Can I put a lien on a customer's property for an unpaid invoice?
Can you put a lien on a customer's property for an unpaid invoice?
Short answer
It depends on what you do. Contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers who improved real property can typically file a mechanics lien — a powerful pre-judgment security interest that attaches to the property and must be paid off before it can be sold or refinanced. Strict notice and timing requirements apply; missing them forfeits the right. Service businesses that did not improve real property (accountants, designers, consultants) cannot file a mechanics lien. They can, however, obtain a judgment lien by winning a lawsuit or small claims judgment, then recording that judgment in the county recorder's office where the debtor owns property.
A mechanics lien (also called a construction lien or materialman's lien) is available specifically to those who contribute labor, materials, or services to the improvement of real property — contractors, subcontractors, architects, engineers, material suppliers, and in some states, landscapers and certain design professionals. The lien attaches directly to the property regardless of who owns it, and it clouds the title until it is paid or successfully challenged. Banks will not fund a sale or refinance of a property with an unpaid lien.
The procedural requirements for mechanics liens are strict and vary by state. Most states require: (1) a preliminary notice sent to the property owner and general contractor within a specified window (often 20–60 days from first furnishing labor or materials), (2) the lien itself filed in the county recorder's office within a deadline after the last day of work (often 60–90 days), and (3) a lawsuit to enforce the lien within another window (often 90 days to 1 year after filing). Missing any of these deadlines kills the lien right entirely, even if the debt is valid. If you do construction work or supply materials, these deadlines should be calendar-blocked from day one of every job.
For businesses that do not improve real property — accountants, consultants, graphic designers, marketing agencies, software developers — the mechanics lien is not available. The path to a property lien runs through the courts: win a judgment against the debtor (small claims or civil court), then record a certified abstract of that judgment in the county recorder's office in any county where the debtor owns real estate. The judgment lien then attaches to any real property in that county currently or subsequently owned by the debtor. It must be paid off before the property can be sold or refinanced.
UCC Article 9 security interests are a third category. If you provided goods (not services) under a written contract and filed a UCC-1 financing statement before the sale, you may have a security interest in the goods themselves. This is common in equipment sales, leases, and supply-chain financing, but rare for pure service invoices.
Practically: if you are a contractor and were not paid, call a construction attorney in your state immediately to confirm your preliminary notice status and filing deadline — these are hard cutoffs. If you are a service business, your fastest path to a property lien is also your fastest path to money: a small claims or civil judgment, followed by a judgment lien recording. Syntharra's role is earlier — the persistent follow-up that resolves most of these invoices before the lien decision ever comes up.