SCSouth Carolina
South Carolina Lien Law Deadlines for Suppliers and Subcontractors
In South Carolina, serve the owner and file a sworn statement of account within 90 days after last furnishing. The lawsuit and notice of pendency have a separate six-month limit from last furnishing. Indirect suppliers also need the written owner notice required for lien attachment; that notice has no fixed day count.
Public date calculations cover Florida and Kansas. South Carolina dates require qualified review.
Risk context
South Carolina is High Risk for Suppliers
Both South Carolina deadlines run from your last furnishing, not from filing, so serving and filing on day 90 leaves about 3 months to sue and file a notice of pendency. Your lien is also limited by what the owner still owes on the contract price, and without an early written notice to the owner, the owner's payments to the contractor can leave little to claim. Attorney's fees shift to the prevailing party, so an inflated or weak claim can cost you the owner's fees.
Deadline schedule
South Carolina Mechanics Lien Deadlines (Updated 2026)
Scroll sideways to see all deadline details.
| Deadline Type | Timing | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lien Filing Deadline | 90 days after last furnishing | Must be filed with the county recorder/clerk. In South Carolina, file a sworn statement of account, with all credits, a property description, and the owner's name if known, with the register of deeds or clerk of court for the county where the property is located (S.C. Code § 29-5-90). |
| Service on Owner | Within the same 90 days | Serve the statement on the owner, or on the person in possession if the owner cannot be found. If neither can be located after a diligent search verified by a sheriff's affidavit, file that affidavit with the statement (S.C. Code § 29-5-90). |
| Written Notice to Owner | Required for an indirect supplier; no fixed day count | When hired by a contractor or another person besides the owner, notify the owner in writing of the furnishing and its amount or value for the lien to attach under §29-5-40. Subsequent owner payments do not reduce that claimant's recoverable amount under §29-5-50, but the statutory unpaid-balance cap remains. A direct-owner supplier does not follow this indirect-notice route. |
| Notice of Furnishing to the Contractor | Conditional notice with no set supplier deadline | If you supply a subcontractor and a qualifying notice of project commencement was filed, the §29-5-20(B) unpaid-subcontract-balance cap applies unless you give the contractor the prescribed notice by certified or registered mail. The commencement notice must be filed within 15 days after work begins; that is the contractor's filing period, not a supplier's furnishing-notice deadline (§29-5-23). Confirm the filing and job-site notice facts. |
| Enforcement Deadline | 6 months from last furnishing | Lawsuit to foreclose on the lien must be filed by this date. Start the suit and file a notice of pendency of the action within 6 months after your last furnishing, or the lien is dissolved (S.C. Code § 29-5-120). |
| Statutes | Governing statutes | S.C. Code Chapter 29-5: §§29-5-90, 29-5-120; also §§29-5-20, 29-5-23, 29-5-40, 29-5-50 and 29-5-100. |
Supplier pitfalls
Common Supplier Mistakes in South Carolina
Filing without serving the owner
The 90-day step has two parts: serve the owner, or the person in possession if the owner cannot be found, and file the sworn statement with the county. The lien is dissolved unless both happen within 90 days after your last furnishing.
Counting the 6 months from filing
The enforcement clock runs from your last furnishing, not from the day you filed. File on day 90 and only about 3 months remain to start the suit and file a notice of pendency.
Treating no fixed notice period as no notice duty
An indirect supplier's written owner notice is a condition of attachment under §29-5-40 even though the section gives no numbered notice period. Waiting can reduce the available unpaid balance. A separate contractor notice may be needed to avoid the lower-tier cap when the commencement-notice conditions are satisfied. Neither notice replaces timely service and filing of the sworn statement.
Claiming more than is due
A mistake in the amount does not by itself invalidate the lien, but wilfully and knowingly claiming more than you are owed can (S.C. Code § 29-5-100). The prevailing party also recovers costs and a reasonable attorney's fee.
Deadline calculator
Not Sure Which South Carolina Deadline Applies?
Use this South Carolina guide and collect your project facts for qualified review.
Review South Carolina project factsThe public calculator provides dates only for reviewed Florida and Kansas scenarios; it does not calculate a South Carolina date.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the South Carolina lien law deadlines?
Serve the owner and file a sworn statement of account with the county register of deeds or clerk of court within 90 days after your last furnishing. Then start the lawsuit and file a notice of pendency within 6 months after your last furnishing (S.C. Code §§ 29-5-90, 29-5-120).
Does South Carolina require a preliminary notice?
An indirect supplier must give the owner written notice of the furnishing and its value for the lien to attach under §29-5-40; there is no fixed day count. A supplier to a subcontractor must also consider the conditional contractor-notice and unpaid-balance rules in §§29-5-20(B) and 29-5-23. These should not be described as a blanket exemption from preliminary notices. See our preliminary notice deadline guide for how states compare.
How long do I have to enforce a South Carolina lien?
6 months after your last furnishing, not 6 months after filing. Start the suit and file a notice of pendency within that time, or the lien is dissolved (S.C. Code § 29-5-120). See how long a mechanics lien lasts for how expiration works.
Who pays attorney's fees in a South Carolina lien case?
Whichever side prevails recovers its costs and a reasonable attorney's fee, capped at the lien amount. The prevailing party is the side whose settlement offer was closer to the verdict. Without a written offer, your complaint amount counts as your offer, and the owner's counterclaim, or zero, counts as its offer (S.C. Code § 29-5-20).
Are these the 2024 South Carolina lien law deadlines?
Yes. The 90-day rule in S.C. Code § 29-5-90 was last amended in 1957 and the 6-month rule in § 29-5-120 in 2009, so both applied in 2024. The official code, current through the 2025 session, still shows them unchanged.
Important note