Can a Subcontractor File a Lien in Georgia?

Short answer: yes, subcontractors can file

Georgia's lien statute is not limited to general contractors. Subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, materialmen, suppliers, laborers, and design professionals can all claim a lien against the improved property if they furnished labor, materials, or services and haven't been paid. The law recognizes that a project's value comes from everyone who touched it, not just the party holding the prime contract.

That said, being eligible to file a lien and actually having an enforceable lien are two different things. Subcontractors face a few wrinkles that general contractors dealing directly with the owner don't — particularly around notice — so it's worth understanding exactly where you stand before you assume your lien rights are automatically preserved.

Who qualifies to file

Georgia's lien framework covers most of the people and businesses that add value to a construction project, regardless of who they contracted with directly.

• Subcontractors who contracted with the general contractor, not the property owner.
• Sub-subcontractors who contracted with a subcontractor further up the chain.
• Materialmen and suppliers who furnished materials incorporated into the project.
• Laborers who performed work on the job.
• Design professionals, such as architects and engineers, who provided services for the project.

You don't need a contract with the owner

This is the point that surprises a lot of subs: you don't need any direct contractual relationship with the property owner to file a valid lien. Your contract is with the general contractor, but your lien attaches to the owner's property. That's the entire purpose of lien law — it gives the people who did the work a way to reach the asset they improved, even though their paperwork runs through someone else.

That doesn't mean the process is identical to a GC's. Because you're a step (or two) removed from the owner, Georgia's notice framework exists to make sure the owner knows who's working on their property and who might have a claim against it.

The notice steps subs have to follow

Georgia uses a Notice of Commencement and Notice to Contractor system to keep owners and GCs informed of who is on a job. One of those steps can be mandatory for you, and one related notice is optional, so it pays to know the difference before you ever get to the lien-filing stage.

The owner, the owner's agent, or the contractor may file a Notice of Commencement with the superior court clerk within 15 days after work physically starts. What matters is whether it was filed, not whether a copy was posted on the site. If one was filed and you don't have a contract with the general contractor (for example, you're a sub-subcontractor or a supplier to a sub), you must send a written Notice to Contractor to the owner and the contractor within 30 days of the NOC filing or your first delivery of labor or materials, whichever is later. Missing a required Notice to Contractor invalidates your lien. Your contract claim for the money survives, but you lose the lien. If no Notice of Commencement was filed, this requirement doesn't apply.

The preliminary notice of lien rights is a separate, optional filing. You may file one within 30 days after you first furnish labor or materials, but Georgia lets you enforce a lien without it. Treat these notices as part of your paperwork routine on every job, not an afterthought you deal with only after a payment dispute starts.

The 90-day, 365-day, and 30-day deadlines

Once you decide to file, the clock is unforgiving and doesn't bend for subcontractors any more than it does for general contractors.

• 90 days to file: Your claim of lien must be filed within 90 days of the last day you furnished labor or materials to the project. That's your actual last date of work — not your invoice date or the date the GC promised to pay.
• File in the right county: The lien must be filed in the superior court clerk's office of the county where the property is located.
• 2 business days to notify the owner: After filing, you must send the property owner a copy of the recorded lien by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery within 2 business days. If a Notice of Commencement was filed, send a copy to the contractor at the address on it as well.
• 365 days to enforce: Filing the lien only preserves your claim — it doesn't collect money. You must file a lawsuit to enforce the lien within 365 days of the date it was filed.
• 30 days to file notice of the suit: Within 30 days after filing suit, you must file a notice of commencement of lien action with the clerk in the county where the lien was recorded. Missing this or the 365-day deadline makes the lien unenforceable.

How pay-if-paid clauses interact with your lien rights

Many subcontracts include a pay-if-paid clause, which conditions the GC's obligation to pay the sub on the GC first getting paid by the owner. GCs use these clauses to shift the risk of an owner's nonpayment down the contracting chain, and if you've had a job stall out because the owner stopped paying the GC, you've likely run into one.

Georgia courts enforce a pay-if-paid clause against your contract claim when the condition is clearly expressed. The lien is a separate question. No Georgia statute says a pay-if-paid clause preserves or defeats lien rights, but in Sasser & Co. v. Griffin (1974), the Court of Appeals enforced a pay-if-paid clause against the subcontractor's claim for payment and still treated the subcontractor's lien on the owners' property separately, holding the sub was entitled to establish it. Georgia law also voids any waiver of lien or payment bond rights signed before you furnish labor or materials, so a clause in your subcontract can't waive those rights in advance. If you're facing a pay-if-paid dispute, don't assume it forecloses your lien options — that's exactly the kind of situation worth reviewing with a business law attorney before your 90-day window closes.

Public projects: no lien, but a bond claim instead

One major exception applies to everyone in the contracting chain, subs included: you cannot file a mechanic's lien against public or government-owned property in Georgia. If you're working on a school, courthouse, road, or other government job, lien law simply doesn't reach that property.

Your remedy on a public project is a claim against the project's payment bond instead. Public jobs typically require the prime contractor to post a payment bond precisely so subcontractors and suppliers have a way to get paid when a lien isn't available. If you're not sure whether your project counts as public work, confirm that before you assume lien rights apply — the deadlines and procedures for a bond claim are not the same as for a lien. For example, a bond claimant with no contract with the prime contractor must give the contractor written notice within 30 days of the Notice of Commencement filing or first delivery (whichever is later) when one was filed, or within 90 days of last furnishing when one wasn't, and a bond suit must be filed within one year of the contract's completion and acceptance of the work.

How subs protect themselves

A few habits go a long way toward keeping your lien and bond rights intact on every job, whether or not a payment dispute ever materializes.

• Keep dated records of your last day of labor or materials on every job — delivery tickets, timesheets, and punch-list sign-offs matter.
• Check whether a Notice of Commencement was filed on every job, and send a Notice to Contractor within 30 days when one is required.
• Read every lien waiver before you sign it. A Georgia statutory waiver becomes conclusively effective 90 days after signing, even if you weren't paid, unless you file an affidavit of nonpayment within those 90 days.
• Confirm early whether a project is public or private, since that determines whether you'll be relying on a lien or a bond claim.
• Don't let a pay-if-paid clause talk you out of preserving your lien rights within the 90-day window.

When to call a lawyer

Subcontractor lien rights exist, but the notice requirements and strict deadlines mean it's easy to lose them through inaction rather than any fault of your own. If you're approaching your 90-day window, unsure whether you sent a required Notice to Contractor, wrestling with a pay-if-paid clause, or trying to figure out whether your project is public or private, it's worth talking to a business law attorney before the clock runs out.

Jerry Parisi at Parisi Law Firm works with subcontractors, materialmen, and laborers across Jefferson, Jackson County, and Northeast Georgia to protect their right to get paid for completed work. Business law representation like this is not handled on a contingency basis — the firm bills for its work rather than taking a share of your recovery, so you know what to expect going in. If a GC or owner isn't paying you for work you've done, contact Parisi Law Firm at (404) 594-5130 to talk through your options before a deadline passes.

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