Nebraska mechanics lien: what to do when a customer won't pay, the 120-day deadline, and the letter to send

Published November 4, 2026 · Nebraska Construction Lien Act, court rules, fee schedule and Douglas County's lien form checked November 4, 2026

• Free. The demand letter and deadline worksheet come by email.
• Deepsel is our product: free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors (scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments). The section before the FAQ says where it fits and where it doesn't.
• Not legal advice. A lien is a legal filing against someone's home: have a Nebraska attorney check yours before you record it.

In Nebraska you have 120 days after your last day of real work to record a construction lien (the statute's name for a mechanics lien) with the county register of deeds, and then two years to sue on it. If you contracted with the homeowner yourself, Nebraska requires no notice before you file, and a one-page lien costs $10 to record. Before any of that, send the bill again, then a demand letter with a pay-by date, and offer a written payment plan. For $7,500 or less, small claims court costs $58 to file and you don't need a lawyer.

One r/Roofing post asks it straight: "Customer refuses to pay. What should we do?"¹⁹ Lien guides mostly come from lien-filing services and are written for commercial subs and suppliers. This one is for the small contractor with an unpaid homeowner. I read the Nebraska Construction Lien Act, the small claims, interest and collection statutes, the county court fee schedule and Douglas County's lien form on November 4, 2026. Every rule below links to its source.

The download has a demand letter with a plain "intent to lien" paragraph (Nebraska sets no required wording) and a deadline worksheet. Get it three ways: make your own copy in Google Docs, download the Word version (.docx), or download the PDF. Pick a format, enter your email and I'll send the links.

Nebraska mechanics lien deadlines at a glance

Find your last day of real work on the job first. Most of the clock runs from it.

None of these days stop for a payment plan, a promise or an insurance check that hasn't arrived. I'd aim to record by day 100, not day 120.

What to do when a customer won't pay: the first steps

The steps are the same in every state. The Nebraska details are in steps 1, 2 and 4.

1. Decide whether to keep working

No Nebraska statute gives you a right to stop work on a house for late payment. The state's Construction Prompt Pay Act, with its payment deadlines, "does not apply to improvements to real property intended for residential purposes when the residence consists of no more than four residential units."¹⁷ So your contract decides. The Nebraska contract template lets you stop after 7 days' written notice once a payment is more than 10 days late (its section 4.4). Without a clause like that, walking off can make you the one in breach. And a contractor who hasn't substantially performed gets a lien "only for the reasonable value of the labor performed and the materials furnished,"² not the contract price.

2. Check your own paperwork before you threaten anything

Two Nebraska rules can leave you with nothing to collect, and a homeowner's lawyer would check them first:

• A job sold at the customer's home without the Buyer's Right to Cancel notice. Until you give that notice, "the buyer may cancel the home solicitation sale by notifying the seller in any manner and by any means," and a seller who did work before the cancellation "shall not be entitled to compensation."⁶ That can happen after the job is finished.
• An insurance-paid exterior or cleanup job that broke the Insured Homeowners Protection Act (no 14-point deductible notice, no itemized description, a waived deductible). The contract "is void."⁷ A Nebraska construction lien "is not valid absent a contract between the parties."¹

If either one applies, talk to a lawyer before you send a demand. The contract page has both rules in full.

3. Put it in writing

Send the final invoice again with the contract, the signed change orders and a line that says what's still owed. Then call and ask one question: is it the money or the work? Those need different answers. A Michigan builder on Reddit put the usual mistake plainly: "I know I'm an idiot for not having her sign a contract."²⁰ In Nebraska a lien still works on a contract "express or implied," and if no price was agreed, the lien is for "the reasonable value" of the work.¹ But it's your word against theirs, so gather the texts, emails, photos and the approved quote now.

4. Send a demand letter

A short letter by certified mail and email: what was done, what's owed, the pay-by date (I'd give 10 days), and what happens next. If you used the contract template, its section 13.1 asks for written notice and 15 days to fix a problem, so give 15. Send it under your own business name. A business that collects its own bills under "a fictitious name or any name other than" its own, suggesting a third party is collecting, counts as a collection agency under Nebraska law and needs a license.¹⁸ No made-up "collections department."

