Tennessee 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
Tennessee's default lien filing rule for the direct contractor reads None required; deadline to sue 1 year after the improvement is complete or is abandoned (Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-106). Subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers: notice of lien 90 days after the improvement is complete or is abandoned (§ 66-11-115(a)(2)); deadline to sue 90 days after the notice of lien is served (§ 66-11-115(b)).
Tennessee · Lien deadlinesVerified 2026-10-03
Lien filing
None required
Direct contractor · A prime contractor's lien continues for one year after the date the improvement is complete or is abandoned, and until the final decision of any suit properly brought within that time for its enforcement. Recording a sworn statement concerns the lien's priority as to subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers, though not as concerns the owner.
Preliminary notice
For a remote contractor on an improvement other than one-family, two-family, three-family and four-family residential units, if its account is, in fact, unpaid: Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer: Within ninety (90) days of the last day of each month within which work or labor was provided or materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished; For a contractor about to enter into a contract with the owner for improving residential real property, as § 66-11-146 defines that term: Direct contractor: Prior to commencing the improvement of the residential real property or making of the contract
Deadline to sue
Direct contractor: 1 year after the improvement is complete or is abandoned; Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer: 90 days after the notice of lien is served
For a remote contractor on an improvement other than one-family, two-family, three-family and four-family residential units, if its account is, in fact, unpaid
Within ninety (90) days of the last day of each month within which work or labor was provided or materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished
What the statute says about it. A remote contractor who fails to provide the notice of nonpayment has no right to claim a lien under the chapter, except as to a certain amount or percentage of the contract amount retained to secure the remote contractor's performance. Recipients: The owner; The prime contractor in contractual privity with the remote contractor.
Direct contractor
Any
For a contractor about to enter into a contract with the owner for improving residential real property, as § 66-11-146 defines that term
Prior to commencing the improvement of the residential real property or making of the contract
What the statute says about it.Recipients: The owner or owners of the residential real property to be improved. Delivery: Written notice, by registered mail or otherwise, in substantially the form the section sets out.
(a) Every remote contractor with respect to an improvement, except one-family, two-family, three-family and four-family residential units, shall serve, within ninety (90) days of the last day of each month within which work or labor was provided or materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished and for which the remote contractor intends to claim a lien under this chapter, a notice of nonpayment for the work, labor, materials, services, machinery, or equipment to the owner and prime contractor in contractual privity with the remote contractor if its account is, in fact, unpaid.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-145(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(b) A remote contractor who fails to provide the notice of nonpayment in compliance with this section shall have no right to claim a lien under this chapter, except this section shall not apply to a certain amount or percentage of the contract amount retained to guarantee performance of the remote contractor.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-145(b) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
Any contractor who is about to enter into a contract, either written or oral, for improving residential real property, as that term is defined by § 66-11-146, with the owner or owners thereof shall, prior to commencing the improvement of the residential real property or making of the contract, deliver, by registered mail or otherwise, to the owner or owners of the residential real property to be improved written notice in substantially the following form:
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-203 · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
The above-captioned contractor hereby gives notice to the owner of the property to be improved, that the contractor is about to begin improving the property according to the terms and conditions of the contract and that under the provisions of the state law (§§ 66-11-101 — 66-11-141) there shall be a lien upon the real property and building for the improvements made in favor of the above-mentioned contractor who does the work or furnishes the materials for such improvements for a duration of one (1) year after the work is finished or materials furnished.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-203 · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
Lien filing
Who
Project type
Branch
Deadline
Statute
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer
Any
To preserve the lien's priority as of its attachment as concerns subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers for a valuable consideration without notice of the lien, though not as concerns the owner, for a lienor who has not recorded its contract under § 66-11-111
90 days after the improvement is complete or is abandoned
What the statute says about it. If the sworn statement is not recorded within that time, the lien's priority as to subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers is determined as if it attached as of the time the sworn statement is recorded.
What the statute says about it. A remote contractor has the lien provided by the part only if it serves this notice within that time and satisfies the requirements of § 66-11-145, if applicable. Recipients: The owner of the property on which the improvement is being made. Delivery: A notice of lien, in writing.
What the statute says about it. A prime contractor's lien continues for one year after the date the improvement is complete or is abandoned, and until the final decision of any suit properly brought within that time for its enforcement. Recording a sworn statement concerns the lien's priority as to subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers, though not as concerns the owner.
