Kentucky Construction Lawyer’s Guide to Mechanic’s Liens on Kentucky Projects (2026)
As a Kentucky construction lawyer who works with contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers every day, I can tell you that mechanic’s lien issues are among the most common and most consequential problems I see. The pattern is almost always the same: a payment dispute develops, the contractor assumes lien rights are available, and then we discover that a deadline was missed or a filing requirement was not followed. At that point the lien is gone. Kentucky courts require strict compliance with every step of the lien process, and they have been clear that substantial compliance is not enough.
This article is a practical guide to Kentucky’s mechanic’s lien framework as it applies to commercial construction projects on private property. It is written for general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers who need to understand how these rights actually work under Kentucky construction law. Residential projects and public projects have different rules and are not covered here. If your work is on a public project, the lien framework under KRS 376.210 through 376.260 applies instead, and the procedures are materially different.
Who Can File a Mechanic’s Lien in Kentucky?
Under KRS 376.010(1), any person who performs labor or furnishes materials for the improvement of real property has a lien on that property and the land it sits on. The statute is broad. It covers general contractors, subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, material suppliers, and equipment lessors. It also covers labor performed by teams, trucks, machinery, and mechanical equipment. The statutory definition of “supplies” includes the rental price of equipment and certain costs of keeping machinery in working condition, subject to the limitations and conditions set forth in KRS 376.010.
Licensed design professionals (architects, engineers, and surveyors) who contract directly with the owner also have lien rights, but those rights arise under a separate statute, KRS 376.075.
The critical requirement for everyone else is that the work must be performed “by contract with, or by the written consent of, the owner, lessee, contractor, subcontractor, architect, or authorized agent.” If you are a general contractor with a direct contract with the owner, this is straightforward. If you are a subcontractor or supplier further down the chain, you still have lien rights, but there are additional notice requirements that apply to you, discussed below.
Does a Subcontractor Have to Send Prelien Notice in Kentucky?
This is where most commercial subcontractors and suppliers get into trouble.
If you contracted directly with the owner or the owner’s authorized agent, you are not required to send a prelien notice. You can proceed straight to filing your lien statement (discussed below), subject to the filing deadline.
If you did not contract directly with the owner, KRS 376.010(4) (and related subsections) require certain claimants to provide written notice to the property owner before a lien can arise. On a commercial project (meaning not an owner-occupied single or double family dwelling), the deadlines depend on the size of the claim:
• Claims of $1,000 or less: notice must be sent within 75 days after the last item of material or labor is furnished.
• Claims over $1,000: notice must be sent within 120 days after the last item of material or labor is furnished.
The notice must state your intention to hold the property liable and the amount for which you will claim a lien. The statute permits proof that the notice was mailed to the owner’s last known address, or to an authorized agent as permitted by statute. Because compliance may later be contested, claimants should retain clear proof of mailing.
For the vast majority of commercial subcontractors, the relevant deadline is 120 days because the claim will exceed $1,000. But do not assume. If you have a small material delivery or a limited scope trade, the 75-day clock may apply.
Failure to send the required prelien notice is fatal to the lien. There is no cure. This is one of the reasons any experienced Kentucky construction attorney will tell you to calendar these deadlines at the start of a project, not after the first unpaid invoice.
Do Mechanic’s Liens Attach to Leasehold Interests in Kentucky?
The 2023 amendment to KRS 376.010 updated the statute to include references to lessees, clarifying that lien rights can attach to a lessee’s interest in the property and that a lessee is not deemed the owner’s authorized agent unless the owner has designated the lessee in writing for that purpose (KRS 376.010(1)(b)).
This matters on tenant improvement projects where the contractor’s agreement is with the tenant, not the building owner. When improvements are made by a lessee, a lien attaches to the lessee’s interest. Whether the lien also extends to the lessor’s interest depends on compliance with the statutory provisions governing lease language and notice. KRS 376.010(3) provides a statutory framework under which a lessor may limit or avoid lien attachment to the fee interest, provided the lease language and statutory notice requirements are satisfied. Whether those statutory conditions have been met requires review of the lease terms and the timing and content of any required statutory notice. The attachment of a lien to a lessor’s interest should not be assumed without careful review of the governing documents and the statute.
