Generally speaking, lien laws and deadlines are complicated. The Texas lien statutes, however, may be among the most complex in the nation.
When calculating your deadline to file a lien, there are two features that distinguish the Texas framework from other states.
First, rather than requiring your lien be filed within so many days from the last day of providing labor, the Texas statutes calculate the due date by months, with confusing language like “by the 15th day of the month ___ months after lien claimant completes work.” Second, the notice requirements differ by project, use the same confusing calculation method, and in some circumstances require contractors to re-serve the notice month after month.
One law firm in the Dallas-Ft Worth area has gone so far as to publish a blog post each month with the lien deadlines for work performed during that month.
On our Lien Law Punchlists page, we’ve compiled two charts from lien deadline information published by Texas law firms. A contractor and supplier can quickly look at this chart to determine when its lien and notice is required. One is the Lien Deadline Chart and the other is the 2 and 3 Month Notice Chart.
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