How to File a Lien in Massachusetts: Mechanic’s and Judgment Liens

To file a lien on property in Massachusetts, you take one of two routes: record a mechanic’s lien at the Registry of Deeds under Chapter 254 if you supplied labor, materials, equipment, or design services under a written construction contract, or convert a court money judgment into a lien by getting a writ of execution and having a sheriff or constable levy on the debtor’s real estate. Each route has its own deadlines, and the mechanic’s lien route in particular runs on three separate clocks. Miss any one of them and the lien dissolves automatically, with no court order required.

Which Path Applies to You

The right path depends entirely on the nature of the debt. If the money is owed for work performed or materials furnished on a construction, alteration, repair, or removal project on real property, you use the mechanic’s lien statute at Chapter 254. If the debt is anything else — unpaid rent, a personal loan, a business dispute, damages from a car accident — you first need a court judgment, and then you use a writ of execution to reach the debtor’s real estate.

You cannot skip the judgment step for a non-construction debt. There is no self-help lien for ordinary money claims in Massachusetts.

Who Can File a Mechanic’s Lien

Chapter 254 lien rights extend to anyone who furnished labor, materials, rental equipment, tools, or professional design services (including architects and engineers) for the construction, alteration, repair, or removal of a building or other improvement to real property.¹ General contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment rental companies, and design professionals all qualify.

One requirement disqualifies more claimants than any other: you must have a written contract. Oral agreements, handshake deals, and email chains that never resulted in a signed document do not support a lien. The statute grants lien rights only to persons working under a “written contract” with the owner (for general contractors) or with a contractor or subcontractor (for sub-tier claimants).² Without one, no lien exists regardless of the amount owed.

A subcontractor’s lien is also capped at what the owner still owes the general contractor at the time the owner receives notice of the subcontract filing. If the owner has already paid the general contractor in full, a subcontractor’s lien has nothing to attach to.

Step One: Record the Notice of Contract

The Notice of Contract is the foundational filing. You record it at the Registry of Deeds in the county or district where the property sits. Without it, you cannot proceed to the Statement of Account that fixes the amount claimed.

The Notice must include the contract date, the names of the owner and contractor (and subcontractor if applicable), a property description sufficient to identify the parcel, and an account of the contract showing the contract price, agreed change orders, pending change orders, disputed claims, and payments received.² Your mailing address goes on the form too.

You can record the Notice of Contract any time after the written contract is signed, even before work begins. The deadline is the earliest of:

60 days after the owner records a notice of substantial completion
90 days after the owner records a notice of termination
90 days after the last day anyone entitled to a lien performed work on the project

Filing early, right after the contract is signed, eliminates any risk of missing this window.

Step Two: Record the Statement of Account

The Statement of Account fixes the dollar amount of the lien. It must give “a just and true account of the amount due or to become due,” along with all credits, a brief property description, and the names of the owners listed in the Notice of Contract.³ File it at the same Registry of Deeds where the Notice of Contract was recorded.

The deadline here differs from step one. The lien dissolves unless the Statement of Account is recorded by the earliest of:

90 days after the filing of a notice of substantial completion
120 days after the filing of a notice of termination
120 days after the last day anyone entitled to a lien performed or furnished labor or materials on the project

When no notice of substantial completion or termination is on record, you get 120 days from the last day of work, rather than the 90 days that governed step one.³ But once a notice of substantial completion is filed, the window is 90 days. Treat these as hard cutoffs.

Step Three: File Suit and Record the Complaint

Recording documents at the Registry does not, by itself, let you foreclose. You must file a civil action to enforce the lien in the appropriate Massachusetts court within 90 days after recording the Statement of Account. If you do not commence that lawsuit within the 90-day window, the lien dissolves by operation of law.⁴

After filing the complaint, get an attested copy of it and a clerk’s certificate from the court. Both must be recorded at the Registry of Deeds within 30 days of starting the lawsuit. That recording ties the litigation back to the property’s title record.

The complaint itself must contain a property description sufficient to identify the parcel and a statement of the amount due. From there, the court decides whether the debt is valid and whether foreclosure of the lien is allowed.

Filing a Judgment Lien on Real Estate

If the debt is not construction-related, the mechanic’s lien statute does not apply. You need a court judgment first, then a writ of execution.

