A Michigan mechanic’s lien — properly called a Claim of Lien under the Construction Lien Act — is filed by completing the sworn form set out at MCL 570.1111, having it notarized, and recording it with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits within 90 days of your last day furnishing labor or materials.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1111 – Claim of Lien You then have 15 days from recording to serve a copy on the owner or the designee listed on the Notice of Commencement. Miss any of these windows and the lien is gone; Michigan courts do not extend them.
Who Can File
Four groups have lien rights under the Construction Lien Act: contractors who contracted directly with the owner or lessee, subcontractors, suppliers of materials or equipment, and laborers who personally performed work under contract with a contractor or subcontractor.2Michigan Legislature. Michigan Code 570.1107 – Construction Lien Generally Licensed architects, engineers, and surveyors have a separate process under MCL 570.1107a and do not use the standard Claim of Lien form.
One eligibility rule routinely sinks residential claims: a contractor working on a building with two or fewer residential units, or on an individual condominium unit, must hold the proper license. If the contractor was unlicensed, MCL 570.1114a can make the lien unenforceable against that residential property.
Gather Your Documents Before You Start
Most of the data on the Claim of Lien comes from the Notice of Commencement, which the owner or lessee is required to prepare for every project. On non-residential work it is posted at the site before construction begins; on residential projects, the owner must prepare one within 10 days of receiving a certified-mail request from a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or laborer.3Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1108a – Notice of Commencement for Residential Structures Get a copy of it before you begin filling in the lien form.
Notice of Furnishing (Subcontractors and Suppliers Only)
If you do not have a direct contract with the owner or lessee, you had to serve a Notice of Furnishing on the designee named in the Notice of Commencement and on the general contractor within 20 days of first providing labor or materials.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1109 – Notice of Furnishing Certified mail works, and service is complete on the date of mailing.
Serving the notice late doesn’t automatically destroy your lien, but it narrows it. You keep lien rights for work performed after the notice is served, and you may keep rights for earlier work only to the extent the owner has not already paid against it based on a contractor’s sworn statement or lien waiver. In practice, a late Notice of Furnishing often means losing coverage for the first chunk of your work. Laborers are not subject to this penalty, and a contractor with a direct contract with the owner does not need to serve one at all.
Information the Form Requires
The statutory form at MCL 570.1111 asks for a specific set of facts.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1111 – Claim of Lien Pull these together before you sit down to complete it:
- Legal description of the property. A street address alone is not acceptable. Copy the legal description from the Notice of Commencement; if you don’t have one, the county Register of Deeds or tax assessor can supply it.
- Name of the owner or lessee, exactly as it appears on the Notice of Commencement.
- The first date you furnished labor or materials.
- The last date you furnished labor or materials. This date starts your 90-day recording clock, so pin it down precisely.
- For contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers: the total contract amount including change orders, the total payments received, and the unpaid balance you are claiming as the lien amount.
- For laborers: the hourly rate (including fringe benefits and withholdings) and the total sum owed, which go in a separate section of the form.
- Your own name and address as the lien claimant.
The lien amount must honestly reflect what you are owed. Deliberately inflating it risks having the whole lien declared fraudulent and forfeited rather than simply reduced.
Completing and Notarizing the Form
MCL 570.1111(2) prints the Claim of Lien form directly in the statute, and your document must follow it “substantially.” That word allows minor formatting variation but not changes to the content. Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs does not publish a fillable version, so most filers reproduce the form from the statute text or buy a blank from a legal document provider.
The order on the form tracks the information list above: claimant name and address at the top, then the property’s legal description and the owner or lessee’s name, then the first and last dates of furnishing, then the contract and payment figures (or the laborer’s hourly rate block). At the bottom sits a signature line followed by a “Subscribed and sworn to before me” notarization block. You are signing under oath, so sign only in front of a notary public. The notary affixes their seal, signature, and commission expiration date. Michigan caps notary fees at $10 per act. Without proper notarization, the Register of Deeds will reject the filing.