5. Offer a payment plan, in writing

Some customers can't pay, rather than won't. A plan with dates, amounts and the customer's signature turns that into money. A new painting company owner on Reddit wrote about a friend who waited "6 months to get paid and he had to take a line of credit" to cover his painters.²¹ Take the first payment when they sign. The plan doesn't pause the 120 days, so if the last payment falls after your lien deadline, write into the plan that you'll record the lien before the deadline and release it when the final payment clears.

6. Know when to call a lawyer

• Before you record a lien on a job where the customer says the work is defective.
• The day you receive a written demand to sue. You have 30 days.
• When the amount is over $7,500 and the customer has stopped answering.
• When the paperwork in step 2 has a hole in it.
• To foreclose the lien. That's a lawsuit, not a form.

The Nebraska construction lien on a home

The law is the Nebraska Construction Lien Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-125 to 52-159. Other statutes still say "mechanic's lien," and by law that phrase means the construction lien.¹

Who can file, and the unregistered contractor question

"A person who furnishes services or materials pursuant to a real estate improvement contract has a construction lien."¹ That covers the prime contractor, subs, suppliers, landscapers and the people who draw plans. It doesn't cover general cleanup to get a house ready for sale: the Nebraska Supreme Court held that isn't an improvement.¹

Registration isn't a condition. The Contractor Registration Act says you register "Before performing any construction work in Nebraska," and its penalty is a fine of up to $500 for a first violation and up to $5,000 after that.⁴ No section voids your contract or takes your lien, and I found no Nebraska appellate decision that does. Register anyway: it's $40 a year and the registration page has the steps.

Electricians are the exception to watch. Since July 18, 2026 it has been a Class IV felony "to perform electrical work for another without a proper license for such work while claiming to have such license."⁵ The lien act doesn't mention licenses and I found no case, but I wouldn't expect a court to help collect for work that's a felony. See the Nebraska electrical license page. Plumbing and HVAC licenses come from cities like Omaha and Lincoln, not the state (Nebraska plumbing license).

No notice before the lien for a prime contractor

If you contracted with the owner, Nebraska requires no pre-job notice, no pre-lien notice and no written contract for a lien. The act's one owner notice, the "notice of the right to assert a lien," is optional: a claimant "may give notice," and the section applies "only when the contracting owner is a protected party."¹ A prime contractor's lien is "for the unpaid part of his or her contract price,"¹ with or without it.

Owner-occupied homes: the protected party rule

A protected party is an owner who lives, or plans to live, in the home being improved, in a building of no more than four units.¹ Three rules come with that:

• Subs and suppliers are capped. Against a protected party, a sub's lien is the lesser of what the sub is owed or "The amount unpaid under the prime contract ... at the time the contracting owner receives the claimant's notice of the right to assert a lien."¹ No notice, and the owner's good-faith payments to the prime shrink the sub's lien, possibly to zero.
• The prime owes subs information. On request, within 10 days: the property description, the owner's name and address, and any bond. Failing costs "actual damages or two hundred dollars."¹
• A buyer can take the house free of you. "A buyer who is a protected party takes free of all construction liens that are not of record at the time his or her title document is recorded."¹ If the house goes up for sale, record now, not on day 119.

The notice of commencement

It's an optional notice the owner signs and records at the start of a project. It sets the lien's priority date and lasts a year unless it states another term. It doesn't change your 120 days. If none exists, a claimant can record one, but must send the owner a copy "not later than the day it is recorded" or pay any damages.¹

The 120-day deadline, and what counts as your last day

Your lien "does not attach and may not be enforced unless ... not later than one hundred twenty days after his or her final furnishing of services or materials, he or she has recorded a lien."¹ If you've seen 90 days for Nebraska somewhere, that's the act's deadline for claims on a recorded surety bond, not for a lien.¹

Your last day is the last day of real work under the contract. Coming back later doesn't move it. Nebraska courts have said "the time for filing a lien cannot be delayed by performing minor labor or furnishing minor items of material," and "To permit a contractor or a materialman to string out work on orders is to abort the statute."² So count from the day the job was substantially done, not from a warranty visit, a punch-list touch-up or a return trip to fix an inspection note.

