Polk County Recorder Mechanics Lien Filing

You can file your mechanics liens in person at the Polk County Clerk’s office located at:

101 W Church St
Livingston, TX 77351

Phone: 936-327-6805
Fax: 936-327-6855

The Polk County Clerk does not publicly disclose information on recording backlog.

If the project is located in Polk county, then yes, you will want to record your lien with the Polk County, Texas Recorder’s office.

Generally, filing a lien in Texas is one of the more difficult states. Texas has a variety of required documents being exchanged and very strict deadlines for a valid lien claim.

The Polk County, Texas requirements for recording a mechanics lien are:

1. Verify you have the right to file a valid lien. This includes having sent a monthly notice for each month labor or materials were furnished on a project. A monthly notice must be sent the second and third month for every month work is performed. This can be confusing but basically this means if you furnished labor this month, your deadline to send a two month and third month notice are two and three months from now, respectively. It’s important to keep in mind that if you perform work on the same construction job in Texas for two consecutive months you will need to have sent a total of 4 notices to retain lien rights. So if work was performed in January, your deadline would be March and April for a 2 and 3 month notice. Keep in mind it’s a little more complex if the labor or materials furnished were for a Homestead project.

2. Draft your Texas affidavit of lien form (mechanics lien claim) for your specific role on the job. The forms are different for general contractors vs. subcontractors so make sure you use the correct form. Not doing so could invalidate your lien claim! Make sure all required fields are completed and call the county recorder if you have questions about specific required fields. Again, submitting a mechanics lien claim in Texas not completed correctly could lead to an invalid claim returned to you, potentially leading to a missed lien deadline. Be sure to include other relevant attachments as well.

3. File your lien claim with the County Recorder’s office where work was performed.

4. Send a copy of your lien claim to the Property Owner and General Contractor (if you were a second-tier contractor or supplier). This is important as sending a copy of the lien may expedite payment as the Property Owner or General Contractor may not learn a lien was filed on the property if not contacted.

To learn more about filing your lien claim and other requirements, learn more from our How to File a Texas Mechanics Lien Step by Step Guide.

Each document must have 3 inches of blank space at the bottom of the last page required for 2 file stamps.

The Polk County Clerk’s payment options include: Cash, Check or Money Order, in person or by mail. Credit Card payments are available through the main office.
All personal checks are required to have a name, address, telephone number, driver’s license number and date of birth.

The Polk County Clerk’s recording fee is $26.00 for the first page and $4.00 for each additional page.

Indexing Fee: $0.25 for each additional name after first five

Lien Fees

Federal Tax Liens: $21.00

Copy Fees

Copy: $1.00 per page
Certification: $5.00

You can obtain a recorded copy of your lien in person at the Polk County Clerk’s office located at:

101 W Church St
Livingston, TX 77351

Phone: 936-327-6805
Fax: 936-327-6855

You can also search Polk County’s property records online at: http://polkcountytx.net/nd2/

Access to view indexes on the private web-site is by membership only. To become a subscription member you must register with the County Clerk and pay a $25.00 startup fee plus $100.00 advanced paymentfor your first four months of service.

The cost for viewing Documents will be $25.00 a month. All documents will have a watermark. Images are currently from 1972 to today.

If you would need images not available Online you could order them from the office by faxing your request to 936-327-6874, or through the mail. Due to there being no watermarks on the copies received from the office there is a charge of $1.00 per page and a $2.00 fax fee to send them to the customer via fax, there is a five page maximum limit. And due to the Volume of work it may take up
to 10 days to get the copies completed. All copy requests will be received from the office either by fax or regular mail.

The Polk County Clerk’s mail address is:

P. O. Drawer 2119
Livingston, TX 77351

You can get the property’s legal description from the Polk County Clerk’s office in person.

You can search Polk County Clerk’s property index online.

Determining if you have the right to file a lien in Polk County, Texas can be complicated. Texas has one of the most complex lien laws in the U.S. and filing a lien in [County Name] is no different. Generally, construction contractors who

1) furnish labor or materials
2) send all required documents before filing a lien, such as monthly notices
3) if a homestead, have a proper written contract
4) and meet any state deadlines and fees for your lien claim.

You can learn more about Mechanics Liens in Texas and more specific requirements for filing a lien overall in our step by step guide.

Yes, you will need to have sent a Texas Preliminary Notice (monthly notices) to be able to file a lien in Polk County, TX. Not sending the correct Texas Monthly Notice may result in an invalid lien claim at the time of filing with the Polk County Recorder / Assessor.