Industry Collections
Construction Lien Deadlines in the Western States: A Guide for Subcontractors and Suppliers
By Sven Nelson Updated
Photo by Toni Reed on Unsplash
Construction collections run on two clocks at once. The first is the ordinary one every creditor has: how long you can wait before a past due invoice becomes hard to collect. The second is the lien and bond deadline, and it is short, strict and measured from the work, not from the invoice. Miss it and a secured claim against the project turns into an unsecured claim against a customer who is already not paying.
Across the West, those deadlines are anything but uniform. A supplier shipping to jobs in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Albuquerque, Portland, Seattle, Boise, Billings and Cheyenne is working under nine different lien statutes, with notice windows that run from 8 business days to 60 days and enforcement windows that run from 120 days to two years. Here is how those deadlines line up, state by state, and when a construction collection agency should take the account.
Key takeaways- A mechanic's lien deadline and the statute of limitations on the debt are two different clocks. The lien clock is far shorter, and missing it leaves the debt collectible but unsecured.
- Six of the nine western states covered here build a notice step into the lien for at least some subcontractors and suppliers, and in several of them a missing notice means no lien at all.
- Recording windows run from 75 days in Oregon to 180 days after final completion in Utah, and the enforcement suit has to follow within months in most of these states.
- Public jobs cannot be liened. The payment bond replaces the lien, and the bond has its own notice and suit deadlines.
- Place a construction account while the lien or bond deadline is still ahead of you, and confirm your exact dates with a construction attorney in the state where the project sits.
Why do construction receivables need a different collection approach?
Direct answerBecause payment in construction flows down a chain, from owner to general contractor to subcontractor to supplier, and each link has a reason to hold money. The creditor's strongest leverage is a lien or payment bond claim, and those rights expire on statutory deadlines tied to the work, so waiting costs more here than in most B2B industries.
A distributor selling to a manufacturer has one customer and one invoice. A plumbing supply house selling to a mechanical subcontractor has a customer who is waiting on a general contractor, who is waiting on a draw from the owner's lender, who is waiting on an inspection. Retainage gets held back. A pay if paid clause in the subcontract gets quoted back to you. A change order nobody signed becomes the reason the whole pay application is short.
None of that erases what you are owed. It does mean the polite 30, 60, 90 day reminder cadence that works in other industries can walk a construction creditor right past the dates that matter. By the time a supplier decides the account is truly bad, the job may be finished, the completion clock may have started, and the lien window may be half gone.
What is the difference between a lien deadline and the statute of limitations?
Direct answerA mechanic's lien is security against the improved property, and the deadline to record and enforce it is short, usually measured in months. The statute of limitations governs how long you can sue on the underlying contract, usually measured in years. Losing lien rights does not cancel the debt. It removes the property as a source of payment.
Creditors mix these up constantly, and the mistake runs in both directions. Some give up on an account because the lien deadline passed, when the contract claim is still years from expiring. Others assume that because the statute of limitations is long there is no rush, and they lose the one remedy that would have made the owner and the lender care about their invoice.
The debt clock has its own state rules. Our guides for Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Idaho walk through each one, and the statute of limitations by state chart covers the rest. The lien on the same job, as the table below shows, lives or dies far sooner.
What are the mechanic's lien deadlines in the western states?
Direct answerMost western states give a subcontractor or supplier 90 to 120 days after its last work, or after completion, to record a lien, and then a few months to sue on it. Oregon is the shortest at 75 days. Utah runs to 180 days after final completion. Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and Wyoming add a notice step first.