How to file a mechanics lien in Nebraska: what, where and the fee

What it says. The lien is signed by you and states: the property, with a description good enough to identify it (copy the legal description from the deed or the county assessor); the owner whose interest you're liening; your name and address; who you contracted with; what you did and the contract price; the amount unpaid; and the date you last furnished work or materials.¹

The Nebraska mechanics lien form. The state has no official form. Douglas County's register of deeds (Omaha) publishes a one-page "Construction Lien" form with a numbered blank for each of those, a "Return to" line and a notary acknowledgment at the bottom.⁸ The statute sets the same contents for every county. Plan on signing in front of a notary.

Where. The register of deeds for the county where the property is.¹ NebraskAccess lists every county's website.¹⁰

Format. Leave a blank space at least 3 by 8.5 inches at the top of page one, use paper from 8.5 by 11 up to 8.5 by 14, sign in black or dark blue ink, and type your name under your signature.⁹ Douglas County also wants a return address and the document's title on page one, below that space.⁸

The fee. $10 for the first page and $6 for each page after it, set by statute.⁹

Service on the owner. "The claimant shall send a copy of a recorded lien to the contracting owner within ten days after recording."¹ Strictly, that section applies when the owner is a protected party, but I'd send it on every job, by certified mail with a return receipt, and keep the receipt.

When you're paid. Record a signed release.¹ Douglas County has a release form too.⁸ Refusing to release in bad faith can get the lien voided with damages against you.¹

Enforce it within two years, or 30 days after a demand

A recorded lien "continues enforceable for two years after recording."¹ To collect on it you file a lawsuit to foreclose it, run under the rules for any civil case.¹ The owner can shorten the two years: after a written demand to start a lawsuit, the lien lapses unless within 30 days you sue or record "an affidavit that the total contract price is not yet due."¹ The owner can also free the house by depositing the lien amount plus 15 percent with the district court clerk, and your claim moves to that deposit.¹

The lien and a suit for the money are "distinct and concurrent and may be pursued at the same time or in succession."² Missing the lien deadline doesn't stop you suing on the contract. Expect to pay your own lawyer in a normal foreclosure. The lien act's attorney-fee clause is for bad faith and wrongful conduct, and the Nebraska Supreme Court has said "it does not authorize such fees in every action involving foreclosure of a construction lien."¹

An overstated or bad-faith lien

"If in bad faith a claimant records a lien, overstates the amount for which he or she is entitled to a lien, or refuses to execute a release of a lien, the court may: (a) Declare his or her lien void; and (b) Award damages," including "the costs of correcting the record and reasonable attorney's fees."¹ Bad faith means you knew the lien was invalid or overstated, or acted "with reckless disregard."¹

Watch the definition of contract price. It's the agreed price plus change orders, "diminished by ... breach of contract, including but not limited to defects in workmanship or materials."¹ A post from r/Contractor shows how this starts: "Client withholding $6,000 over a small crack in a concrete patio."²⁴ Lien the unpaid price, less credits and less any defect you agree is real. The lien secures the contract price,¹ so leave out interest, collection fees and lawyer bills and ask for those in the lawsuit.

Subs and suppliers versus the prime contractor

If you're the sub: your lien is for what's unpaid under your own contract, and on owner-occupied homes it's capped as described above. Send the notice of the right to assert a lien early, in writing, with the contents the act lists and its warning line: "If you did not contract with the person giving this notice, any future payments you make in connection with this project may subject you to double liability."¹

If you're the prime: the Nebraska Supreme Court has said "a prime contractor is not entitled to payment from the owner until the liens of the subcontractors are satisfied."¹ Pay your subs and suppliers from the owner's money, or hand the owner their written lien waivers. Keeping the money "with the intent thereby to deprive or defraud the owner" is a Class II misdemeanor, and holding a payment more than 10 days without clearing a filed lien is "prima facie evidence" of that intent.³

Nebraska lien waivers: when to sign them

Nebraska has no statutory waiver form, and its waiver rule cuts against you. "A written waiver of construction lien rights signed by a claimant requires no consideration and is valid and binding, whether signed before or after the materials or services were contracted for or furnished. Ambiguities in a written waiver are construed against the claimant." It waives all your lien rights on the job "unless the waiver is specifically limited."¹ So:

• Sign a waiver only for money you've received, and only after the check clears.
• Write the dollar amount and the work it covers, "through [date]," on the waiver itself. If you sign before payment, write that it takes effect only when that payment clears.
• Never sign a blanket waiver in the contract or at the start of a job.

