How many days do you have to file a mechanics lien in West Virginia?
A general contractor must record a sworn notice of lien with the county clerk where the property sits within 100 days after finishing the work. A subcontractor or a supplier to a contractor must also record the notice with the county clerk within 100 days, after serving the owner. A supplier who contracted with the owner records within 100 days after last furnishing materials. The lien is discharged if these deadlines are missed.1 W. Va. Code 38-2-7; 38-2-8; 38-2-9; 38-2-10; 38-2-11
Do you need a preliminary notice in West Virginia?
A supplier who sold materials or equipment to a contractor or subcontractor (not to the owner) must give the owner or the owner's agent a sworn notice of lien, with an itemized account, within 100 days after the supplier stopped furnishing materials. A subcontractor must likewise give the owner a sworn notice of lien within 100 days after completing the subcontract. Notice is served by any method allowed for a legal notice or summons.2 W. Va. Code 38-2-9; 38-2-11
How long is a mechanics lien good for in West Virginia?
File suit in circuit court within six months after the notice of lien was filed in the clerk's office, or the lien is discharged. One lienholder's suit protects all other lienholders on the same property. On an existing single-family home, an owner-built primary residence, or an owner-occupied single-family dwelling, the owner can defend by showing the owner owes the contractor nothing, or less than the amount of the lien.3 W. Va. Code 38-2-34
Who can file a mechanics lien in West Virginia?
Contractors with a contract with the owner, subcontractors, material suppliers, and workers (laborers, mechanics and artisans) who work on a building or other improvement or on the land under it can all claim a lien; architects, surveyors, engineers and landscape architects have a separate lien under 38-2-6a. The lien attaches to the building and the owner's interest in the land.4 W. Va. Code 38-2-1; 38-2-2; 38-2-6
Does a West Virginia lien claim have to be notarized?
The notice of lien must be sworn: the claimant states under oath, before a notary or other officer, that the statements in the notice are true.5 W. Va. Code 38-2-8; 38-2-9; 38-2-11
What about public jobs in West Virginia?
On public buildings and structures, the public body must require the contractor to post a bond at least equal to the reasonable cost of materials, equipment and labor for the job, and the bond must be recorded with the county clerk before the contract takes effect. Suppliers and workers who go unpaid claim against the bond; no mechanic's lien attaches to a public building or its land.6 W. Va. Code 38-2-39
Sources
- W. Va. Code 38-2-7; 38-2-8; 38-2-9; 38-2-10; 38-2-11 (code.wvlegislature.gov, 2026-10-27)
- W. Va. Code 38-2-9; 38-2-11 (code.wvlegislature.gov, 2026-10-27)
- W. Va. Code 38-2-34 (code.wvlegislature.gov, 2026-10-27)
- W. Va. Code 38-2-1; 38-2-2; 38-2-6 (code.wvlegislature.gov, 2026-10-27)
- W. Va. Code 38-2-8; 38-2-9; 38-2-11 (code.wvlegislature.gov, 2026-10-27)
- W. Va. Code 38-2-39 (code.wvlegislature.gov, 2026-10-27)