Kansas Construction Document Management

The 10-Day, 75-Day, and 120-Day Notice Deadlines

Kentucky mechanics lien law uses a tiered notice system under KRS 376.010. The deadline you must meet depends on two factors: whether the project is an owner-occupied single or double family dwelling, and the amount of your claim.

The 10-Day Notice (Owner-Occupied Residential)

For projects on an owner-occupied single or double family dwelling, KRS 376.010(4)(a) imposes the strictest deadline in the state. A person who has not contracted directly with the owner-occupant must notify the owner-occupant in writing of their intention to hold the property liable not more than 10 days after the first item of material or labor is furnished.

This 10-day window is the shortest preliminary notice deadline of any U.S. state. It starts on your first day on the job site, not on the last. If you miss it, you have no lien rights on that residential project.

The 75-Day and 120-Day Notices (All Other Projects)

For all other projects — commercial, industrial, and non-owner-occupied residential — KRS 376.010(4)(b) imposes a longer notice window. A person who has not contracted directly with the owner must send written notice of their intention to hold the property liable:

• Within 75 days after the last item of material or labor is furnished, if the claim is less than $1,000
• Within 120 days after the last item of material or labor is furnished, if the claim is $1,000 or more

Unlike the 10-day residential notice, these 75/120-day deadlines are counted from the last day of work, not the first. This gives you the entire project duration plus the notice window to prepare and serve the notice.

What Happens If You Miss the Notice Deadline

If you fail to serve the required notice, KRS 376.010(4)(a) states that you "shall not acquire a lien under this section." Kentucky courts have consistently held that the notice requirement is a strict condition precedent to lien rights. There is no mechanism to revive a lien after the deadline passes.

Documenting your final day of work is critical. Using MyCrewTracker's Quick Docs and Daily Reports, field supervisors generate an instant, verifiable log of when work concluded, ensuring the back office can definitively prove the notice was sent within the statutory window.

Kentucky Lien Deadlines at a Glance

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

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

The process below reflects the standard path for a Kentucky contractor, subcontractor, or material supplier seeking to preserve and enforce lien rights under KRS Chapter 376.

1. Log your first day of work. On owner-occupied residential projects, the 10-day notice clock starts from your first day of furnishing labor or materials. MyCrewTracker's Daily Reports timestamp this automatically.

2. Prepare the 10-Day Notice (owner-occupied residential only). Under KRS 376.010(4)(a), the notice must state your intention to hold the property liable. It must be sent within 10 days of your first day of work.

3. Prepare the 75-Day or 120-Day Notice (all other projects). Under KRS 376.010(4)(b), the notice must state your intention to hold the property liable. Send it within 75 days (claim < $1,000) or 120 days (claim ≥ $1,000) after your last day of work.

4. Serve the notice. Send via certified mail or personal service to the property owner. Keep the green card and a copy of the notice.

5. Track the completion date. Kentucky's 6-month filing clock starts from the date you ceased labor or furnishing materials.

6. File the lien statement with the County Clerk. Under KRS 376.080, the statement must be filed in the office of the county clerk of the county where the property is located. The statement must include the amount claimed, a description of the property, and the names of the parties.

7. Mail a copy of the lien statement to the property owner. Under KRS 376.080, you must send a copy of the statement by regular mail to the property owner at their last known address within 7 days of filing with the County Clerk.

8. File suit within 12 months. Under KRS 376.090, you must commence an action to enforce the lien within 12 months from the day of filing the statement in the clerk's office. If the debtor dies before the expiration of the 12-month period, a further 6 months from the date of qualification of the personal representative is allowed.

9. Consider a bond to release the lien. Under KRS 376.100, a lien may be released by execution of a bond for double the amount of the lien claimed.

10. Preserve all project documentation. Daily reports, delivery tickets, change orders, and photos become evidence in the foreclosure action.

Documents to Preserve for a Kentucky Lien Claim

Kentucky 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 receipts for the 10-Day, 75-Day, or 120-Day Notice
• 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 lien statement without reconstructing months of field activity.

Kentucky-Specific Gotchas

The 10-day residential notice is the shortest in the country. No other state requires preliminary notice within 10 days of first furnishing. If you work on owner-occupied single or double family dwellings in Kentucky, this deadline must be built into your project intake process. There is no grace period.

The 75/120-day notice is based on claim amount. The threshold is $1,000. Claims under $1,000 get 75 days from last work. Claims of $1,000 or more get 120 days. Most commercial claims will exceed $1,000, so the 120-day window is the practical standard.

The 6-month filing deadline is absolute. KRS 376.080 gives you exactly 6 months from your last day of work to file the lien statement with the County Clerk. There are no extensions.

The 7-day mailing requirement is often overlooked. After filing the lien statement, you must mail a copy to the property owner within 7 days. Failure to do so can dissolve the lien. This is a step many contractors miss.

The 12-month enforcement deadline is absolute. KRS 376.090 gives you exactly 12 months from filing the statement to commence an action. Set two calendar reminders: one at 9 months, one at 11 months.