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer
Any
After a notice of completion is recorded, for improvements to or on real property for one-family, two-family, three-family and four-family residential units, for a prime contractor or remote contractor that has not previously recorded its contract or a sworn statement and served a copy of the registration on the owner
10 days after the notice of completion is recorded
What the statute says about it. If the notice is not served within that time, the claimant can no longer claim the lien. A prime contractor due a copy of the notice of completion that was not served one, and a remote contractor that served a notice of nonpayment and was not served a copy, are not affected by the notice of completion. Recipients: The person, firm or organization designated in the notice of completion for receiving notice of claim, at the address designated there. Delivery: Written notice stating the amount of the claim and certifying that the claim does not include any amount owed to the claimant on any other job or under any other contract.
Direct contractor, Subcontractor, Sub-subcontractor, Supplier, Laborer
Any
After a notice of completion is recorded, for all other contracts for improvements to or on real property, for a prime contractor or remote contractor that has not previously recorded its contract or a sworn statement and served a copy of the registration on the owner
30 days after the notice of completion is recorded
What the statute says about it. If the notice is not served within that time, the claimant can no longer claim the lien. A prime contractor due a copy of the notice of completion that was not served one, and a remote contractor that served a notice of nonpayment and was not served a copy, are not affected by the notice of completion. Recipients: The person, firm or organization designated in the notice of completion for receiving notice of claim, at the address designated there. Delivery: Written notice stating the amount of the claim and certifying that the claim does not include any amount owed to the claimant on any other job or under any other contract.
(a) In order to preserve the priority of the lien provided by this chapter as of the date of its attachment, as concerns subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers for a valuable consideration without notice of the lien, though not as concerns the owner, the lienor, who has not recorded the lienor's contract pursuant to § 66-11-111, is required to record in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the real property, or any part affected, lies, a sworn statement of the amount for, and a reasonably certain description of the real property on, which the lien is claimed.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-112(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
Recordation is required to be done no later than ninety (90) days after the date the improvement is complete or is abandoned, prior to which time the lien shall be effective as against the purchasers or encumbrancers without the recordation.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-112(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
If the sworn statement is not recorded within that time, the lien's priority as to subsequent purchasers or encumbrancers shall be determined as if it attached as of the time the sworn statement is recorded.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-112(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(b) A building, structure or improvement shall be deemed to have been abandoned for purposes of this chapter when there is a cessation of operation for a period of ninety (90) days and an intent on the part of the owner or prime contractor to cease operations permanently, or at least for an indefinite period.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-112(b) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(a) Every remote contractor shall have the lien provided by this part for work or labor performed or materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished by the remote contractor in furtherance of the improvement; provided, that the remote contractor:
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-115(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(1) Satisfies all of the requirements set forth in § 66-11-145, if applicable; and
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-115(a)(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(2) Within the time provided for recording sworn statements set out in § 66-11-112(a), serves a notice of lien, in writing, on the owner of the property on which the improvement is being made.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-115(a)(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
A prime contractor's lien shall continue for one (1) year after the date the improvement is complete or is abandoned, and until the final decision of any suit properly brought within that time for its enforcement.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-106 · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(1) Any prime contractor or remote contractor claiming a lien under this chapter on the property described in the notice of completion, who has not previously registered the person's contract as provided in § 66-11-111 or registered a sworn statement as provided in § 66-11-112 and served a copy of the registration to the owner, shall serve written notice, addressed to the person, firm or organization and at the address designated in the notice of completion for receiving notice of claim, stating the amount of the claim and certifying that the claim does not include any amount owed to the claimant on any other job or under any other contract.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(e)(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(A) For improvements to or on real property for one-family, two-family, three-family and four-family residential units, the written notice shall be served not more than ten (10) days from the date of the recording of the notice of completion in the register's office, and if notice is not served within that time, the lien rights of the claimant shall expire.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(e)(2)(A) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
If a prime contractor is entitled to be served with a copy of any notice of completion recorded with the register of deeds, then the lien rights of the prime contractor not so served a copy shall not be affected by the notice of completion.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(d) If a remote contractor has served a required notice of nonpayment pursuant to § 66-11-145, then any party recording a notice of completion shall simultaneously serve a copy of the notice of completion on the remote contractor.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(d) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
The lien rights of a remote contractor that has not been served a copy, shall not be affected by the notice of completion.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(d) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(B) For all other contracts for improvements to or on real property, the written notice shall be served not more than thirty (30) days from the date of the recording of the notice of completion in the register's office, and if notice is not served within that time, the lien rights of the claimant shall expire.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(e)(2)(B) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
The remote contractor shall have thirty (30) days from the date of the recording of the notice of completion to serve a written notice in response to the notice of completion in accordance with subsection (e).
