Filing deadline

Two-step recording in the registry of deeds where the land lies. Step 1: Notice of (Written) Contract / Notice of Subcontract, due by the earliest of 60 days after a recorded Notice of Substantial Completion, 90 days after a recorded Notice of Termination, or 90 days after last labor/materials furnished by the GC or anyone under it. Step 2: a Statement of Account, due by the earliest of 90 days after Substantial Completion notice, 120 days after Termination notice, or 120 days after last furnishing. Personal-labor claimants (no written contract) skip the notice but must record a Statement of Account within 90 days of last work; their lien is capped at 30 days' wages. Design professionals (post-7/1/2011) follow a parallel scheme with their Statement of Account due 30 days after their notice deadline.

Notice prerequisites

Nothing is required before starting work. The lien itself is created mid-stream by recording a Notice of Written Contract (primes) or Notice of Subcontract (subs) in the registry of deeds, which can be done any time after contract signing. Sub-subcontractors who want to escape the cap tied to their intermediate subcontract must serve a Notice of Identification on the GC by certified mail within 30 days of starting work.

Service on the owner

Subcontractors must give the owner actual notice of the recorded Notice of Subcontract; primes and laborers have no actual-notice duty (mailing a copy is still recommended). Recording precedes/accompanies notice rather than the reverse.

Enforcement

Suit in superior or district court where the land lies within 90 days after recording the Statement of Account, plus a second trap: an attested copy of the complaint must be recorded in the registry within 30 days of filing suit. Claims against a lien bond likewise require suit within 90 days (measured from the Section 8 statement or bond-notice receipt).

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 254 (esp. secs. 1, 2, 2A-2D, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15A, 32, 33); ch. 149 sec. 29E (prompt pay)