Montana 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
Under Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-535(1), the lien filing rules are 90 days after the person's final furnishing of services or materials, and, if the owner files a notice of completion pursuant to 71-3-533, 90 days after the owner files a notice of completion. The deadline to sue is 2 years after the lien is filed (Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-562). Each of these rules names every role on any project type.
Montana · Lien deadlinesVerified 2026-10-02
Lien filing
90 days after the person's final furnishing of services or materials
Preliminary notice
Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier: 20 days after the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner; Direct contractor, Laborer: None required
What the statute says about it. If notice is not given within this period, a lien is enforceable only for the services or materials furnished within the 20-day period before the date on which notice is given. A person may not claim a construction lien unless the person has complied with subsection (5). Recipients: The contracting owner. Delivery: Sent to the contracting owner by certified mail, effective on the date it is mailed, or delivered personally to the owner, with written acknowledgment of receipt obtained from the contracting owner.
Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier
Any
When payment is made by or on behalf of the contracting owner from funds provided by a regulated lender and secured by an interest, lien, mortgage, or encumbrance for the purpose of paying the particular real estate improvement being liened, excluding a contract on an owner-occupied residence
45 days after the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner
What the statute says about it. If notice is not given within this period, a lien is enforceable only for the services or materials furnished within the 45-day period before the date on which notice is given. Recipients: The contracting owner. Delivery: Sent to the contracting owner by certified mail, effective on the date it is mailed, or delivered personally to the owner, with written acknowledgment of receipt obtained from the contracting owner.
What the statute says about it. A person may not claim a construction lien unless there is an unexpired notice of right to claim a construction lien or an unexpired continuation notice filed with the clerk and recorder at the time that the person files the lien. Delivery: Filed with the clerk and recorder of the county in which the improved real estate is located.
(2) A person who may claim a construction lien pursuant to this part shall give notice of the right to claim a lien to the contracting owner in order to claim a lien.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4), the notice may not be given later than 20 days after the date on which the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(3) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
If notice is not given within this period, a lien is enforceable only for the services or materials furnished within the 20-day period before the date on which notice is given.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(3) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(5) The notice of the right to claim a lien must be sent to the contracting owner by certified mail or delivered personally to the owner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Notice by certified mail is effective on the date on which the notice is mailed.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
If the notice is delivered personally to the contracting owner, written acknowledgment of receipt must be obtained from the contracting owner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
A person may not claim a construction lien unless the person has complied with this subsection.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(4) When payment for services or materials furnished pursuant to a real estate improvement contract, excluding a contract on an owner-occupied residence, is made by or on behalf of the contracting owner from funds provided by a regulated lender and secured by an interest, lien, mortgage, or encumbrance for the purpose of paying the particular real estate improvement being liened, the notice required by this section may not be given later than 45 days after the date on which the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(4) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
If notice is not given within this period, a lien is enforceable only for the services or materials furnished within the 45-day period before the date on which notice is given.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(4) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(1) The following are not required to give notice of the right to claim a lien as required by this section: (a) an original contractor who furnishes services or materials directly to the owner at the owner's request; (b) a wage earner or laborer who performs personal labor services for a person furnishing any service or material pursuant to a real estate improvement contract; (c) a person who furnishes services or materials pursuant to a real estate improvement contract that relates to a dwelling for five or more families; and (d) a person who furnishes services or materials pursuant to a real estate improvement contract that relates to an improvement that is partly or wholly commercial in character.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(6) (a) A person who may claim a lien shall also file with the clerk and recorder of the county in which the improved real estate is located a copy of the notice of the right to claim a lien, in the form required by 71-3-532.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(6)(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
This copy may not be filed later than 5 business days after the date on which the notice of the right to claim a lien is given to the contracting owner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(6)(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(e) If a notice of the right to claim a lien is required under this section, a person may not claim a construction lien pursuant to this part unless there is an unexpired notice of right to claim a construction lien or an unexpired continuation notice filed with the clerk and recorder at the time that the person files the lien.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(6)(e) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Lien filing
Who
Project type
Branch
Deadline
Statute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer
Any
Default
90 days after the person's final furnishing of services or materials
What the statute says about it. A person's lien does not attach and may not be enforced unless, after entering into the contract under which the lien arises, the person has filed it within that time. Delivery: Filed with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the improved real estate is located.
