3 deadlines NoticeGuard models for Minnesota: 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 Every deadline in this app comes from a statute read on the date shown next to its citation - that snapshot can go out of date.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.
Delivered personally or by certified mail to the owner, counted from the day this claimant first furnished labor, skill, or materials. A necessary prerequisite to the validity of any lien claim.
What it counts from. 45 days after first furnishing (commenced work).
Applies to. Subcontractor, Supplier, Preconstruction service.
Minn. Stat. § 514.011 Subd. 2(a) Official source · statute text retrieved 2026-09-21
“Every person who contributes to the improvement of real property so as to be entitled to a lien pursuant to section 514.01, except a party under direct contract with the owner, must, as a necessary prerequisite to the validity of any claim or lien, cause to be given to the owner or the owner's authorized agent... not later than 45 days after the lien claimant has first furnished labor, skill or materials for the improvement, a written notice...”
If the date is missed (the statute's own terms). The statute states this notice is "a necessary prerequisite to the validity of any claim or lien" - though Subd. 2(b) softens strict enforcement: a good-faith effort to comply preserves the lien unless the owner or another claimant proves actual damage from the noncompliance.
Also stated next to this deadline.
A party with a direct contract with the owner (the general contractor) is explicitly exempt - confirmed by the statute's own "except a party under direct contract with the owner" language. The general contractor instead owes its own, different notice under Subd. 1, not modeled; see `limitations`.
This runs from FIRST furnishing, not last - a "send within 45 days of starting" deadline, not a precondition that must be satisfied before work begins.
The statute prescribes exact required wording, including a fill-in-the-blank template - not yet templated by this app; see `limitations`.
Record and serve the lien statement
Both recorded with the county recorder (or registrar of titles, or secretary of state for certain claims) AND served on the owner, counted from this claimant's own last labor, skill, material, or machinery furnished.
What it counts from. 120 days after last furnishing (last day on site).
Applies to. Original contractor, Subcontractor, Supplier, Preconstruction service.
Minn. Stat. § 514.08 Subd. 1 Official source · statute text retrieved 2026-09-21
“The lien ceases at the end of 120 days after doing the last of the work, or furnishing the last item of skill, material, or machinery, unless within this period: (1) a statement of the claim is filed for record with the county recorder... and (2) a copy of the statement is served personally or by certified mail on the owner or the owner's authorized agent or the person who entered into the contract with the contractor.”
If the date is missed (the statute's own terms). The statute states plainly "the lien ceases" at the end of this period without both the recording AND the service - a right-extinguishing deadline covering two required acts, not one.
Also stated next to this deadline.
Two acts, one deadline: both recording the statement AND serving a copy on the owner (or agent, or contracting party) must happen within the same 120 days - this app tracks the single deadline, not the two acts separately.
Applies identically to every role - the general contractor, subcontractor, and supplier all run their own 120-day clock from their own last furnishing (§ 514.01 grants lien rights to all of them under one unified section).
The lien statement must itself state whether the § 514.011 Subd. 2 notice was given, if applicable (§ 514.08 Subd. 2(9)) - a cross-check this app does not verify.
Commence a foreclosure action
Asserted by filing a complaint or answer, counted from the SAME last-furnishing date the recorded lien statement itself states - not from the date the lien statement was actually recorded.
What it counts from. 365 days after last furnishing (last day on site).
Applies to. Original contractor, Subcontractor, Supplier, Preconstruction service.
Minn. Stat. § 514.12 Subd. 3 Official source · statute text retrieved 2026-09-21
“No lien shall be enforced in any case unless the holder thereof shall assert the same, either by filing a complaint or answer with the court administrator, within one year after the date of the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement...”
If the date is missed (the statute's own terms). The statute states no lien "shall be enforced... unless" asserted within this period - a hard outer bound on enforcement.
Also stated next to this deadline.
Approximated as 365 calendar days (1 year × 365), the same approximation style used throughout this app. A calendar year is 365 or 366 days, so this date always lands on or before the statutory one - never after it.
This anchor is genuinely the SAME last-furnishing date the filing deadline (§ 514.08) uses - confirmed by reading § 514.12's own text ("the last item of the claim as set forth in the recorded lien statement"), not the date the statement was recorded. Do not assume this deadline runs from recording the way most other states' enforcement deadlines do.
A defendant lienholder named in someone else's foreclosure action must file an answer within 20 days of being served (§ 514.11) - a separate, reactive deadline this app does not model.
Weekend and holiday rollover
NoticeGuard does not model a weekend or holiday extension for Minnesota. 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
The general/prime contractor's own notice to the owner (§ 514.011, Subd. 1) is NOT modeled. Its true anchor - the date the improvement contract was agreed upon - ordinarily precedes first furnishing, and this app has no fact field for it. Approximating with `firstFurnishing` would show a LATER (dangerously overstated) deadline than the true one, so this app shows nothing rather than risk that. A general contractor should independently confirm this 10-day (no-written-contract case) or at-signing (written-contract case) requirement.
A general contractor who fails to give the § 514.011 Subd. 1 notice loses its own lien rights entirely ("shall not have the lien and remedy provided by this chapter") - the same severity as Wisconsin's prime-contractor forfeiture rule, worth naming even though the deadline itself is not computed.
The exemptions in §§ 514.011 Subds. 4a-4c (same-ownership contractor/owner, residential improvements over 4 units, and nonresidential/non-agricultural improvements over 5,000 usable square feet) are not modeled - this app shows the subcontractor/supplier notice deadline regardless of project size or ownership structure.
Weekend/holiday rollover is NOT modeled - deliberately, not by oversight. § 645.15 is a general statute of interpretation applying to "any act... fixed by law," and nothing in Chapter 514's own text (§§ 514.011, .08, .10, .11, .12) cross-references it, and no case confirming its application to Chapter 514 deadlines specifically was found. The same honest gap as most other states in this app.
Only §§ 514.01, 514.05 (referenced), 514.08, 514.09 (referenced), 514.10 (referenced), 514.11, and 514.12 have been read. The rest of Chapter 514 is not incorporated.
This app generates the lien statement from § 514.08 Subd. 2's nine required content items (no prescribed exact form). § 514.011's exact verbatim required wording for the general contractor's and subcontractor's/supplier's notices (including a fill-in-the-blank template for the subcontractor notice) governs a different document and is not yet templated - a future session could add it.
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.