A Kentucky mechanics lien lets a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or laborer attach an unpaid construction debt to the property they improved, and it works only if every deadline is met: subcontractors must give the owner written notice within 75 or 120 days of their last work, the lien statement must be recorded with the county clerk within six months, a copy must be mailed to the owner within seven days of recording, and a foreclosure suit must be filed within 12 months. Miss any one and the lien dissolves automatically. There is no cure and no refiling.
Who Can Claim a Lien
KRS 376.010 gives lien rights to anyone who performs labor or furnishes materials to build, alter, or repair a structure, fixture, or improvement on real property.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.010 That covers general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and laborers. The lien reaches both the improvement itself and the underlying land.
A general contractor who dealt directly with the owner has the cleanest path: work performed, payment outstanding, lien available. Subcontractors and suppliers have no direct contract with the owner, so the statute adds a preliminary notice step before they can record anything.
One ceiling applies across the whole project. The total of all mechanics liens cannot exceed the original contract price between the owner and the general contractor.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.010 If the prime contract was $200,000 and three subs each try to lien $100,000, they share the $200,000 cap regardless of what each is individually owed.
Preliminary Notice for Subcontractors and Suppliers
Any claimant who did not contract directly with the property owner must send written notice to the owner before recording a lien statement. The notice has to say the claimant intends to hold the property liable and state the amount claimed. The deadline turns on the size of the claim:
- Claims under $1,000: notice must reach the owner within 75 days after the last labor or materials were furnished.
- Claims of $1,000 or more: 120 days after the last labor or materials were furnished.
Skipping this notice, or sending it late, kills the lien.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.010 Nothing in the statute lets a claimant fix it later.
Owner-Occupied Homes: A Stricter Rule
If the project is a single- or double-family home the owner lives in or intends to live in, the notice window is 75 days no matter the dollar amount. The notice must identify the labor or materials, state the intent to claim a lien, and specify the amount.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.010
There’s a second catch on residential jobs. Even with proper notice, the lien cannot reach anything the homeowner already paid to the general contractor before the notice arrived. Pay the GC in full first, and the sub’s lien against the home is effectively worthless.
Recording the Lien Statement
The lien statement is filed with the county clerk in the county where the property sits. KRS 376.080 controls the deadline and contents.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.080
The Six-Month Deadline
File within six months after the last day the claimant actually performed labor or delivered materials. The clock runs from the final day of work, not from an invoice date or a payment due date. The lien dissolves by operation of law if the deadline passes.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.080
What the Statement Has to Say
The statement must include:
- The amount due, with all known credits and offsets.
- A description of the property accurate enough to identify it. A legal description from the deed is the safest choice.
- The owner’s name, if known.
- Whether the claimant contracted directly with the owner or through a contractor or subcontractor.
- The claimant’s name and address. Corporations should list the registered process agent or another address where service of process can be made.
The statement must be signed under oath by the claimant or an authorized representative.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.080 Kentucky courts read these filings strictly.
Mail a Copy to the Owner Within Seven Days
After recording, the claimant has seven days to mail a copy of the lien statement to the property owner at their last known address. Regular mail is enough. The statute says the lien dissolves if this copy isn’t sent inside the window.2Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.080 Get a certificate of mailing from the post office and keep it. Proof of compliance is cheap; losing a lien to a disputed mailing is not.
Where a Kentucky Mechanics Lien Sits in Priority
Kentucky is less friendly to lien claimants on priority than many other states. Under KRS 376.010, a mechanics lien does not take priority over a mortgage, contract lien, or sale to a good-faith buyer that was recorded before the mechanics lien was filed.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.010 On a renovation with an existing mortgage, the bank almost always gets paid before the contractor.
The lien does jump ahead of encumbrances recorded after it was filed. Later creditors stand behind the lien claimant.
Enforcing the Lien
Recording clouds the title, which can block a sale or refinance, but that alone doesn’t force payment. To collect, the lienholder must file a foreclosure lawsuit in circuit court within 12 months of the date the lien statement was recorded.3Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.090 Miss that window and the lien dissolves as if it never existed.
If the property owner dies before the 12 months run, the statute adds six months from the date the owner’s personal representative is appointed in probate.3Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.090
If the court finds the lien valid, it can order the property sold and the proceeds distributed by priority. Many disputes settle once a suit is filed because owners and lenders would rather clear the lien than face a forced sale. That leverage evaporates the moment the 12 months lapse.
How Owners Fight Back
Kentucky’s strict procedure gives property owners several defenses.
Procedural Defects
The most common attack is that the claimant blew a deadline or skipped a step:
- Subcontractor missed the 75- or 120-day preliminary notice.
- Lien statement filed more than six months after last work or delivery.
- Copy of the lien not mailed to the owner within seven days of recording.
- No foreclosure lawsuit within 12 months of recording.
Any one of these dissolves the lien. Courts don’t bend the rules for sympathetic claimants.
Payment
If the owner can show the debt was already paid, the lien has no basis. Canceled checks, bank records, and signed receipts are the standard evidence. For owner-occupied residential work, the owner can also defeat a sub’s lien by proving that payments went to the general contractor before the sub’s notice arrived, even if the general contractor never passed the money along.1Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.010
Overstatement
The statement has to reflect the actual unpaid balance, with all known credits and offsets. Inflating the claim, whether on purpose or through sloppy books, opens the door to a validity challenge. Courts weigh whether the overstatement looks like an honest mistake or a pressure tactic.
Clearing a Lien by Posting a Bond
A recorded lien can freeze a property mid-sale or mid-refinance. KRS 376.212 lets the owner or contractor discharge the lien from the title by filing a surety bond with the county clerk in the county of recording. The bond must equal double the amount claimed.4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.212
The bond can be backed by cash, a bank letter of credit, or surety insurance from a licensed insurer. Once it’s approved and filed, the lien comes off the property, and the claim shifts from the real estate to the bond. The claimant can then pursue the bond obligors and enforce any judgment against them.4Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.212
Lien Waivers
Waivers are standard practice: a subcontractor gets paid and signs a document giving up lien rights for that payment. KRS 376.070 makes a written waiver enforceable.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.070 Kentucky doesn’t mandate a specific form; the waiver just has to be in writing and clearly express the intent to give up lien rights.
The conditional versus unconditional distinction matters. A conditional waiver takes effect only when the associated payment clears. An unconditional waiver takes effect the moment it’s signed, even if the check later bounces. Don’t sign an unconditional waiver until the money is actually in the account.
Pass-Through Payment Duty
KRS 376.070 also requires contractors and architects to apply payments received from the owner toward the claims of subcontractors and suppliers who worked on the project.5Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Kentucky Revised Statutes 376.070 A general contractor who takes the owner’s money and doesn’t pay the subs isn’t just breaching a contract; the statute directly addresses that diversion.
Public Projects Are Different
Mechanics liens don’t attach to government-owned property. On public work in Kentucky, unpaid contractors and suppliers rely on payment bonds instead. For local public agency contracts over $100,000, the contractor must furnish a payment bond equal to 100% of the contract price to protect everyone supplying labor and materials to the contractor or its subs.6Justia Law. Kentucky Revised Statutes 45A.435 Federal projects fall under the Miller Act, with its own notice deadlines and a one-year limitations period. If you’re on a public job and payment stops, your claim runs against the bond, not the property. Find out who the surety is before you start.