Maryland Construction Lien FAQ

You must file a Petition to Establish a Mechanics Lien within 180 days from your last furnishing of labor or materials.

Only in limited cases. Subcontractors working on owner-occupied residential propertymust send a Notice of Intention to Claim a Lien within the required timeframe.

General contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, laborers, equipment rental companies, restoration contractors, and certain design professionals may file liens if they improve property and remain unpaid.

If you miss the 180-day deadline, your lien rights are permanently lost.

Maryland liens are filed by petition in the Circuit Courtfor the county where the property is located not by recording with land records.

Maryland does not have a separate post-recording enforcement deadline like many states. Instead, enforcement is built into the lien process itself.

To preserve and enforce lien rights in Maryland, you must:

• File a Petition to Establish a Mechanics Lien within 180 days of your last furnishing of labor or materials, and

• Prosecute the court action once the petition is filed.

The Maryland lien petition must include property details, owner information, claimant information, hiring party, description of work or materials, amount claimed, and dates of furnishing.

No. Maryland does not impose a minimum or maximum lien amount.

Yes. Multiple lien claimants may file separate liens against the same property if each independently qualifies and meets statutory deadlines.

If the customer pays you the full amount owed after you have recorded a lien, you have a legal obligation to formally clear the lien from the property records.

You must prepare and file a Maryland Discharge of Lien (or Release of Lien) with the same office where the original lien was recorded.