TRADITION SOFTWARE’s TRADITION LIEN SERVICE division recently went through a very difficult lien recording on commercial property in rural Dunn County, NORTH DAKOTA. According to Wikipedia, Dunn County had only 3,536 residents in 2010.

A dispute between the General Contractor and Subcontractor filtered down to a Sub-Sub, who was not being paid its final invoice for grading and paving work done.

The customer service by phone with Lisa A. Guenther, Clerk of the Court/Recorder was outstanding. At the current time Dunn County is not accepting electronic recordings for liens. For rural property, you are not going to have a “123 Main Street, Anywhere, ND” address, or sometimes even an APN that can be used for the legal description. For this lien, Peggy Hendricks, Deputy Recorder helped me come up with the legal description at deadline.

Dunn County is located in the western part of the state. Federal Express could not do next day delivery to the Dunn County Courthouse even if you paid for it.

Recorded liens must include the Subdivision, Lot and Block numbers. Fees are $10.00 first page, $3.00 each additional page of 8-1/2″ x 11″ paper. Out of state business checks are accepted.

Actual recording is same day received. Dunn County does have a large top blank margin requirement – 3 1/2 x 4 at the top. They also require one inch margins on the left and right sides along with the bottom. And as we discovered, they want at least 10 point Arial type font. TRADITION LIEN SERVICE typically uses 10 point Arial Narrow, so we resubmitted the lien a 2nd time with the larger Arial font. For the original document to be mailed back, request it in writing with self-addressed stamped envelope.

Recording a Mechanic’s Lien in Williams County, ND:

The fees for recording a Mechanic’s Lien are $10.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page. Checks are made out to WILLIAMS COUNTY RECORDER. If you would like certified copies please include the fees of $5.00 for the first page and $2.00 for each additional page in conjunction with your self-addressed stamped envelope.

The actual recording takes 1-2 days, but unfortunately the document cannot be viewed on their website for another 4-6 weeks. Your original notice will be mailed back in 5-8 weeks. Please note that Williams County Recorder has a different mailing address from their walk-in address.

Recording a Construction Lien in Mountrail County, North Dakota:

In ND, it is required that a claimant sends a Notice of Intention to Claim a Construction Lien. Formerly, this needed to be recorded by the County, but that is no longer required. (The statute was repealed in 2009.) The Notice of Intent must be received at least 10 days prior to the recording of the Lien. The Lien must be recorded within 90 days of last providing equipment, labor, materials or services for the project.

Both Mountrail County and Williams County allow the entire Recorded Lien document to be viewed on their websites.

Following are the details for recording in Mountrail County: Costs are $10.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page. Make the check payable to Mountrail County Recorder. (They accept out-of-state business checks.) They require the entire Full Legal Description of the property from the deed.

They do not do Conformed Copies of the lien claim, however, they have a pretty quick turn-around process: Liens are recorded within a week of receipt, and are then posted on their website within a week after that. The original copy of the Lien will be returned within 2-4 weeks, but you can always print the claim from their website.

The deadline to file suit to foreclose on the property is three years from the date the Lien was recorded.