Every notice, deadline, and recording requirement for an Arizona construction lien, drawn from A.R.S. §§ 33-992.01, 33-993, 33-998, 33-1002, 33-420 and the same rule engine that calculates deadlines for our filing customers.
Lien rights depend on where you sit in the contracting chain. Tenant-ordered improvements can support a lien in Arizona. On owner-occupied homes in Arizona, only parties with a direct contract with the owner can lien.
| Claimant | Lien rights in Arizona |
|---|---|
| General contractor (direct contract with the owner) | Yes |
| Subcontractor (hired by the general contractor) | Yes |
| Sub-subcontractor (hired by a subcontractor) | Yes |
| Material supplier to the owner | Yes |
| Material supplier to the general contractor | Yes |
| Material supplier to a subcontractor | Yes |
Required for every claimant, including the general contractor. Preliminary notices go to the property owner, the general contractor, and the construction lender by certified mail.
Enter your role and project dates to turn the rules below into calendar dates. For other states, use the mechanics lien deadline calculator.
Choose your role to see which dates you need.
Your deadlines
| Document | Who | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Passed |
liens are filed through the courts by an attorney. Get matched with a lien attorney.
We can prepare and record the lien for you before the deadline. Start your lien.
These dates come from the same rules our lien filing service uses. They are not moved for weekends or holidays. Deadlines turn on facts specific to your project. Confirm with counsel before relying on them.
The notice that preserves lien rights before any payment problem exists.
| Who | Project type | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| All claimants | All projects | Within 20 days after first furnishing labor or materials |
The last day the lien can be recorded against the property.
| Who | Project type | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| All claimants | All projects | Within 120 days after completion of the project |
Arizona does not require a notice of intent before recording a lien, but sending one is often what gets the invoice paid.
The steps in order, each with the statute behind it. Some steps apply only to certain claimants, and each says so.
Everyone except people working for wages must serve a written Preliminary Twenty Day Notice, in the statutory form, on the owner, the original contractor, the construction lender (if any) and whoever hired them, no later than 20 days after first furnishing labor, professional services, materials, machinery, fixtures or tools to the jobsite. Serve it by first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, or by registered or certified mail; service is complete on mailing. Keep proof of mailing: a signed acknowledgment of receipt or, failing that within 30 days, your own affidavit of mailing with the receipt attached. A late notice covers only items furnished in the 20 days before it was served and afterward. Serve a new notice if your price grows 30% or more beyond the estimate.
A.R.S. §§ 33-992.01(B)-(G), 33-992.02, 33-981(D)
The owner may record a Notice of Completion after completion and must mail it, within 15 days of recording, to the original contractor and everyone who sent a preliminary notice. If it is recorded and mailed to you, your lien deadline shortens to 60 days after it was recorded. If the owner fails to mail it to you, you keep the full 120 days.
A.R.S. § 33-993(A), (E), (I)
Prepare duplicate copies of a Notice and Claim of Lien. It must be made under oath by the claimant or someone with knowledge of the facts, which in practice means signing before a notary. Attach a copy of the preliminary twenty day notice and the proof of mailing. The recording must also meet the county recorder's format rules in A.R.S. § 11-480 (caption, original, legible, margins).
A.R.S. §§ 33-993(A), 11-480
Record one copy with the county recorder of the county where the property, or part of it, is located, within 120 days after completion, or within 60 days after a Notice of Completion was recorded. Completion is the earliest of 30 days after final inspection and written acceptance by the permitting body, or 60 consecutive days with no work (except for strikes, material shortages or acts of God). If no permit or final acceptance exists, completion is the last day anything was furnished. In a multi-building residential project, each building has its own completion date.
A.R.S. § 33-993(A)-(D)
Within a reasonable time after recording, serve the remaining copy on the owner of the building, structure or improvement, if the owner can be found in the county. The statute sets no fixed number of days.
