Where to Find the Information that You Need to File Mechanic and Materialmen’s Liens

Collecting relevant, accurate information for every project is essential for filing mechanic and materialmen’s liens successfully. The easiest way to ensure that you always have the critical information in the event that you do need to file a lien is to create a simple mechanic lien system for collecting the information while projects are ongoing.

Waiting until a contract goes to collections is the wrong time to gather the information because by then, your memory of the essential details may be hazy. With a simple checklist, you can have one person in your organization collect all information and track all mandatory deadlines.

Once you have a simple checklist system in place, you also need to know how to find all of the information that your checklist requires. In this article, you’ll learn a few reliable places to find all of the information that you’ll need to file a lien. Any method you use to collect the information is okay, so long as it’s accurate. 

1.  Your company information

You’ll need to include your company name, address, and telephone number on the lien paperwork. This may seem like an unnecessary bit of information to track for every project, but what if your company moves to a new location, gets a new telephone number, or merges with another company? Having the company information as it existed during the project is helpful. 

2.  Information about the Person you contracted with and the Original Contractor

When you file a lien, you need to be able to determine whether the party you contracted with was a landowner, a tenant, or a general contractor because each impacts your lien rights differently. For example, if your contract is with a landowner, you have four months to file a lien. Also, you don’t have to send a pre-lien notice, but there is a different lien statement you need to use.

On the other hand, if you’re a subcontractor or sub-material supplier, you only have 90 days to file a lien. Also, you have to evaluate which pre-lien notice to send, and you have to use a different lien statement.  

So, where can you find this information? A great way to get it is to require that it be in your contract during the negotiation period. If the information is not already in your contract or you want to verify the information with a second source, you can often find the information by: 

• Sending a letter to the original contractor requesting the name and address of the owner and the legal description of the project.

• Calling the land records department of the county clerk where the project is located (this information is free and open to the public).

• Checking with the county assessor’s office to identify the landowner (this information is free and open to the public).

• Contacting the local permitting office, if the project is the type that requires permitting.

• Ordering a Title Report from the local abstracting company (there is usually a fee associated with this report).

3.  Information about the Owner of the property

Usually, this information will go hand-in-hand with the information in the preceding paragraphs.   

4.  The first and last date of material, services, labor, or equipment 

Documenting the first date of supply of materials, services, labor, or equipment establishes when your lien first attaches to the property. Oklahoma law says that mechanic and materialmen’s liens relate back to the original contractor’s first work, which is important if there are competing claims against the property.

 For example, if you or your original contractor does work on the property before the bank files a mortgage, you could have priority over the bank if you have to foreclose your lien. So, documenting the first day of work is critical! 

One way to document the first day of work is to take a time and date-stamped photo or video on-site. You could also save invoices with the first date or employee time cards. 

Knowing the last day of work is also important as it triggers the mandatory time limits for sending pre-lien notices and filing lien statements. More liens are lost because they used the wrong last date than for any other reason. As a general rule, the last date is the date you last supplied material or provided services on the original contract.

Warranty or repair work will generally not extend the last date. In fact, using punch list work as the last date is risky because, often, punch list work includes repair and warranty work.

 So, where do you find this information? A great way is to have the owner or original contractor acknowledge in writing the date of your last day of work. Suitable written acknowledgments could include a substantial completion certification or closeout certificate, employee time cards, or invoices from your contractors and suppliers.

Having the correct start and end date will help you file lien statements, if necessary, and your legal counsel will also need them to foreclose your lien. Creating a system to collect the information yourself could save your company quite a bit of money because you won’t need to pay an attorney to collect the information on your behalf. 

5.  Description of material, services, labor, or equipment

Pre-lien notices and lien statements require this description. A simple solution for collecting it is to include it in the contract and on all of the invoices. 

6.  Address and legal description of property

The address and legal description of the property where the material, services, labor, or equipment have been supplied is a key piece of information. To attach a mechanic and materialmen’s lien to real property, you need to know and identify its location. In Oklahoma, you do so with a legal description.

When you file a lien against real property with the county clerk’s office, they will give notice to the owner and general contractor. There is also constructive notice of the lien to third parties. If you put an incorrect legal description on the lien statement, it will be filed against the wrong property. If that happens, you may lose your lien rights, and you may have to answer to the property owner about putting a lien against his or her property.

Like much of the other information that you need to file a lien, the legal description should be in your contract. If it isn’t, you may be able to find the information by: 

• Simply asking the other party to provide the information.

• Checking with the county clerk’s office. If you can give them the address, they can usually give you the property’s legal description.

• Checking at the county assessor’s office, who will also have the legal description for taxing purposes.

• Ordering a Title Report from the local abstracting or title company.

• Asking the city street numbering department.

• Reviewing permit applications.

Relevant, accurate information makes filing liens simple

When you collect relevant, accurate information on each project, preparing and filing lien notices and statements is quick, easy, and often less costly than hiring an attorney to collect the information on your behalf.

Use our free, downloadable mechanic and materialmen’s lien checklist to help you file liens successfully. Feel free to get in touch if you have questions about how to use the checklist in your mechanic lien system.