Virginia Mechanic's Lien Deadlines: The Memorandum, the 90-Day Window, and the 150-Day Lookback Cap

Virginia perfects a mechanic's lien through a single recorded instrument — the memorandum of lien. There is no separate preliminary notice for most commercial work the way many states require; the claimant records the memorandum, and the memorandum itself does the work of asserting the lien. What makes Virginia distinctive is not a notice trap but a pair of numbers that govern the memorandum, and contractors from other states confuse them constantly.

The framework lives in the Code of Virginia, Title 43 (Mechanics' and Certain Other Liens), with the core perfection rules in § 43-4. Two numbers define the timing. First, the memorandum must be recorded within 90 days of a defined trigger. Second — a separate rule — the memorandum may not include sums for labor or materials furnished more than 150 days before the last day of furnishing that precedes the filing. The 90-day window is when you file; the 150-day cap is how far back the dollars can reach. Verify the current text of Title 43 before relying on any specific date — the interaction of these two periods is exactly where claimants lose money.

Who Can Claim a Lien

Title 43 extends lien rights broadly to those who furnish labor or materials for the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of a building or structure, but the perfection section that applies turns on the claimant's position:

Virginia's mechanic's lien is, in part, a lien on money — a lower-tier claimant generally cannot recover more than the amount the owner owed the general contractor at the time the lien was perfected, subject to the statute's particulars. The contractual-position question therefore drives both which perfection section applies and how much the lien can actually reach.

The Residential Mechanics' Lien Agent Notice

Virginia's one genuine preliminary-notice trap applies to residential work. Under § 43-4.01, for a one- or two-family residential dwelling unit, the building permit may identify a mechanics' lien agent — typically the construction lender or its designee. When a mechanics' lien agent is named on the permit, a claimant who wants full lien protection must notify that agent within 30 days of first performing labor or furnishing materials, or within 30 days of the date the permit is issued if the claimant started before the permit existed.

Missing the 30-day notice does not, by itself, destroy the lien. The consequence is a cap: a claimant who notifies the mechanics' lien agent late is limited to a lien for labor performed and materials furnished on or after the date the notice was actually given. The early, pre-notice portion of the work falls outside the lien. The agent system exists so a residential lender can know who is on the job; a claimant who ignores it can quietly lose the front end of its claim.

The 90-Day Filing Window and the 150-Day Lookback Cap

The core payload is the memorandum-of-lien deadline, and it is two rules working together:

The 150-day cap is the rule that catches experienced contractors off guard. On a long, slow-paying project, a claimant may furnish labor across many months and assume the memorandum will capture the entire unpaid balance once filed. It will not. The memorandum reaches back only 150 days from the last furnishing date that precedes filing; anything older drops out of the lien even if it is genuinely owed. The practical effect is that a claimant on a project going unpaid cannot simply wait — letting the balance age past 150 days strands the early invoices outside the lien.

The month-end feature of the 90-day clock cuts the other way and gives a little breathing room: because the window runs from the last day of the month of last furnishing rather than the furnishing date itself, work finished early in a month yields a longer real window. Do not estimate either period — identify the documented last-furnishing date, count 90 days from that month's end, and separately mark the 150-day reach-back.

Where to File

The memorandum of lien is recorded in the clerk's office of the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located, in the deed records. The memorandum must contain the statutorily required content: the name and address of the owner; the name and address of the claimant; the type of materials or services furnished; the amount claimed; the time or times when the amounts are or will be due and payable; the date from which interest is claimed; and a brief description of the property sufficient to identify it. The memorandum must be verified by the oath of the claimant or the claimant's authorized agent.

Section 43-5 sets the form of the memorandum and affidavit for general contractors; §§ 43-8 and 43-10 set the parallel requirements for lower-tier claimants, including the notice that must accompany or follow the filing. A subcontractor or supplier perfecting under § 43-7 or § 43-9 should treat serving the required notice on the owner as part of the filing task, not an afterthought — the lower-tier perfection sections are where defective filings most often arise.

Lien Priority

Virginia mechanic's liens generally take priority from the commencement of the work of improvement, and all mechanics' liens on a project relate to that common point rather than ranking by individual recording date. A construction lender that records its deed of trust before work visibly begins is generally ahead of the mechanics' liens; a deed of trust recorded after work has begun can be subordinate to lien claimants on the project.

