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Lien deadlines · Minnesota

Minnesota mechanics lien deadlines: notice, lien and suit (2026)

By Oussama Chicha, EditorUpdated Checked against primary sources · not yet reviewed by a licensed professionalFact-checked
Quick answer

Lien filing and service of a copy: 120 days after the last of the work was done, or the last item of skill, material, or machinery was furnished (Minn. Stat. § 514.08, subd. 1). Asserting the lien by complaint or answer: 1 year after the date of the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement (Minn. Stat. § 514.12, subd. 3).

Minnesota · Lien deadlinesVerified 2026-10-02
Lien filing
120 days after the last of the work was done, or the last item of skill, material, or machinery was furnished
Preliminary notice
For a person who enters into a contract with the owner and has contracted or will contract with any subcontractors or material suppliers, unless section 514.011, subdivision 1, 4a, 4b or 4c, says the notice is not required: Direct contractor: Included in any written contract with the owner or, if no written contract is entered into, delivered within ten days after the work of improvement is agreed upon; For every person who contributes to the improvement so as to have a lien under section 514.01, except a party under direct contract with the owner, unless section 514.011, subdivision 4a, 4b or 4c, says the notice is not required: Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer: 45 days after first furnishing
Deadline to sue
1 year after the date of the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement
Statute
Minn. Stat. ch. 514

Preliminary notice

WhoProject typeBranchDeadlineStatute
Direct contractorAnyFor a person who enters into a contract with the owner and has contracted or will contract with any subcontractors or material suppliers, unless section 514.011, subdivision 1, 4a, 4b or 4c, says the notice is not requiredIncluded in any written contract with the owner or, if no written contract is entered into, delivered within ten days after the work of improvement is agreed uponStatute: Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 1; Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4a; Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4b; Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4c
What the statute says about it. A person who fails to provide the notice does not have the lien and remedy the chapter provides. Recipients: The owner or the owner's authorized agent. Delivery: Included in the written contract, with a copy of the contract to the owner, or, without a written contract, prepared separately and delivered personally or by certified mail.
Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, LaborerAnyFor every person who contributes to the improvement so as to have a lien under section 514.01, except a party under direct contract with the owner, unless section 514.011, subdivision 4a, 4b or 4c, says the notice is not required45 days after first furnishingStatute: Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 2; Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4a; Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4b; Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4c
What the statute says about it. The notice is a necessary prerequisite to the validity of any claim or lien. A person that makes a good faith effort to comply does not lose the lien unless the owner or another lien claimant proves damage as a direct result of the failure to comply. Recipients: The owner or the owner's authorized agent. Delivery: By personal delivery or by certified mail.
Every person who enters into a contract with the owner for the improvement of real property and who has contracted or will contract with any subcontractors or material suppliers to provide labor, skill or materials for the improvement shall include in any written contract with the owner the notice required in this subdivision and shall provide the owner with a copy of the written contract.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 1 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
If no written contract for the improvement is entered into, the notice must be prepared separately and delivered personally or by certified mail to the owner or the owner's authorized agent within ten days after the work of improvement is agreed upon.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 1 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
A person who fails to provide the notice shall not have the lien and remedy provided by this chapter.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 1 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
The notice required by this subdivision is not required of any person who is an owner of the improved real estate, to any corporate contractor of which the owner of the improved real estate is an officer or controlling shareholder, to any contractor who is an officer or controlling shareholder of a corporation which is the owner of the improved real estate, or to any corporate contractor managed or controlled by substantially the same persons who manage or control a corporation which is the owner of the improved real estate.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 1 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
The notice required by this section shall not be required to be given where the contractor is managed or controlled by substantially the same persons who manage or control the owner of the improved real estate.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4a · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
The notice required by this section shall not be required to be given in connection with an improvement to real property consisting of or providing more than four family units when the improvement is wholly residential in character.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4b · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
The notice required by this section shall not be required to be given in connection with an improvement to real property which is not in agricultural use and which is wholly or partially nonresidential in use if the work or improvement: (a) is to provide or add more than 5,000 total usable square feet of floor space; or (b) is an improvement to real property where the existing property contains more than 5,000 total usable square feet of floor space; or (c) is an improvement to real property which contains more than 5,000 square feet and does not involve the construction of a new building or an addition to or the improvement of an existing building.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4c · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(a) Every person who contributes to the improvement of real property so as to be entitled to a lien pursuant to section 514.01, except a party under direct contract with the owner must, as a necessary prerequisite to the validity of any claim or lien, cause to be given to the owner or the owner's authorized agent, either by personal delivery or by certified mail, not later than 45 days after the lien claimant has first furnished labor, skill or materials for the improvement, a written notice in at least 10-point bold type, if printed, or in capital letters, if typewritten, which shall state:
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 2 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(b) A person entitled to a lien does not lose the right to the lien for failure to strictly comply with this subdivision if a good faith effort is made to comply, unless the owner or another lien claimant proves damage as a direct result of the failure to comply.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 2 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

