Who the deadlines apply to
Alaska's mechanics lien periods sit in AS 34.35.050 to 34.35.140 [1]. Every rule on this page names the same five roles: direct contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers. None is limited to residential work or to work other than residential; each is written for any project type [1].
The preliminary notice stage reads None required for all five roles [1]. Its statute block is AS 34.35.064(a), the section on the notice of right to lien. The same notice appears again at the lien filing stage, where two of the three conditions also turn on whether a claimant has given or recorded a notice of right to lien [1].
How the periods run
Claim of lien. Each of the three Alaska filing rules starts with a condition about the owner's notice of completion.
If a notice of completion is not recorded by the owner as provided in AS 34.35.071, the claim of lien period is 120 days after the claimant completes the construction contract or ceases to furnish labor, material, services, or equipment for the construction, alteration, or repair of the owner's property [1].
If a notice of completion is recorded by the owner, for a claimant who has received advance notification of the date it is recorded or who has not given a notice of right to lien, to record a claim of lien or a notice of right to lien, the period is 15 days after a notice of completion is recorded [1]. This period runs from the recording of the notice of completion.
If a notice of completion is recorded by the owner, for a claimant who records a notice of right to lien before or within that 15-day period [1], or who has given a notice of right to lien but has not received advance notice of the date the notice of completion is recorded, the period is 120 days after the claimant completes the construction contract or ceases to furnish labor, material, services, or equipment for the construction, alteration, or repair of the owner's property [1].
For all three, AS 34.35.068 states the result of a late filing: a claim of lien is enforceable only if recorded within the time that section specifies [1].
Suit to enforce. The last period starts when the claim of lien is recorded: 6 months after the claim of lien is recorded [1]. Under AS 34.35.080(a), the lien does not bind real property for more than six months after the claim of lien is recorded unless an action to enforce it is commenced in the proper court within that time, or within six months after an extension notice recorded in the same recording office within the original six-month period [1].
The owner's notice of completion
Under AS 34.35.071, the owner may announce the date of completion. The owner does so by recording a notice of completion after completion of the project, and by giving notice at least five days before recording it [1]. That advance notice goes to every claimant who gave the owner and the lender a notice of right to lien or a stop-lending notice earlier than 10 days before the recording [1]. A notice of completion recorded before completion is not effective [1].
Counting the days
AS 01.10.080 counts a period set by law by leaving out the first day and counting the last [2]. When the last day is a holiday, that day is left out as well, and this applies at every stage [2]. AS 44.12.010 makes every Sunday a legal holiday, so a last day falling on a Sunday moves too [3].
The same section lists the named legal holidays and adds every day the President of the United States or the governor designates by public proclamation [3]. Under AS 44.12.020, when a listed holiday other than Sunday itself falls on a Sunday, that Sunday and the following Monday are both legal holidays [3].