A waiver gives up the lien, not the debt: it "does not affect any contract rights of the claimant." A promissory note isn't a waiver unless it says it is.¹

Other ways to get paid in Nebraska

Nebraska small claims court: the $7,500 limit

• Limit: "seven thousand five hundred dollars beginning July 1, 2025," not counting interest and costs.¹¹
• Filing fee: $58, on the county court fee schedule effective July 1, 2026, plus service by certified mail or the sheriff. Both are added to the judgment if you win.^11,12
• No lawyers. An LLC is represented by a member, manager or employee, a corporation by an employee.¹¹
• File in the county where the customer lives or where the job was. No more than two claims a week or ten a year.¹¹
• The customer can move the case to the regular county court docket by giving notice at least two days before the hearing, and then lawyers can appear.¹¹

Use small claims for the money. Foreclosing the lien is a separate lawsuit.¹ Above $7,500 the case goes to county or district court, where I'd hire a lawyer.

Interest and attorney fees

Your contract's rate applies if it has one. If it doesn't, "interest shall be allowed at the rate of twelve percent per annum on money due on any instrument in writing," and an unsettled account bears interest "from the date of billing unless paid within thirty days."¹⁴ A written construction contract counts as that instrument.¹⁴

Attorney fees are harder. The Nebraska Supreme Court has "repeatedly held that in the absence of a uniform course of procedure or authorization by statute, contractual agreements for attorney fees are against public policy and will not be judicially enforced."¹⁵ A fee clause in your contract won't get you paid. One statute helps small jobs: on a lawsuit of $4,000 or less, filed once 90 days have passed since the work without payment, you recover court costs, 6 percent interest from 30 days after the work, and, if you used a lawyer, a fee of $10 plus 10 percent of the judgment over $50.¹³

No prompt-payment law for home jobs

Nebraska's Construction Prompt Pay Act excludes homes of up to four units.¹⁷ On a house, your payment terms are whatever the contract says.

Collection agencies

A collection agency working in Nebraska needs a license from the Collection Agency Licensing Board; running one without it is a misdemeanor for each day.¹⁸ The Secretary of State points to the NMLS Consumer Access site to check a license.¹⁸ Agencies keep a share of what they collect, so get the rate in writing, and decide about the lien before you hand the account over, not after day 120.

Card chargebacks

If the customer paid by card and disputes the charge, answer the dispute by its deadline with the signed quote, the invoice, photos of the finished work and the messages where they approved it.

By trade

Roofers: the deductible and the claim check

On an insurance roof, the unpaid piece is often the deductible. A post on r/Contractor from November 1, 2026: "Long story short total job $16,700," with the deductible still unpaid.²² One owner's habit: "I always collect a separate check for the deductible with deductible written in the memo line."²³ Bill it on its own line and collect it as its own payment. I wouldn't settle by writing it off. Nebraska's insurance law bars promising to rebate any part of a deductible "as an inducement to the sale," including "granting any allowance or offering any discount," and a violation voids the contract.⁷ A write-off after the job isn't a promise made to win it, but it's close enough that I'd ask a lawyer first. The Nebraska roofing insurance claims page covers that rule and the 14-point notice in full.

Unless the homeowner signed a post-loss assignment naming you as a copayee,⁷ the claim money goes to them, not to you. If they keep it, your remedy is the same lien and lawsuit as any other job. Your 120 days run from your last day on the roof, not from when the insurer releases depreciation, so don't wait on a supplement or a final check past day 100.¹

Electricians, plumbers and HVAC: billing by stage, and the inspection hold

Bill in stages on anything bigger than a service call: a deposit, then rough-in, then trim or set, then final. Each invoice you collect is money no lien has to chase. Write the last payment as due at completion, or within a set number of days after you request the final inspection, so it doesn't wait on an inspector's calendar.

