Alabama verified statement of lien
Alabama does not have a claim of lien. It has a verified statement, and section 35-11-213 makes filing it the thing that keeps the lien alive: unless such statement is so filed the lien shall be lost. It is sworn in front of a notary and filed in the office of the judge of probate of the county the property is in, on a clock that is four months long for most claimants and thirty days long for a day laborer.
It shall be the duty of every person entitled to such lien to file in the office of the judge of probate of the county in which the property upon which the lien is sought to be established is situated, a statement in writing, verified by the oath of the person claiming the lien, or of some other person having knowledge of the facts, containing the amount of the demand secured by the lien, after all just credits have been given, a description of the property on which the lien is claimed in such a manner that same may be located or identified, a description by house number, name of street, and name of city or town being a sufficient description where the property is located in a city or town, and the name of the owner or proprietor thereof; but no error in the amount of the demand or in the name of the owner or proprietor, shall affect the lien. Unless such statement is so filed the lien shall be lost.
Read the law: Ala. Code 35-11-213, the duty to file, the contents and the formlaw.onecle.com, Ala. Code 35-11-215, six months, four months and thirty dayslaw.onecle.com, Ala. Code 35-11-218, the notice you give the owner before you filelaw.onecle.com, Ala. Code 35-11-216, what the judge of probate does with itlaw.onecle.com, Ala. Code 35-11-221, six months to bring the actionlaw.onecle.com, Ala. Code 35-11-233, transferring the lien to a bond or a depositlaw.onecle.com and The chapter as reprinted by the National Association of Credit Management, one of the two key copiesnacmsts.com
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This is the one Alabama document that is filed rather than posted. It goes to the office of the judge of probate of the county the property is in, it has to be sworn in front of a notary before it goes, and 35-11-213 says that unless it is filed the lien is lost.
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What this is, and why it is the one piece of Alabama paperwork you cannot skip
Everything else the division prints is a letter. The 35-11-210 notice goes to the owner before you deliver material, and the 35-11-218 notice goes to the owner before you file. This one is different: it is filed, it is sworn, and it is the act that fixes the lien on the public record.
Section 35-11-213 makes it a duty rather than an option, and then says what happens if the duty is not done. Unless such statement is so filed the lien shall be lost. There is no cure, no late filing and no equitable version of it. Alabama gives the lien in 35-11-210 and takes it away again in 35-11-213 if nothing is filed.
It goes to one place: the office of the judge of probate of the county in which the property is situated. Not the circuit court, not the Secretary of State, not the county in which your business is registered.
The form below is the one the section prints. The statute introduces it as a statement that may be in the following form, which shall be deemed sufficient, so the shape is permissive and the contents are what carry the weight.
The four things the statement has to contain
The section lists them in one sentence, and they are the only four. The amount of the demand secured by the lien, after all just credits have been given. A description of the property in such a manner that same may be located or identified. The name of the owner or proprietor. And the whole thing verified by the oath of the person claiming the lien, or of some other person having knowledge of the facts.
After all just credits have been given is the part that gets people. The amount on the statement is what is still owed after every payment, credit note and allowance, not the face value of your contract and not the total of your invoices. An amount that ignores payments you have already banked is the easiest thing in the world for an owner to disprove.
On the description, Alabama is unusually forgiving inside a city or town: a description by house number, name of street, and name of city or town is a sufficient description where the property is located in a city or town. Outside one you are back to describing it so that it can be located or identified, which in practice means the deed description.
Then there is a saving clause that most states do not have. No error in the amount of the demand or in the name of the owner or proprietor shall affect the lien. That is not permission to guess, but it does mean an honest mistake in the figure or a company name filed one letter out is not fatal on its own.
Six months, four months, thirty days
Section 35-11-215 runs three clocks at once, and which one you are on depends on what you were doing on the job rather than on what your contract is called. Every original contractor has six months. Every journeyman and day laborer has thirty days. Every other person entitled to a lien has four months.
All three run from the same event: after the last item of work or labor has been performed, or the last item of any material, fixture, engine, boiler, or machinery has been furnished. Not from the invoice date, not from the day the payment was due, and not from the day the owner said no.
A subcontractor and a supplier are both in the four month group. The thirty day group is narrower than it looks: it is a journeyman or a day laborer, which is an individual working for wages, not a labor only subcontractor trading as a company.
