Do I need to send a preliminary notice in Maine?

None required. A claimant with no contract with the owner may give the owner written notice that it is furnishing labor, materials or services and may claim a lien. Optional; it only protects sums the owner pays to its contractor after receiving it..

How long do I have to file a lien in Maine?

Claimants without a contract with the owner: within 90 days after ceasing to labor, furnish materials or perform services, record a sworn statement of the amount due and property description in the registry of deeds, and send a copy to the owner by ordinary mail (10 M.R.S. 3253(1)). This filing step does not apply when the work was furnished under a contract with the owner (10 M.R.S. 3253(2)).

How long does a Maine lien last before I have to enforce it?

File an action in Superior Court or District Court within 120 days after the last labor or services are performed or labor, materials or services are furnished (10 M.R.S. 3255(1)). If there was no contract with the owner, the owner may not be served until 30 days after filing. Within 60 days of filing, record a clerk's certificate, an affidavit or an attested copy of the complaint in the registry of deeds; failure does not void the lien but lets a bona fide purchaser take free of it (10 M.R.S. 3261).

Mechanics lien law

Maine lien deadlines for contractors

Updated September 24, 2026 · Checked against primary sources

The short answer

In Maine, claimants who did not contract with the owner must record a sworn lien statement at the registry of deeds within 90 days after they last furnish labor, materials or services, and mail the owner a copy. Every claimant, including prime contractors, must file suit within 120 days after the last labor or materials, then record notice of the complaint within 60 days.

The deadlines

Step	Rule
Preliminary notice: who	None required. A claimant with no contract with the owner may give the owner written notice that it is furnishing labor, materials or services and may claim a lien.
Preliminary notice: when	Optional; it only protects sums the owner pays to its contractor after receiving it. (Without a direct contract, the lien is limited to the balance the owner still owes its contractor, and owner payments made before the claimant's written notice or lawsuit reduce it (10 M.R.S. 3255(3)). An owner can also prevent a lien for future work by written notice that it will not be responsible (10 M.R.S. 3252).)
File or register the lien	Claimants without a contract with the owner: within 90 days after ceasing to labor, furnish materials or perform services, record a sworn statement of the amount due and property description in the registry of deeds, and send a copy to the owner by ordinary mail (10 M.R.S. 3253(1)). This filing step does not apply when the work was furnished under a contract with the owner (10 M.R.S. 3253(2)).
Enforce or perfect it	File an action in Superior Court or District Court within 120 days after the last labor or services are performed or labor, materials or services are furnished (10 M.R.S. 3255(1)). If there was no contract with the owner, the owner may not be served until 30 days after filing. Within 60 days of filing, record a clerk's certificate, an affidavit or an attested copy of the complaint in the registry of deeds; failure does not void the lien but lets a bona fide purchaser take free of it (10 M.R.S. 3261).

Other notices and rules

A bona fide purchaser takes free of the lien unless the claimant has recorded the 3253 statement or a registry notice of its claim, and, once suit is filed, the 3261 notice, before the purchaser takes title (10 M.R.S. 3255(2)).

Common questions

Do I need to send a preliminary notice in Maine?: None required. A claimant with no contract with the owner may give the owner written notice that it is furnishing labor, materials or services and may claim a lien. Optional; it only protects sums the owner pays to its contractor after receiving it..
How long do I have to file a lien in Maine?: Claimants without a contract with the owner: within 90 days after ceasing to labor, furnish materials or perform services, record a sworn statement of the amount due and property description in the registry of deeds, and send a copy to the owner by ordinary mail (10 M.R.S. 3253(1)). This filing step does not apply when the work was furnished under a contract with the owner (10 M.R.S. 3253(2)).
How long does a Maine lien last before I have to enforce it?: File an action in Superior Court or District Court within 120 days after the last labor or services are performed or labor, materials or services are furnished (10 M.R.S. 3255(1)). If there was no contract with the owner, the owner may not be served until 30 days after filing. Within 60 days of filing, record a clerk's certificate, an affidavit or an attested copy of the complaint in the registry of deeds; failure does not void the lien but lets a bona fide purchaser take free of it (10 M.R.S. 3261).

General information from the statutes cited below, checked 2026-09-24. Lien law is strict and details depend on your role and contract. Confirm with a construction lawyer in Maine before relying on a deadline.

Where Pavado comes in

How Pavado builds a CRM around your jobs

Lien rights are usually lost to a calendar, not a court. We build CRMs that start each job's notice and lien clocks from its real start and completion dates and remind you before every deadline, so the rights you earned by doing the work are still there when a customer stops paying.

Instead of bending your shop around someone else's software, we build the system around how your jobs actually move, and connect it to what you already use.

Your pipeline, your stages. From first call to paid invoice, set up the way your team already works.
Automations for the busywork. Follow-ups, reminders and handoffs that happen without anyone remembering.
One record per customer. Calls, quotes, jobs, photos and invoices in one place instead of five apps.
Connected to your stack. QuickBooks or Xero, Gmail or Outlook, payments and e-sign, plus thousands more through Zapier and an API.

1.Book a free demo and walk us through how a job moves today.
2.We map the workflow and send a scoped proposal, free.
3.We build it, connect your tools and get your team using it.

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The first conversation and a scoped proposal are free, and we will tell you early if we are not the right fit.

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Sources

Cite this page

Pavado, “Maine Lien Deadlines 2026: Notice and Filing”, https://www.pavadotech.com/lien-deadlines/maine, updated 2026-09-24.