Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 43-4 (2026)

Perfection of lien by general contractor; recordation and notice

✓ current as of May 2026

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A general contractor, or any other lien claimant under §§ 43-7 and 43-9, in order to perfect the lien given by § 43-3, provided such lien has not been barred by § 43-4.01 C, shall file a memorandum of lien at any time after the work is commenced or material furnished, but not later than 90 days from the last day of the month in which he last performs labor or furnishes material, and in no event later than 90 days from the time such building, structure, or railroad is completed, or the work thereon otherwise terminated. The memorandum shall be filed in the clerk's office in the county or city in which the building, structure or railroad, or any part thereof is located. The memorandum shall show the names and addresses of the owner of the property sought to be charged, and of the claimant of the lien, the amount and consideration of his claim, the time or times when the same is or will be due and payable, and the date from which interest is claimed, verified by the oath of the claimant, or his agent, including a statement declaring his intention to claim the benefit of the lien, and giving a brief description of the property on which he claims a lien. The memorandum shall also contain the claimant's license or certificate number issued by the Board for Contractors pursuant to Chapter 11 (§ 54.1-1100 et seq.) of Title 54.1, if any, and the date such license or certificate was issued and the date such license or certificate expires. It shall be the duty of the clerk in whose office the memorandum is filed to record and index the same as provided in § 43-4.1, in the name of the claimant of the lien and of the owner of the property. From the time of such recording and indexing all persons shall be deemed to have notice thereof. A lien claimant who is a general contractor, and not lien claimants under §§ 43-7 and 43-9, also shall file along with the memorandum of lien, a certification of mailing of a copy of the memorandum of lien on the owner of the property at the owner's last known address. The cost of recording the memorandum shall be taxed against the person found liable in any judgment or decree enforcing such lien. The lien claimant may file any number of memoranda but no memorandum filed pursuant to this chapter shall include sums due for labor or materials furnished more than 150 days prior to the last day on which labor was performed or material furnished to the job preceding the filing of such memorandum. However, any memorandum may include (i) sums withheld as retainages with respect to labor performed or materials furnished at any time before it is filed, but not to exceed 10 percent of the total contract price and (ii) sums which are not yet due because the party with whom the lien claimant contracted has not yet received such funds from the owner or another third party. The time limitations set forth herein shall apply to all labor performed or materials furnished on construction commenced on or after July 1, 1980. An inaccuracy in the memorandum as to the claimant's license or certificate number, if any, the date such license or certificate was issued, or the date such license or certificate expires shall not bar a person from perfecting a lien if the claimant can otherwise be reasonably identified in the records of the Board for Contractors.

Code 1919, § 6427; 1940, p. 401; 1968, c. 568; 1976, c. 413; 1980, c. 491; 1992, cc. 779, 787; 1999, c. 533; 2003, c. 698; 2007, c. 505; 2013, c. 293; 2019, c. 243.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 100 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1959–2025 · leading case: BRITT CONST., INC. v. Magazzine Clean, LLC, 623 S.E.2d 886 (Va. 2006).

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BRITT CONST., INC. v. Magazzine Clean, LLC, 623 S.E.2d 886 (Va. 2006). · cites it 31× “In this appeal, we consider whether Code § 43-4 requires that a general contractor, as a condition of perfecting a mechanic's lien, contemporaneously file with the memorandum of lien a "certification" that a copy of the memorandum has been mailed to the property owner.”

Concrete Structures, Inc. v. Tidewater Crane & Rigging Co. (In Re Concrete Structures, Inc.), 261 B.R. 627 (E.D. Va. 2001). · cites it 25× “See Va.Code § 43-4 (“A general contractor, or any other lien claimant .”

Carolina Builders Corp. v. Cenit Equity Co., 512 S.E.2d 550 (Va. 1999). · cites it 34× “In this appeal, we decide two issues: (1) the date from which the 150-day limitation period in Code § 43-4 is calculated for purposes of determining what sums can be included in a memorandum of mechanic’s lien; and (2) whether including only sums due for labor performed or…”

Desai v. A. R. Design Grp., Inc., 799 S.E.2d 506 (Va. 2017). · cites it 22× “Code § 43-4 specifies the steps necessary to perfect a mechanic's lien: when it must be filed, where to file it, and what must be included in the memorandum of mechanic's lien.”

United Masonry Inc. v. Riggs Nat'l Bank, 357 S.E.2d 509 (Va. 1987). · cites it 14× “Prior to its amendment in 1980, Code § 43-4 provided that “[a] general contractor, in order to perfect [his] lien .”

Am. Stand. Homes Corp. v. Reinecke, 425 S.E.2d 515 (Va. 1993). · cites it 8× “In the court below, the complainant contended that the 90-day time limitation for filing memoranda of mechanic’s liens prescribed by Code § 43-4 did not begin to run until the last day of the month in which the additional materials were delivered.”

N. Virginia Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. J. B. Kendall Co., 135 S.E.2d 178 (Va. 1964). · cites it 16× “; and (5) that the memoranda filed by Long on October 28, 1957, perfected mechanics’ hens against Mount Vernon’s properties, but that the memoranda filed on February 14, 1958, did not perfect valid hens because they were not filed within the sixty-day period required by Code §…”

Smith Mountain Supply v. Windstar Prop., 672 S.E.2d 845 (Va. 2009). · cites it 20× “In these appeals, we determine whether the trial court erred in declaring invalid and unenforceable two mechanic's liens without allowing the lien claimant to present evidence that its inclusion in the memoranda of charges outside the 150-day limitation period in Code § 43-4 was…”

Dominion Trust Co. v. Kenbridge Constr. Co., 448 S.E.2d 659 (Va. 1994). · cites it 8× “Code § 43-4, states in relevant part: A general contractor, or any other lien claimant .”

Donohoe Constr. Co. v. Mount Vernon Assocs., 369 S.E.2d 857 (Va. 1988). · cites it 4× “” Code § 43-4. The claimant must appear and make oath before a notary public (or some other official authorized to administer an oath) that the owner is justly indebted to the claimant in the amount and for the consideration stated in the memorandum.”

Loyola Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Herndon Lumber & Millwork, Inc., 241 S.E.2d 752 (Va. 1978). · cites it 7× “In this creditors’ rights suit, the sole issue we decide is whether a trustee in a deed of trust was an “owner”, within the meaning of Code § 43-4, so that the failure to name such *804 trustee, or trustees, in a memorandum for mechanic’s lien invalidated the lien.”

Gunther v. Cantrell, 11 Va. Cir. 255 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 1988). · cites it 22× “Walker, each filed a memorandum of mechanic’s lien pursuant to Va. Code §§ 43-4 and 43-5 (Repl. Vol. 1986) claiming $2,802.”

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— Va. Code Ann. § 43-4(b) — 1 case

Valley Blox, Inc. v. Linpro Chantilly Land Ltd. P'ship, 24 Va. Cir. 154 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 1991).

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