Who the deadlines apply to
Connecticut's mechanics lien timetable sits in Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 49-33 to 49-40a [1]. Three of its stages name every role in the table: lodging the certificate of lien, serving a copy of it, and suing to foreclose. Each of those rules lists direct contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers, and none is limited by project type [1].
The preliminary notice stage, a written notice of intent to claim a lien, is drawn more narrowly. Its rule names subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers, and it carries a condition: except for a subcontractor whose contract with the original contractor is in writing and has been assented to in writing by the other party to the original contract [1]. For the direct contractor, this stage reads None required [1].
How the periods run
Preliminary notice. For subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers, except for a subcontractor whose contract with the original contractor is in writing and has been assented to in writing by the other party to the original contract, Section 49-35(a) sets the notice at 90 days after the person ceases to furnish materials or render services [1]. The section ties any claim of the mechanic's lien by those persons to a notice given within that time [1]. The owner of the building, lot or plot of land is one recipient; whether the original contractor is another turns on an affidavit that contractor lodges with the town clerk, a condition the quote blocks under the table print in full.
Certificate of lien. The lien itself starts with a certificate lodged with the town clerk, due 90 days after the person performing the services or furnishing the materials has ceased to do so [1]. Section 49-34 states that a mechanic's lien is not valid unless the certificate is lodged within that period [1].
Service of a copy. A second clock starts on the lodging date. Within 30 days after the certificate of lien is lodged with the town clerk [1], a true and attested copy of the certificate goes to the owner, served in the same manner as the Section 49-35 notice. Under Section 49-34, a mechanic's lien is not valid unless the copy is served within that time [1].
Suit to foreclose. Section 49-39 counts from a different event, the recording of the lien, and sets 1 year after the lien is recorded [1]. Within that time, the statute names two steps: an action to foreclose the lien, and a notice of lis pendens recorded in evidence of it. Where an application under section 49-35a reaches a final disposition, the statute also allows a sixty-day period from that disposition, whichever period ends later [1]. A lien with no action commenced and no notice recorded by the end of the one-year or sixty-day period is invalid and discharged as a matter of law [1].
The service period counts from the date the certificate is lodged, and the suit period from the date the lien is recorded; the table shows each with its own label.
What changed recently
Sections 49-34 and 49-35 were last amended by P.A. 03-224, effective July 2, 2003, and section 49-39 by P.A. 16-194 [1]. The 2026 Supplement, revised to January 1, 2026, amends none of these sections [1].