Mechanic’s liens and the sixty-day problem

The notice deadline decides more Colorado lien cases than the merits do, and it is not a deadline most owners have diarised.

Every year we see lien claims that would have succeeded on the merits fail on notice. The statute is not ambiguous. It is simply shorter than people assume, and it runs from an event that is easy to mis-date.

June 2026

Where it goes wrong

  • The last day of work is taken as the last day on site, including warranty and punch-list visits that do not count.
  • Notice is served on the wrong party — the general rather than the owner of record, on a project where the two are not the same and the title has moved mid-build.
  • The lien is recorded in time and the action to foreclose is not commenced in time, which is a second clock nobody watches.

If you are the owner

The same arithmetic runs in your favour, and it is worth checking before you negotiate. A claim that is out of time is worth what you can be persuaded to pay for it and no more.

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