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer
Any
If the owner files a notice of completion pursuant to 71-3-533
90 days after the owner files a notice of completion
What the statute says about it.Delivery: Filed with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the improved real estate is located.
(1) A person's lien does not attach and may not be enforced unless, after entering into the contract under which the lien arises, the person has filed a lien not later than 90 days after: (a) the person's final furnishing of services or materials; or (b) the owner files a notice of completion pursuant to 71-3-533.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-535(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(2) (a) The lien must be filed with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the improved real estate is located, and the county clerk and recorder may allow the lien to be filed electronically.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-535(2)(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(1) The contracting owner may file a notice of completion at any time after the completion of any work or improvement.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-533(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Service of the lien
Who
Project type
Branch
Deadline
Statute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer
What the statute says about it. The clerk may not file the lien unless it is accompanied by a certification by the lien claimant or the claimant's agent that a copy of the lien has been served upon each owner of record. Recipients: Each owner of record of the property named in the lien. Delivery: By personal service on each owner or by mailing a copy of the lien by certified mail with return receipt requested to each owner's last-known address.
(2) The clerk may not file the lien unless it is accompanied by a certification by the lien claimant or the claimant's agent that a copy of the lien has been served upon each owner of record of the property named in the lien.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-534(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Service must be made by personal service on each owner or by mailing a copy of the lien by certified mail with return receipt requested to each owner's last-known address.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-534(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Deadline to sue
Who
Project type
Branch
Deadline
Statute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer
All actions under this part must be commenced within 2 years from the date of the filing of the lien.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-562 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Notice of commencement and completion
The contracting owner may file a notice of completion at any time after the completion of any work or improvement. For that purpose, completion is the written acceptance of the building, improvement, or structure by the contracting owner, the contracting owner's agent, or the representative, or the cessation from labor upon it for 30 days.
(1) The contracting owner may file a notice of completion at any time after the completion of any work or improvement.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-533(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(2) The following acts or events constitute completion of any work or improvement for the purpose of filing a notice of completion: (a) the written acceptance by the contracting owner, the contracting owner's agent, or the representative of the building, improvement, or structure. The filing of a notice of completion may not be considered as an acceptance of the building, improvement, or other structure. (b) the cessation from labor for 30 days upon any building, improvement, or structure or the alteration, addition to, or repair of the building, improvement, or structure.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-533(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
A copy of the notice of completion is published once each week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and the contracting owner gives a copy to any person who has given the contracting owner a notice of a right to claim a lien.
(5) A copy of the notice of completion must be published once each week for 3 successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the land on which the work or improvement was performed is situated.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-533(5) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(6) The contracting owner shall give a copy of the notice of completion to any person who has given the contracting owner a notice of a right to claim a lien.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-533(6) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Residential projects
The 45-day period, which applies where funds provided by a regulated lender pay for the particular real estate improvement, excludes a contract on an owner-occupied residence.
(4) When payment for services or materials furnished pursuant to a real estate improvement contract, excluding a contract on an owner-occupied residence, is made by or on behalf of the contracting owner from funds provided by a regulated lender and secured by an interest, lien, mortgage, or encumbrance for the purpose of paying the particular real estate improvement being liened, the notice required by this section may not be given later than 45 days after the date on which the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner.
Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-531(4) · 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.
The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day and including the last unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded.
Mont. Code Ann. § 1-1-306 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
A last day that falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday moves to the next day that is not one.
(1) The following are legal holidays in the state of Montana: (a) each Sunday; (b) New Year's Day, January 1; (c) Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the third Monday in January; (d) Presidents' Day, the third Monday in February; (e) Memorial Day, the last Monday in May; (f) Independence Day, July 4; (g) Labor Day, the first Monday in September; (h) Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day, the second Monday in October; (i) Veterans' Day, November 11; (j) Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November; (k) Christmas Day, December 25; (l) state general election day.
Mont. Code Ann. § 1-1-216(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
When an act is appointed by law or contract to be performed upon that day, a last day that is a Saturday also moves.