Lien filing

WhoProject typeBranchDeadlineStatute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, LaborerAnyDefault120 days after the last of the work was done, or the last item of skill, material, or machinery was furnishedStatute: Minn. Stat. § 514.08, subd. 1
What the statute says about it. If the statement is not filed for record and a copy served within that period, the lien ceases at the end of the 120 days.
The lien ceases at the end of 120 days after doing the last of the work, or furnishing the last item of skill, material, or machinery, unless within this period: (1) a statement of the claim is filed for record with the county recorder or, if registered land, with the registrar of titles of the county in which the improved premises are situated, or, if the claim is made under section 514.04, with the secretary of state; and (2) a copy of the statement is served personally or by certified mail on the owner or the owner's authorized agent or the person who entered into the contract with the contractor.
Minn. Stat. § 514.08, subd. 1 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

Service of the lien

WhoProject typeBranchDeadlineStatute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, LaborerAnyDefault120 days after the last of the work was done, or the last item of skill, material, or machinery was furnishedStatute: Minn. Stat. § 514.08, subd. 1
What the statute says about it. Recipients: The owner, the owner's authorized agent or the person who entered into the contract with the contractor. Delivery: Personally or by certified mail.
The lien ceases at the end of 120 days after doing the last of the work, or furnishing the last item of skill, material, or machinery, unless within this period: (1) a statement of the claim is filed for record with the county recorder or, if registered land, with the registrar of titles of the county in which the improved premises are situated, or, if the claim is made under section 514.04, with the secretary of state; and (2) a copy of the statement is served personally or by certified mail on the owner or the owner's authorized agent or the person who entered into the contract with the contractor.
Minn. Stat. § 514.08, subd. 1 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

Deadline to sue

WhoProject typeBranchDeadlineStatute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, LaborerAnyDefault1 year after the date of the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statementStatute: Minn. Stat. § 514.12, subd. 3
What the statute says about it. No lien may be enforced unless the holder asserts it within that year.
No lien shall be enforced in any case unless the holder thereof shall assert the same, either by filing a complaint or answer with the court administrator, within one year after the date of the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement; and, no person shall be bound by any judgment in such action unless made a party thereto within the year; and, as to a bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, or encumbrancer without notice, the absence from the record of a notice of lis pendens of an action after the expiration of the year in which the lien could be so asserted shall be conclusive evidence that the lien may no longer be enforced and, in the case of registered land, the registrar of titles shall refrain from carrying forward to new certificates of title the memorials of lien statements when no such notice of lis pendens has been registered within the period.
Minn. Stat. § 514.12, subd. 3 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

Residential projects

The pre-lien notices of section 514.011 are not required for an improvement to real property consisting of or providing more than four family units when the improvement is wholly residential in character.

The notice required by this section shall not be required to be given in connection with an improvement to real property consisting of or providing more than four family units when the improvement is wholly residential in character.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011, subd. 4b · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

How the days are counted

The day of the event is not counted, and the last day of the period is.

Where the performance or doing of any act, duty, matter, payment, or thing is ordered or directed, and the period of time or duration for the performance or doing thereof is prescribed and fixed by law, the time, except as otherwise provided in sections 645.13 and 645.14, shall be computed so as to exclude the first and include the last day of the prescribed or fixed period or duration of time.
Minn. Stat. § 645.15 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

A last day that falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday moves to the next day that is not one.

When the last day of the period falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, that day shall be omitted from the computation.
Minn. Stat. § 645.15 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

The lien deadline calculator does not model Indigenous Peoples Day (Minn. Stat. § 645.44, subd. 5 excludes it for the executive branch and gives other branches of state government and political subdivisions the option of determining whether it is a holiday) or the Friday after Thanksgiving (Minn. Stat. § 645.44, subd. 5 makes it a holiday for the executive branch and gives other branches of state government and political subdivisions the option of determining whether it is a holiday), so a date it counts may move later.