What Is the Deadline to File a Mechanic’s Lien in Kentucky?
Whether or not a prelien notice is required, you must file a formal lien statement with the county clerk in the county where the property is located. Under KRS 376.080(1), the lien statement must be filed within six months after you cease to labor or furnish materials.
The lien statement must include:
• The amount due, with all just credits and set-offs known to you.
• A description of the property intended to be covered by the lien, sufficiently accurate to identify it.
• The name of the property owner, if known.
• The party that hired the clamant, their address and their role (general contractor, subcontractor, etc.)
• Whether the materials were furnished or the labor performed by contract with the owner or with a contractor or subcontractor.
• The name and address of the claimant (and if a corporation, the name and address of the corporate process agent or another address where service of process can be accomplished).
Note that Kentucky does not require a full legal property description. The statute only requires a description “sufficiently accurate to identify” the property. That said, what counts as “sufficiently accurate” can vary by county, and some county clerks may insist on a legal description as a practical matter. The safest approach is to include the best description available, including the legal description if you have it.
The lien amount should not exceed the contract price. Attorney fees, collection costs, and other extraneous amounts should not be included in the lien claim itself, though they may be recoverable in an enforcement action.
Does a Kentucky Mechanic’s Lien Have to Be Notarized?
Yes. The statement must be “subscribed and sworn to” by the person claiming the lien or someone acting on their behalf. This means the statement must be notarized. Both the language and the notarization matter.
In Prodigy Construction Corp. v. Brown Capital, Ltd., 525 S.W.3d 108 (Ky. App. 2017), the Kentucky Court of Appeals held that a lien statement using the phrase “in testimony thereof” rather than “subscribed and sworn to” was defective and void. The court held that the lien statute’s specific language requirement controls, not the general rules of civil procedure.
That case is worth reading carefully. It illustrates how seriously Kentucky courts take the strict compliance standard, and it is a reminder of why having a Kentucky construction attorney review lien filings before they go to the clerk is worth the cost.
Does the Lien Statement Have to Be Mailed to the Property Owner?
Yes. After filing the lien statement with the county clerk, you must send a copy of the statement to the property owner by regular mail at their last known address within seven days of filing. Under KRS 376.080(1), failure to mail the statement within that seven-day window dissolves the lien entirely.
The statute permits regular U.S. mail. However, because proof of compliance is critical and the consequence of failure is dissolution of the lien, sending the copy by certified mail with return receipt requested is the better practice. Regular mail technically satisfies the statute, but it leaves you with no proof of mailing if the issue is ever contested.
This is a standalone requirement. Filing the lien statement with the clerk is not enough. The mailing must happen, and it must happen within seven days.
How Long Do You Have to Enforce a Mechanic’s Lien in Kentucky?
Under KRS 376.090(1), a mechanic’s lien is automatically dissolved unless the claimant files a lawsuit to enforce the lien within twelve months from the date the lien statement was filed with the county clerk. There is no extension for negotiation, mediation, or ongoing discussions with the other side. If you do not file suit within twelve months, the lien dissolves by operation of law. Kentucky courts strictly enforce the twelve-month deadline, and failure to file within that period will ordinarily result in dissolution of the lien.
If the lien statement is properly filed and the enforcement action is timely brought, the lien is valid and effective against any creditor of, or bona fide or other purchaser from, the owner of the property (KRS 376.090(2)).
Can an Owner Bond Off a Mechanic’s Lien in Kentucky?
Yes. The property owner (or any contractor or other person in privity) can bond off the lien at any time before judgment by filing a bond for double the amount of the claimed lien with good sureties approved by the county clerk (KRS 376.100). This removes the lien from the property while preserving the claimant’s right to recover against the bond. The claimant can make the obligors on the bond parties to the enforcement action.
