collect on it you must file an enforcement action in circuit court within twelve months of filing the lien statement, or the lien expires.

The homeowner protection that limits subs

On owner-occupied one- and two-family homes, Kentucky protects the homeowner who already paid the general contractor: a subcontractor's lien is reduced by whatever the owner has already paid the GC before receiving the sub's notice. That is the entire reason the 75-day notice exists. If you are a sub on a residential job, the notice is not a formality; it is what freezes the money.

What the lien statement must contain

• The amount due, with credits for any payments received.
• A description of the property sufficient to identify it (the deed description or address plus parcel ID).
• The name of the owner, if known.
• Whether the labor or materials were furnished by contract with the owner or with a contractor or subcontractor.
• Your signature, sworn before a notary.

After filing, mail a copy of the statement to the property owner at their last known address within seven days. The county clerk charges a recording fee; call ahead for the current amount and page requirements.

Before you file: the sequence that usually gets you paid without a lien

1. Day 1 past due: a friendly, specific text and an emailed copy of the invoice.
2. Day 10: a short letter stating the amount, the date you last worked, and that Kentucky law allows a lien on the property. Most people pay here.
3. Day 30, or sooner on a residential sub job: send the formal notice of intent (certified mail). This is the 75-day document; do not let the friendly phase eat your window.
4. Well before month 6: file the lien statement with the clerk.

When a lien is the wrong tool

• Small balances. For amounts under the Kentucky small claims limit, small claims court in the county district court is faster and cheaper than a lien plus a circuit court enforcement suit.
• Disputed work. A lien does not win the argument about whether the work was done right; it only secures the claim. If the owner has a real quality complaint, fix it or document why it is not yours before you file.
• Wrong paperwork. Filing a lien for an inflated amount, or on a property you did not improve, can expose you to liability. Claim what you can prove.

The habits that make liens rare

Written scope, a payment schedule tied to milestones, signed change orders, and invoices that go out the day the milestone is hit. Contractors who do those four things file almost no liens, because the money shows up on schedule. A lien is the backstop, not the plan.

This is general information, not legal advice. Lien law has traps that depend on the facts of the job. For a significant balance, a Kentucky construction attorney can review your notice and statement for a few hundred dollars, which is cheap against the amount at stake.