Filing deadline

Construction Lien recorded with the register of deeds of the county where the land lies, any time after contract execution (never before) and no later than 120 days after the claimant's final furnishing; punch-list/warranty work and tacking separate contracts do not extend the date. Contents: unpaid amount (or designated good-faith estimate), last furnishing date, contracting owner, contracting counterparty, legal description, claimant's signature. Liens may be amended upward/expanded only within the original 120-day window; afterward only to reduce or apportion.

Notice prerequisites

No mandatory pre-work notice. On residential (protected-party) projects a claimant should send the owner a Notice of Lien Liability - optional, but the non-prime claimant's lien is capped at the lesser of its own unpaid contract amount or what the owner still owed the prime when that notice arrived, so sending it early preserves value. Owners/lenders may record a Notice of Commencement that fixes lien attachment/priority dates.

Service on the owner

A copy of the recorded lien must be sent to the contracting owner within 10 days after recording (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 52-135(3)). The other practical notices are the optional residential Notice of Lien Liability (any time after contracting, before recording) and responses to an owner's Demand to Institute Judicial Proceedings.

Enforcement

Lien stays enforceable for 2 years after recording; foreclosure is equitable, tried to the district court, by mortgage-foreclosure procedures or (per Tilt-Up) a private-sale route, and contract claims can be joined. Any interested person may serve a Demand to Institute Judicial Proceedings, forcing suit (or an affidavit that the contract price is not yet due) within 30 days or the lien lapses.

Nebraska Construction Lien Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. sections 52-125 to 52-159 (esp. 52-127, 52-130 to 52-142, 52-144 to 52-148, 52-155, 52-157)