Every notice, deadline, and recording requirement for an Illinois construction lien, drawn from 770 ILCS 60/7, 60/9, 60/24 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 Illinois. Owner-occupied residential projects carry extra notice requirements in Illinois; missing them can cost the lien entirely.
| Claimant | Lien rights in Illinois |
|---|---|
| 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 subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, and suppliers. Preliminary notices go to the property owner and the construction lender by any method that proves receipt.
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 90 days after last furnishing labor or materials |
The last day the lien can be recorded against the property.
| Who | Project type | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| All claimants | All projects | Within 4 months after completion of the project |
Illinois 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.
A subcontractor working on an existing owner-occupied single-family residence must notify the occupant, in person or by certified mail with return receipt, within 60 days after first furnishing. The notice names the subcontractor, start date, work or materials, and the contractor, and must carry the statutory 'NOTICE TO OWNER' warning in at least 10-point bold type. A later notice still preserves the lien, but only to the extent the owner has not already paid the contractor.
770 ILCS 60/21(c)
Subcontractors and parties furnishing to the contractor must serve a written notice of their claim and the amount due on the owner of record (or the owner's agent, architect or superintendent) and on the lender, if known, within 90 days after completing their work or last delivery. Serve it by registered or certified mail with return receipt, by a nationally recognized delivery company with tracking, or by personal service; service is complete when sent. The notice is unnecessary if the contractor's sworn statement already told the owner the amount due.
770 ILCS 60/24(a)
Prepare a claim for lien consisting of a brief statement of the claimant's contract, the balance due after all credits, and a sufficiently correct description of the land. It must be verified by the affidavit of the claimant or its agent or employee, which in practice means signing under oath before a notary.
770 ILCS 60/7(a)
Record the claim in the office of the recorder (in several counties now the county clerk's recording division) of the county where the improvement sits. To bind lenders, other creditors and buyers, record within 4 months after completion (or after extra work or final delivery). Against the owner alone, it may be recorded up to 2 years after completion. Most large counties accept e-recording through vendors such as CSC, ePN, Hopdox, Indecomm and Simplifile.
770 ILCS 60/7(a), 60/28; 765 ILCS 33
File suit in the circuit court of the county where the improvement is located within 2 years after completion of the contract or of extra work. Name the owner, the contractor, everyone in the contract chain, and other lien claimants as necessary parties. If the owner or any interested party serves a written demand, you must sue (or answer in a pending suit) within 30 days or the lien is forfeited.
770 ILCS 60/9, 60/11, 60/34
Once paid with the cost of filing, or after failing to sue within 30 days of a demand, the claimant must give a written release within 10 days after written demand. The release must carry the statutory bold notice to file it with the recorder. Failure costs $2,500 plus the owner's attorney fees.
770 ILCS 60/35
Illinois law requires the claim for lien (mechanics lien claim) to include the following (770 ILCS 60/7(a)).
The act prescribes no claim form. Practitioners also include the owner, the hiring party, and completion or last-furnishing dates, which a foreclosure complaint must plead (770 ILCS 60/11(a)). The 90-day subcontractor notice has suggested wording in § 24(a); the owner-occupied notice wording is in § 21(c). Recorders apply the Predictable Fee Schedule format rules (55 ILCS 5/3-5018), so a document over 8.5x11 or with many PINs can cost more.
The Claim for 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. Electronic recording is available in participating counties. 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 within 10 days of recording. To keep the lien alive it must be enforced by lawsuit within 2 years after project completion.
Illinois exposes claimants who file an exaggerated or baseless lien to damages. An overstated lien is defeated if the error or overcharge was made with intent to defraud (§ 7(a)). A court may make a claimant who sued without just cause pay the owner's reasonable attorney fees (§ 17(c)), and a claimant who fails to release a paid or lapsed lien within 10 days after written demand owes the owner $2,500 plus costs and attorney fees (§ 35(a)).
In Illinois, subcontractors and suppliers to a contractor must serve a written notice of their claim on the owner (and the lender, if known) within 90 days after they finish their work or last delivery. Serve it by certified or registered mail with return receipt, a national delivery company with tracking, or in person (770 ILCS 60/24). Since January 1, 2025, tracked courier delivery counts. On work for an existing owner-occupied single-family home, a subcontractor must also notify the occupant within 60 days after first furnishing (770 ILCS 60/21(c)). The claim for lien is recorded with the county recorder where the property is located and must be verified by affidavit. To bind lenders, other creditors and buyers, record it within 4 months after completion. As against the owner alone, it can be recorded up to 2 years after completion (770 ILCS 60/7(a), 60/28). A contractor on an owner-occupied single-family home must give the owner written notice within 10 days after recording (770 ILCS 60/7(d)). A suit to foreclose must be filed within 2 years after completion (770 ILCS 60/9). If the owner serves a written demand, suit must be filed within 30 days or the lien is forfeited (770 ILCS 60/34). An overcharge made with intent to defraud defeats the lien. A claimant who fails to release a paid lien within 10 days of demand owes the owner $2,500 plus fees (770 ILCS 60/7, 60/35). How these deadlines apply to a subcontractor's own completion date can turn on the facts, so confirm with counsel.