When an inspection fails on your work, fix it, but don't count on the return trip restarting the 120 days. That's the "minor labor" the courts won't count.² Electricians: don't hold back the inspection request to pressure a customer either. Knowingly and willfully failing "to file a request for inspection when required" is now a felony too.⁵ And don't go back and pull out a furnace, water heater or panel you installed. Once installed, fixtures are part of the real estate your lien covers,¹ and taking them back is a question for a lawyer first.

General contractors and remodelers: the punch list

The last payment usually waits on the punch list. Touch-ups after the job is substantially done won't extend your lien deadline,² so put the date of the last real day of work on your worksheet and count from it, however long the list drags on.

If a customer owes you now: this week

• ☐ Find your last day of real work on the job. Write down day 120 and a target of day 100.
• ☐ Pull the approved quote or contract, change orders, invoices, photos, texts and emails into one folder.
• ☐ Check your paperwork: signed at the customer's home, did you give the Buyer's Right to Cancel notice? Insurance-paid exterior work or cleanup, did they sign the 14-point deductible notice and get the itemized description? If not, call a lawyer before anything else.
• ☐ If you're a sub on an owner-occupied home, mail the owner a notice of the right to assert a lien today.
• ☐ If the house is listed for sale, record the lien now.
• ☐ Resend the invoice and call. Ask whether the problem is money or the work.
• ☐ Send the demand letter from the download by certified mail and email, with a pay-by date 10 days out (15 if your contract has a 15-day cure clause).
• ☐ $7,500 or less: decide on small claims ($58 to file). More: book an hour with a Nebraska construction lawyer.
• ☐ No payment by the pay-by date: fill in the county's lien form, sign it in front of a notary, record it ($10 for the first page) and mail the owner a copy within 10 days.
• ☐ Put two dates on your calendar: two years after recording, and 30 days after any written demand to sue.
• ☐ Take any partial payment with a waiver limited to that amount, signed after the money clears.

The download: demand letter and deadline worksheet

It has two parts:

• A demand letter for unpaid work. Blanks for the job, the contract and change orders, payments received, the balance and the pay-by date, an optional payment-plan offer, interest only if your contract or Nebraska law allows it, and a plain notice that you intend to record a construction lien under Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-125 to 52-159 on or after a date before your deadline. Nebraska sets no required lien warning wording, so the letter uses plain words.
• A deadline worksheet. Your last day of work, then each Nebraska deadline from the table above in days, with a blank for the date, the statute and a box to tick, plus a lien checklist (the seven things it must state, the notary, the county, the fee, the copy to the owner, the release).

Get it: copy it into Google Docs, get the Word file, or the PDF.

More for new contractors

• How to find work as a new contractor: where your first customers come from, with a free first customers plan.
• Angi vs Thumbtack: should you pay for leads yet, with a free lead cost calculator.
• Google Business Profile for contractors: setup, verification and your first reviews, with a free checklist.
• How much to set aside for taxes: self-employment tax, quarterly payments and your state, with a free calculator.
• Hiring your first employee: W-2 or 1099, workers comp and what a helper really costs, with a free checklist.
• Contractor insurance: what you need from day one, what it costs and what can wait, with a free checklist.
• Punch list template: stop a small list holding your final payment.

Where Deepsel fits

Deepsel is free estimate, invoice and scheduling software for contractors, and it helps with the evidence and the billing, not the lien. When a customer approves a quote online, it records their name, their on-screen signature, the time, and the IP address and browser they used: good evidence of the price they agreed to. Techs add photos on visits, and you can attach files to quotes and jobs. Invoices get a due date from your shop setting, show as overdue on the invoice list and the dashboard, and can be emailed again with a link the customer pays by card; partial payments and checks, cash or Zelle are recorded against the balance. A shop-wide invoice footer can carry your late-payment terms. Deepsel doesn't send automatic overdue reminders (you resend the invoice yourself), doesn't add interest or late fees, doesn't track lien deadlines and doesn't write demand letters or lien forms. Card disputes are answered in your own Stripe dashboard, not in Deepsel. The Free plan covers 30 estimates and 30 invoices a month for your whole team, with scheduling and dispatch, quotes, invoicing, card payments, and customer and equipment records; Pro is $29 a month with unlimited estimates and invoices. Details are on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

What can a contractor do if a customer refuses to pay in Nebraska?

