Michigan Construction Lien Deadlines: The Notice of Furnishing, the Sworn Statement, and the 90-Day Claim of Lien

Michigan's construction lien system runs on a set of documents that depend on one another. The owner starts it by recording and posting a Notice of Commencement. A subcontractor or supplier responds by serving a Notice of Furnishing on the designee named in that Notice of Commencement. The Claim of Lien — the lien itself — comes last and must be recorded within 90 days of last furnishing. Sitting alongside all of it is the contractor's sworn statement, the document that tracks who is owed what, and that sworn statement is what determines how much a late Notice of Furnishing actually costs a claimant.

The framework lives in the Michigan Compiled Laws, the Construction Lien Act, Act 497 of 1980 (MCL 570.1101 et seq.). Two features define Michigan practice and trip up out-of-state contractors. First, the Notice of Furnishing is served on a designee identified in the owner's recorded Notice of Commencement — a claimant has to obtain that document to know whom to serve. Second, the consequence of a late Notice of Furnishing is not a flat loss of the lien; it is measured against payments the owner made on the strength of a contractor's sworn statement or lien waivers. Verify the current text of Act 497 before relying on any specific date — the Notice of Furnishing window and its sworn-statement interaction are exactly where claimants lose ground.

Who Can Claim a Lien

The Construction Lien Act grants a lien to a contractor, subcontractor, supplier, or laborer who provides an improvement to real property, but the procedure each follows turns on its position in the contracting chain:

The contractor-versus-subcontractor line drives the Notice of Furnishing. A contractor in direct contract with the owner generally does not serve a Notice of Furnishing. A subcontractor, supplier, or laborer below the contractor generally must — and must attach the proof of service to the recorded Claim of Lien. The Construction Lien Act is to be liberally construed to secure its beneficial results, but the procedural steps still have to be followed.

The Notice of Commencement

Michigan's system begins with the owner's Notice of Commencement. Before an improvement begins, the owner or lessee who contracts for the work is to prepare a Notice of Commencement, record it with the register of deeds for the county where the property is located, and post a copy on the project site. The Notice of Commencement identifies the property, the owner, the contractor, and — critically for subcontractors — a designee to receive notices.

The Notice of Commencement matters to a subcontractor because it names the person to whom the Notice of Furnishing must be served. A subcontractor's first move on a Michigan project is to obtain a copy of the recorded or posted Notice of Commencement and identify the designee. A claimant who furnishes labor or materials without first locating the Notice of Commencement risks serving the Notice of Furnishing on the wrong party — or missing the window while it hunts for the right one.

The 20-Day Notice of Furnishing

The Notice of Furnishing is Michigan's preliminary notice for lower-tier claimants. A subcontractor, supplier, or laborer not in direct contract with the owner generally must serve a Notice of Furnishing on the designee named in the Notice of Commencement — and on the contractor — within 20 days after first furnishing labor or materials to the improvement. The notice identifies the claimant, the contractual relationship, and the work or materials being furnished.

What makes Michigan distinctive is the consequence of a late notice. A late Notice of Furnishing does not flatly destroy the lien. Under the Construction Lien Act, the failure to provide the Notice of Furnishing within the 20-day window does not defeat the claimant's lien for work performed or materials furnished before the notice was served — except to the extent that the owner or lessee made payments to the contractor pursuant to a contractor's sworn statement or a lien waiver for the claimant's work. In other words, the late notice costs the claimant only where the owner already paid out, on the strength of a sworn statement or waiver, for the very work in question.

Serve the Notice of Furnishing by certified mail or personal service and keep the proof — a subcontractor, supplier, or laborer must attach a proof of service of the Notice of Furnishing to its Claim of Lien, so the proof is not just evidence, it is a required component of the later filing.

The Contractor's Sworn Statement

The contractor's sworn statement is the document that ties the Michigan system together. When payment is due, the contractor provides the owner with a sworn statement listing the subcontractors and suppliers and the amounts owed to each. The owner uses the sworn statement to direct payments and to gauge its exposure to lien claims.

The sworn statement is why the Notice of Furnishing matters in the precise way it does. The owner's protection from a claimant who served a late Notice of Furnishing is keyed to payments the owner made in reliance on a sworn statement or a lien waiver. A claimant who appears on the sworn statement is visible to the owner; a claimant who served no timely Notice of Furnishing and is not on the sworn statement is the one most exposed when the owner pays the contractor. For a claimant, then, the Notice of Furnishing and a place on the contractor's sworn statement are the two ways of being visible to the owner before the owner pays out.

The 90-Day Claim of Lien Deadline

The core payload is the Claim of Lien, and its deadline is a fixed day-count:

The 90-day window is strictly enforced. A Claim of Lien recorded even a day past 90 days from last furnishing is generally ineffective, and Michigan courts have not been forgiving about it. Identify the documented last-furnishing date and calendar the deadline immediately. Punch list items and trivial corrective visits generally do not extend last furnishing; Michigan courts look to the last substantive furnishing of labor or materials.

