How to Put a Lien on a Property in Georgia: Filing and Deadlines

To put a lien on a property in Georgia, you file a Claim of Lien with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the property is located, do it within 90 days of the last day you furnished labor, services, or materials, and send a copy to the property owner within two business days of filing.¹ That recorded claim (often called a mechanic’s or materialman’s lien) attaches to the real property and makes it hard for the owner to sell or refinance until the debt clears. Miss any deadline or leave out any required piece of the form, and the lien is void.

Who Can File

Georgia gives lien rights to a broad group of people who contribute to improving real property: general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, laborers, and anyone furnishing machinery for the project. Licensed architects, land surveyors, professional engineers, and interior designers also qualify for professional services tied to the improvement.²

You don’t need a direct contract with the owner. A subcontractor hired by the general, or a supplier who delivered materials to a subcontractor, can still lien the property even though the owner never agreed to pay them directly.

The Three Deadlines That Decide Whether the Lien Survives

Georgia’s lien deadlines are unforgiving. Treat each one as a hard wall.

90 Days to File the Claim of Lien

File the Claim of Lien with the Superior Court clerk within 90 days of the last day you actually furnished labor, services, or materials to the project.¹ The clock runs from the work date, not from your invoice date or when you expected payment. Legitimate callback visits and punch-list work can move that last date forward, but showing up just to reset the clock won’t hold up in court.

Two Business Days to Send the Owner a Copy

Within two business days of filing, send a true and accurate copy of the lien to the property owner by registered mail, certified mail, or statutory overnight delivery.¹ If you can’t find the owner’s address, the statute lets you send it to the general contractor as the owner’s agent. For business entities registered with the Georgia Secretary of State, sending it to the entity’s address or its registered agent is enough.

365 Days to Sue, Plus 30 More to File the Notice

Recording the lien doesn’t collect anything on its own. You have 365 days from the date the lien was filed to commence a foreclosure lawsuit, and within 30 days of filing that suit, you must record a Notice of Commencement of Lien Action with the same clerk’s office. If both haven’t happened within 395 days of recording, the lien can be disregarded.³ That 395-day window is exactly what the mandatory expiration language on the face of the lien refers to.

What Has to Be on the Claim of Lien

Georgia uses a statutory form, and any missing element can invalidate the lien. The claim must include:¹

Your full legal name and your capacity in the project (contractor, subcontractor, materialman, architect, and so on).
The name of the property owner.
The specific dollar amount you’re owed.
A full legal description of the property, taken from the county deed records or tax assessor. A street address alone is not enough, and an inaccurate legal description can void the lien.
The date the claim became due, meaning the last date you supplied labor, services, or materials.
A description of the work performed or materials furnished.

Every lien filed since March 31, 2009, must also carry two extra items on its face. First, this statement in at least 12-point bold font: “This claim of lien expires and is void 395 days from the date of filing of the claim of lien if no notice of commencement of lien action is filed in that time period.” Second, a notice telling the owner of the right to contest the lien. Without both, the clerk will not record the lien.³

The document also needs to be notarized before it goes to the clerk.

Where and How to File

File the completed, notarized Claim of Lien with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the property sits.¹ You can file in person or by mail. Recording fees vary by county but are modest; Bryan County, for example, charges $25 for a materialman’s lien. Call the clerk’s office in the right county to confirm the current fee before you send it.

Georgia also allows electronic filing through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority (GSCCCA) portal, with 159 counties participating.⁴ You can file directly through the portal or through an approved third-party submitter such as Simplifile or CSC.⁵

The Optional Preliminary Notice

Georgia does not require most claimants to file a preliminary notice before the Claim of Lien. The statute explicitly says you can enforce a lien without one.⁶ Still, filing one is a useful protective move, especially for subcontractors and suppliers with no direct line to the owner. It flags your existence early and often speeds up payment before a lien ever becomes necessary.

To be effective, the preliminary notice must be filed with the Superior Court clerk in the county where the property is located within 30 days of your first delivery of materials or start of work.⁶ If you file one, you must cancel it within ten days of receiving final payment or face liability for the owner’s actual damages, costs, and attorney’s fees to get it removed.⁷

Lien Waivers Can Kill the Lien Before You File

Most projects involve waivers. Georgia recognizes two statutory types: an interim waiver signed for a progress payment, and an unconditional waiver signed at final payment.⁸

Here is where contractors and suppliers get burned. Both waivers become binding 90 days after you sign them, whether or not you ever received the payment you signed for. If the check never arrives, you have 90 days from the date of signing to file an Affidavit of Nonpayment with the Superior Court clerk in the county where the property sits. Filing that affidavit suspends the waiver and keeps your lien rights alive until you actually get paid.⁸ Let the 90 days lapse without filing, and you have no lien for that payment.

One boundary worth knowing: a waiver signed before you start work or deliver anything is void and unenforceable, so a general contractor who asks you to waive lien rights up front is holding a piece of paper with no legal effect.⁸

What Happens After the Lien Is Recorded

Once recorded, the lien clouds the title. Any title search picks it up, which effectively freezes most sales and refinancings involving the property. That leverage is the point. The lien itself doesn’t force payment; it secures your position while you pursue collection.

To collect, you file the foreclosure lawsuit within 365 days and record the Notice of Commencement within 30 days of filing suit, both keyed to the clerk’s office in the county where the lien is recorded.³ A successful suit results in a judgment and, if the debt still isn’t paid, enforcement against the property up to a forced sale. Most cases settle in negotiation once foreclosure is on the table.

Be ready to move faster than the year-long window suggests. A property owner can file a Notice of Contest of Lien that shortens your time to sue from 365 days to 60 days from your receipt of the notice.⁹ If you can’t be ready to file suit that quickly, you can lose the lien. That is one reason many claimants talk with a construction attorney before filing rather than after receiving a contest notice.

After payment, record a cancellation or satisfaction with the same Superior Court clerk who recorded the lien, and cancel any preliminary notice within ten days of final payment.⁷ A satisfied lien left on the record clouds the owner’s title and delays their next transaction, and prompt cancellation is both a legal obligation and a professional courtesy.