Preliminary notices in Ohio
Subcontractors and suppliers on a private job in Ohio serve a notice of furnishing within 21 days after your first day furnishing labor or materials. It is required only in some cases. That is tighter than the 26-day middle of the states that set a fixed window, so it belongs on day one of the job.
When the owner records a notice of commencement; not needed if you contract with the owner.
Lien filing deadline in Ohio
If the GC hired you, you have 75 days after your last day furnishing labor or materials to record a mechanics lien in Ohio, about 15 days shorter than the national median of 90 days (counted from last furnishing on a sample job). 3 of the 51 jurisdictions we track have a shorter lien deadline and 46 have a longer one.
60 days for residential; 120 days for oil and gas wells.
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.
Deadline to sue on the lien
To keep the lien alive you must sue to enforce it within 72 months after recording the lien. If you record on the last possible day, that is about 2267 days after your last day on the job, about 1902 days longer than the national median of 365 days. 46 of the 48 jurisdictions we track have a shorter overall time to sue and 1 have a longer one.
Because the clock counts from recording, recording early also moves the lawsuit deadline earlier.
The owner can shorten this to 60 days with a notice to start suit.
How Ohio 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.
- Preliminary notice (from first day)
- Ohio: 21 daysNational median: 25.5 days
- Record the lien (from last day)
- Ohio: 75 daysNational median: 90 days
- Sue to enforce (from last day)
- Ohio: 2,267 daysNational median: 365 days
Public and federal projects
Public property can't be liened. On state and local public work in Ohio, subcontractors and suppliers protect themselves with these payment bond steps instead:
| Step | Who | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of furnishing | Subcontractors and suppliers hired by another subcontractor or supplier | 21 days after your first day furnishing labor or materials |
| Affidavit of claim against public funds | Subcontractors and suppliers | 120 days after your last day furnishing labor or materials |
Federal jobs in Ohio 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 Ohio
On public work the cap is 8%, above the 5% median of states that set one. 8% of the labor portion until 50% complete, then none on the rest. It also steps down partway through the job, so check that your pay applications reduce retainage when the project reaches the threshold.
On private work we have no statutory cap on file, so retainage is usually whatever the contract says. Read the retainage and release clauses before you sign.
Once the GC is paid, it has 10 days on private work and 10 days on public work to pay its subs. GC pays subs within 10 days of receipt.
Late payments carry interest of 18% per year. That turns a slow payment into a number you can put in a demand letter.
| Public work | Private work | Federal work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retainage cap | 8% | Verify | 10% |
| Release | Held in escrow; released after completion and acceptance. | Verify with state statute | Released with final payment, or earlier once progress is satisfactory. |
| GC pays subs within | 10 days | 10 days | 7 days |
| Late-payment interest | 18% per year | 18% per 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 concrete sub in Ohio
A concrete subcontractor hired by the GC on a private medical office building in Ohio starts work on March 2, 2026 and last furnishes on July 17, 2026. The project is completed on August 28, 2026. Run through Ohio's rules, those dates give:
| Deadline | Date | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Notice of furnishing | March 23, 2026 | First furnishing |
| Record the lien | September 30, 2026 | Last furnishing |
| Serve the lien on the owner | October 30, 2026 | Lien recording |
| Sue to enforce the lien | September 30, 2032 | Lien recording |
The first deadline on the calendar is “Notice of furnishing” on March 23, 2026, counted from the day the crew started, long before any payment is late.
Open the lien deadline calculator for Ohio 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 (OH): every notice, lien and suit date for your role, tier and job type, including public bond claims.
- Retainage and prompt payment rules (OH): 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
- Ohio Rev. Code §1311.01 to .99
- Ohio Rev. Code §153.54 to .57 (public bonds)
- Ohio Rev. Code §153.13 and §153.63 (public)
- Ohio Rev. Code §4113.61 (prompt pay)
- Federal work in Ohio: 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.