Because Virginia's lien is also limited by the amount the owner owed up the chain when the lien was perfected, priority in Virginia is a two-part question: where the lien ranks against mortgages, and how much money is actually within the owner's hands or obligation for the lien to attach to. A first-in-line lien against an owner who has already paid the general contractor in full may reach little. Verify the current priority rules before relying on them.

The Lienable-Interest and Owner-Payment Limits

Two state-specific limits shape what a Virginia lien is worth. First, the lien attaches only to the owner's lienable interest in the property — on a leased premises, for example, the claimant may be reaching only the tenant's leasehold, not the fee, depending on who contracted for the work. A claimant should confirm whose interest the improvement contract bound before assuming the lien reaches the underlying real estate.

Second, and distinct to Virginia practice, a lower-tier claimant's lien is generally capped by the amount the owner owed the general contractor when the lien was perfected. This protects an owner who has already paid the general contractor: a subcontractor whose GC defaults cannot necessarily reach a fully paid-out owner. The cap makes timing strategic — the longer a lower-tier claimant waits, the more the owner may have paid up the chain, shrinking the fund the lien can reach.

Enforcing the Lien

Recording the memorandum perfects the lien; it does not collect the money. To enforce, the claimant must file a suit to enforce the lien. Under § 43-17, no suit to enforce a lien perfected under the relevant sections may be brought after six months from the time the memorandum was recorded, or after sixty days from the time the structure was completed or the work otherwise terminated — whichever occurs later.

Read that limitation carefully: it is the later of two dates, and the six-month clock runs from the recording of the memorandum, not from last furnishing. A claimant who records early still must sue within six months of recording. The enforcement suit is a chancery action to subject the property to sale; a successful claimant obtains a decree and, if necessary, a judicial sale, with proceeds distributed by priority. In practice most Virginia lien claims resolve through payment to clear title rather than at a sale. Verify the current § 43-17 period before calendaring it.

Lien Waivers

Virginia significantly restricts pre-work lien waivers. The Code limits the enforceability of a provision in a contract that waives or diminishes a subcontractor's, lower-tier subcontractor's, or supplier's lien rights, payment-bond rights, or claim rights before the work is performed — such advance waivers are generally void as against public policy under current law. This was a deliberate legislative protection for lower-tier parties against being required to sign away lien rights as a condition of getting the subcontract.

Waivers that release the lien for amounts actually paid — partial waivers exchanged in connection with progress payments, and final waivers on final payment — remain routine and generally effective. The exposure is the unconditional release given before the payment has cleared, which can discharge lien rights with no money received. A claimant in Virginia asked to sign a broad up-front waiver should confirm its enforceability under current law before signing, and should exchange unconditional releases only against cleared funds.

Practical Timing Strategy

For a Virginia subcontractor or supplier, the workable sequence runs around the two memorandum periods:

The key insight is that Virginia rewards moving early on two fronts at once. The 150-day lookback punishes a claimant who lets the balance age, and the six-month enforcement clock runs from recording. A Virginia claimant who treats the lien as a last resort to be invoked long after the project ends will frequently find that some of the debt has aged out of the memorandum and the enforcement window has narrowed.

Bottom Line

Virginia mechanic's lien rights under Code of Virginia Title 43 are perfected by recording a verified memorandum of lien with the circuit court clerk's office. Two numbers govern: the memorandum must be recorded within 90 days of the last day of the month of last furnishing (and within 90 days of completion or termination), and it may include only sums for labor and materials furnished within 150 days before the last furnishing date that precedes filing. One- and two-family residential work adds the mechanics' lien agent notice under § 43-4.01, with a 30-day window and a recovery cap for late notice. The lien is limited by the lienable interest and by what the owner owed up the chain, and the enforcement suit must be filed within six months of recording under § 43-17. Because the lookback cap, the agent notice, and the early-running enforcement clock all interact, verify the current Title 43 requirements against the project's facts rather than applying another state's framework. For significant claims, the precision Virginia demands makes experienced Virginia construction counsel a worthwhile investment.