Recording the Claim of Lien is not the last step. The claimant must also serve a copy of the recorded Claim of Lien on the owner or lessee within the statutory period after recording. A Claim of Lien that is recorded but not served within that window has a service defect — treat serving the recorded Claim of Lien as part of the filing task, not an optional follow-up.

Where to File

The Claim of Lien is recorded with the register of deeds of the county in which the improved property is located. The Claim of Lien must contain the statutorily required content: the legal description of the property; the name of the owner or lessee; the amount claimed; the name of the claimant and the party with whom the claimant contracted; the dates of first and last furnishing; and the claimant's verification — with the proof of service of the Notice of Furnishing attached for a lower-tier claimant.

Because the Notice of Commencement, the Notice of Furnishing, and the Claim of Lien are all tied to the register of deeds and to one another, a claimant should keep the whole chain of documents organized from the start of the project — the recorded Notice of Commencement obtained at the outset, the proof of service of the Notice of Furnishing, and the recorded Claim of Lien with its post-recording service proof.

Lien Priority

Michigan construction lien priority interacts with the Notice of Commencement and with recorded mortgages. Construction liens on a project generally take priority from a point tied to the commencement of the improvement, and a mortgage recorded before that point is generally ahead of the construction liens — which is why a construction lender typically wants its mortgage recorded before any visible work begins. A mortgage recorded after the lien attaches can be subordinate to the construction lien claimants.

Among the construction lien claimants themselves, the Construction Lien Act addresses how they share, and being first to record a Claim of Lien does not by itself put one claimant ahead of the others. The practical leverage of a Michigan construction lien usually comes from clouding title rather than from winning a race to the register of deeds. Verify the current priority rules before relying on them.

Enforcing the Lien

Recording the Claim of Lien perfects the lien; it does not collect the money. To enforce, the claimant must bring a foreclosure action. Under the Construction Lien Act, proceedings for the enforcement of a construction lien and the foreclosure of interests subject to it generally must be brought within one year after the date the Claim of Lien was recorded. A claimant that does not file the foreclosure action within that one-year period generally loses the lien by operation of law.

Note where the Michigan enforcement clock starts: it runs from the recording of the Claim of Lien, not from last furnishing. A claimant who records its Claim of Lien early in the 90-day window still must sue within one year of that recording. The foreclosure action is brought in the circuit court; a successful claimant obtains a judgment and an order subjecting the property to sale, with proceeds distributed under the act. In practice most Michigan construction lien claims resolve through payment to clear title rather than at a sale. Verify the current one-year enforcement period before calendaring it.

Lien Waivers

Michigan addresses lien waivers within the Construction Lien Act, and the waiver is woven directly into the payment mechanics — the owner's reliance on lien waivers, alongside the contractor's sworn statement, is part of what limits a late-notice claimant's recovery. The act recognizes waivers given in connection with payment, and the wording of a waiver controls its effect.

Waivers exchanged in connection with actual progress or final payment — releasing the lien for amounts that have been paid — are routine and operate within the act's framework. The exposure is the waiver signed before the payment has cleared, which can discharge lien rights with no money received, and the broad waiver that reaches beyond the work actually paid for. A claimant in Michigan asked to sign a sweeping waiver, or to sign a waiver ahead of payment, should confirm its effect under the current Construction Lien Act before signing, and should exchange waivers only against cleared funds.

Practical Timing Strategy

For a Michigan subcontractor or supplier, the workable sequence runs from the Notice of Commencement forward:

The key insight is that Michigan's documents form a chain, and a claimant has to keep the whole chain intact. The Notice of Commencement tells the claimant whom to serve; the timely Notice of Furnishing and a place on the sworn statement keep the claimant visible before the owner pays; the proof of service of the Notice of Furnishing has to ride along with the Claim of Lien; and the one-year enforcement clock starts the day the Claim of Lien is recorded. Break the chain at any point and the lien weakens.

Bottom Line

Michigan construction lien rights under the Construction Lien Act, Act 497 of 1980, run on a chain of documents. The owner records and posts a Notice of Commencement naming a designee; a subcontractor, supplier, or laborer serves a Notice of Furnishing on that designee within 20 days of first furnishing; and the Claim of Lien must be recorded with the register of deeds within 90 days of last furnishing, with the proof of service of the Notice of Furnishing attached. A late Notice of Furnishing does not flatly void the lien — it costs the claimant only to the extent the owner already paid the contractor against a sworn statement or lien waiver for that work. The foreclosure action must be brought within one year of recording the Claim of Lien. Because the Notice of Commencement, the Notice of Furnishing, the sworn statement, the 90-day recording window, and the one-year enforcement clock all interact, verify the current Act 497 requirements against the project's facts rather than applying another state's framework. For significant claims, the precision Michigan demands makes experienced Michigan construction counsel a worthwhile investment.