Filing deadline

Original contractors: 4 months from last furnishing; subcontractors/suppliers/equipment lessors: 90 days (note - 90 days, not 3 months); oil and gas well liens: 180 days. File the verified Lien Statement with the county clerk where the land lies. Punch-list and repair return trips do not extend the clock; acceptance date is irrelevant.

Notice prerequisites

No notice before starting work, but lower-tier claimants (everyone except the original contractor) must serve a Pre-Lien Notice on both the owner and the original contractor whenever the property contains an owner-occupied dwelling (any amount) or the aggregate claim is $10,000+ on non-residential work. Serve before filing the lien and no later than 75 days after last furnishing; one notice covers the whole project. Rental residential projects of 4 or fewer units are exempt. A compliance affidavit must accompany the lien filing (false affidavit = misdemeanor), and if the GC ignores a written request for the owner's name/address for 5 days, the owner-notice requirement drops away.

Service on the owner

The claimant does not serve the recorded lien - the county clerk mails notice of the lien to the owner by certified mail within 5 business days of filing. The claimant's own service duty is the pre-lien notice stage.

Enforcement

Foreclosure suit in the district court of the property's county within 1 year of filing the Lien Statement; after a year the lien is cancelled automatically by statute. All other recorded lienholders must be joined; prevailing party recovers attorney fees. No lis pendens requirement mentioned.

Okla. Stat. tit. 42, sec. 141-178 (esp. 142, 142.6, 143, 147.1, 152-153, 172, 176-177); oil and gas liens sec. 144-146