Miss the window and the section says the lien is deemed lost. What survives is an ordinary debt claim against whoever hired you, which is worth whatever that company is worth.
If you are not the original contractor, something has to go out before this
Section 35-11-218 sits between you and the probate office. Every person, except the original contractor, who wishes to avail himself of the division shall, before filing his statement, give notice in writing to the owner or proprietor, or his agent, that he claims a lien on the building or improvement, setting forth the amount thereof, for what, and from whom it is owing.
Three contents, and they are not the same three the verified statement carries: the amount, what it is for, and who owes it. It is a letter to the owner, not a filing, and nothing goes to the judge of probate at this stage.
It also does something for you the moment it lands. After such notice, any unpaid balance in the hands of the owner or proprietor shall be held subject to such lien. The notice is what stops the owner paying the money away over your head while you are getting the statement notarised.
One group is excused. The last sentence of 35-11-218 takes out any material the owner was notified about in advance under 35-11-210, which is the notice on the other Alabama page. A supplier who sent that letter before delivering does not have to send this one for that material.
What the judge of probate does with it
Section 35-11-216 is short and it is worth reading before you go. The judge of probate shall indorse on such statement the date of its filing, and shall record the same in a book kept for that purpose, which shall be properly labeled and indexed, and note thereon the date of filing.
The date indorsed on the statement is the date that matters. It is the one the four month clock is measured against, so a statement posted on the last day and indorsed two days later was filed two days late.
The statutory fee in that section is fifteen cents per one hundred words, and the section secures it to the party filing the statement by the lien, which means you add it to what you are claiming. It is an old figure and it is not what a probate office charges to record a document today, so ring the office and ask what the recording fee is before you drive over.
Nothing in the division asks the probate office to check the statement. Filing it does not make it good; it makes it public, and it starts the clock in 35-11-221.
Why the form still says 19, and what this site does about it
The form in 35-11-213 is the Code 1940 form and the code still prints it exactly as it was set. Both date slots read 19 followed by two blank spaces, because when it was typeset every year began with a 1 and a 9.
That is not a transcription error on this page. The version at law.onecle.com prints it, the reprint published by the National Association of Credit Management prints it, and the reprint in the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies manual, typeset separately in 2016, prints it too. Three editions, same stub.
The PDF here prints a plain blank for the year instead, because a statement filed this year cannot say 19 and a form that cannot be completed is not a form. Nothing else about the shape is changed: the same 23 blanks appear in the same places and in the same order as in the printed code.
It matters less than it looks like it does. The statute calls this form one that shall be deemed sufficient, not one that must be followed to the letter, and the contents listed in the prose above the form are what the courts read it for.
After it is filed: suing, sharing, and getting it off the property
The lien does not enforce itself and the filing does not buy you time. Section 35-11-221 says any action for the enforcement of the lien must be commenced within six months after the maturity of the entire indebtedness secured thereby. That is a second clock, it runs from the debt rather than from the filing, and filing the statement does not extend it.
The case goes to the circuit court when the amount involved exceeds fifty dollars, and to the district court in all other cases, under 35-11-220, in the county where the property is.
If there is not enough money to go round, 35-11-228 puts all the liens in the division except the original contractor on an equal footing, paid first out of the proceeds and distributed pro rata if the proceeds are short. Nobody shares until they have a judgment establishing the lien.
An owner who needs the lien off the title before a closing does not have to pay you to get it. Under 35-11-233 the lien can be transferred from the property to a cash deposit or a surety bond equal to the amount demanded plus interest at eight percent per year for three years plus one hundred dollars for costs. Your claim is then against the money instead of the building, and you have ten days from receiving the certificate to object to the amount or to the surety.
When you are paid, 35-11-231 gives you one job. Acknowledge satisfaction on the margin of the record at the probate office. A holder who has been fully paid and fails to do it for thirty days after a written demand is liable for the injury caused, which the section says shall not be less than two hundred dollars.
Questions people ask
Who files a verified statement in Alabama?
Every person entitled to a lien under the division, which is every mechanic, person, firm or corporation who did work or furnished material for the building or improvement. The original contractor files one, a subcontractor files one, a supplier files one and a laborer files one. The only difference between them is how long they have.
Where does it get filed?
In the office of the judge of probate of the county in which the property is situated. That is the only place named in 35-11-213. It is not filed with the circuit court, it is not filed with the Secretary of State, and it is not filed in the county your business is registered in.