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(d) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
Deadline to sue
Who
Project type
Branch
Deadline
Statute
Direct contractor
Any
Default
1 year after the improvement is complete or is abandoned
A prime contractor's lien shall continue for one (1) year after the date the improvement is complete or is abandoned, and until the final decision of any suit properly brought within that time for its enforcement.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-106 · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(3) A complaint, petition, or civil warrant under this chapter is timely filed if a suit seeking the issuance of an attachment is filed within the applicable period of time, even if the attachment is not issued or served within the applicable period.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-126(3) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(b) The lien shall continue for the period of ninety (90) days from the date of service of notice in favor of the remote contractor, and until the final termination of any suit for its enforcement properly brought pursuant to § 66-11-126 within that period.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-115(b) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
Notice of commencement and completion
Upon the completion of the improvement, the owner or purchaser of improved real property, or their agent or attorney, may record a notice of completion with the register of deeds, or require a person or organization with whom the owner or purchaser has contracted for the improvement to do so, and a copy is served on the prime contractor at the same time, unless the owner, or an entity controlled by the owner, also acts as the general contractor. A notice of completion recorded before the completion of the improvement is void and of no effect.
(a) In order to be protected from lien claims that have not previously been recorded, as provided in § 66-11-111 or § 66-11-112, the owner or purchaser of improved real property or their agent or attorney may, upon the completion of the improvement, record in the office of the register of deeds in the county where the real property or any affected part of the real property is located a notice of completion, or the owner or purchaser may require a person or organization with whom the owner or purchaser has contracted for the improvement to do so upon the completion of the improvement, and the owner or purchaser of improved real property or any other authorized party shall simultaneously serve a copy of any notice of completion recorded with the register of deeds on the prime contractor; provided, however, that no copy of the notice of completion is required to be served on any prime contractor when the owner, or an entity controlled by the owner, also acts as the general contractor, as defined in § 66-11-146(b)(1), in furtherance of the improvement to the property.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(a) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(f) Any notice of completion recorded as provided in this section before the completion of the improvement or the demolition is void and of no effect whatsoever.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-143(f) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
Residential projects
On contracts to improve residential real property, meaning a building of one dwelling unit in which the owner intends to reside or resides as the owner's principal place of residence, or a building of two, three or four dwelling units where the owner intends to reside or resides in one of the units as the owner's principal place of residence, with the improvements on its parcel, a lien exists only in favor of a prime contractor, except as § 66-11-146(b) provides. Under § 66-11-146(b), when the owner of residential real property (a building of one dwelling unit intended as the principal place of residence of a person or family) and the general contractor are one and the same person, or a person controls entities owning the property and a general contracting business, a lien exists only in favor of the lienors in contractual privity with the owner or general contractor.
(1) As used in this subsection (a), “residential real property” means a building consisting of one (1) dwelling unit in which the owner of the real property intends to reside or resides as the owner's principal place of residence, including improvements to or on the parcel of property where the residential building is located, and also means a building consisting of two (2), three (3) or four (4) dwelling units where the owner of the real property intends to reside or resides in one (1) of the units as the owner's principal place of residence, including improvements to or on the parcel of property where the residential building is located.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-146(a)(1) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(2) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, except as provided in subsection (b), on contracts to improve residential real property, a lien or right of lien on the property shall exist only in favor of a prime contractor.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-146(a)(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(A) “General contractor” means the person responsible for the supervision or performance of substantially all of the work, labor, and the furnishing of materials in furtherance of the improvement to the property; and
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-146(b)(1)(A) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(B) “Residential real property” means improvements to or on a parcel of property upon which a building is constructed or is to be constructed consisting of one (1) dwelling unit intended as the principal place of residence of a person or family.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-146(b)(1)(B) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
(2) When the owner of residential real property and the general contractor are one and the same person, or a person controls entities owning the property and a general contracting business, a lien or right of lien upon the property shall exist only in favor of the lienors in contractual privity with the owner or general contractor.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-146(b)(2) · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
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 any act provided by law is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, and then it shall also be excluded.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 1-3-102 · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
A last day that falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday moves to the next day that is not one.