A.R.S. § 33-993(A)
The lien lasts only six months after recording unless, within that time, you file suit to enforce it and record a notice of pendency of action (lis pendens) with the county recorder. If another claimant sues and names you, filing an answer or cross-claim asserting your lien within the six months counts. The court may award the successful party reasonable attorney fees.
A.R.S. § 33-998
An owner or other interested party can record a surety bond for 150% of the lien demand, which releases the property. The principal must serve you a copy. If a foreclosure suit is pending, you have 90 days after receiving the bond to add the principal and surety as parties, or the bond is discharged.
A.R.S. § 33-1004
Arizona law requires the notice and claim of lien to include the following (A.R.S. § 33-993(A)).
No state agency form exists for the claim of lien; the statute lists contents but not wording. The preliminary twenty day notice and the acknowledgment of receipt do have prescribed wording (A.R.S. §§ 33-992.01(D), 33-992.02). Since HB 2110 (2024), a preliminary notice is not defective just because it lacks the required bold or large type. Recorded documents must also meet A.R.S. § 11-480 format rules.
The Notice and Claim of Mechanic's and Materialman's Lien our filing service prepares, with every field left blank. PDF, free, no sign-up. Fill in your own facts and check them against the list above before you sign.
Record with the county recorder where the property sits. Whether electronic recording is accepted varies by county, so confirm with the recording office and build mailing time into the deadline. The lien must be notarized. The lien claim must be sworn to under oath.
A copy of the recorded lien must be served on the property owner promptly after recording. To keep the lien alive it must be enforced by lawsuit within 6 months after the lien is recorded.
Arizona allows treble damages against claimants who file a wrongful lien. A person who records a lien knowing or having reason to know it is forged, groundless, contains a material misstatement or false claim, or is otherwise invalid is liable to the owner for the greater of $5,000 or treble actual damages, plus attorney fees and costs, and is guilty of a class 5 felony. Refusing to release or correct such a document within 20 days of a request carries liability of the greater of $1,000 or treble actual damages.
Arizona requires nearly every claimant to serve a preliminary twenty-day notice. Except for people working for wages, anyone who furnishes labor, professional services, materials, machinery, fixtures or tools must serve it on the owner, the original contractor, any construction lender, and whoever hired them, no later than 20 days after first furnishing to the jobsite (A.R.S. § 33-992.01). The notice is a condition of a valid lien. A late notice covers only what you furnished in the 20 days before serving it and afterward. The claim of lien must be made under oath and recorded with the county recorder within 120 days after completion of the improvement. If the owner records a notice of completion, the deadline becomes 60 days after that recording (A.R.S. § 33-993(A)). The statute defines completion, including 60 consecutive days with no work. Serve the second copy of the claim on the owner within a reasonable time. On a one- or two-family dwelling whose owner lived there before the work began, only someone with a written contract directly with the owner-occupant may claim a lien (A.R.S. § 33-1002(B)). A lien lasts six months after recording. To enforce it, file suit and record a notice of pendency of action within those six months (A.R.S. § 33-998(A)). The court may award the winner attorney fees. Recording a lien you know or should know is groundless, overstated or otherwise invalid is serious. The owner can recover the greater of $5,000 or three times actual damages plus fees, and it is a class 5 felony (A.R.S. § 33-420).
These notes summarize the statute as we read it.
Statutory sources: A.R.S. §§ 33-992.01, 33-993, 33-998, 33-1002, 33-420. Read the Arizona lien statute. Deadlines turn on facts specific to your project. Confirm with counsel before relying on them.
Arizona liens are recorded with the county recorder. Recorders charge a flat $30 per document under A.R.S. § 11-475, and most large counties accept e-recording through approved submitters.
