Who the deadlines apply to
Idaho's rules name the same roles at every stage. Each rule on this page names the direct contractor, the subcontractor, the sub-subcontractor, the supplier and the laborer together, and each covers any project type [1] [2]. The claim of lien is filed with the county recorder [1].
At the first stage, the preliminary notice row reads None required for all five roles [1].
How the periods run
The filing period runs from the completion of the labor or services, or the furnishing of materials. Its label is 90 days after the labor or services were completed or the materials were furnished [1].
Once the claim is filed, two later rules count from that filing.
- Service of the claim. A copy of the claim of lien is served within the period the rule labels No later than five (5) business days following the filing of the claim of lien [1]. The calculator draws no date for this rule, which counts business days.
- Suit. The deadline to sue is shown as 6 months after the claim is filed [2]. Under § 45-510, the lien does not bind the property for longer than that unless proceedings to enforce it are commenced in a "proper court" within that time [2].
The same section names one condition that shifts the starting point of the suit period. Where a payment on account is made, or an extension of credit is given with its expiration date, and that payment or credit and date are endorsed on the record of the lien, the period runs instead from the date of the payment or the expiration of the extension [2].
How residential work is treated
No rule on this page is limited to residential work, and the filing and suit periods read the same for residential work as for other work [1] [2]. For work or materials that fall under § 45-525, the general contractor disclosure section for residential real property, the claim includes the proof of that disclosure and of its receipt that § 45-507(3)(e) calls for [1].
Counting the days
Idaho Code § 73-109 counts a period by leaving out the first day and keeping the last, unless the last day is a holiday; then the last day is left out as well [3]. Section 73-108 decides what a holiday is. Its list starts with every Sunday, names dated holidays from New Year's Day to Christmas, and adds any day the President of the United States or the governor appoints for a public fast, thanksgiving or holiday [4]. A legal holiday that lands on a Saturday makes the Friday before it a holiday, and one other than Sunday that lands on a Sunday makes the next Monday a holiday [4].
What changed recently
Section 45-507, which holds the filing and service rules, was last amended by 2022, ch. 66 [1]. Section 45-510, the suit section, was last amended by 2015, ch. 339 [2].