W. Va. Code § 38-2-13

This is the official text of W. Va. Code § 38-2-13, part of West Virginia’s Va. Code — part of the compiled statutory law of West Virginia, published by the state as "Va. Code." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§38-2-13. Notice and recordation of lien of mechanic or laborer working for contractor or subcontractor.

Official statutory text

For the purpose of perfecting and preserving his or her lien, every workman, artisan, mechanic, laborer or other person who has performed any work or labor upon the building or improvement thereto, under a contract with any general contractor or with any subcontractor, as set forth in section six of this article, shall give to the owner, or his or her authorized agent, by any of the methods provided by law for the service of a legal notice or summons within one hundred days after he or she ceased to perform any work or labor a notice of the lien. The notice shall be sufficient, if in form and effect as follows:

Notice of Mechanic's Lien.

To .........................

You will please take notice that the undersigned has performed work and labor under a contract with ..................... who was general contractor with you (or who was subcontractor with ...................., who was general contractor with you) in the erection and construction (or removal, repair, improvement or otherwise, as the case may be) of a certain building (or other structure or improvement) on real estate known as (here insert an adequate and ascertainable description of the real estate to be charged) and that the work and labor was of the kind, was performed on the dates, for the purposes and at the prices, as shown in the following itemized account thereof:

(Here insert itemized account.)

You are further notified that the undersigned has not been paid the sum of $........... (or that there is still due and owing to the undersigned thereon the sum of $............) and that he claims a lien upon your interest in the said lot (or tract) of land and upon the buildings, structures and improvements thereon to secure the payment of the sum.

......................................

State of West Virginia,

County of ................., being first duly sworn, upon his oath says that the statements in the foregoing notice of mechanic's lien contained are true, as he verily believes.

Taken, subscribed and sworn to before me this .......... day of ................., 20......

My commission expires ............

..............................

(Official Capacity)

The lien shall be discharged unless the workman, artisan, mechanic, laborer or other person shall record in the office of the clerk of the county commission wherein the property is situate, within one hundred days after he or she ceased to do work or perform labor upon the building or improvement thereto, a notice of the lien. The notice shall be sufficient if in form and effect as that provided in section eight of this article. The recorded notice need not include the itemized account.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in West Virginia?

Find a West Virginia lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.