This handout is intended as general information only, and not as legal advice for any specific situation.

If you
have a legal problem, you may want to check with an attorney.

Mechanics Liens
Colorado Revised Statutes, Section 38-22-101
What is a Mechanics Lien?
A lien is a hold put on property. If you have worked at a construction job site, or
provided materials to a construction job site, you can place a lien on that property
for any unpaid wages or for any materials not paid for. (Construction can include
remodeling or renovation work, such as painting.)
You can also claim interest on the money that is owed to you, in the amount of
12% per year. (You may be able to claim a higher or lower interest rate, if you
have an agreement with the construction job site about the amount of interest
you can claim.) [38-22-101(5)]
A Mechanics Lien is filed on the property where the construction job site was
located, in order to pressure the owner or contractor to help you get your money.
It is not the same thing as collecting a debt. When you file a Mechanics Lien on
property, it means that the owner(s) of the property will not be able to sell or
refinance the property without paying off the lien or posting a bond. If you are
going to file a Mechanics Lien, you should know that you will have to follow
certain procedures carefully, and within the right amount of time, in order to turn
your lien into a court judgment which could result in payment of what you are
owed. If you dont follow the rules about procedures and deadlines, you risk
owing money to the owner of the property.
DO NOT file a Mechanics Lien if the contractor has a payment bond. (To find
out if there is a payment bond, check with the Clerk and Recorders Office, or
look for a notice posted at the job site.) If there is a payment bond, you should
send a demand for payment to the contractor and the owner(s) of the property
within six months of the completion of work at the job site. If you are still not paid,
you should file a court action against the bond company. [38-22-127(3) and 3822-129(1)]
How do I file a Mechanics Lien?
1. Before you can file your lien, you must notify the owner(s) of the property,
and the principal contractor, that you intend to file a lien. To do this, send
a letter (Notice of Intent) by registered or certified mail, with a return
receipt requested. (You can also have the owner(s) and principal
contractor served by the Sheriff or a private process server.) [38-22109(3)]

This information is not intended as legal advice. If you need legal advice on this or any other problem
contact an attorney of your own choosing. If you cannot afford an attorney, contact Colorado Legal Services
at 303-837-1321.
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2. To figure out who the owner(s) of the property are, and the mailing
address(es) for the owner(s), you should check with the county tax
assessors office to get the owner(s) name(s) and address.
3. To figure out who the principal contractor is, and the mailing address for
the contractor, you should check with the county building department. The
information you need will be on the building permit for that property.
4. To figure out the correct legal description of the property, you should
check with the county Clerk and Recorder.
5. Your letter should say:
I was employed as a (laborer, carpenter, etc.) at or
I provided (describe materials) to
the property at (street, city, county and legal description)
and worked at the property from (date you started working there) to (last
date you worked there)
or and provided these materials on (dates when you provided the
materials).
To date, I have earned, but not been paid, (amount of money you are
owed). If my claim for (wages/payment for materials) is not paid within ten
(10) days, I will file a mechanics lien on the above-mentioned property.
This notice is given pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes Section 38-22109(3).
6. If you dont want to write a letter, you can use a form called Statement of
Lien with Notice of Intent to File a Lien Statement and Affidavits of
Service. Many office supply stores will have this form. Complete the form
using the information you have obtained about the owner(s), the principal
contractor, and the legal description of the property. Mail this form to the
owner(s) and the principal contractor.
7. You should be sure to have your signature on your letter, or on the
Statement of Lien, notarized.

8. Ten days after you mailed the letter or the form to the owner(s) and the
contractor, you can file your lien with the Office of the Clerk and Recorder
for the county in which the property is located. You will have to pay a
recording fee with the Clerk and Recorder
9. While a letter may be acceptable notice, the Statement of Lien with Notice
of Intent to File a Lien Statements and Affidavit of Service is the preferred