(a) "Holiday" includes New Year's Day, January 1; Martin Luther King's Birthday, the third Monday in January; Washington's and Lincoln's Birthday, the third Monday in February; Memorial Day, the last Monday in May; Juneteenth, June 19; Independence Day, July 4; Labor Day, the first Monday in September; Indigenous Peoples Day, the second Monday in October; Veterans Day, November 11; Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November; and Christmas Day, December 25; provided, when New Year's Day, January 1; or Juneteenth, June 19; or Independence Day, July 4; or Veterans Day, November 11; or Christmas Day, December 25; falls on Sunday, the following day shall be a holiday and, provided, when New Year's Day, January 1; or Juneteenth, June 19; or Independence Day, July 4; or Veterans Day, November 11; or Christmas Day, December 25; falls on Saturday, the preceding day shall be a holiday.
Minn. Stat. § 645.44, subd. 5 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
However, for the executive branch of the state of Minnesota, "holiday" also includes the Friday after Thanksgiving but does not include Indigenous Peoples Day.
Minn. Stat. § 645.44, subd. 5 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Other branches of state government and political subdivisions shall have the option of determining whether Indigenous Peoples Day and the Friday after Thanksgiving shall be holidays.
Minn. Stat. § 645.44, subd. 5 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02

Who the deadlines apply to

Minnesota's chapter 514 divides its pre-lien notices by role. One notice rule names a direct contractor that has contracted or will contract with any subcontractors or material suppliers [1]. The other names subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers [1]. From the lien statement onward the roles merge: the filing, service and suit rules each name all five, on any project type [1].

How the periods run

The contractor's notice. For a person who enters into a contract with the owner and has contracted or will contract with any subcontractors or material suppliers, unless section 514.011, subdivision 1, 4a, 4b or 4c, says the notice is not required, the rule reads Included in any written contract with the owner or, if no written contract is entered into, delivered within ten days after the work of improvement is agreed upon [1]. The day the work is agreed upon is not one of the calculator's inputs, so it counts no date for this notice. A person who fails to provide it does not have the lien and remedy the chapter provides [1].

The notice from everyone else. For every person who contributes to the improvement so as to have a lien under section 514.01, except a party under direct contract with the owner, unless section 514.011, subdivision 4a, 4b or 4c, says the notice is not required, the period is 45 days after first furnishing [1]. The statute calls this notice a necessary prerequisite to the validity of any claim or lien [1]. It adds that a person that makes a good faith effort to comply does not lose the lien unless the owner or another lien claimant proves damage as a direct result of the failure to comply [1].

Filing and serving the lien statement. Two acts share one clock. A statement of the claim is filed for record, and a copy is served, both within 120 days after the last of the work was done, or the last item of skill, material, or machinery was furnished [1]. If the statement is not filed for record and a copy served within that period, the lien ceases at the end of the 120 days [1].

Asserting the lien. The holder asserts the lien by filing a complaint or answer [1]. That period is 1 year after the date of the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement [1]. No lien may be enforced unless the holder asserts it within that year [1].

How residential work is treated

Subdivision 4b of section 514.011 says the pre-lien notices are not required for an improvement to real property consisting of or providing more than four family units when the improvement is wholly residential in character [1].

Counting the days

Minn. Stat. § 645.15 supplies the arithmetic. A period leaves out its first day and includes its last [2]. When the last day falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday, that day is omitted from the computation, and the calculator applies this at every stage [2]. The holiday definition printed on this page comes from Minn. Stat. § 645.44, subd. 5 [3].

What changed recently

The 2025 Minnesota Statutes print section 514.011 as last amended by Laws 1989, chapter 160, section 514.08 by Laws 1997, chapter 137, and section 514.12 by Laws 1995, chapter 5 [1].

Related

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Lien deadlines: other states

Sources

  1. Minn. Stat. ch. 514 (2025), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (retrieved 2026-10-02)
  2. Minn. Stat. § 645.15 (2025), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (retrieved 2026-10-02)
  3. Minn. Stat. § 645.44 (2025), Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (retrieved 2026-10-02)

Changelog

  1. : Page published.
  2. : 10 more jurisdictions published: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho and Indiana.
  3. : 10 more jurisdictions published: Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri.
  4. : Dataset first published: 9 of 51 jurisdictions published.