Do You Need a Disclosure Statement to File a Mechanics Lien in Washington?

The Rule

RCW 18.27.114 requires a contractor to deliver a model disclosure statement to the customer before starting work on a covered contract, and to obtain the customer's signature acknowledging receipt.

The teeth are in the lien consequence. A contractor subject to the section may not bring or maintain a lien claim under ch. 60.04 on a covered contract without alleging and proving that it delivered the disclosure statement. It is an element you plead and prove, not a technicality raised in defense.

Which Contracts Are Covered

The residential trigger is repair, alteration, or construction of four or fewer residential units or accessory structures on residential property, where the bid or contract price is $1,000 or more. The statute states no upper limit on the residential side.

The commercial trigger is repair, alteration, or construction of a commercial building where the bid or contract price is $1,000 or more but less than $60,000.

The $60,000 ceiling belongs only to the commercial branch. Reading it as a cap on residential coverage is a common and expensive error: a contractor on a $250,000 house remodel is squarely covered.

Who It Does Not Reach

The section does not apply to public contracts under ch. 39.04, and it does not apply to contractors contracting with other contractors. A subcontractor working for a general contractor is not delivering a disclosure statement to that GC.

It runs contractor to customer at the start of the job, which in practice means it lands on the general contractor dealing with an owner.

What to Keep

Retain the customer's signed acknowledgment for at least three years and be able to produce it. The signed copy is your proof. Delivery without a signature does not satisfy the statute, and an unsigned file copy will not carry the pleading burden when the lien is challenged.