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The procedure in four parts

Oregon's construction-lien procedure under ORS Chapter 87 has four working parts that operate together:

1. A 75-day filing window measured from the last day labor or materials were furnished, or from completion of construction, whichever is earlier (ORS 87.035(1)).
2. The Information Notice to Owner (ORS 87.093) — delivered by your prime GC at signing on residential contracts over $2,000.
3. The Notice of Right to a Lien (ORS 87.021) — delivered by subs and suppliers during their work to preserve their lien rights.
4. A contractual release schedule — Oregon doesn't prescribe statutory waiver forms, so releases get drafted by your attorney or imported from your title company.

Anyone who furnishes labor, materials, equipment, or services to an improvement on real property — GC, sub, supplier, equipment renter, laborer — has lien rights under the chapter. Liens are recorded with the Multnomah County recorder and stay on title until released. The notices and the release schedule are the mechanism that surfaces who has lien rights and releases them as payments flow through.

The 75-day clock — ORS 87.035(1)

A claimant has 75 days to perfect (record) the lien, measured from the earlier of:

• the date the claimant last performed labor or supplied materials, or
• the date of completion of construction.

After 75 days with no recording, the lien right expires.

What this means for you: substantial completion isn't the all-clear. Title is fully clear 75 days after the last sub leaves the site — typically the landscape, paving, or punch-list crew, not the GC.

Two CCB-mandated notices, two purposes

Two notices that homeowners often confuse:

1. Information Notice to Owner — ORS 87.093

Your original (direct-contract) contractor has to deliver this written notice at the time of signing any residential construction or improvement contract over $2,000. It's a one-page CCB-template disclosure explaining that subs and suppliers can lien the property if the GC doesn't pay them.

Ask for the signed Information Notice at signing — it's routine for any CCB-licensed residential GC. If the GC doesn't deliver it, they forfeit their own lien rights against you under ORS 87.093(6) and are exposed to a CCB civil penalty of up to $5,000 under ORS 87.093(7). A GC who can't produce a signed copy on request is a CCB-compliance signal worth noting.

2. Notice of Right to a Lien — ORS 87.021

This is the notice that subs and suppliers (anyone furnishing under ORS 87.010(1)–(3),(5),(6) other than the original contractor in privity with the owner) deliver to you during construction. The form is prescribed at ORS 87.023.

One key detail in how it operates: it only protects the claimant's lien rights for materials or labor delivered after a date 8 business days before the notice was delivered or mailed (ORS 87.021(1)). A sub who starts on day 1 and serves the notice on day 60 only has lien rights for what they delivered after day 52.

Getting a Notice of Right to a Lien during construction is routine — it's a procedural protection, not a dispute. Treat it as a signal that the sender is on the property and add them to the release list for upcoming draws.

Lien releases — contractual, not statutory

Unlike Washington, which prescribes statutory waiver-and-release forms in RCW 60.04.071, Oregon doesn't prescribe statutory conditional/unconditional waiver forms. Lien releases here are a matter of contract.

The workable procedure mirrors WA's, just with custom forms drafted by your attorney or imported from your title company:

Release type	When	Who signs	What it does
Conditional partial release upon progress payment	At each progress payment	GC + every sub/supplier on that draw	Releases lien rights conditional on the check clearing.
Unconditional final release upon final payment	At final payment	GC + every sub/supplier who worked the project	Releases lien rights absolutely. Get this from everyone before final disbursement.

Use forms drafted (or reviewed) by an attorney licensed in Oregon, since the language isn't statutory.

How to operate the procedure

1. In the GC contract, require a current sub/supplier list with each progress draw.
2. At each draw, the GC delivers (a) signed conditional partial releases from every sub/supplier on that draw plus (b) a signed conditional release from the GC for the GC's own scope. Lender disbursement is conditioned on receipt.
3. At final payment, switch to unconditional final releases from everyone who appeared on any draw, plus unconditional final from the GC. Hold final retainage until all are in.
4. Then run the 75-day clock anyway. Even with full releases, watch the Multnomah County recorder for liens for 75 days from the last on-site work. Recording a lien against a fully-released project is rare but it happens.

When this matters most

• Cost-plus contracts without a tight release procedure. You pay the GC, the GC pays subs late, subs record liens. You've paid in full and still have clouded title.
• Refinancing or selling within a year of completion. Title companies will ask about pending or recently-released liens. A clean release file at handoff makes this a 10-minute conversation.
• Bankruptcy of the GC during the project. Subs paid through the GC may not have been paid; their lien rights are against your property, not the GC's bankruptcy estate.

Informational framing

This is general information about Oregon lien procedure. It isn't legal advice and doesn't establish an attorney-client relationship. For release language specific to your contract, or if you receive a recorded lien, consult an attorney licensed in Oregon — search the Oregon State Bar referral service or use the CCB consumer-protection resources for next steps.