These notes summarize the statute as we read it.
Statutory sources: 770 ILCS 60/7, 60/9, 60/24. Read the Illinois lien statute. Deadlines turn on facts specific to your project. Confirm with counsel before relying on them.
Illinois claims for lien are recorded with the county recorder; in Cook County that is the County Clerk's Recordings division. Each county charges one flat fee per document, from $49 to $99 in the counties below, and all ten accept e-recording.
The 10 most populous Illinois 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook |
Cook County Clerk's Office, Recordings
Cook County Clerk's Office, Recordings, 118 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60602
|
Yes
Through Simplifile, CSC, eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Hopdox
|
Mechanic's Lien, Satisfaction and Release: $64 (effective April 1, 2024). Recording by mail with return adds $5 per document. Fee schedule |
| DuPage |
DuPage County Recorder
DuPage County Recorder, P.O. Box 936, Wheaton, IL 60187
|
Yes
Through Corporation Service Company (CSC), eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Hopdox, Indecomm Global Services, Simplifile
|
Miscellaneous (Document Class 7): $86.00, including recording, document storage ($10), GIS ($21), real property ($1) and RHSP ($18) fees. Nonstandard documents $112. Fee schedule |
| Lake |
Lake County Clerk's Office, Recording Division
Lake County Clerk's Office, Recording Division, 18 N. County St., 6th Floor, Waukegan, IL 60085-4358
|
Yes
Through CSC, eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Hopdox, Simplifile
|
Standard document: $70.00; non-standard $82.00 (schedule effective July 1, 2023). Fee schedule |
| Will |
Will County Recorder of Deeds
Will County Recorder of Deeds, 158 N. Scott Street, Joliet, IL 60432-4143
|
Yes
Through Hopdox, Indecomm, CSC, eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Simplifile
|
Most standard real-estate-related documents signed after 7/31/05: $90.00; non-real-estate or older documents $71.00. Non-standard: $118.00 / $99.00. Page notes an updated fee implementation effective October 1, 2025. Fee schedule |
| Kane |
Kane County Recorder
Kane County Recorder, 719 S. Batavia Ave., Building C, Geneva, IL 60134
|
Yes
Through Corporation Service Company (CSC), Simplifile, Hopdox
|
Standard document: $99, effective October 1, 2024 after a GIS fee increase. Fee schedule |
| McHenry |
McHenry County Recorder
McHenry County Recorder, Government Center, 2200 N. Seminary Ave., Woodstock, IL 60098
|
Yes
Through Corporation Service Company (CSC), eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Hopdox, Indecomm Global Services, Simplifile
|
Fee not published online; ask the office. |
| Winnebago |
Winnebago County Recorder's Office
Winnebago County Recorder, County Administration Building, 404 Elm Street, Room 405, Rockford, IL 61101
|
Yes
Through eRecording Partners Network (ePN), CSC, Indecomm Global Services, Simplifile, Hopdox
|
Standard documents: $54.00; non-standard $66.00 (effective January 1, 2025). Fee schedule |
| Madison |
Madison County Recorder's Office
Madison County Recorder's Office, Madison County Administration Building, 157 N. Main St., Suite 211, Edwardsville, IL 62025
|
Yes
Through eRecording Partners Network (ePN), CSC, Simplifile, Indecomm Global, Hopdox
|
Predictable fee schedule effective April 1, 2025: deed, lease, mortgage, easement, miscellaneous and other documents $70.00; +$12 if a document exceeds 8.5 x 11. Fee schedule |
| St. Clair |
St. Clair County Recorder of Deeds
Recorder of Deeds, PO Box 543, Belleville, IL 62222 (overnight: #10 Public Square, 5th Floor, Belleville, IL 62220)
|
Yes
Through Simplifile, CSC, Indecomm Global Services, eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Hopdox
|
Misc recordings: $49.00 with RHSP surcharge ($30.00 without). Fee schedule |
| Champaign |
Champaign County Clerk and Recorder (Recorder of Deeds)
Champaign County Clerk & Recorder, 1776 E. Washington St., Urbana, IL 61802
|
Yes
Through eRecording Partners Network (ePN), Indecomm Global Services, Simplifile, CSC eRecording Solutions, Hopdox
|
As of April 1, 2025: standard real-estate-related documents $70.00; non-standard $82.00; no additional page charge. Fee schedule |
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 January 1, 2025
The subcontractor's 90-day notice may now be sent by a nationally recognized delivery company with tracking, in addition to registered or certified mail or personal service. The 60-day notice to the occupant of an existing owner-occupied single-family home was moved from Section 5 into Section 21(c), with the same content and late-notice rule.
P.A. 103-827; 770 ILCS 60/5, 60/21, 60/24
Effective April 1, 2024
The Cook County Clerk stopped pricing documents as standard or non-standard as of April 1, 2024, citing state law; liens and plats kept their prior prices, and the mechanic's lien fee is $64. Which public act made the change was not identified.
Cook County Clerk recording fee schedule, effective 04/01/24
We calculate the Illinois 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 Illinois 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.