Does it have to be notarised?
Yes. The statute calls it a verified statement and requires it to be verified by the oath of the person claiming the lien or of some other person having knowledge of the facts, which is why the form ends with a jurat. An unsworn statement is not the document the section describes.
Can somebody else swear it on behalf of my company?
Yes, and the form is built that way. The section allows the oath of the person claiming the lien or of some other person having knowledge of the facts, so the claimant on the form is your business and the affiant is the individual who actually knows what happened on the job and signs in front of the notary.
My notary is in another state.
Section 35-11-214 covers it. If the oath is made beyond this state it may be administered by any officer authorized to take acknowledgements and proof of conveyances beyond the state. A notary commissioned in another state, taking the oath in that state, is within the section.
How long do I have to file it?
Under 35-11-215, six months for an original contractor, thirty days for a journeyman or day laborer, and four months for everybody else entitled to a lien. Every one of those runs from the last item of work or labor performed, or the last item of material furnished, and not from the invoice or the due date.
What amount do I put on it?
The amount of the demand secured by the lien after all just credits have been given. That is what is still owed once every payment and credit is taken off, not the contract price and not the total of your invoices. Work it out from the ledger before you sign, because you are swearing to it.
I got the amount slightly wrong. Is the lien dead?
Not on its own. The same sentence that lists the contents ends by saying that no error in the amount of the demand or in the name of the owner or proprietor shall affect the lien. That protects an honest mistake in the figure or in a company name. It says nothing about a description that does not identify the property, so the description is the part to get right.
How much detail does the property description need?
Enough that the property may be located or identified. Inside a city or town the statute settles it for you: a description by house number, name of street, and name of city or town is a sufficient description. Outside a city or town, use the description from the deed or the tax parcel.
Do I have to send the owner anything before I file?
Unless you are the original contractor, yes. Section 35-11-218 says that before filing your statement you must give the owner or the owner's agent written notice that you claim a lien, setting out the amount, what it is for and who owes it. The exception is material the owner was notified about in advance under 35-11-210.
Why does the form say 19 for the year?
Because the code still prints the Code 1940 form and nobody has amended the date lines. Three separate editions of the chapter print the same stub. The PDF on this page puts a plain blank there instead so the statement can actually be dated, and changes nothing else about the form.
What does filing cost?
The figure in 35-11-216 is fifteen cents per one hundred words for indorsing and recording it, and the section secures that amount to you by the lien, so it goes on the claim. It is an old number and it is not the recording fee a probate office charges today. Ring the office you are filing in and ask before you go.
The job covered several buildings on adjoining lots. One statement or one each?
One is enough if they were erected under one general contract. Section 35-11-217 says that where the improvement consists of two or more buildings united together on the same lot or on contiguous or adjacent lots, or of separate buildings on contiguous or adjacent lots erected under one general contract, the lien attaches to all of them and it is not necessary to file a separate lien for each. You may still elect to file separately if you prefer.
The property is out in the county, not in a town.
Then 35-11-217 gives you something to do before you file. Where the land is not in a city or town and exceeds one acre, you may select one acre in addition to the land the building sits on, surrounding it and contiguous to it, to be subject to the lien as well. The selection has to be made before you file the statement, so decide it while you are drafting.
Does filing the statement mean I have started the lawsuit?
No, and this is the mistake that kills Alabama liens. Under 35-11-221 the action to enforce must be commenced within six months after the maturity of the entire indebtedness secured by the lien. That clock is separate from the filing clock in 35-11-215 and filing the statement does not extend it.
The owner wants the lien off so they can close.
Section 35-11-233 lets anybody with an interest in the property transfer the lien from the property to a cash deposit or a surety bond in the amount demanded plus interest at eight percent per year for three years plus one hundred dollars for costs. The property is released and your claim moves to the money. You have ten days from receiving the certificate to challenge the amount or the surety.
I have been paid. Do I have to do anything?
Yes. Under 35-11-231 you must acknowledge satisfaction on the margin of the record in the probate office. If you have been fully paid and you fail to do it for thirty days after a written demand, you are liable for the injury that causes, and the section puts a floor of two hundred dollars on it.
Once the job is running and you are getting paid on it, the paperwork that comes next is the waiver: see the Alabama statutory lien waiver forms, and conditional vs unconditional lien waiver for which of the two to sign.