Iowa gives contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers a lien on the property they improved. The lien only works if the right notices were posted and the deadlines are met. Nick Hudson reviews your lien rights, calculates your dates, and posts your lien on the Iowa registry for one flat fee: $495 plus the $30 registry fee.
Nick Hudson reviews your lien rights, calculates your dates, and posts your lien on the Iowa registry for one flat fee: $495 plus the $30 registry fee. Call 515.519.3600 or schedule a consultation.
$175
Preliminary Notice or Notice of Commencement
$350
Lien demand letter
Iowa Secretary of State registry fees are billed at cost: $7 for a notice and $30 for a lien when posted online. Lien foreclosure and other construction disputes are billed hourly at Nick Hudson’s rate of $250 with a $2,500 deposit. Where Iowa law allows, we ask the court to award your attorney fees under §572.32.
The deadlines that decide whether you get paid
Post within 90 days. Under §572.9 a lien may be posted up to two years and 90 days after your last day of labor or materials, but §572.10 limits a lien posted after 90 days to what the owner still owes the general contractor at the time of posting. On most jobs, the money is gone by then. Treat 90 days from last furnishing as the real deadline. See the posting section of the lien guide.
Residential jobs have extra steps. A general contractor on a residential project must post a Notice of Commencement on the registry within 10 days of starting work under §572.13A. A subcontractor or supplier on a residential project must post a Preliminary Notice under §572.13B before the owner pays the general contractor the balance due. Miss the Preliminary Notice and your lien against an owner-occupied home is generally limited to what the owner has not yet paid. See the residential notices in the lien guide.
Commercial jobs have a 30-day notice. On nonresidential projects, a subcontractor or supplier who did not contract directly with the owner must give the general contractor written notice under §572.33 within 30 days of first furnishing labor or materials, or the lien is limited in the same way. See the commercial notice in the lien guide.
Respond to an owner’s demand within 30 days. If the owner serves a written demand under §572.28 that you commence an action to enforce the lien, you have 30 days to file suit or the lien is forfeited. Enforcement actions must in any event be brought within two years after the 90-day period ends under §572.27. See enforcement in the lien guide.
What the $495 lien fee includes
A review of your contract, invoices, and delivery records to confirm you have lien rights on this project type; a written deadline calculation; a check of the registry for the notice of commencement and other postings on the property; preparation and posting of the lien statement with the correct legal description and amount; the notices to the owner and general contractor the statute requires; and a short call to explain what happens next. The registry’s $30 posting fee is billed at cost.
Before the lien: notices and demand letters
Posting a Preliminary Notice or Notice of Commencement costs $175 plus the $7 registry fee and takes a day. A lien demand letter or notice of intent to lien from a law firm, at $350, often gets an invoice paid without a lien and preserves your position if it does not.
If the owner does not pay after the lien
A mechanic’s lien is enforced by a foreclosure action in district court. Enforcement is billed hourly, as noted above, and we will tell you before you start whether the amount at stake justifies the case.
If you are still setting up your business, we also handle forming an LLC for your contracting business.
Common questions
What is a Preliminary Notice and do I have to post one?
On residential projects, a subcontractor or supplier must post a Preliminary Notice on the MNLR under §572.13B before the owner pays the general contractor in full. Without it, your lien against an owner-occupied home is generally limited to the unpaid balance. Commercial projects use a different notice to the general contractor under §572.33.
What does it cost to post a mechanic’s lien in Iowa?
The Iowa Secretary of State charges $30 to post a lien online. Our flat fee for an attorney-reviewed lien posting is $495 plus that registry fee.
Can I lien a commercial project as a supplier?
Yes, if you furnished materials for the improvement. On nonresidential property, a supplier who did not contract with the owner must give the general contractor written notice within 30 days of first furnishing under §572.33 to protect the full claim.
What happens if the owner already paid the general contractor?
On an owner-occupied residence, a subcontractor who did not post a Preliminary Notice generally cannot enforce a lien for more than the owner still owes the general contractor. On other projects the limits in §572.10 and §572.33 apply. We review the facts before you spend money on a lien that cannot be collected.
What is a Notice of Commencement and who posts it?
The general contractor or owner-builder on a residential project posts a Notice of Commencement on the MNLR within 10 days of starting work under §572.13A. It identifies the project and lets subcontractors post their Preliminary Notices. We post it for $175 plus the $7 registry fee.
The owner sent me a demand to file suit. What do I do?
A demand under §572.28 gives you 30 days to commence an action to enforce the lien or the lien is forfeited. Call us the day you receive it.
Can I recover my attorney fees?
In an action to enforce a mechanic’s lien, §572.32 allows the court to award reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing plaintiff. It is discretionary, not automatic, and we will tell you how it applies to your case.
Do not let the 90 days run. Call Nick Hudson at 515.519.3600, email nick@conveyance.law, or schedule a consultation online.
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Working with our firm
If you’re considering a project, structuring a transaction, or working through a problem that’s developing, we’d be glad to talk. The decisions made early in a deal compound, and engaging the right legal counsel before the structure is locked in is meaningfully more valuable than fixing things later.
Conveyance Law, PLC | Des Moines, Iowa | 515.519.3600
