How many days do you have to file a mechanics lien in Minnesota?
The lien ends 120 days after the last work or the last item of skill, material or machinery is furnished unless, within those 120 days, the claimant both records a verified statement of claim with the county recorder (or registrar of titles) and serves a copy on the owner, the owner's agent, or the person who contracted with the contractor, in person or by certified mail. The statement gives the amount claimed, the claimant and the person it worked for, the first and last dates of work, a legal description of the property, the owner's name, and a statement that any required notice was given.1 Minn. Stat. 514.08 subds. 1, 2
Do you need a preliminary notice in Minnesota?
A contractor who hires subcontractors or suppliers must put a statutory lien notice in the written contract with the owner (or deliver it by hand or certified mail within 10 days after the work is agreed if there is no written contract); a contractor who skips it loses the lien. Every subcontractor and supplier, anyone not under direct contract with the owner, must give the owner a written notice by hand or certified mail within 45 days after first furnishing labor, skill or materials, or the lien is not valid. A good-faith effort at the form is enough unless the owner or another lienholder is harmed. Notice is not required for wholly residential improvements of more than four family units or for non-agricultural, partly or fully nonresidential property over 5,000 square feet.2 Minn. Stat. 514.011 subds. 1, 2, 4b, 4c
How long is a mechanics lien good for in Minnesota?
The lien cannot be enforced unless the claimant files a complaint or answer in court within one year after the date of the last item of the claim stated in the recorded lien statement. The action is brought in district court in the county where the property sits and is run like a mortgage foreclosure. The claimant records a notice of lis pendens when the action starts.3 Minn. Stat. 514.12 subd. 3; 514.10; 514.12 subd. 1
Who can file a mechanics lien in Minnesota?
Anyone who performs engineering or land surveying services, or contributes to improving real estate with labor, skill, material or machinery, has a lien on the improvement and the land, whether hired by the owner or by an agent, trustee, contractor or subcontractor of the owner. The lien reaches the owner's interest in the land, up to 80 acres (40 acres for homesteaded agricultural land).4 Minn. Stat. 514.01; 514.03 subd. 3
Does a Minnesota lien claim have to be notarized?
The statement of claim must be verified by the oath of a person who has knowledge of the facts stated in it.1 Minn. Stat. 514.08 subd. 2
What about public jobs in Minnesota?
A public contract at or above the competitive-bid threshold in Minn. Stat. 471.345 subd. 3 is not valid unless the contractor gives a performance bond and a payment bond, each at least equal to the contract price. To claim on the payment bond, a supplier or subcontractor must serve a written notice of claim on the surety and the contractor within 120 days after its last labor or materials, and must start suit within one year after that last item.5 Minn. Stat. 574.26 subds. 2-3; 574.31 subd. 2
Sources
- Minn. Stat. 514.08 subds. 1, 2 (revisor.mn.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Minn. Stat. 514.011 subds. 1, 2, 4b, 4c (revisor.mn.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Minn. Stat. 514.12 subd. 3; 514.10; 514.12 subd. 1 (revisor.mn.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Minn. Stat. 514.01; 514.03 subd. 3 (revisor.mn.gov, 2026-10-27)
- Minn. Stat. 574.26 subds. 2-3; 574.31 subd. 2 (revisor.mn.gov, 2026-10-27)