If you receive notice that your lien has been bonded off, the lien is discharged from the property, but your claim survives against the bond. You still must enforce within the twelve-month deadline, and you should consult a Kentucky lien lawyer promptly to evaluate your options.
Strict Compliance: What It Actually Means Under Kentucky Construction Law
Kentucky courts have repeatedly held that the mechanic’s lien statutes require strict compliance. This is not a judicial preference. It is settled law. The Court of Appeals stated in Prodigy that it had “specifically rejected arguments that the lien statutes should be liberally construed,” citing Middletown Engineering Company v. Main Street Realty, Inc., 839 S.W.2d 274 (Ky. 1992) and 3D Enterprises Contracting Corp. v. Louisville & Jefferson County Metro. Sewer Dist., 174 S.W.3d 440 (Ky. 2005).
What this means in practice is that there is no room for substantial compliance, good faith efforts, or close-enough-is-good-enough approaches. If the statute says “subscribed and sworn to,” you must use those words. If the statute says seven days, you have seven days. If the statute says six months, that deadline is hard.
For contractors and subcontractors, the practical takeaway is this: lien rights are not something you figure out after you have a payment problem. They are something you build into your project administration from the start. The deadlines should be calendared when the project begins, not when the first invoice goes unpaid.
Kentucky’s Fairness in Construction Act and Lien Waivers
Kentucky adopted the Fairness in Construction Act (KRS 371.400 et seq.), which applies to construction contracts entered into after June 26, 2007. The Act addresses several provisions that interact with lien rights, including restrictions on lien waivers.
Under KRS 371.405, any provision in a construction contract that requires a contractor or subcontractor to waive the right to file a mechanic’s lien before payment has been received is void and unenforceable. This means an owner or general contractor cannot require a blanket prospective lien waiver as a condition of the contract. Lien waivers tied to specific payments actually received are enforceable, but a clause that says “subcontractor waives all lien rights” as a general contract condition is not.
This is important because lien waiver language shows up frequently in subcontracts and purchase orders, sometimes buried in boilerplate. If you are reviewing a Kentucky construction contract and you see a blanket lien waiver provision, know that it is unenforceable under the Fairness in Construction Act, but also know that many parties do not realize this and may try to rely on it.
Kentucky Commercial Lien Timeline
For quick reference, here are the critical deadlines for perfecting and enforcing a mechanic’s lien on a commercial private project in Kentucky:
Prelien notice to owner (if no direct owner contract)
Within 120 days after last furnishing labor or materials. Within 75 days if the claim is $1,000 or less.
Lien statement filed with county clerk
Within 6 months after you cease to labor or furnish materials. Must be subscribed and sworn to (notarized). Must contain all required information under KRS 376.080.
Copy mailed to property owner
Within 7 days of filing with county clerk. Regular mail to last known address. Certified mail recommended.
Lawsuit to enforce lien
Within 12 months of filing the lien statement. Cannot be extended.
Parting Thought
Mechanic’s liens exist to protect the people who build things. They give contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers a security interest in the property they improved when the normal payment process breaks down. But the protection is only as good as your compliance with the statutory requirements.
Most lien problems are not legal problems. They are process problems. The deadlines are known in advance. The filing requirements are specific and publicly available. The mistakes that dissolve liens tend to be simple ones: a missed notice deadline, sloppy language on a filing, a mailing that goes out on day eight instead of day seven.
If you do commercial construction work in Kentucky, the time to learn these rules is before you need them.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Mechanic’s lien law involves fact-specific analysis, and the rules differ depending on the type of project, the parties involved, and the applicable contracts. If you have a payment dispute on an active project, consult with a Kentucky construction attorney experienced in lien law.
Nate Simon is the founder of Simon Law, PLLC, a construction law firm in Lexington, Kentucky. He can be reached at nate@simonlawky.com.
