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	Under some circumstances, Notice to Owner required before commencing work. Model Disclosure Statement due before work begins on all residential projects, and commercial projects under $60,000.	Washington Mechanics Lien must be filed w/in 90 days from last delivering labor or materials, and enforced within 8 months from lien%u2019s filing.
	Unless contracted with owner or prime contractor, must deliver Notice of Right to Claim Lien within 60 days from first delivering labor or materials.	Washington Mechanics Lien must be filed w/in 90 days from last delivering labor or materials, and enforced within 8 months from lien%u2019s filing.
	Unless contracted with owner or prime contractor, must deliver Notice of Right to Claim Lien within 60 days from first delivering labor or materials.	Washington Mechanics Lien must be filed w/in 90 days from last delivering labor or materials, and enforced within 8 months from lien%u2019s filing.

Washington Mechanics Lien Frequently Asked Questions

It’s easy to file Washington mechanics liens with Zlien, the web’s leading mechanics lien compliance manager and filing service. Plus, Zlien prepares and files Washington mechanics lien cancellations, preliminary notices, model disclosure statements and more. To learn more about Washington’s mechanics lien law, read the frequently asked questions below.

Washington Mechanics Lien FAQs

Who can file a Mechanic’s Lien?

You are qualified to file a mechanics lien in Washington if you furnished labor, professional services, materials, or equipment for the improvement of real property. Washington law defines qualifying improvements as “(a)Constructing, altering, repairing, remodeling, demolishing, clearing, grading, or filling in, of, to, or upon any real property or street or road in front of or adjoining the same; (b) planting of trees, vines, shrubs, plants, hedges, or lawns, or providing other landscaping materials on any real property; and (c) providing professional services upon real property or in preparation for or in conjunction with the intended activities in (a) or (b). You are not qualified to file a mechanic’s lien in Washington if you are a supplier to a supplier.

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When is the Deadline to File a Mechanic’s Lien?

The “Claim of Lien” must be filed within 90 days from the date services, labor, or materials were last delivered to the project. Liens filed after this deadline are void.

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Do I Need to Send Notice the Lien Was Recorded?

Yes. Washington requires the “Claim of Lien” to be delivered to the Owner within 14 days of the date of filing. The “Claim of Lien” can be delivered by certified or registered mail, or by personal service.

If you do not deliver notice to the owner, the lien in not invalid, but you cannot recover attorney fees or costs if you foreclose on the lien.

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Can I Include Attorney’s Fees, Collection Costs, or Other Amounts in the Lien Total?

No. However, if you foreclose on the lien, the court may award the prevailing party the money paid for recording the lien, attorney’s fees, and the necessary expenses incurred by the attorney, as costs.

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When is the Deadline to Enforce a Mechanic’s Lien, or, How Long is My Lien Effective?

Washington law requires that a mechanic’s lien be enforced within 8 months from the lien’s filing. If this 8-month period passes without an action being filed to enforce the lien, the lien expires.

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Will My Lien Have Priority Over Pre-Existing Mortgages or Construction Loans?

No. A Washington mechanic’s lien has priority only over a lien or other encumbrance which attached to the land after, or was unrecorded, at the time labor, services, or materials were first provided by you.

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Must the Lien Include a Legal Property Description?

No. A mechanic’s lien in Washington does not need to include a Legal Property Description to be valid.  The lien requires a street address, legal description, or other description reasonably calculated to identify the location of the real property to be charged with the lien.

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Must the Lien Include be Notarized?

Yes. A mechanic’s lien in Washington must be notarized to be valid.

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Can I File a Lien if I’m Unlicensed?

It depends. Washington requires builders to register and to obtain a certificate of registration. If you are a “builder” and fail to register, you lose your right to claim and enforce a lien. Suppliers of materials who do not perform the work of incorporating those materials into the project are exempt from these registration requirements.

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Can I File a Lien on a Condominium Project?

Yes. You may file a mechanic’s lien against a condominium project in Washington, if you are a party otherwise allowed to file a mechanic’s lien.

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Who Cancels the Lien if/when I get Paid?

Washington law (RCW 60.041.071) requires that a lien claimant release their lien rights “upon payment and acceptance of the amount due to [them] and upon demand of the owner or the person making payment. The lien claimant is required to immediately prepare and execute a release of lien rights, and deliver the release to the person making the payment.

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Washington Preliminary Notice FAQs

Do I need to send a Preliminary Notice?

If you did not contract directly with the Owner, you are required to provide the Owner with a “Notice to Owner”.

If you contracted  directly with the Owner, you are required to provide the Owner a “Model Disclosure Statement” when your work involves the repairing, altering or building of four (4) or fewer residential units on residential property and the bid price is $1,000 or more, or when the work to be done is on a commercial building and the bid price is between $1,000 and $60,000.

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When do I need to send a Preliminary Notice?

If you did not contract directly with the Owner, the “Notice to Owner” can be sent at any time, but it only protects your rights to claim a lien for a limited period of time prior to delivery of the Notice. To fully preserve your lien rights, the Notice to Owner must be delivered within 60 days of the date labor or materials were first furnished to the property for all commercial cases, and on a remodel, alteration, or repair of an owner-occupied single-family residence. If your work was the new construction of a single-family home, the Notice to Owner should be delivered within 10 days of first providing labor or materials to the project.

If you contracted directly with the Owner, the “Model Disclosure Statement” must be delivered prior to the initiation of work. The statement must be signed by the Owner, and you must retain a copy of the signed document for at least three years.

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What if I send the Preliminary Notice Late?

How Should the Preliminary Notice be Sent?