The 10 most populous Arizona counties, the office that takes liens in each, whether it accepts e-recording, and the fee it publishes. Liens on property in any other county go to that county's office.
| County | Office | E-recording | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maricopa |
Maricopa County Recorder's Office
Attn. Copy Desk, Maricopa County Recorder's Office, 301 W Jefferson St, Suite 200, Phoenix, AZ 85003
|
Yes
Vendors not listed online
|
$30 per document (except plats and surveys), per A.R.S. 11-475(A)(1). No extra charge to record electronically through the office's own digital program. Fee schedule |
| Pima |
Pima County Recorder's Office
Pima County Recorder, P.O. Box 3145, Tucson, AZ 85702-3145 (UPS/FedEx: 240 N Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701)
|
Yes
Vendors not listed online
|
Flat $30 to record any document per A.R.S. 11-475 (fees last revised 4/15/2022). E-recording partner charges extra. Fee schedule |
| Pinal |
Pinal County Recorder
Pinal County Recorder's Office, P.O. Box 848, Florence, AZ 85132
|
Yes
Vendors not listed online
|
All documents required or authorized by law to be recorded: $30 (effective July 1, 2019). Fee schedule |
| Yavapai |
Yavapai County Recorder's Office
Yavapai County Recorder, 1015 Fair Street, Room 228, Prescott, AZ 86305
|
Yes
Through Tyler Technologies Web Recording
|
All instruments $30.00 (includes affidavit of property value, extra indexing, state surcharge and return postage), effective July 1, 2019. Fee schedule |
| Yuma |
Yuma County Recorder's Office, Recording Division
Yuma County Recorder's Office, Attention: Recording Division, 298 South Main Street, Yuma, AZ 85364
|
Yes
Through Data Services, Inc., eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Indecomm Global Services, CSC eRecording, Simplifile
|
Fee not published online; ask the office. |
| Mohave |
Mohave County Recorder
Mohave County Recorder, P.O. Box 7000, Kingman, AZ 86402
|
Yes
Through CSC, Data Services, Inc., eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Indecomm Global Services, Simplifile, HopDox
|
Effective July 1, 2019, all documents are $30.00 to record unless otherwise specified. Fee schedule |
| Coconino |
Coconino County Recorder's Office
Coconino County Recorder, 110 E. Cherry Ave., Flagstaff, AZ 86001
|
Not stated
Ask the office
|
Basic recordings are $30, a flat fee that includes extra indexing, extra transactions, affidavit of property value and postage. Fee schedule |
| Cochise |
Cochise County Recorder
Cochise County Recorder, 1415 Melody Lane, Building B, Bisbee, AZ 85603
|
Yes
Through CSC eRecording Solutions, Data Services, Inc., eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Simplifile
|
Recording any document: $30 flat (as of July 1, 2019, per A.R.S. 11-475). Fee schedule |
| Navajo |
Navajo County Recorder
Navajo County Recorder, P.O. Box 668, Holbrook, AZ 86025
|
Yes
Vendors not listed online
|
All instruments $30.00 (effective July 1, 2019). Fee schedule |
| Apache |
Apache County Recorder
Apache County Recorder, 75 West Cleveland, PO Box 425, St. Johns, AZ 85936
|
Not stated
Ask the office
|
Fee not published online; ask the office. |
Collected from each office's website on October 2, 2026. Fees and filing methods change. Confirm them with the office before you record.
Changes since 2022 that affect lien deadlines, notices, forms or filing.
Effective September 14, 2024
A preliminary twenty day notice that otherwise complies is not defective because it fails to use bold-faced type or type at least as large as the largest type on the document. Approved April 8, 2024; the final act has no emergency clause, so it took effect on the general effective date.
Laws 2024, ch. 89 (HB 2110); A.R.S. § 33-992.01(I)
We calculate the Arizona deadlines from your project dates, prepare the lien on the correct form, and handle recording. Self-serve from $99, or full service with recording and notices handled for you from $299.
This page summarizes Arizona lien law for general information and is not legal advice. Deadlines depend on your role, project type, and dates; confirm them against the statute or with counsel before relying on them.