January 1; the third Monday in January, “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day”; the third Monday in February, known as “Washington Day”; the last Monday in May, known as “Memorial” or “Decoration Day”; June 19, known as “Juneteenth”; July 4; the first Monday in September, known as “Labor Day”; the second Monday in October, known as “Columbus Day”; November 11, known as “Veterans' Day”; the fourth Thursday in November, known as “Thanksgiving Day”; December 25; and Good Friday;
Tenn. Code Ann. § 15-1-101 · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
The lien deadline calculator does not model Good Friday (Tenn. Code Ann. § 15-1-101 lists it by name, and its date changes each year with Easter Sunday) or the days set apart by law for holding county, state, or national elections (Tenn. Code Ann. § 15-1-101 names them without stating their dates), so a date it counts may move later.
and when any one (1) of these days falls on Sunday, then the following Monday shall be substituted; and when any of these days falls on Saturday, then the preceding Friday shall be substituted; also, all days appointed by the governor or by the president of the United States as days of fasting or thanksgiving, and all days set apart by law for holding county, state, or national elections, throughout this state, are made legal holidays, and the period from twelve o'clock (12:00) noon to twelve o'clock (12:00) midnight of each Saturday which is not a holiday is made a half-holiday, on which holidays and half-holidays all public offices of this state may be closed and business of every character, at the option of the parties in interest of the same, may be suspended.
Tenn. Code Ann. § 15-1-101 · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-30
Who the deadlines apply to
The Tennessee rules speak of a prime contractor, shown in the table as the direct contractor, and a remote contractor, whose rules list subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and laborers [1]. Every rule covers any project type.
For the direct contractor, the default lien filing rule reads None required: under § 66-11-106 a prime contractor's lien continues until 1 year after the improvement is complete or is abandoned[1], and until the final decision of any suit properly brought within that time. The remote contractor's step in the same stage is a served notice, not a filing.
How the periods run
Notice of nonpayment. For a remote contractor on an improvement other than one-family, two-family, three-family and four-family residential units, if its account is, in fact, unpaid, the notice runs Within ninety (90) days of the last day of each month within which work or labor was provided or materials, services, equipment, or machinery furnished[1]. Section 66-11-145(b) says a remote contractor that fails to give it has no right to claim a lien under the chapter, apart from an amount or percentage of the contract retained to secure its performance [1].
Notice before the residential contract. For a contractor about to enter into a contract with the owner for improving residential real property, as § 66-11-146 defines that term, § 66-11-203 sets a written notice to the owner, timed Prior to commencing the improvement of the residential real property or making of the contract[1].
Notice of lien. The remote contractor serves a written notice of lien on the owner within 90 days after the improvement is complete or is abandoned[1]. Under § 66-11-115, a remote contractor has the lien provided by the part only if it serves this notice in time and satisfies § 66-11-145, if applicable. Its deadline to sue is 90 days after the notice of lien is served[1]; the lien continues for that period and until the final termination of any suit for its enforcement properly brought within it.
Notices of completion
Upon completion, the owner or purchaser, or their agent or attorney, may record a notice of completion with the register of deeds. One recorded before completion is void [1].
After a notice of completion is recorded, a prime contractor or remote contractor that has not previously recorded its contract or a sworn statement and served a copy of the registration on the owner serves written notice of its claim. The period is 10 days after the notice of completion is recorded[1] for one-family to four-family residential units, and 30 days after the notice of completion is recorded[1] for all other contracts. If the notice is not served within that time, the statute says the claimant can no longer claim the lien [1]. A prime contractor due a copy of the notice of completion that was not served one, and a remote contractor that served a notice of nonpayment and was not served a copy, are not affected by the notice of completion [1].
How residential work is treated
Under § 66-11-146, on contracts to improve residential real property, a lien exists only in favor of a prime contractor. Where the owner and the general contractor are one and the same person, or a person controls entities owning the property and a general contracting business, § 66-11-146(b) instead limits the lien to lienors in contractual privity with the owner or general contractor [1].
Counting the days
Section 1-3-102 leaves out the first day of a period and includes the last. A last day that is a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday is left out as well, and this applies at every stage on this page [1]. Section 15-1-101 lists the legal holidays [1].
What changed recently
Sections 66-11-106, 66-11-112, 66-11-115 and 66-11-145 were last amended by Acts 2007, ch. 189 [1]. Sections 66-11-143 and 66-11-146 were last amended by Acts 2008, ch. 811, and §§ 66-11-126 and 66-11-203 by Acts 2020, ch. 749 [1].
: 10 more jurisdictions published: Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
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: 10 more jurisdictions published: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho and Indiana.
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: Dataset first published: 9 of 51 jurisdictions published.
