2 deadlines NoticeGuard models for District of Columbia: what each one counts from, the statute it was read from, and the statute text.
Information, not legal advice. This app reports what the statute says and cites the section it read. It is not legal advice, it does not file anything for you, and it does not tell you what to do.
Verify with the statute or an attorney. Statutes change, and courts reinterpret them. Every deadline in this app comes from a statute read on the date shown next to its citation - that snapshot can go out of date. Missing a mechanics lien deadline can extinguish your claim permanently, so confirm any deadline you are relying on with an attorney licensed in that state before you act on it.
Data verified: statute text retrieved 2026-09-21 (each citation below carries its own date). Rule data from the NoticeGuard app, source commit 22f9300.
Recorded in the land records, either during construction or counted from the project's completion - required of the original contractor and of every subcontractor, materialman, or laborer directly employed by one, on the same terms.
What it counts from. 90 days after final completion of the original contract.
Applies to. Original contractor, Subcontractor, Supplier, Preconstruction service.
D.C. Code § 40-301.02 (a)(1) Official source · statute text retrieved 2026-09-21
“A contractor desiring to enforce the lien shall record in the land records a notice of intent that identifies the property subject to the lien and states the amount due or to become due to the contractor. The notice of intent shall be recorded during the construction or within 90 days after the earlier of the completion or termination of the project. If the notice of intent is not recorded in the land records during the construction or within 90 days after the earlier of the completion or termination of the project, the contractor's lien shall terminate upon the expiration of the 90-day period.”
If the date is missed (the statute's own terms). The statute's own mechanism: the lien "shall terminate upon the expiration of the 90-day period" if the notice of intent is not timely recorded.
Also stated next to this deadline.
Applies identically to subcontractors, materialmen, and laborers directly employed by the original contractor (§ 40-303.01: "entitled to the same rights and subject to the same obligations as the original contractor").
The notice of intent must include: the contractor's and owner's names/addresses; the party against whose interest the lien is claimed and the amount claimed, net of credits; a description of the work and its commencement/completion dates; a description of materials furnished and their first/last delivery dates; a legal description and street address of the property; contractor licensure/good-standing documentation where available; a copy of the home improvement contract, if applicable; and a sworn, notarized statement affirming the notice is true and the contractor has a right to recover the amount claimed (§ 40-301.02(b)).
A copy of the recorded notice must be sent to the owner by certified mail within 5 business days of recording, or posted on the property if undeliverable (§ 40-301.02(a)(2)) - a real, separate small deadline this app does not track independently.
File suit to enforce the lien and record notice of pendency
Suit filed, and a notice of pendency of action recorded within 10 days after filing, counted from the date the notice of intent was recorded.
What it counts from. 180 days after notice of construction lien recorded.
Applies to. Original contractor, Subcontractor, Supplier, Preconstruction service.
D.C. Code § 40-303.13 (a)(1) Official source · statute text retrieved 2026-09-21
“Any person with a lien and who has recorded a valid notice of intent shall only enforce the lien by: (A) Filing suit under § 40-303.08 to enforce the lien at anytime within 180 days after the date that the notice of intent is recorded in the land records; and (B) Recording, within 10 days of filing suit, a notice of pendency of action in accordance with § 42-1207(b) in the land records.”
If the date is missed (the statute's own terms). § 40-303.13(a)(2): "Failure to file suit within the 180-day period or to file timely a notice of pendency of action shall terminate the lien."
Also stated next to this deadline.
Recording a notice of pendency of action within 10 days of filing suit is a second, independently lien-terminating requirement, not optional paperwork - the same weight as the 180-day filing deadline itself.
The suit itself must be a bill in equity stating the contract, amount due, the notice-of-intent filing date, service details, and the completion date, among other facts (§ 40-303.08).
Weekend and holiday rollover
NoticeGuard does not model a weekend or holiday extension for District of Columbia. The dates above are the plain count from the date you enter. Check whether a Saturday, Sunday or holiday changes your date.
What this rule set does not cover
A subcontractor, materialman, or laborer must also serve the notice of intent on the owner (by leaving a copy with the owner/agent, or posting on the premises if neither can be found) besides recording it (§ 40-303.03) - not modeled as a separate deadline, since the section states no independent day count for when to serve it. Failure to serve does not void the lien outright; it lets the owner keep paying the original contractor, discharging the lien pro tanto.
The "termination of the project" alternative trigger (§ 40-301.02(a)(1): the filing deadline runs from the earlier of completion OR termination) is not modeled - this app always uses the project completion date you enter.
Weekend/holiday rollover is NOT modeled - no general District of Columbia computation-of-time statute was researched this pass.
The owner's good-faith-full-payment defense (§ 40-303.02(b), which can bar a subcontractor's lien entirely unless the subcontractor gave the owner a specific written notice of the amount due) is not modeled - it can defeat the lien's substance, not the deadline itself, and depends on facts (what the owner still owed the original contractor, and when) this app does not collect.
Only §§ 40-301.02, 40-303.01, 40-303.02, 40-303.03, 40-303.08, and 40-303.13 have been read. The rest of Chapter 3 - including the priority-among-lienholders and consolidated-suit mechanics - has not been incorporated.
NoticeGuard is an app that turns a job's dates into a countdown for each statutory step, shows the statute text each date was read from, exports a calendar file (.ics) and sends reminders 14, 7 and 1 day before each deadline. It tracks and reminds; it does not file anything for you.