Getting the Writ of Execution

After a final money judgment is entered, you ask the clerk of the court that entered it to issue a writ of execution. The request should include the case caption, judgment date, and total amount owed including post-judgment interest. The writ directs a sheriff or constable to seize the debtor’s property to satisfy the debt.

Timing is strict. The original execution must issue within one year after you first become entitled to take it out. If that execution comes back unsatisfied, successive executions can issue, but each must be requested within five years of the return date of the preceding one.⁵ Sitting on a judgment past that first year is one of the easiest ways to lose the ability to reach the debtor’s real estate.

Levying on the Property

Deliver the writ to a sheriff or constable in the county where the debtor’s property is located. The officer levies by going to the property, preparing a return of service describing the real estate, and recording both the execution and the return at the Registry of Deeds. That recording creates the lien and puts the encumbrance on public record.

The levying officer also serves notice of the levy on the debtor. Confirm this step is completed and get a copy of the return of service for your file.

Recording at the Registry of Deeds

Every lien document in Massachusetts is recorded at the Registry of Deeds in the county or district where the property sits. When you submit a document, the Registry assigns it a book and page number, indexing the claim against the title. Anyone searching the property afterward will see it.

The Registry charges $105 for most documents, including lien filings, notices of contract, and statements of account, under the “all other documents” category.⁶ Budget for multiple recording fees across the Notice of Contract, the Statement of Account, and later the attested complaint.

Before submitting anything, check that the property owner’s name matches exactly what appears on the recorded deed. The legal description should include enough detail to identify the parcel, typically the lot, block, and the book and page number where the deed is recorded. The statute protects against minor inaccuracies in the description or stated amount unless the claimant knowingly overstated the claim,⁴ but a description too vague to identify the parcel or a wrong owner name can still sink the filing.

Notifying the Property Owner

After recording a mechanic’s lien, you must serve a copy of the Statement of Account on the property owner. Service can be by certified mail or by in-hand delivery through a process server. Keep the certified mail return receipt or the server’s return of service as proof. Without documented notice, the lien is exposed to a procedural challenge.

For a judgment lien, the levying officer handles notification as part of the levy. Ask for a copy of the return of service for your records.

How a Lien Gets Dissolved or Released

A mechanic’s lien dissolves automatically if any statutory deadline is missed: no timely Statement of Account, no enforcement lawsuit within 90 days, or no recording of the attested complaint within 30 days of filing suit. No court order is needed. The lien simply ceases to exist.

A property owner who wants to clear a valid lien from the title without paying the underlying claim can post a surety bond. Under Chapter 254, Section 14, the owner records a bond from a surety company authorized to do business in Massachusetts in an amount equal to the lien. The lien then dissolves immediately, and the bond substitutes as the claimant’s security. The claimant has 90 days after the later of the Statement of Account filing or receipt of notice of the bond to bring a civil action to enforce the bond.⁷

When the debt is paid or a court decides no lien is warranted, the claimant records a discharge or release at the Registry of Deeds to clear the title.

Mistakes That Invalidate a Lien

The most common errors that destroy an otherwise valid mechanic’s lien:

No written contract. Oral agreements do not support a Chapter 254 lien.
Late Notice of Contract. One day past the 60- or 90-day deadline eliminates the right to file a Statement of Account.
Late Statement of Account. Missing the 90- or 120-day deadline dissolves the lien automatically.³
No enforcement lawsuit within 90 days after the Statement of Account.⁴
Failing to record the attested complaint and clerk’s certificate at the Registry within 30 days of filing suit.
Willfully overstating the amount owed. Honest errors are tolerated; deliberate overstatements can invalidate the lien.⁴
Wrong owner name or a property description too vague to identify the parcel.

For a judgment lien, the most common mistake is letting the one-year window for requesting the writ of execution pass.⁵ Request the execution as soon as you are entitled to it, and get it into a sheriff’s or constable’s hands promptly.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part III, Title IV, Chapter 254, Section 2
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 254, Section 4
3
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part III, Title IV, Chapter 254, Section 8
4
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 254, Section 11
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 235, Section 17
6
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Registry of Deeds Fee Schedule
7
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Part III, Title IV, Chapter 254, Section 14