Washington Mechanic Lien Enforcement Deadlines

Private Works: 8 Calendar Months from Recording

A lien does not bind the property longer than 8 calendar months after recording unless the claimant files suit within that period and serves the owner within 90 days after filing. RCW 60.04.141. Miss either step and the lien stops binding the property.

The clock runs from the recording date, not from last furnishing. Calendar it the day the lien is recorded.

Where the lien claim states credit terms, the 8 months runs from expiration of that stated credit. The period is tolled by the owner's bankruptcy.

Public Works: No Lien, Two Remedies

A lien does not attach to public property. Claimants proceed against the payment bond under RCW 39.08 and the lien on money reserved by the public body under RCW 60.28. The two run on different clocks and should both be calendared.

On federally funded transportation projects covered by RCW 60.28.011(1)(b), the protection is the ch. 39.08 bond rather than retainage.

Payment Bond Claims (RCW 39.08)

There is no right of action on the bond unless the claimant presents and files written notice with the public body within 30 days from completion of the contract with acceptance of the work by the affirmative action of the public body. RCW 39.08.030(1)(a).

The anchor is completion plus formal acceptance, not last furnishing, so the date comes from the public body's records rather than from your own ledger.

A general contractor is the bond principal rather than a claimant against its own payment bond.

Suit on the Payment Bond

Chapter 39.08 sets the 30-day claim notice deadline and a rule that attorney fees are unavailable in a suit filed before 30 days have elapsed after the notice. It does not state a fixed outer period for filing the action itself.

The limitation period comes from outside the chapter. The Washington Supreme Court treats the statutory bond as a written contract, so RCW 4.16.040(1) supplies six years. Industrial Coatings Co. v. Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Maryland, 117 Wn.2d 511 (1991).

A bond form may carry its own, shorter suit limitation clause. No Washington appellate decision has enforced such a clause against a claimant protected by ch. 39.08, so read the bond and have the clause reviewed rather than calendaring off it.

Retained Funds (RCW 60.28)

Every person performing labor or furnishing supplies toward completion of a public improvement contract has a lien on the money reserved by the public body. The notice of lien must be given within 45 days of completion of the contract work, in the manner RCW 39.08.030 provides, which means filing with the public body. RCW 60.28.011.

Suppliers of materials, supplies, or equipment must also have given the contractor the RCW 60.28.015 notice, which may be given at any time and reaches back 60 days plus everything furnished after.

Foreclosure against the reserve fund must be brought within 4 months of filing the claim against the fund. RCW 60.28.030. Miss it and the fund is discharged from the lien and paid to the contractor. That 4-month limit does not restrict a suit against the contractor or surety where no foreclosure against the fund is sought.

Note the anchors differ: 30 days from completion with acceptance for the bond, 45 days from completion of the contract work for retainage, and 4 months from filing the claim for retainage foreclosure.

Summary of Washington Enforcement Deadlines

The deadlines that govern enforcement of Washington construction claims:

• Private works: file suit within 8 calendar months after recording, and serve the owner within 90 days of filing
• Payment bond: file the claim notice with the public body within 30 days from completion of the contract with acceptance by the public body
• Payment bond suit: six years under the written-contract limitation period; check the bond for a shorter suit limitation clause
• Retained funds: give the lien notice within 45 days of completion of the contract work, then foreclose within 4 months of filing the claim