Send the final invoice again, then a demand letter with a pay-by date about 10 days out, and offer a written payment plan if the customer needs time. If that fails, record a construction lien with the county register of deeds within 120 days after your last day of work, and sue to enforce it within two years. For $7,500 or less you can also file in small claims court for $58 without a lawyer. The lien and the lawsuit for the money can run at the same time.

How long do you have to file a mechanics lien in Nebraska?

120 days after your final furnishing of services or materials (Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-137). Miss it and there is no lien, though you can still sue for the money. Small touch-ups, punch-list items or warranty visits after the job is substantially done don't restart the clock: Nebraska courts have said the time 'cannot be delayed by performing minor labor or furnishing minor items of material.'

Does a Nebraska contractor have to send a notice before filing a lien?

Not if you contracted with the owner directly. Nebraska has no pre-job or pre-lien notice for a prime contractor. Subcontractors and suppliers should send a written notice of the right to assert a lien as early as possible when the owner lives in the home and it has four units or fewer, because their lien is capped at what the owner still owes the prime contractor when the notice arrives. After recording, send the owner a copy within 10 days.

How long does a construction lien last in Nebraska?

Two years after you record it. If you don't sue to enforce it by then, it lapses. It ends sooner if the owner, a lender or anyone else with an interest in the property gives you a written demand to start a lawsuit: you then have 30 days to sue, or to record an affidavit that the contract price isn't due yet.

Can a homeowner refuse to pay a contractor for poor work in Nebraska?

They can refuse to pay for the part that's defective. Nebraska's lien law defines the contract price as the agreed price plus change orders, reduced by breach of contract 'including but not limited to defects in workmanship or materials.' A lien for the full price on a job with real defects can be found overstated, and a lien recorded or overstated in bad faith can be voided with damages and attorney fees against you. Fix or credit the real problems and lien the rest.

What is the small claims limit in Nebraska?

$7,500 since July 1, 2025. Filing costs $58 under the county court fee schedule effective July 1, 2026, plus the cost of serving the customer by certified mail or sheriff, and both are added to the judgment if you win. Lawyers can't appear, so an LLC is represented by a member, manager or employee. You can file no more than two claims a week and ten a year, and the customer can move the case to the regular county court docket.

Can I charge interest or attorney fees on an unpaid invoice in Nebraska?

Interest, yes. Unless you agreed on another rate, Nebraska allows 12 percent a year on money due under a written contract, and on an unsettled account from the billing date when it isn't paid within 30 days (Neb. Rev. Stat. 45-104). Attorney fees mostly no: the Nebraska Supreme Court won't enforce a contract clause for them. One exception helps small jobs: in a suit of $4,000 or less, filed once 90 days have passed since the work, the law adds costs, 6 percent interest and a set attorney fee if you used a lawyer (25-1801).

Can an unregistered contractor file a lien in Nebraska?

Nothing in Nebraska's statutes takes the lien away. The Construction Lien Act gives a lien to anyone who furnishes services or materials under a real estate improvement contract, and the Contractor Registration Act's penalty is a fine of up to $500, then up to $5,000. I found no Nebraska court decision on it. Electrical work is different: doing it for others without a license while claiming to have one has been a felony since July 18, 2026, and I wouldn't count on a court helping you collect for it.