This is the private project side, where the lien attaches to the owner's property. Read the table as a starting point for your calendar, not the last word on it. Every one of these statutes has definitions and exceptions that change the date on a given job.
| State | Notice before the lien | Record the lien | Sue to enforce |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | Notice of right to lien to the owner (NRS 108.245). It covers what you furnished in the 31 days before it and after. | 90 days after the latest of completion or your last work or delivery; 40 days after a recorded notice of completion (NRS 108.226) | 6 months after recording (NRS 108.233) |
| Utah | Preliminary notice on the State Construction Registry within 20 days after you start work (Utah Code 38-1a-501) | 180 days after final completion; 90 days after a notice of completion is filed (38-1a-502) | 180 days after recording, with a lis pendens (38-1a-701) |
| Colorado | No preliminary notice. Notice of intent to the owner and prime at least 10 days before filing (C.R.S. 38-22-109(3)) | 4 months after your last labor or materials (38-22-109(5)) | 6 months after last work or completion of the improvement (38-22-110) |
| New Mexico | Notice within 60 days of first furnishing for claimants below the prime's direct subs, on liens claimed for more than $5,000 (NMSA 48-2-2.1) | Original contractor: 120 days after completing its contract. Everyone else: 90 days after completion of the improvement (48-2-6) | 2 years after filing (48-2-10) |
| Oregon | Notice of right to lien to the owner (ORS 87.021). It protects what you furnished from 8 business days before it. On commercial jobs, material suppliers still need it. | 75 days after you stop furnishing or after completion, whichever is earlier (ORS 87.035) | 120 days after filing (ORS 87.055), with a 10 day notice of intent to foreclose first (87.057) |
| Washington | Notice to owner (RCW 60.04.031) for suppliers outside the owner and prime contracts. It covers what you furnished from 60 days before it. | 90 days after you stop furnishing (RCW 60.04.091) | 8 calendar months after recording (RCW 60.04.141) |
| Idaho | None on commercial work (the 45-525 disclosure is residential) | 90 days after your last labor or materials, then serve the owner within 5 business days (Idaho Code 45-507) | 6 months after filing (45-510) |
| Montana | Not required on commercial work (MCA 71-3-531) | 90 days after your final furnishing, or after a notice of completion is filed (71-3-535) | 2 years after filing (71-3-562) |
| Wyoming | Notice to the owner within 30 days after first furnishing, copy to your contractor (W.S. 29-2-112), plus a 20 day notice before filing (29-2-107) | Subs and suppliers: 120 days. Prime: 150 days. Measured from the earlier of last furnishing or substantial completion (29-2-106) | 180 days after filing (29-2-109) |
Two patterns are worth noticing. First, the enforcement window is often the trap, not the recording window. A supplier who records an Oregon lien on day 70 has 120 days from filing to sue, and a Washington claimant has eight calendar months from recording. Those dates arrive while the general contractor is still promising a check. Second, Colorado and Wyoming each require a notice to the owner before you file, 10 days ahead in Colorado and 20 days ahead in Wyoming, so the real recording deadline is earlier than the number in the statute.
Which states require a preliminary notice, and what happens if you skip it?
Direct answerNevada, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington all tie at least some lien rights to an early notice. In Utah and Wyoming, a supplier who never gives it has no lien. In Nevada, Oregon and Washington a late notice still works, but only for what you furnished within a short window before it. Idaho and Montana require none on commercial work.
The preliminary notice is where most suppliers lose their rights without knowing it. A yard that sends notices only once an account looks shaky has already given up part of what it delivered earlier on that job. In Nevada the notice reaches back 31 days. In Oregon it reaches back 8 business days. In Washington it reaches back 60 days. In New Mexico a late notice covers only what you furnished from 30 days before it.
Utah is the strictest on process. The notice is filed on the State Construction Registry within 20 days after you start work, and a lien claimant who never files one has no lien at all. Wyoming is close behind: a subcontractor or supplier sends written notice to the record owner within 30 days after first furnishing, with a copy to the contractor it works for, and missing that deadline bars the lien.
The fix is the same in every state. Send the notice on every job, at the start, whether or not the customer has ever paid late. It costs a stamp and a few minutes. It is the cheapest insurance a construction supplier can buy, and it tells the owner and the lender that you know your rights before anyone has a reason to test them.
What if the job is a public project and you cannot file a lien?
Direct answerPublic property cannot carry a mechanic's lien, so the prime contractor's payment bond takes its place. Each state sets its own notice and suit deadlines for that bond, and lower tier suppliers usually owe the prime an extra notice. On federal jobs the Miller Act applies: a second tier claimant gives notice within 90 days of its last work and sues within one year.