Lien waivers are restricted by statute. Under KRS 371.405(2)(b), any contract provision that purports to waive, release, or extinguish rights provided by KRS Chapter 376 is void and unenforceable, with one exception: partial waivers of lien rights for progress payments are allowed. This means you cannot be forced to waive your lien rights in advance, but you can sign a partial waiver when you receive a progress payment.

Retainage escrow requirement for large private projects (2025). Effective June 27, 2025, private construction contracts valued at $2 million or more require retainage to be held in an interest-bearing escrow account, with any interest earned paid out to the contractor at final completion. Any contract clause that tries to waive this escrow requirement is void and unenforceable.

Construction defect statute of repose. Kentucky's statute of repose for construction defects is 7 years from substantial completion under KRS 413.135. If an injury occurs during the 7th year, an action may be brought within 1 year of the injury, but in no event more than 8 years after substantial completion. Retain project records for at least 8 years.

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 Kentucky lien disputes.*

Consider a Louisville drywall subcontractor on a $420,000 commercial office renovation. The sub's last day of substantial work is August 15. Under KRS 376.010(4)(b), since the claim exceeds $1,000, the sub has 120 days from August 15 to serve the written notice. That deadline is December 13.

The sub serves the notice via certified mail on November 20. The green card returns signed on November 24.

Under KRS 376.080, the sub has 6 months from August 15 to file the lien statement with the Jefferson County Clerk. That deadline is February 15. The sub files the statement on February 5 and mails a copy to the property owner on February 8 — within the 7-day requirement.

Under KRS 376.090, the sub has 12 months from February 5 to file suit to enforce the lien. That deadline is February 5 of the following year. The sub files suit on November 15, well within the window. The lien is enforceable.

Now consider the same sub on an owner-occupied residential project instead. The sub first furnishes labor on March 1. Under KRS 376.010(4)(a), the 10-day notice must be served by March 11. The sub serves it on March 8 — within the window. If the sub had waited until March 15, the lien would be void entirely under KRS 376.010(4)(a).

Documentation is what separates these outcomes. MyCrewTracker logs the first day of work, the notice service date, the filing date, and the daily reports that prove performance.

Kentucky Fairness in Construction Act (KRS 371.400–371.425)

The Kentucky Fairness in Construction Act establishes statutory payment cycles for public and private construction projects, excluding residential construction. It applies to construction contracts entered into after June 26, 2007.

Payment Deadlines Under KRS 371.405

Under KRS 371.405(1), all payments on construction contracts must be made within 30 business days after the contracting entity receives a timely, properly completed, and undisputed invoice. For public postsecondary institutions and boards of education, the deadline extends to 45 business days.

Under KRS 371.405(8), a contractor must pay its subcontractors any undisputed amounts due within 15 business days of receipt of payment from the contracting entity.

Retainage Under KRS 371.410

Under KRS 371.410, a contracting entity or contractor may withhold no more than 10% retainage from the amount of any undisputed payment due. Once 51% of the project is finished, the retainage held "shall not be more than 5% of the total contract amount."

Effective June 27, 2025, private construction contracts valued at $2 million or more require retainage to be held in an interest-bearing escrow account.

Void Contract Provisions

Under KRS 371.405(2), the following provisions in a construction contract are void and unenforceable:

• A provision that purports to waive, release, or extinguish the right to resolve disputes through litigation in court
• A provision that purports to waive, release, or extinguish rights provided by KRS Chapter 376, with the exception of partial waivers of lien rights for progress payments
• A provision that purports to waive, release, or extinguish the right of a contractor or subcontractor to recover costs, additional time, or damages for delays within the control of the contracting entity

To defend against claims of invalid liens or delayed payment, contractors must maintain flawless documentation of delivery. MyCrewTracker offers a secure cloud repository where Kentucky contractors can organize dated certified mail receipts and formal communications to prove statutory compliance.

Lien Waivers in Kentucky

Kentucky law significantly restricts lien waivers. Under KRS 371.405(2)(b), any contract provision that purports to waive, release, or extinguish rights provided by KRS Chapter 376 is void and unenforceable as against public policy, with one exception:

• Partial waivers of lien rights for progress payments are allowed.

This means a general contractor cannot require a subcontractor to waive all lien rights in advance. However, when a subcontractor receives a progress payment, they can sign a partial waiver covering that specific payment.

What This Means for Kentucky Contractors

• Never sign a blanket lien waiver before work begins
• Only sign partial waivers for progress payments you have actually received
• Verify that any waiver form you are asked to sign is limited to a specific payment
• Document the date payment is received and deposited

What MyCrewTracker Does (and Does Not Do) in Kentucky

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

• Logs first day and last day of work per project so you can calculate the 10-day residential notice and the 75/120-day notice deadlines
• Stores certified mail receipts and 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
• Tracks retainage and payment dates for Fairness in Construction Act compliance
• Archives project records for 8+ years to support construction defect defense

It does not draft lien notices, file documents with the County Clerk, or provide legal advice. Those steps require a Kentucky construction attorney.