South Carolina mechanics' lien deadlines
What deadlines do I have to meet to keep a South Carolina mechanics' lien alive?
The last day of furnishing starts every clock
One date controls the lien, and it is not the invoice date, the contract date or the day you got upset. It is the day you ceased to labor on, or furnish labor or materials for, the building or structure.
Every deadline below counts from it. The 90-day statement, the six-month suit, the whole lien, all anchored on the last furnishing.
For a supplier it is the last material actually furnished, including scheduled items; for a crew it is the last day on the job. It is also the day your lien right starts shrinking, so write it down the day it happens. A date in your calendar on day one is worth more than a reconstruction from delivery logs on day 80.
The South Carolina mechanics' lien deadlines run from the day the claimant ceases to labor on or furnish labor or materials for the building or structure, not from the invoice or contract date. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
90 days to serve and file the sworn statement
The lien is dissolved unless, within 90 days after the last furnishing, you serve the sworn statement of account on the owner, or the person in possession where the owner cannot be found, and file it with the register of deeds or clerk of court in the county where the property sits.
Serve and file. Both, inside the window. A statement filed but not served, or served but not filed, does not hold the lien.
If neither the owner nor the person in possession can be located after a diligent search, the lien can be preserved by filing the statement together with an affidavit of the sheriff or a deputy verifying that fact. The statutory text also fixes the filing fee: the register or clerk is entitled to the same fees as for recording mortgages of equal length.
90 daysThe lien is dissolved unless, within 90 days after ceasing to furnish, the sworn statement is served on the owner or person in possession and filed with the register of deeds or clerk of court. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
If neither the owner nor the person in possession can be found after diligent search, verified by the sheriff's affidavit, the lien may be preserved by filing the statement with the affidavit. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
Six months to commence the enforcement suit
Filing the statement does not finish anything. A suit to enforce the lien, with a notice of pendency filed, must be commenced within six months after the last furnishing, or the lien is dissolved.
Six months from the same day, not six months from the filing of the statement. A lien filed on day 88 has roughly four months left to sue, and a lien filed on day 10 has barely six.
The dissolution is real and one-sided: the chapter lets the lien be released by court order, or by an affidavit of the bond holder's or the defendant's attorney stating that six months have passed since the lien attached with no suit or notice of pendency filed. The other side can file your lien away while you wait.
6 monthsUnless a suit enforcing the lien is commenced and a notice of pendency filed within six months after the claimant ceases to furnish, the lien is dissolved and releasable by affidavit. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
15 days and $15 — the notice of project commencement
A prime contractor can shorten the lien chain's paperwork by filing a notice of project commencement with the clerk of court or register of deeds in the county where the property sits, within 15 days of work commencing, with a $15 filing fee.
The notice lists the filer's name and address, the owner or developer, a general description of the improvement and the location. The contractor's name and a location notice must then be posted at the job site, telling sub-subcontractors and suppliers what section they must comply with when filing liens.
Skipping it has a consequence for the prime's protection, not for the subs' liens: the failure renders the aggregate-lien caps of sections 29-5-20(B) and 29-5-60(B) inapplicable, and removes the notice requirements behind certain payment bond claims. For a sub, the posted notice is where you learn the chain you are in.
$15A notice of project commencement must be filed with the clerk of court or register of deeds within 15 days of starting work, with a $15 fee and the contractor's name posted at the job site. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
Failure to file a South Carolina notice of project commencement renders the aggregate lien caps of sections 29-5-20(B) and 29-5-60(B) inapplicable. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
The bond-off date — 1 1/3 times the claim, any time
The owner has a deadline-free answer to your lien. At any time after you serve and file the statement, the owner or another interested party can discharge the lien from the property by filing a written undertaking equal to one and one-third times the amount claimed, secured by cash, United States or South Carolina securities, or a surety bond from a surety licensed in the state.
The undertaking takes the place of the property, and the deposit becomes what your enforcement suit runs against. Your six-month clock does not pause for it: unless the suit is commenced as required, the undertaking is cancelled and the deposit released.
What this means for the calendar is blunt. An owner can spend one and a third times the claim to make your lien a paper contest with a bank account at the end of it, so the suit deadline is the one that matters, even when the money is sitting right there.
1 1/3 x claimThe owner may discharge the lien by filing a written undertaking equal to one and one-third times the amount claimed, secured by cash, US or state securities, or a licensed surety bond. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
Calendar the chain backwards from the last day
Turn the dates into a to-do list the day the job ends. The last furnishing fixes the whole schedule, and the table below is that schedule, in order.
Two dates are load-bearing: day 90 for the statement and day 180 for the suit. Everything else is either preparation for those two or a trap for the other side.
If your last furnishing has already passed and you are inside the 90-day window, how to file a mechanics' lien is the full procedure, and what it costs to chase a payment prices the rungs. If you are past day 90, the lien is gone and the road is the demand letter and the magistrate's court.
| Day | Step | If it is missed |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Last furnishing of labor or materials | Every later date moves with it |
| Within 15 days of starting | Prime files notice of project commencement | Aggregate lien caps fall away |
| Day 1 to 90 | Serve and file the sworn statement of account | The lien is dissolved |
| After filing | Owner may bond off at 1 1/3 times the claim | Deposit replaces the property |
| By day 180 | Commence suit and file notice of pendency | The lien is dissolved and releasable |
| After judgment | Enforce within the execution windows | The judgment goes stale |
A lien enforcement action is brought by petition to the court of common pleas for the county where the property sits, filed in term or in the clerk's office in vacation. — South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 29, Chapter 5, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Does the 90-day deadline apply to a subcontractor hired by the owner?
The 90-day serve-and-file deadline applies to any person availing themselves of the lien, whoever they contracted with. Who you contracted with changes the notice you owe, not the filing window. A sub hired by a contractor must also notify the owner in writing before the lien attaches to the owner's interest.
Can I extend the six-month suit deadline by agreement?
This page does not cover lien waivers and extensions, and no statute this page quotes creates one. Treat both dates as fixed. The practical extension is speed — file early in the window, sue early in the window, and let the settlement happen inside it.
What happens on day 91?
The lien is dissolved. The debt itself survives, so the demand letter, the interest rules and the magistrate's court are still open, but the property is out of reach and the attorney's fee recovery a lien action carries goes with it.