form of notice. Failure to include any required information in the notice

may invalidate the lien
What are the deadlines for filing a lien?
1. As explained above, you must give a ten (10) day notice to the owner(s)
of the property and to the principal contractor before you file your lien.
2. You must file your lien within 4 months of ending your work (or delivering
your materials) to the construction job site. [38-22-109(5)] This means you
must send out your ten-day notice no later than 10 days before the fourmonth period has elapsed.
3. A day laborer who only supplies labor to the job site has a 2-month
deadline to file a lien. {38-22-109(4)]
4. Once youve filed your lien, you will have to file a court action to foreclose
on the property, within either:
6 months of filing the lien, or
6 months of completion of the construction project, whichever is
later. [38-22-110]
Completion of the construction project usually means the date on which
a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) was issued, or the date when all work by
anyone was completed.
5. If you file the lien and more than 12 months go by before the project is
finished, you must renew your lien filing within 30 days of the anniversary
of the day you filed your lien. (You dont have to do this if you have
already filed a foreclosure action.) You can do this by filing an Affidavit
with the Clerk and Recorders Office saying that the work on the job site
has not yet been completed. If you dont do this, you lien becomes stale
and is no longer enforceable. [38-22-109(8)]
What do I do if my wages are paid after I file the lien?
You must file a form (Satisfaction of Claim) with the Clerk and Recorders
Office within ten (10) days. If you dont file this statement, and the lien remains
on the property after youve been paid, you may have to pay a penalty of $10.00
(ten dollars) per day for each day after ten days that the statement is not filed.
[38-22-118]
What do I do if my wages are NOT paid after I file the lien?
You will have to file a court action to foreclose on the property. Be sure to file the
foreclosure action before your time is upeither six months after youve filed the

lien with the Clerk and Recorder, or six months after completion of the project. If
the project continues without completion, be sure to renew your lien within 13
months of its filing. You should talk to an attorney if you need to file a foreclosure.
Errors (such as not naming everyone with an interest in the property as a
defendant) could result in legal claims being filed against YOU.
In a foreclosure action, you are asking the court to give you a judgment for the
amount of money you are owed. If you are not paid after you get the court
judgment, then the property can be sold at a Sheriffs sale and you will be paid
after the sale. Usually, since the amount you are owed is probably a lot less
than the value of the property, the owner will pay you to avoid having the
property go to a Sheriffs sale.
If there is a lender who is making payments to the contractor under a
construction loan, you can notify the lender of your lien and ask the lender to
withhold enough money to pay you, or to hold enough money until you can go to
court and get a court decision about how much money is owed to you. The
lender will be called a disburser. The contractor can tell you who the disburser
is, or you can locate the disbursers name and address at the Clerk and
Recorders Office in the county where the property is located. [38-22126]
You must give them a written notice explaining the work that you did (or the
materials that you supplied)and the estimated value of your work or materials.
You can also give this notice to the owner of the property or to the principal
contractor. [38-22-102(4) through (7)]
What else do I need to know?
1. If you file a lien for more money than you are due, or dont follow the time
limits for each step of the process, or some other part of your lien action is
done incorrectly, the owner of the property could file a claim against you.
This claim is called slander of title. You may have to pay the owners
costs and attorney fees. [38-22-128]
2. If the owner of the single family home (used as a primary residence) has
paid the general contractor the full contract amount for the purpose of
paying subcontractors and suppliers, the owner will have an affirmative
defense to the lien. This means that a foreclosure action against the
owner will not be successful. [38-22-102(3.5) and 38-22-113(4)]
3. You should have PROOF of the amount of money you are owed. Time
records, other pay stubs showing the hours you normally worked, and
witnesses who saw you at work will help. A copy of the bill for materials
will help if you are asking to be paid for materials you provided.
4. If you decide you dont want to file a lien or pursue a foreclosure
proceeding, you can file a case in Small Claims Court, County Court or

District Court. (To get to the instructions and forms for filing in Small
Claims on the Colorado State Court website click on Small Claims
Court.) Claims up to $7,500 can be filed in Small Claims Court. Claims of
up to $15,000 can be filed in County Court. Claims of greater than
$15,000.00 have to be filed in District Court. Small Claims Court has
easier rules of procedure than the other courts. If you get a judgment in
Small Claims Court, you can garnish bank accounts, wages, or other
payments made to the person who owes you money. You can also
attach propertyeven property that was not involved in the construction
job.
5. Collection agencies will sometimes buy debts. They will pay you a portion
of what you are owed, and then try to collect the debt themselves. You
will need to have proof of what you are owed.