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Is painting a trade that needs license in order to have lien rights?

I have been a painting contractor in New York and haven't worried about licensing before. However, I am getting burned by a customer right now and am looking at filing a lien. We did interior and exterior painting on a residential job. No license. Can we lien it?

1 reply

Apr 10, 2020

On a statewide level, New York doesn't require that painters be licensed. Though, it's possible that there are city and county licensure requirements. So it'd be wise to check with your local licensing and permitting office to double-check whether there are any relevant requirements and whether interior and exterior paint might require a home improvement license, locally. But, by and large, it doesn't look like a New York painter will need to be licensed in order to pursue a mechanics lien claim. Before jumping right to a mechanics lien claim, keep in mind that the mere threat of a lien claim could be useful for getting paid, too. Sending a Notice of Intent to Lien is a powerful tool for forcing a customer to pay what's owed. Plus, if you were hired by someone other than the owner, sending the owner a Notice of Intent to Lien could be useful to put pressure on your customer to pay what's owed before the owner's property is put in jeopardy. Obviously, mechanics liens won't always be avoidable. So, on that front, these resources should be useful: (1) New York Mechanics Lien Guide and FAQs; and (2) How to File a New York Mechanics Lien – Step By Step Guide to Get You Paid.

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