State and local public work runs on each state's own payment bond statute, often called a Little Miller Act. The notice periods and suit deadlines differ, and so does the trigger. Some count from your last delivery, some from completion and acceptance of the whole project, and Colorado counts from the published final settlement date.
| State | Notice on a public job | Deadline to sue on the bond |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | Claimants with no contract with the bonded contractor: notice within 30 days after first furnishing and within 90 days after last furnishing (NRS 339.035) | 1 year after your last labor or materials (NRS 339.055) |
| Utah | Preliminary notice on the State Construction Registry within 20 days after starting work or after the notice of commencement, whichever is later (Utah Code 63G-6a-1104) | 1 year after your last labor or materials (63G-6a-1103) |
| Colorado | Verified statement of the amount due, filed with the public body by the date of final settlement (C.R.S. 38-26-107) | 90 days after the published final settlement date (38-26-107) |
| New Mexico | Claimants who contracted with a sub: notice to the prime within 90 days after last furnishing (NMSA 13-4-19) | 1 year after the date of final settlement of the contract (13-4-19) |
| Oregon | Notice of claim to the contractor and the agency within 180 days after last furnishing (ORS 279C.605) | 2 years after your last labor or materials (ORS 279C.610) |
| Washington | Bond claim notice within 30 days after completion and acceptance (RCW 39.08.030). Suppliers to a sub: notice to the prime within 10 days after first delivery (39.08.065). Retainage claim within 45 days after completion (60.28.011) | Not set in chapter 39.08. Check with counsel. |
| Idaho | Claimants with no contract with the prime: notice within 90 days after last furnishing (Idaho Code 54-1927) | 1 year after your last labor or materials (54-1927) |
| Montana | Notice to the public body within 90 days after completion and acceptance (MCA 18-2-204). Suppliers to a sub: notice to the prime within 30 days after first delivery (18-2-206) | Not set in the bond statutes. Check with counsel. |
| Wyoming | On contracts over $150,000, notice to the general contractor within 60 days after first furnishing (W.S. 16-6-121) | 1 year after final completion of the public work (16-6-115) |
The expensive mistake on public work is the second tier supplier, selling to a subcontractor, who never sends the notice to the prime contractor because its relationship is with the sub. In Washington that notice is due within 10 days after first delivery, and in Montana within 30 days. On federal construction, 40 U.S.C. 3133(b)(2) makes the 90 day notice to the prime the price of admission to the bond. Without it, the supplier is left collecting from a subcontractor who likely has cash problems of its own. If you sell into public jobs, get the bond information when you open the account, not when the invoice ages.
What should a contractor or supplier do when a construction invoice goes past due?
Direct answerPull the job dates, confirm your notice went out, put the lien or bond deadline on a calendar, send a written demand, and stop extending new credit on that account. Then gather the file. Speed matters more than tone, because a courteous reminder sent after the lien window closes has no leverage left behind it.
- Calendar the dates. First furnishing, last furnishing, completion if you know it, and the lien or bond deadline that follows from each, using the rule for the state where the project sits.
- Check your notice. Confirm the preliminary notice or notice of right to lien went to every required party, and keep the proof of mailing or the registry record.
- Send a written demand. Name the project, the amount and the due date. State facts, not threats. Our final demand letter templates are a good starting point.
- Hold new credit. Shipping more material on open terms to a contractor who is 60 days behind grows the balance you will have to collect.
- Read what you signed. An unconditional lien waiver signed before the check cleared can give away rights on money you never received.
- Build the file. Credit application and any personal guaranty, purchase orders, delivery tickets signed at the jobsite, pay applications, change orders, lien waivers and every email about the job.
Suppliers that keep this file on every job collect faster on all of them. If gaps keep showing up in the credit application or the notice process, that is an upstream problem, and a written credit and collections policy is where to fix it. Rental houses have their own version of this problem with unreturned equipment, covered in our guide to equipment rental collections.
When should you hand a construction account to a commercial collection agency?
Direct answerAt 60 to 90 days past due, once your own demands go unanswered, and always while a lien or bond deadline is still ahead. A construction collection agency on contingency charges no fee unless money is recovered, and it can bring in a collection attorney when a lien foreclosure or bond suit is the right next step.
