Idaho Construction Document Management

Alabama's Unpaid Balance Lien

Alabama has a highly unique two-tier mechanics lien system. Under Ala. Code § 35-11-210, a subcontractor or supplier who does not notify the owner in writing prior to furnishing materials will only be entitled to an "unpaid balance" lien (limited to the amount the owner still owes the prime contractor). To secure a "full price" lien, notice must be given prior to furnishing materials.

Because securing a full price lien requires notice before delivery, establishing an accurate timeline is critical. MyCrewTracker allows Alabama supervisors to use Daily Reports to log their first day on site, providing the back office with the exact dates needed to calculate notice deadlines and store the delivery receipts.

Alabama Lien Deadlines at a Glance

Missing a single deadline in Alabama can void your lien rights entirely. The table below summarizes the statutory deadlines every Alabama contractor, subcontractor, and material supplier must track.

How to File a Mechanics Lien in Alabama: Step by Step

Alabama does not have a state-mandated preliminary notice for all contractors, but the Full Price lien requires advance notice. The process below reflects the standard path for an Alabama subcontractor or supplier seeking to preserve lien rights.

• Serve written notice to the owner before furnishing materials. This is what secures the Full Price lien instead of the limited Unpaid Balance lien. Send via certified mail with return receipt.
• Log your first day of work. Alabama's 6-month filing clock starts from your last day of work, not your first. But proof of first work establishes priority.
• Track the last day of work. Every piece of equipment removed, every crew demobilization, every punch item — all extend the last day of work and the filing window.
• Prepare the Statement of Lien. Alabama requires a sworn statement including: amount owed, dates of work, property description, and owner information. It must be notarized.
• File the Statement of Lien in the Probate Court. Alabama mechanics liens are filed at the county level, not the state. File in the county where the property is located.
• Serve notice on the property owner within 30 days. Certified mail or personal service. Keep the receipt and a copy of the served document.
• File suit within 6 months. Alabama does not allow extensions. If you miss this deadline, the lien is void.
• Record the lis pendens. Once suit is filed, record a notice of pending action to protect priority.
• Preserve all project documentation. Daily reports, delivery tickets, change orders, and photos become evidence.
• Consider alternative remedies in parallel. Prompt Pay Act claims, contract claims, and payment bond claims can run alongside the lien.

Documents to Preserve for an Alabama Lien Claim

Alabama courts require proof that you furnished labor or materials and that they were incorporated into the property. The following records are what you need:

• Signed contract or purchase order with the prime contractor
• Certified mail receipt of pre-delivery notice (for Full Price lien)
• Delivery tickets signed by an authorized site representative
• Daily reports showing crew on site and work performed
• Photo evidence of installed work (timestamped and geotagged)
• Jobsite sign-in logs and crew attendance records
• Invoices, statements, and payment applications
• Email or text correspondence about scope and payment
• Change orders and extra work authorizations
• Written demand letters and any response

MyCrewTracker stores all of these in one project record. When a lien deadline approaches, the back office can generate the timeline needed to prepare the sworn statement without reconstructing months of field activity.

Alabama-Specific Gotchas

• Unpaid Balance vs Full Price lien. This is the single biggest trap for Alabama subs and suppliers. If you do not send written notice to the owner before you deliver your first material or labor, your lien is capped at whatever the owner still owes the prime. If the prime has already been paid, you may have no lien at all. Send notice. Every job. Even if the prime tells you it is not needed.
• 6-month statute of limitations. Alabama's § 35-11-215 gives you exactly 6 months from lien filing to file suit. There are no extensions. Set two calendar reminders: one at 4 months, one at 5 months.
• Notarization is required. The Statement of Lien must be verified under oath before a notary. Do not mail an unnotarized statement.
• Attorney's fees are limited. Alabama generally does not allow recovery of attorney's fees on a mechanics lien action unless a contract provision specifically provides for them. Review your subcontract for a fees clause.
• Retainage on public projects. Alabama limits retainage on public works contracts to 5% (Ala. Code § 41-16-3). Private contracts can negotiate higher, but above 10% is unusual.

Example Scenario: How Documentation Determines the Outcome

The following is an illustrative scenario, not a specific case. It demonstrates how record-keeping affects outcomes in Alabama lien disputes.

Consider a Birmingham drywall subcontractor on a $280,000 commercial renovation. The sub delivers first materials on March 4 without sending advance notice to the owner. The prime contractor's contract with the owner is for $210,000, and by August the owner has paid the prime $195,000. The sub is owed $47,000.

Because the sub never sent the pre-delivery notice, they hold only an Unpaid Balance lien, capped at the $15,000 the owner still owes the prime. If the owner had already paid the prime in full, the sub would recover nothing through the lien.

Compare that to the same sub who did send the notice on March 1. They hold a Full Price lien for the entire $47,000. The filing is still required within 6 months of the last day of work, and suit within 6 months of filing — but the amount at stake is more than three times larger.

Documentation is what separates these outcomes. MyCrewTracker logs the first delivery, the last day of work, the certified mail receipt, and the daily reports that prove performance — all of which the back office needs when the deadline approaches.

Alabama Prompt Pay Act

Cash flow is protected under Ala. Code § 8-29-2. On private projects, an owner must generally pay their prime contractor within 30 days of receiving a correct billing, and the prime must pay subcontractors within 7 days of receiving funds.

To leverage these statutory protections, contractors must maintain flawless records of invoice submission dates. MyCrewTracker provides a centralized repository for Alabama construction teams to store payment applications and communication logs.

What MyCrewTracker Does (and Does Not Do) in Alabama

MyCrewTracker is a construction documentation platform, not a legal service. Here is what it does for Alabama contractors:

• Logs first day and last day of work per project so you can calculate the 6-month filing window
• Stores certified mail receipts and pre-delivery notice documents in the project file
• Records delivery tickets with photo and signature capture
• Captures timestamped, GPS-tagged site photos that document installation
• Generates daily report PDFs that serve as contemporaneous records

It does not draft lien notices, file documents with the Probate Court, or provide legal advice. Those steps require an Alabama construction attorney.