Oklahoma at a glance
| General contractor | Sub or supplier | |
|---|---|---|
| Notice during the job | None | Pre-lien notice within 75 days after last work (owner-occupied home: always; other jobs: if claim is $10,000+) |
| File the lien | 4 months after last work | 90 days after last work |
| Sue to enforce | 1 year after filing | 1 year after filing |
If you're a subcontractor or supplier
- Send a pre-lien notice to the property owner and the general contractor no later than 75 days after your last day of work, and before you file a lien. On a home where an owner lives, it's required for any amount. On other jobs it's required when your claim is $10,000 or more. It isn't required on a 1 to 4 unit home where no owner lives. One notice covers the whole project. Send it by certified mail with return receipt (it counts the day you mail it) and keep the receipt. Miss it and the part of your lien it should have covered is invalid. (42 O.S. § 142.6)
- File your lien statement with the county clerk in the county where the property is, within 90 days after your last day of work. It must be verified (notarized), and you hand the clerk a notarized affidavit that you sent the pre-lien notice. (42 O.S. §§ 143, 142.6(C))
- Sue to enforce within 1 year after you file, or the lien is lost. (42 O.S. § 172)
If you're the general contractor
- No pre-lien notice is required of you. It only applies to people who did not contract directly with the owner. (42 O.S. § 142.6(A))
- File your lien statement with the county clerk within 4 months after your last day of work. Give the clerk the owner's mailing address; the clerk mails the owner a notice of the lien. (42 O.S. §§ 142, 143.1)
- Sue to enforce within 1 year after you file. (42 O.S. § 172)
Watch out for
- Send the notice even when you think you don't have to. A commercial claim under $10,000 doesn't legally need one, but it costs a stamp and removes any argument later.
- Don't know who owns the property? Ask the GC in writing by certified mail. If they don't answer within 5 days, the notice-to-owner requirement can't be held against you. (42 O.S. § 142.6(B)(6))
- Send the notice before the lien. Mail the pre-lien notice at least a day before you file, so the order is easy to prove.
- Retainage doesn't need its own pre-lien notice. (42 O.S. § 142.6(B)(2))
- Public jobs (city, county, state, schools) can't be liened. Those use payment bond claims instead.
How we count: Oklahoma's lien law has no rule that moves a deadline off a weekend or holiday, so we never assume one. Our recommended dates are 7 days before the legal deadline (30 days for the lawsuit), moved earlier to a weekday.
The law
Oklahoma's mechanics' and materialmen's lien rules are in Title 42, sections 141 to 154, of the Oklahoma Statutes. We read the official compilation, which includes the 2025 changes that took effect January 1, 2026 (those changed criminal penalties only, not deadlines).