Sources

1. Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-125 to 52-159, Nebraska Construction Lien Act, with the Legislature's annotations: 52-126 (the act keeps the right to sue for breach of contract, Tilt-Up Concrete v. Star City/Federal, 2001), 52-127(2) (contract price "diminished by ... breach of contract, including but not limited to defects in workmanship or materials"; reasonable value if no price agreed), 52-127(3) (contract "express or implied"), 52-127(13) (record with the county register of deeds), 52-127 annotation (real estate includes fixtures, Nore Electric v. S & H Holdings, 2024), 52-129 (protected party; "not more than four dwelling units"), 52-130 (improvements; cleanup for sale is not one, Taylor v. Taylor, 2009), 52-131 (who has a lien; "not valid absent a contract between the parties", Mid-America Maintenance v. Bill Morris Ford, 1989), 52-135 (optional notice of the right to assert a lien, its warning line, copy of a recorded lien "within ten days after recording", applies "only when the contracting owner is a protected party"), 52-136 (prime contractor's lien; protected-party cap; good-faith payments; "a prime contractor is not entitled to payment from the owner until the liens of the subcontractors are satisfied", Action Heating & Air Cond. v. Petersen, 1988), 52-137 (120 days after final furnishing), 52-139(5) (protected-party buyer takes free of unrecorded liens), 52-140 (two years; 30 days after a written demand; affidavit that the price is not yet due), 52-141(5) (90-day notice on surety bond claims), 52-142 (deposit plus 15 percent releases the property), 52-143 (information within 10 days; $200 liquidated damages), 52-144 (waivers), 52-145 (notice of commencement; copy to the owner the day it is recorded), 52-147 (lien contents), 52-154 (release), 52-155 (foreclosure as a civil action), 52-157 (bad faith: void, damages, attorney fees; bad faith defined in Chicago Lumber Co. v. Selvera, 2011; fees not in every foreclosure, Echo Group v. Tradesmen Internat., 2022), 52-159 ("mechanic's lien" means construction lien). nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
2. Preston Refrigeration Co. v. Omaha Cold Storage Terminals, 16 Neb. App. 228, 742 N.W.2d 782 (2007): a contractor that has not substantially performed gets a lien "only for the reasonable value of the labor performed and the materials furnished"; lien and debt remedies are "distinct and concurrent"; quoting Occidental S. & L. Assn. v. Cannon, 184 Neb. 659 (1969): "the time for filing a lien cannot be delayed by performing minor labor or furnishing minor items of material" and "To permit a contractor or a materialman to string out work on orders is to abort the statute." nebraska.gov (Nebraska Supreme Court online library), read November 4, 2026.
3. Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-123 (failure to apply payments to the claims of laborers and suppliers "with the intent thereby to deprive or defraud the owner", unless written lien waivers are delivered; 10 days without discharging a filed lien is "prima facie evidence" of intent) and 52-124 (Class II misdemeanor). 52-123, 52-124, nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
4. Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2101 to 48-2117, Contractor Registration Act: 48-2104 (register "Before performing any construction work in Nebraska"), 48-2107 (fee up to $40, effective July 18, 2026), 48-2114 (penalty up to $500, then up to $5,000). No section on contracts, suits or liens. nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
5. Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2143, State Electrical Act, as amended by LB889 (2026), effective July 18, 2026: a Class IV felony "to knowingly and willfully commit" acts including "(b) To perform electrical work for another without a proper license for such work while claiming to have such license" and "(c) To fail to file a request for inspection when required." nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
6. Neb. Rev. Stat. 69-1601 to 69-1607, home solicitation sales: 69-1604(5) (until the notice is given, "the buyer may cancel the home solicitation sale by notifying the seller in any manner and by any means") and 69-1606(5) (services performed before cancellation: "the seller shall not be entitled to compensation"). nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
7. Neb. Rev. Stat. 44-8601 to 44-8608, Insured Homeowners Protection Act: 44-8604 (no promise to rebate "any portion of an insurance deductible as an inducement to the sale of goods or services", including "granting any allowance or offering any discount"), 44-8605(1)(a) (a post-loss assignment "may authorize a residential contractor to be named as a copayee"), 44-8608 ("A contract entered into with a residential contractor is void if the residential contractor violates any provision"). nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