Whenever any act of a secular nature, other than a work of necessity or mercy, is appointed by law or contract to be performed upon a particular day, which day falls upon a holiday or a Saturday, such act may be performed upon the next business day with the same effect as if it had been performed upon the day appointed.
Mont. Code Ann. § 1-1-307 · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
The lien deadline calculator does not model state general election day (Mont. Code Ann. § 1-1-216(1)(l) names it without stating its date), so a date it counts may move later.
(2) (a) If any of the holidays in subsections (1)(b) through (1)(l) fall on a Sunday, the Monday following is a holiday.
Mont. Code Ann. § 1-1-216(2)(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
(b) If any of the holidays in subsections (1)(b) through (1)(l) fall on a Saturday, the Friday preceding is a holiday.
Mont. Code Ann. § 1-1-216(2)(b) · Official text · retrieved 2026-10-02
Who the deadlines apply to
The counted rules for the notice of the right to claim a lien name the subcontractor, the sub-subcontractor and the supplier [1]. The rule for the direct contractor and the laborer reads None required, as § 71-3-531(1) lists both among those not required to give it [1]. The three notice roles also read None required where the real estate improvement contract relates to a dwelling for five or more families or to an improvement described in § 71-3-531(1)(d) [1].
Filing, service and suit each name all five roles on any project type.
How the periods run
The notice to the contracting owner. The general rule is 20 days after the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner[1]. After a later notice, a lien is enforceable only for what was furnished within the 20-day period [1] before it.
When payment is made by or on behalf of the contracting owner from funds provided by a regulated lender and secured by an interest, lien, mortgage, or encumbrance for the purpose of paying the particular real estate improvement being liened, excluding a contract on an owner-occupied residence, the rule is 45 days after the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner[1]. A late notice there leaves the lien enforceable only for the 45-day period [1] before it.
If a notice of the right to claim a lien is required under § 71-3-531, a copy goes on file with the county clerk and recorder, under the rule Not later than 5 business days after the date on which the notice of the right to claim a lien is given to the contracting owner[1]. The day the notice is given is not a calculator input, so no date is counted.
Filing the lien. The default rule is 90 days after the person's final furnishing of services or materials[2]. If the owner files a notice of completion pursuant to 71-3-533, a second rule counts 90 days after the owner files a notice of completion[2]. This page does not say which of the two governs a given project. A lien does not attach and may not be enforced unless the person, after entering into the contract under which it arises, filed it within that time [2].
Service and suit. Service carries the rule Before the clerk files the lien[4], counted back from the clerk's act, so no date is drawn. All actions under the part share one period: 2 years after the lien is filed[5].
Notices of completion
The contracting owner may file a notice of completion any time after the work or improvement is complete. For that purpose, completion means written acceptance by the contracting owner, that owner's agent or the representative, or a cessation from labor for 30 days [3]. The notice is published once each week for 3 successive weeks [3], and the contracting owner gives a copy to anyone who gave that owner a notice of a right to claim a lien.
How residential work is treated
For the lender-funded notice, the 45-day period [1] excludes a contract on an owner-occupied residence.
Counting the days
Under § 1-1-306, a period leaves out the first day and includes the last, unless the last day is a holiday, which is then left out too, at every stage [6]. Section 1-1-216 makes each Sunday a legal holiday alongside its named holidays [7]. Section 1-1-307 lets an act appointed for a day that falls on a holiday or a Saturday be performed on the next business day [8]. For a Saturday last day, the calculator notes that the date may move later.
What changed recently
Section 71-3-531 was last amended by Ch. 182, L. 2009 [1], § 71-3-533 by Ch. 56, L. 2009 [3], § 71-3-534 by Ch. 130, L. 2005 [4] and § 71-3-535 by Ch. 357, L. 1999 [2]. Section 71-3-562 was redesignated by the Code Commissioner in 1987 [5], and § 1-1-216 was last amended by Ch. 561, L. 2025 [7].
: 10 more jurisdictions published: Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
: 10 more jurisdictions published: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho and Indiana.
: 10 more jurisdictions published: Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri.
: Dataset first published: 9 of 51 jurisdictions published.
