Oregon Construction Lien: Notices, Recording, and Foreclosure

To file a construction lien in Oregon, you deliver any required preliminary notices at the start of the job, record a verified claim of lien with the county clerk where the property sits within 75 days of your last work or substantial completion, and then mail a copy of the recorded claim to the owner and any mortgagee within 20 days. The steps live in ORS Chapter 87, and each one has its own deadline. Miss a step and the lien can be void before you ever get to court.

Send the Preliminary Notices First

Oregon front-loads the lien process with notices that have to go out before, or very early in, the work. Skip them and you can lose lien rights on the project entirely, no matter how good your paperwork is later.

Information Notice to Owner (Residential, Over $2,000)

If you are the original contractor on a residential project and the contract price is over $2,000, you must deliver an Information Notice to Owner. The Construction Contractors Board publishes the form, and you can download it from the Board’s website.¹

Deliver it when you sign the contract with the owner. If the price starts under $2,000 and later crosses that line, you have five days from learning that to get the notice delivered. Acceptable methods are hand delivery, registered or certified mail, or first-class mail with a certificate of mailing.²

An original contractor who fails to deliver this notice loses all lien rights on that project. The CCB can also suspend the contractor’s license or impose a civil penalty of up to $5,000.²

Notice of Right to Lien (Subs and Suppliers)

Subcontractors, material suppliers, and equipment renters who were not hired directly by the owner must send a separate Notice of Right to Lien. The form, also published by the CCB, identifies who you are, what you are providing, and who hired you.³

For commercial improvements — buildings or structures not used or intended as a residence of four or fewer units — this notice is not required to preserve lien rights.⁴

On residential work, timing is the trap. You can send the notice at any point during the job, but it only protects your lien rights for work and materials provided after a date eight business days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays) before you mailed or delivered the notice. Anything earlier is unprotected.⁴ Send it the day you start, not the day a payment dispute surfaces.

Fill Out the Claim of Lien

Oregon does not publish an official claim-of-lien form. Most claimants use templates from construction-law software, title companies, or legal-document providers. Whatever form you use, ORS 87.035 dictates what must appear on it:

A true statement of the demand, after deducting all credits and offsets — payments already received, agreed discounts, and anything you concede is not owed.
The name of the owner or reputed owner, if known.
The name of the person who hired you or to whom you furnished materials or rented equipment.
A description of the property sufficient to identify it, including the street address if known.⁵

Take the property description seriously. A street address alone may meet the “if known” standard, but the full legal description pulled from the deed or county tax records is safer. County clerks index liens against legal descriptions, and a vague description gives the owner an easy challenge. The legal description is usually on the county assessor’s website or in the project title report.

If you have agreed to extended payment terms with the person who hired you, state them in the claim. Under ORS 87.055, the 120-day foreclosure clock runs from the expiration of those extended terms rather than from the recording date, but only when the terms appear in the claim itself.⁶

Verify It Under Oath

The claim must be verified by the oath of the person filing it, or by someone else with personal knowledge of the facts. A false statement in the verification exposes the signer to criminal penalties for false swearing under ORS 162.075.⁷ In practice, that means signing in front of a notary who administers the oath and notarizes the form. An unsworn claim is not a valid lien.

Record the Claim With the County Clerk

Once the claim is notarized, file it with the county clerk in the county where the property sits. Most clerks accept filings in person or by mail. Recording fees run roughly $76 to $77 for the first page, with $5 for each additional page, though fees vary by county.⁸⁹ Confirm the fee with the specific clerk’s office before you file, and pay at submission.

The clerk reviews for basic completeness and, on acceptance, assigns the document an instrument number or book-and-page reference. That recording creates a cloud on title that any lender, buyer, or title company running a search will see.

The 75-Day Recording Deadline

Record the claim no later than 75 days after the earlier of two events: the date you last provided labor, materials, or equipment, or the date construction was substantially completed.⁵ File past that window and the lien is void. No exceptions. If you are unsure which date applies, count from the earlier one.

Mail Notice of the Filing Within 20 Days

Recording with the county is not the final step. You must also mail written notice to the owner and any mortgagee that the lien has been filed, with a copy of the recorded claim attached. The mailing must go out no later than 20 days after the recording date.¹⁰

The statute says “mail” without specifying a method.¹¹ Certified mail with return receipt requested is the smart choice, because it proves the notice went out and was received if the owner later denies it. Keep the receipts and any returned signature cards.

Missing the 20-day window does not void the lien, but it costs you: a claimant who fails to comply cannot recover attorney fees or costs in a later foreclosure suit, even if the claimant wins.¹⁰ In lien foreclosure, those fees can easily exceed the lien itself.

Foreclose Within 120 Days

A recorded lien does not sit on title indefinitely. You have 120 days from the recording date to file a foreclosure suit in circuit court. If you included extended payment terms in the claim, the 120 days runs from the expiration of those terms instead. Even with extensions, no lien can remain in force for more than two years from the original recording date.⁶

Before filing suit, send a written notice of intent to foreclose to the owner and any mortgagee at least 10 days before you file the complaint. If the owner demands it, you then have five days to provide an itemized list of the materials, labor, or contractual basis for the amount claimed. Skip this pre-suit notice and the court cannot award you recording costs, title-report expenses, or attorney fees, even if you prevail on the lien.¹²

One more thing to understand before filing suit: the statute shifts attorney fees to whichever party prevails on the validity and foreclosure of the lien, at trial and on appeal. A weak or inflated lien can leave you paying the owner’s legal bills.¹³

Mistakes That Kill a Lien

Each of these errors is permanent. None can be fixed after the relevant deadline passes.

Missing the 75-day recording deadline. Count from the earlier of your last day of work or substantial completion. No grace period.
Skipping the Information Notice to Owner on a residential job over $2,000. Original contractors who do this lose all lien rights on the project.
Skipping the Notice of Right to Lien on residential work. Subcontractors lose protection for any work done more than eight business days before the notice went out.
Inflating the demand. The claim must show the true debt after all credits and offsets. Overstating invites challenge, and the fee-shifting rule can turn a bad lien into a judgment against you.
A vague property description. Too thin to identify the parcel means grounds for contest.
Skipping verification. An unsworn claim is not a valid lien. Get it notarized before recording.
Missing the 120-day foreclosure window. The lien expires automatically. No one reminds you.
Forgetting the 10-day pre-suit notice of intent to foreclose. Even a timely lawsuit loses the fee and cost award without it.

Calendar every deadline the day you start the project, not the day payment goes sideways.

1
Oregon Construction Contractors Board. Information Notice To Owner About Construction Liens
2
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 87.093 – Information Notice to Owner; Rules; Contents; When Notice Must Be Delivered; Effect of Failure to Deliver Notice; Penalty
3
Oregon Construction Contractors Board. Notice of Right to Lien
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 87.021 – Notice to Owners
5
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 87.035 – Perfecting Lien; Filing Claim of Lien; Contents of Claim
6
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 87.055 – Duration of Lien; When Suit to Enforce Lien Commences
7
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 87.035 – Perfecting Lien; Filing Claim of Lien; Contents of Claim
8
Multnomah County. Recording Fees
9
Polk County, OR. Recording Fees
10
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 87.039 – Notice of Filing Claim of Lien; Effect of Failure to Give Notice
11
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 87.039 – Notice of Filing Claim of Lien; Effect of Failure to Give Notice
12
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 87.057 – Notice of Intent to Foreclose
13
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 87.060 – Foreclosure; Right to Jury Trial