Minnesota Lien Resources

In Minnesota, for residential construction, a prelien is required to maintain lien rights and must be sent within 45 days of the first date of work on a job. A lien must be filed by or before 120 days after the last date of work. A prelien may be sent as soon as day 1 of working on the project. A lien may be sent as early as the 1st day after your last date of work on the project. A satisfaction may be filed with the county if a lien had been filed, and the money owed was either paid or some other deal was struck. Commercial construction does not require a prelien. The state of Minnesota does not require a notice of intent to lien.

On residential projects a prelien must be sent within 45 days of the first date of work on a project, unless the hiring party is the same as the owner. If the hiring party is the same as the owner, the prelien must be sent within 10 days of the first date of work. Commercial projects do not require a prelien. A lien, whether commercial or residential, must be filed with the county within 120 days from the last date of work.

A prelien in Minnesota must be sent via certified mail before or by day 45 from the first date of work, unless directly contracted with the property owner for a residential project. If directly contracted with the residential property owner, a prelien must be sent out by day 10 of the first date of work. If the property is commercial, a prelien is not required but can still be sent, unless that property is less than 5000 square feet. If the commercial project is less than 5000 square feet it is deemed as a residential project according to Minnesota state statute.

A Minnesota lien must be filed with the county in which the property resides. The lien must be filed by or before day 120 from the last date of work. A lien is filed against a real property and not against the owner; this clouds the title, and often is required to be satisfied before the propery can be sold and change hands. A prelien is required to be sent within the statutory timelines prior to a lien for residential projects and commercial projects under 5000 square feet. Keep in mind, it may take a few days to get a lien filed at a county once the service has been requested if you are using Perfekt’s services, so waiting until the last day to take action may be too late.

A satisfaction in Minnesota is filed with the county that the lien was filed at, which is the county that the property resides in. A satisfaction satisfies the lien and removes it from the property, creating a clean title (if there are no other liens on it). A satisfaction can only be filed if a lien was filed. If there was never a lien filed, there is nothing to satisfy utilizing a satisfaction.

In Minnesota, a bond claim must be sent within 120 days from the last date of work. A bond claim is for public projects that you wouldn’t foreclose on, such as government buildings, libraries, schools, park buildings (athletics). The bond claim is sent to the surity company and is claimed on the surity payment bond for the project. A copy of the bond is needed for a bond claim. A copy of the payment bond has the project name, bond number, general contractor who took out the bond, property owner and surety company responsible for paying the bond claims. A preliminary bond notice is not required in MN.

The first date of work is the first day that labor and/or materials arrive at the job site for the improvement of the property

The last date of work is the last day labor and/or materials are on the job site for the improvement of a property.

A prelien in Minnesota needs the property address, property owner and address (found through county research), hiring party name and address, first date of work, last date of work (can be estimate of when work will be complete), the lien amount (amount still owed), and description of the labor and/or materials.

A lien in Minnesota needs the property address, the legal description (which may be found through the research at the county), property owner name and address (found through research and pulling deed), hiring party name and address, first date of work, last date of work, the lien amount (amount still owed), and description of the labor and/or materials. Before it can be filed with the county, a signature is required from an officer in the construction professional company filing the lien and it must be notarized. Once all this information is compiled in documents according to state statutes, it can then be filed at the county.

A satisfaction of lien in Minnesota requires a signature from an officer of the construction professional company that filed the lien, as well as the address and legal description of the property, and the lien filing date and document number. If you filed the lien utilizing Perfekt’s services, the address and legal description of the property, and the lien filing date and document number will already be in Perfekt’s system.