How to Remove a Mechanic’s Lien in Georgia

A mechanic’s lien (also called a materialman’s lien) clouds the title to real estate and can block a sale or refinance until it is cleared. This article covers how such a lien comes off the property in Georgia: through payment and release, a notice of contest, a discharge bond, expiration, or a challenge to a defective filing. For how these liens are created, filed, and enforced in the first place, see Georgia’s mechanics lien deadlines, filing, and removal rules. Removing a lien is one of the procedures that sit alongside Georgia’s consumer protection laws.

The lien removal routes in Georgia

Georgia’s mechanics and materialman lien statutes sit in Title 44, Chapter 14, Part 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated. Removal is not a single form; the right route depends on why the lien should come off. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1, a claim of lien is only enforceable if the claimant files it within 90 days of finishing the work and then commences a lien action within 365 days of that filing. Those two deadlines drive most of the removal options.

Four situations account for nearly every removal. The debt is paid and the claimant records a release. The owner forces the claimant’s hand with a notice of contest. The owner or contractor posts a bond that discharges the lien from the land. Or the lien simply expires because the claimant never sued. A fifth route, challenging a lien that was filed incorrectly, applies when the filing itself is defective.

Pay the debt and record a lien release

The cleanest removal is payment. When the underlying bill is paid, the lien claimant executes a lien release, a satisfaction or cancellation of the claim of lien, that is recorded in the county superior court clerk’s real-estate records, maintained through the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’ Cooperative Authority’s statewide lien index. Recording the release removes the cloud on title.

Payment can happen at several points. On many projects, contractors and suppliers sign interim and final lien waivers as they are paid during the job, and a final waiver given at completion generally forecloses a lien for that work. If a lien has already been recorded, the owner typically conditions final payment on delivery of a recordable release. Georgia does not publish a single statewide release form, so the release is prepared between the parties and recorded with the clerk in the county where the property sits through the GSCCCA filing services.

Shorten the claimant’s deadline with a notice of contest

An owner who believes a lien is invalid or stale does not have to wait out the full enforcement window. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-368, the owner (or the owner’s agent or attorney, or the contractor) can record a notice of contest of lien with the superior court clerk. The notice shortens the claimant’s time to file a lien lawsuit to 60 days from the date the claimant receives it.

The person filing the notice must send a copy to the claimant by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery within 7 days of filing, at the address shown on the lien. If the claimant does not sue and record a notice of commencement of the lien action, the lien is extinguished by operation of law 90 days after the notice of contest is filed, no separate release or court order is required.

1. Confirm the lien details

   Pull the recorded claim of lien from the county superior court clerk or the statewide lien index and note the filing date, the book and page, the claimant’s name, and the address the claimant listed for notice. Those details go into the contest notice.

2. Prepare the notice of contest

   Georgia sets out the required wording, in boldface type, in O.C.G.A. § 44-14-368, including the statement that the claimant has 60 days from receipt to bring a lien action. The notice is signed by the owner, contractor, agent, or attorney.

3. Record and serve it

   Record the notice with the clerk of the superior court in the county where the property is located, then send a copy to the claimant by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery within 7 days of filing.

4. Track the deadline

   If the claimant files no lien action and no notice of commencement, the lien is extinguished 90 days after the notice of contest is recorded.

Discharge the lien by posting a bond

When an owner needs the lien off the title quickly, for a pending closing or refinance, Georgia allows the owner or the contractor to substitute a bond for the lien. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-364, once the clerk of the superior court approves the bond, the real estate is discharged from the lien and the claimant’s recourse shifts from the property to the bond.

The bond amount is fixed by statute. For most property the bond must be double the amount claimed in the lien; for a lien against the owner’s domicile, the owner’s permanent dwelling, the bond equals the amount claimed. The bond can be a surety bond approved by the clerk or a cash bond, and within 7 days of filing it the party posting it must send notice and a copy of the bond to the claimant, again under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-364.

When a Georgia lien expires on its own

A mechanic’s lien does not last indefinitely. A claimant must commence a lien action within 365 days of filing the claim of lien and, within 30 days of filing that suit, record a notice of commencement of the lien action under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1. A claimant who misses either step loses the ability to enforce the lien.

Georgia also prints an expiration date on the face of every lien. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-367, a claim of lien filed after March 31, 2009 must state that it expires and is void 395 days from the date of filing if no notice of commencement of lien action is filed, and the lien may be disregarded once that period passes. For an owner waiting out a claimant who never sues, the lien becomes void by operation of law and the clerk can treat it as expired without a separate release.

Challenging a lien that was filed incorrectly

Georgia’s lien statutes are strict about form, and a defect can render a lien unenforceable. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1, the claim of lien must be filed within 90 days of the last labor or materials, must state the amount claimed and the date the claim became due, and must include a notice telling the owner of the right to contest the lien; a lien that omits the required statutory language is invalid. The claimant also must mail a copy of the recorded lien to the owner within two business days of filing it.

A lien can be challenged when the amount is inflated beyond the contract price, when the claimant never held a valid contract or lien right, or when the 90-day filing deadline was missed. Because the aggregate of all liens on a project cannot exceed the contract price under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1, an owner who has already paid the general contractor in full may have a defense against a subcontractor’s lien. These challenges are decided in court, often in response to the claimant’s foreclosure action or in a separate action to remove a cloud on title.

If the lien grew out of a dispute over the work itself, other remedies can run alongside removal, for example, making a claim against the contractor’s Georgia license bond or filing a complaint against the contractor with the state licensing board.