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Lien deadlines · North Carolina

North Carolina 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 N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 44A, art. 2, the lien filing deadline for direct contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers is 120 days after last furnishing (N.C.G.S. § 44A-12(b)), and the deadline to sue is 180 days after last furnishing (N.C.G.S. § 44A-13(a)). Where the owner must designate a lien agent, notice to the lien agent is due 15 days after first furnishing.

North Carolina · Lien deadlinesVerified 2026-10-01
Lien filing
120 days after last furnishing
Preliminary notice
Where the owner must designate a lien agent: improvements costing $40,000 or more, other than improvements to an existing single-family residential dwelling unit occupied by the owner as a residence: 15 days after first furnishing
Deadline to sue
180 days after last furnishing
Statute
N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 44A, art. 2

Preliminary notice

WhoProject typeBranchDeadlineStatute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, LaborerAnyWhere the owner must designate a lien agent: improvements costing $40,000 or more, other than improvements to an existing single-family residential dwelling unit occupied by the owner as a residence15 days after first furnishingStatute: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.2(l)(1); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.1(a); N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.2(l)(2)
What the statute says about it. A claimant may perfect a claim of lien on real property only if the lien agent received the notice within this time, or if the lien agent received it, or the claimant perfected its lien, before a conveyance to a bona fide purchaser for value is recorded. Recipients: The lien agent.
The lien agent identified in accordance with this section has received a Notice to Lien Agent from the potential lien claimant no later than 15 days after the first furnishing of labor or materials by the potential lien claimant.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.2(l)(1) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-05-17
for which the costs of the undertaking are forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.1(a) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-05-17
Provided, however, that the owner is not required to designate a lien agent for improvements to an existing single‑family residential dwelling unit as defined in G.S. 87‑15.5(7) that is occupied by the owner as a residence
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.1(a) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-05-17
(2) Any of the following conditions is met: a. The lien agent identified in accordance with this section has received a Notice to Lien Agent from the potential lien claimant prior to the date of recordation of a conveyance of the property interest in the real property to a bona fide purchaser for value protected under G.S. 47‑18 who is not an affiliate, relative, or insider of the owner. b. The potential lien claimant has perfected its claim of lien on real property pursuant to G.S. 44A‑11 prior to the recordation of a conveyance of the property interest in the real property to a bona fide purchaser for value protected under G.S. 47‑18 who is not an affiliate, relative, or insider of the owner.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 44A-11.2(l)(2) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-05-17

Lien filing

WhoProject typeBranchDeadlineStatute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, LaborerAnyDefault120 days after last furnishingStatute: N.C.G.S. § 44A-12(b)
Claims of lien on real property may be filed at any time after the maturity of the obligation secured thereby but not later than 120 days after the last furnishing of labor or materials at the site of the improvement by the person claiming the lien.
N.C.G.S. § 44A-12(b) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-05-17

Deadline to sue

WhoProject typeBranchDeadlineStatute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, LaborerAnyDefault180 days after last furnishingStatute: N.C.G.S. § 44A-13(a)
No such action may be commenced later than 180 days after the last furnishing of labor or materials at the site of the improvement by the person claiming the claim of lien on real property.
N.C.G.S. § 44A-13(a) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-05-17

How the days are counted

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

The time within which an act is to be done, as provided by law, shall be computed in the manner prescribed by Rule 6(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-593 · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-03-11
In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court, or by any applicable statute, including rules, orders or statutes respecting publication of notices, the day of the act, event, default or publication after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 6(a) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-06-14

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

The last day of the period so computed is to be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday when the courthouse is closed for transactions, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday when the courthouse is closed for transactions.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 6(a) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2026-06-14

A last day that is a legal holiday when the courthouse is closed for transactions also moves.

Except as otherwise provided by law, when the day or the last day for doing any act required or permitted by law to be performed in a public office or courthouse falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday when the public office or courthouse is closed for transactions, the act may be performed on the next day that the public office or courthouse is open for transactions.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 103-5(a) · Archived copy of the official text, captured 2025-06-20

Who the deadlines apply to

North Carolina's three rules each name the same five roles: direct contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers. None of the three is limited to residential work or to work other than residential; each is written for any project type. What sets the notice apart from the other two is the event its period starts from and a condition about the project itself.

How the periods run

Notice to the lien agent. This rule begins with a condition, not a date. It applies where the owner must designate a lien agent: improvements costing $40,000 or more [1], other than improvements to an existing single-family residential dwelling unit occupied by the owner as a residence. Where that condition is met, the notice goes to the lien agent, and its period, 15 days after first furnishing [1], starts when a claimant first furnishes labor or materials. It is the one North Carolina period counted from the start of a claimant's work instead of the end.

The statute links this notice to perfecting a claim of lien on real property. It allows that step only if the lien agent received the notice within the period, or if, before a conveyance to a bona fide purchaser for value is recorded, the lien agent received it or the claimant perfected its lien. The quote blocks under the table print both of those routes in the statute's own words.

Claim of lien and suit. Filing the claim and suing to enforce it both run from a single event: the claimant's last furnishing of labor or materials at the site of the improvement. The filing period is 120 days after last furnishing [1], and the suit period is 180 days after last furnishing [1].

Counting the days

G.S. 1-593 sends the counting of a time set by law to Rule 6(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure [2]. Under that rule, the day of the event that starts a period is left out, and the last day of the period is counted [3].

A last day that lands on a Saturday or a Sunday carries over to the next day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday on which the courthouse is closed [3]. Rule 6(a) treats a legal holiday the same way only "when the courthouse is closed for transactions" [3], and G.S. 103-5(a) says the same of an act done in a public office or courthouse [4]. So the calculator moves North Carolina dates off a Saturday or a Sunday, and notes under each date that a holiday on which the courthouse is closed may move it later.

What changed recently

Section 44A-11.2, the section on notice to the lien agent, was last amended by S.L. 2025-25 [1]. Sections 44A-11, 44A-12 and 44A-13, which include the filing and suit periods above, were last amended by S.L. 2012-175 [1].

Related

Run the numbers for North Carolina

Lien deadlines: other states

Sources

  1. N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 44A, art. 2, North Carolina General Assembly (archived copy, captured 2026-05-17)
  2. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-593, North Carolina General Assembly (archived copy, captured 2026-03-11)
  3. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1A-1, Rule 6, North Carolina General Assembly (archived copy, captured 2026-06-14)
  4. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 103-5, North Carolina General Assembly (archived copy, captured 2025-06-20)

Changelog

  1. : Page published.
  2. : Dataset first published: 9 of 51 jurisdictions published.