Preliminary notices in New York
New York is one of the states with no general preliminary notice for subcontractors on commercial work in our summary. That doesn't mean you can skip paperwork: the lien itself still has a hard deadline, and the other notices below still apply.
Lien filing deadline in New York
If the GC hired you, you have 8 months after your last day furnishing labor or materials to record a mechanics lien in New York, about 155 days longer than the national median of 90 days (counted from last furnishing on a sample job). That's the longest lien deadline of the 51 jurisdictions we track.
4 months for a single-family dwelling.
The clock starts on your last day furnishing labor or materials under your contract. In many states, warranty visits and punch list work done mainly to extend the deadline don't restart it, so use your last day of real contract work.
Recording isn't the last step. GCs, subcontractors and suppliers then serve the lien on the owner within 30 days after recording the lien. Within 5 days before or 30 days after filing.
Deadline to sue on the lien
To keep the lien alive you must sue to enforce it within 12 months after recording the lien. If you record on the last possible day, that is about 610 days after your last day on the job, about 245 days longer than the national median of 365 days. 38 of the 48 jurisdictions we track have a shorter overall time to sue and 9 have a longer one.
Because the clock counts from recording, recording early also moves the lawsuit deadline earlier.
Can be extended one year by filing an extension before it expires.
How New York compares
Days are counted on a sample job with the lien recorded on its last allowed day, so states that count from recording or from completion can be compared with those that count from your last day on site. The median is across the jurisdictions with a dated rule on file.
- Record the lien (from last day)
- New York: 245 daysNational median: 90 days
- Sue to enforce (from last day)
- New York: 610 daysNational median: 365 days
Public and federal projects
Public property can't be liened. On state and local public work in New York, subcontractors and suppliers protect themselves with these payment bond steps instead:
| Step | Who | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of lien on public improvement | Subcontractors and suppliers | 30 days after completion of the project (verify) |
| Notice of claim on the payment bond | Subcontractors and suppliers hired by another subcontractor or supplier | 120 days after your last day furnishing labor or materials (verify) |
| Payment bond lawsuit | Subcontractors and suppliers | 12 months after your last day furnishing labor or materials (verify) |
Notice of lien on public improvement: within 30 days after completion and acceptance by the agency.
Federal jobs in New York follow the Miller Act instead of state law: those hired by a sub or supplier give the prime contractor notice within 90 days of their last furnishing, and suit is due within 1 year, in federal court. Prime contractors on federal work have no lien or bond claim.
Retainage and prompt payment in New York
On public work the cap is 5%, the most common cap among states that set one. Up to 5% on state and many local public contracts.
Private work has a cap too: 5%. Up to 5% on private projects of $150,000 or more.
Once the GC is paid, it has 7 days on private work and 7 days on public work to pay its subs. Owner pays within 30 days of approval; GC pays subs within 7 days of receipt.
Late payments carry interest of 1% per month. That turns a slow payment into a number you can put in a demand letter.
| Public work | Private work | Federal work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retainage cap | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| Release | After substantial completion, less a punch list holdback. | Per the contract after final approval. | Released with final payment, or earlier once progress is satisfactory. |
| GC pays subs within | 7 days | 7 days | 7 days |
| Late-payment interest | Verify | 1% per month (12% a year) | Treasury prompt payment rate (reset every January and July) |
Not legal advice. Retainage and prompt payment rules differ by agency, contract size and contract date, and change often. Confirm the rules with the current statute, your contract and a construction attorney before relying on them.
Worked example: a steel sub in New York
A steel subcontractor hired by the GC on a private restaurant fit-out in New York starts work on March 2, 2026 and last furnishes on July 17, 2026. The project is completed on August 28, 2026. Run through New York's rules, those dates give:
| Deadline | Date | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Record the lien | March 17, 2027 | Last furnishing |
| Serve the lien on the owner | April 16, 2027 | Lien recording |
| Sue to enforce the lien | March 17, 2028 | Lien recording |
The first deadline on the calendar is “Record the lien” on March 17, 2027.
Open the lien deadline calculator for New York and enter your own dates to get this table for your job, with countdowns and a PDF deadline calendar.
Check your own dates with the free tools
- Mechanics lien and notice deadline calculator (NY): every notice, lien and suit date for your role, tier and job type, including public bond claims.
- Retainage and prompt payment rules (NY): check your contract's retainage against the cap and work out late-payment interest.
- Schedule of values and pay application builder: bill each period with retainage calculated, so what you're owed is documented.
- Cash flow and retainage forecaster: see what slow payment and held retainage do to your bank balance.
Statutes cited
- N.Y. Lien Law §3 to §39
- N.Y. State Fin. Law §137 (public bonds)
- N.Y. State Fin. Law §139-f (public)
- N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law §756 to §758 (private)
- Federal work in New York: 40 U.S.C. §3131 to §3134 (Miller Act)
Not legal advice. Lien and bond claim rules change and have exceptions for project type, contract terms and how notices are served. Confirm every deadline with the current statute or a construction attorney in the project's state before relying on it. Rules shown as "Verify with state statute" have exceptions or variations we could not reduce to one number.