The form also has a “Prepared by” line at the bottom for the name and address of whoever drafted the document. Michigan recording standards require this on anything submitted to the Register of Deeds, so don’t leave it blank.
Recording at the Register of Deeds
Take or mail the notarized Claim of Lien to the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Recording must happen within 90 days after the last day you furnished labor or materials.5Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1115 Once that window closes, the lien right for that project is permanently gone. Put the deadline on your calendar the day work ends.
The standard recording fee is $30, which covers the document regardless of page count and includes state surcharges.6Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 600.2567 – Register of Deeds Fees Charter counties can set their own fees by ordinance, so confirm the amount with the specific office if you are filing in Wayne, Oakland, or another charter county. Most counties accept filings in person, by mail, or electronically; call ahead about e-recording options and any technology fees.
Staff will check basic formatting — legibility, notarization, the “Prepared by” line — before accepting it. Once recorded, the lien gets a recording reference, enters the public record, and clouds the title enough that the owner cannot sell or refinance without dealing with your claim.
Serve the Owner Within 15 Days
Recording is not the final step. Within 15 days of the recording date, serve a copy of the recorded Claim of Lien on the designee named in the Notice of Commencement, or on the owner or lessee directly if no designee was named or the designee has died.1Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1111 – Claim of Lien If you also recorded a Proof of Service for your Notice of Furnishing, include a copy of that with the lien copy.
You can serve the documents personally or by certified mail with return receipt requested, sent to the address on the Notice of Commencement. Certified mail service is legally complete on the mailing date, so you do not have to wait for a signed return. Keep the certified mail receipt and any returned card. Then prepare a Proof of Service recording the method and date; you will need to attach that proof to any later complaint, cross-claim, or counterclaim to enforce the lien.
What Happens After Recording
A recorded lien has a one-year shelf life. To collect, you must file a foreclosure action in the circuit court for the county where the property sits within one year of the recording date.7Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1117 – Enforcement of Construction Lien Miss it and the lien expires regardless of what you are owed. When you file, you also record a notice of lis pendens with the Register of Deeds and name every party with an interest the foreclosure could affect — mortgage holders, other lien claimants, co-owners. A breach of contract claim can ride along in the same lawsuit.
Contractors and subcontractors have one more hurdle. If the owner or lessee requested a sworn statement under MCL 570.1110 — a list of all subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers with amounts owed to each — you must have provided it before filing suit.8Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 570.1110 – Sworn Statement A lien recorded without a required sworn statement is still valid, but you cannot sue to enforce it until the statement is delivered. Filing a false sworn statement with intent to defraud is a criminal offense, with penalties scaled to the dollar amount and any prior convictions.
When a Construction Lien Does Not Apply
Construction liens only attach to private property. You cannot lien federal government property; the remedy for unpaid work on a federal project is a claim against the prime contractor’s payment bond under the Miller Act (40 U.S.C. §§ 3131–3134).9U.S. General Services Administration. The Miller Act State and local government property is also generally exempt, though bond requirements vary by project; check the contract documents on any public job before relying on lien rights.
If the property owner files for bankruptcy before you record, the federal automatic stay generally bars you from creating or perfecting a lien against the debtor’s property. A narrow exception exists for post-petition perfection where state law lets the lien relate back to a pre-petition date, but whether Michigan’s Act qualifies turns on the facts. Talk to a bankruptcy attorney immediately if you learn the owner has filed, because recording in violation of the stay can trigger sanctions.
Deadlines at a Glance
- Notice of Furnishing (subcontractors and suppliers): within 20 days of first providing labor or materials.
- Recording the Claim of Lien: within 90 days of the last day of furnishing.
- Serving a copy on the owner or designee: within 15 days of recording.
- Filing a foreclosure lawsuit: within 1 year of the recording date.
Each of these is absolute. Michigan courts have consistently refused to extend them, and no equitable exception applies. If a date is approaching while payment talks continue, record or serve first and keep negotiating after your rights are locked in.