Ohio Construction Lien FAQ

The deadline to record your Ohio Affidavit of Lien depends on the type of project:

•Residential Projects: You must file within 60 days of your last furnishing of labor or materials.

•Commercial/Other Private Projects: You must file within 75 days of your last furnishing of labor or materials.

•Oil and Gas Wells/Facilities: You have 120 days to file.

Yes, if you are a subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, or material supplier, you generally must serve an Ohio Preliminary Notice to preserve your lien rights.

•Who needs to send it: Anyone who did not contract directly with the property owner.

•Deadline: Within 21 days after your first day of furnishing labor or materials.

Ohio law grants lien rights to a wide range of parties who furnish labor, materials, machinery, or services for an improvement to real property. This includes:

•General contractors

•Restoration contractors 

•Subcontractors

•Sub-subcontractors and suppliers to subcontractors

•Material suppliers

•Laborers

•Equipment lessors

•Construction managers, architects, and engineers.

If you miss the statutory deadline (60 or 75 days) to record your Affidavit of Lien, you forfeit your right to secure payment via a mechanics lien on that property for that project. The lien will be considered invalid and unenforceable.

You must record the Affidavit of Lien with the office of the County Recorder in the county where the improved property is physically located.

Yes. If you file a valid lien and remain unpaid, you must enforce the lien by filing a foreclosure lawsuit (known as an "Action to Enforce").

•Standard Deadline: The lien is valid for 6 years from the date it was recorded, and you must file suit within this period.

•Shortened Deadline: If the property owner serves you with a Notice to Commence Suit, you must commence your foreclosure action within 60 days of receiving that notice, or your lien becomes void.

The Ohio Affidavit of Lien must include several key components required by statute (ORC 1311.06):

•The amount claimed as due and owing, over and above all legal setoffs.

•The name and address of the lien claimant (your company).

•The name and address of the party who contracted with the claimant (your customer).

•The name and address of the property owner or lessee.

•A legal property description (or address) of the improved land.

•The first day and last day of labor or work performed or materials furnished.

•The lien must be signed and notarized.

No. Ohio does not impose a minimum dollar amount to record a mechanics lien.

If you provided labor, materials, or improvements to the property and have any unpaid balance, you can file a lien for the amount owed, whether it’s $500 or $500,000.

Yes. Multiple contractors, suppliers, and laborers who have not been paid for their contributions to the improvement may each record their own separate lien for the amount they are owed against the same property.

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 an Ohio Discharge of Lien (or Release of Lien) with the same County      Recorder's office where the original lien was recorded.