The value of placing early is that the collector still has something to work with. A general contractor who knows a lien can still be recorded, or a bond claim can still be filed, has a reason to find the money. The same contractor, six months after completion, knows the clock has run and treats your balance as the last bill to pay.
Sven Nelson and the team at C2C Resources work commercial claims across construction and heavy equipment, for equipment rental companies, electrical, HVAC and plumbing suppliers, lumber and building materials yards, and architecture and engineering firms, with jobs across the western states and the rest of the country. The collectors average more than 25 years of experience, C2C has served more than 35,000 clients since 2002, and together they have collected more than $1 billion. We handle business to business claims from $1,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars, under 120 days past due. If you have construction receivables aging past 60 days, our commercial debt collection services start with a straight read on which accounts are worth placing and which deadlines are still open. See where we collect for the state guides.
Owed money on a job that is already finished?
Talk to Sven before the lien window closes. Commercial (B2B) construction claims only, worked on contingency, so there is no fee unless we collect. Bring the aging report and the job dates and we will tell you where each account stands.
Prefer the phone? 855-927-0500. Or schedule a free consultation online.
Frequently asked questions
What if I already missed the lien deadline?
The debt is still owed. You lose the lien as security, but the contract claim generally survives until the statute of limitations on the debt runs, which in the western states is measured in years, not months. A personal guaranty on the credit application, a payment bond or a joint check agreement may still give you a path to payment. It is a harder collection, not a closed one.
Which western states require a preliminary notice from a supplier on a commercial job?
Nevada, Utah, New Mexico (for lower tier claimants on liens claimed for more than $5,000), Oregon (material suppliers), Washington (suppliers who did not contract with the owner or the prime) and Wyoming all build a notice step into the lien. Colorado uses a notice of intent before filing instead. Idaho and Montana do not require one on commercial work. Each rule has exceptions, so check the statute for your tier.
Can a supplier to a subcontractor file a mechanic’s lien in these states?
Generally yes, which is why the notice rules matter so much. The lower you sit in the chain, the more likely the statute requires a notice to the owner or the prime contractor before your lien or bond claim is valid. How far down lien rights reach varies by state, so confirm your position with a construction attorney before you rely on it.
Does a construction collection agency charge anything up front?
A contingency agency does not. The fee is a percentage of what is actually recovered, so there is no fee unless money is collected. The percentage depends on factors such as the balance size, the age of the debt and whether the debtor is still in business.
Do you collect from homeowners on residential jobs?
No. The Guy That Gets You Paid works commercial, business to business claims only, such as supplier to contractor and subcontractor to general contractor. Debts owed by individuals for their own homes are consumer matters and outside what we handle.
Sources, all read on each state's official statute site in October 2026: Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 108 (108.226, 108.233, 108.245) and chapter 339 (339.035, 339.055); Utah Code 38-1a-501, 38-1a-502, 38-1a-701, 63G-6a-1103 and 63G-6a-1104; Colorado Revised Statutes Title 38 (38-22-109, 38-22-110, 38-26-107, 2024 edition); New Mexico Statutes chapter 48 (48-2-2.1, 48-2-6, 48-2-10) and chapter 13 (13-4-19); Oregon Revised Statutes chapter 87 (87.021, 87.035, 87.055, 87.057) and chapter 279C (279C.605, 279C.610); Revised Code of Washington 60.04.031, 60.04.091, 60.04.141, 60.28.011, 39.08.030 and 39.08.065; Idaho Code 45-507, 45-510, 45-525 and 54-1927; Montana Code Annotated 71-3-531, 71-3-535, 71-3-562, 18-2-204 and 18-2-206; Wyoming Statutes Title 29 (29-2-106, 29-2-107, 29-2-109, 29-2-112) and Title 16 (16-6-115, 16-6-121); and 40 U.S.C. 3133 on govinfo.gov. Where a deadline is not set in the statute itself, this article says to check with counsel rather than give a number. Laws vary by state and change over time, and the facts of each project matter. This article is general information from a commercial collections professional, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a construction attorney. Written by Sven Nelson, The Guy That Gets You Paid, working with C2C Resources.