Washington Lien Laws

In the state of Washington, existing lien laws protect suppliers and contractors in the event of non-payment. These lien laws in Washington require specific notices and filings to occur before any party may take action to enforce lien claims for unpaid indebtedness by project owner. For this reason, making sure that the entire lien process is adhered to strictly from before a project even starts is important.

Primary Contractors in Washington

Only under certain situations do prime contractors have a legal responsibility to offer preliminary notice to customers or project owners before starting work. Any claim on lien actions should first begin by filing notice of claim to owner no later than ninety (90) days after last date of work on project. Claim on lien notice must also be provided to project owner within fourteen (14) days of actually filing notice itself. Any action to foreclose on lien or otherwise enforce claims on lien must start not later than eight (8) months after initial lien recording date.

Sub Contractors in Washington

Save for situations where a sub contractor has directly done business with owner or specific prime contractor in Washington, the sub contractor should provide notice of right to claim lien to both primary contractors and the owners of the project no later than sixty (60) days after beginning any action on the given project. Actions to make claims on lien on behalf of sub contractors take the same schedule and form as those ascribed to primary contractors, including:

• File notice of claim on lien within ninety (90) days
• Serve notice of filing notice of claim on lien to owner within fourteen (14) days
• Commence actions to enforce lien claims no later than eight (8) months after filing of notice of claim on lien

Materials Suppliers in Washington

Materials suppliers in the state of Washington are required by law to adhere to the same preliminary notice process as sub contractors when securing lien rights. From there, any action to take claim on lien or enforce lien claims is the same for materials suppliers as it is for both prime and sub contractors noted above.