Intermediate · Lesson 1 · 7 min
Lien Rights
Establishing, preserving, and protecting your lien rights from the first day of work.
Overview
Lien rights are usually created at the start of a project, not at the end. You either have them or you don't by the time payment is late.
Preserving rights is a documentation discipline — not a legal flourish.
Key Concepts
- • Establishing rights through proper contract formation
- • Maintaining rights through notice compliance
- • Protecting rights through careful change-order management
- • Recovering rights after a missed step (rarely possible)
Common Mistakes
- • Verbal change orders that destroy the audit trail.
- • Letting the prime contractor's payment status obscure the sub's own deadlines.
Practical Examples
Notice as insurance
A supplier sends preliminary notice on every project as standard practice — including projects that are likely to pay. The few that go bad still have full lien rights.
Downloadable Resources
Download Lesson PDF
Educational use only. Not legal advice. Lien rules vary by state — consult licensed counsel.