- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS -

In terms of our collection efforts, contingency-based means that you only pay us if we are successful. We believe that our clients should have a path to recovering their money that does not include tossing "good money" at bad debt.

We provide services to companies of all sizes in an array of industries. Whether you are a contractor running your business out of your truck or a Fortune 500 health care company with multiple locations, we are here to serve your needs and have years of experience doing so.

A mechanic's lien is a legal claim against a property. Contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers can file one when they've furnished labor or materials to improve a property and haven't been paid. Once recorded, the lien attaches to the property's title, which makes it hard for the owner to sell or refinance until the debt is dealt with. If it still goes unpaid, the lien can be foreclosed and the property used to satisfy the debt.

In most states: general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, laborers, and often design professionals such as architects and engineers. The catch is that rights narrow depending on your tier and the project type. Pennsylvania cuts off lien rights below the sub-subcontractor level. Tennessee doesn't give subs or suppliers any lien rights on residential projects of one to four units. Your position in the chain matters as much as your state.

There's no single answer; every state sets its own window. Residential projects in Ohio allow 60 days from last furnishing, while commercial projects in New York allow eight months. Most states land somewhere between 90 days and four months, and the clock typically runs from your last day of furnishing labor or materials rather than your invoice date. In many states the window shrinks further if the owner records a notice of completion.

It means the last day you delivered substantial labor or materials to the project. It isn't your invoice date, and it isn't the end of your payment terms. In most states, warranty visits and small punch-list items won't restart the clock either. If you're unsure which date applies, use the earlier one. Filing early is allowed everywhere. Filing late is fatal.

In many states, yes, and skipping it usually kills your lien rights entirely. Florida requires a Notice to Owner within 45 days of first furnishing. California and Arizona have 20-day preliminary notices. Texas requires monthly notices, and North Carolina has a 15-day Notice to Lien Agent. Other states, including New York and Connecticut, don't require any preliminary notice at all.

It shouldn't. Preliminary notices are routine paperwork that professional contractors and suppliers send on every job, and in most states the legislature designed them simply to tell owners who is working on their property. Sophisticated owners and GCs expect them. Think of it like insurance: you send it at the start of every job, and nobody takes it personally.

Often, yes. Many states allow liens based on oral agreements, though proving the terms of a handshake deal gets harder if things are contested. Some project types are the exception. Texas homestead projects are the big one: without a compliant written contract signed before work begins, no lien right ever exists. Anyone doing residential work in Texas should get the contract signed before starting.

In nearly every state, the lien right is gone for good. Courts don't extend these deadlines for ongoing negotiations, promises to pay, or partial payments. You may still have a breach of contract claim against whoever hired you, but the claim against the property itself is lost.

Yes. The deadline kills the property claim, not the debt. You can still pursue whoever hired you on the contract, and a collections firm can do that on your behalf. That's the core of what NCCG does: contingency-based commercial collections, where the fee only applies if money is actually recovered.

Generally you can't lien public property. Public projects use payment bonds instead, under the federal Miller Act or the state equivalents, and bond claims come with their own notice and deadline requirements. This calculator covers private projects. If your job is public, call us and we'll walk through the bond claim timeline.

No. Most liens get paid without anyone going to court, because a recorded lien creates problems for the owner and their lender that are usually cheaper to resolve than to fight. That said, a recorded lien doesn't last forever. California gives you 90 days to file suit; Ohio allows up to six years. If payment doesn't come, a foreclosure suit within that window is what keeps the claim alive.

No, and you should be wary of anyone who tells you otherwise. A lien is leverage. It puts your claim in front of the owner, the lender, and any future buyer, which is why most of them resolve without litigation. When the lien alone isn't enough, the claim can continue through collections and, if necessary, foreclosure through an attorney network.

Yes. Suppliers who furnish materials that are actually used in the project have lien rights in every state, generally on par with subcontractors. The differences show up in the notice requirements, which tend to be stricter for suppliers, and in a few states where lower tiers lose rights altogether.

Sometimes, but residential work carries more traps than any other part of lien law. Texas homesteads require a compliant written contract before work begins. Arizona bars liens on owner-occupied residences for anyone not in direct contract with the owner. Tennessee gives remote claimants no residential lien rights at all, and several states cap residential claims at whatever the owner still owes the general contractor. Check your state's rules before assuming anything.

A lien waiver is signed during the project, usually in exchange for a payment, and gives up lien rights for the amount being paid. Conditional waivers only take effect once the payment actually clears; unconditional ones take effect immediately, so read before you sign. A lien release is different. It removes a lien that has already been recorded, after you've been paid. Most states require a prompt release once the debt is satisfied, and some penalize claimants who drag their feet, which is why NCCG's $575 bundle includes the release.

NCCG files flat-fee in all 50 states: $150 for a preliminary notice, $475 for a mechanic's lien, or $575 for the full bundle with the lien release included. A flat $250 process service fee applies in the handful of states that require formal service. Collections work beyond the filing is handled on contingency.

Most filings are prepared within one business day once the project details are confirmed. If your deadline is only days away, call (833) 212-NCCG. Tight windows are a normal part of this work, but this will ultimately depend on the county/jurisdiction that is recording the document.