8. Douglas County Register of Deeds: "Construction Lien" form (eight numbered items, "Return to" line, notary acknowledgment for an individual or a corporation; PDF dated April 9, 2026), registerofdeeds.douglascounty-ne.gov; "Recording Document Requirements" (3 by 8.5 inch space on page 1; return address and title below it; 1-inch side and bottom margins; 8.5 by 11 to 8.5 by 14; black ink; 20 lb white paper) and the "Construction Lien Release" form in the same forms list, registerofdeeds.douglascounty-ne.gov. Read November 4, 2026.
9. Neb. Rev. Stat. 23-1503.01 (blank space "at least three inches by eight and one-half inches"; 8.5 by 11 to 8.5 by 14; signatures "in black or dark blue ink"; name typed or printed under each signature) and 33-109 (recording fee "ten dollars for the first page and six dollars for each additional page"). 23-1503.01, 33-109, nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
10. NebraskAccess (Nebraska Library Commission), "Where can I seek information about liens in Nebraska?": "Liens are recorded with county registers of deeds." nebraskaccess.nebraska.gov, read November 4, 2026.
11. Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-2801 to 25-2807, Small Claims Court: 25-2802 ("seven thousand five hundred dollars beginning July 1, 2025", exclusive of interest and costs; venue), 25-2803 (no attorneys; who represents an LLC or corporation; two claims a week, ten a year), 25-2804 (service at least five days before the hearing; costs added to the judgment), 25-2805 (transfer to the regular docket on two days' notice). nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
12. Nebraska Judicial Branch, "Filing Fees and Court Costs", County Court, effective July 1, 2026: "SMALL CLAIMS (Jurisdiction limit of $7,500 or less)" total $58.00, nebraskajudicial.gov; "Filing a Small Claims Case in Nebraska" (certified mail service on form CC 4:5 or the sheriff; "You can recover these costs as part of the judgment"), nebraskajudicial.gov. Read November 4, 2026.
13. Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1801: on a lawsuit of $4,000 or less, filed after the claim has gone ninety days unpaid, costs, "Interest at the rate of six percent per annum ... beginning thirty days after the date each claim accrued", and an attorney's fee of "ten dollars plus ten percent of the judgment in excess of fifty dollars"; a claim accrues when "the services, goods, materials, labor, or money were provided". nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
14. Neb. Rev. Stat. 45-104 ("Unless otherwise agreed, interest shall be allowed at the rate of twelve percent per annum on money due on any instrument in writing"; unsettled accounts bear interest "from the date of billing unless paid within thirty days"), with the annotation that a written construction contract is an instrument in writing (BCL Properties v. Boyle, 2023), and 45-103.02(2) (prejudgment interest on liquidated claims). 45-104, 45-103.02, nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
15. Stewart v. Bennett, 273 Neb. 17, 727 N.W.2d 424 (2007): "This court, however, has repeatedly held that in the absence of a uniform course of procedure or authorization by statute, contractual agreements for attorney fees are against public policy and will not be judicially enforced." law.justia.com, read November 4, 2026.
16. Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-205 (action on a written contract "can only be brought within five years") and 25-206 (contract "not in writing, expressed or implied": four years). 25-205, 25-206, nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
17. Neb. Rev. Stat. 45-1207, Nebraska Construction Prompt Pay Act: "does not apply to improvements to real property intended for residential purposes when the residence consists of no more than four residential units." nebraskalegislature.gov, read November 4, 2026.
18. Neb. Rev. Stat. 45-601 (license required; Class III misdemeanor for each day without one) and 45-602(2)(b) (a business collecting its own accounts under "a fictitious name or any name other than his, her, or its own name which would indicate to the debtor that a third person is collecting" is a collection agency), nebraskalegislature.gov; Nebraska Secretary of State, "Collection Agencies" (licensing through NMLS; "NMLS Consumer Access Portal -- Find Licensed Collection Agencies"), sos.nebraska.gov. Read November 4, 2026.
19. r/Roofing thread: "Customer refuses to pay. What should we do?" reddit.com.
20. r/Roofing thread (body since deleted; quoted from an archived copy): "I know I'm an idiot for not having her sign a contract". reddit.com.
21. r/paint thread: "One friend of mine said it took him 6 months to get paid and he had to take a line of credit inorder to pay his painters". reddit.com.
22. r/Contractor thread, November 1, 2026: "Long story short total job $16,700". reddit.com.
23. r/Roofing comment: "I always collect a separate check for the deductible with deductible written in the memo line." reddit.com.
24. r/Contractor thread: "Client withholding $6,000 over a small crack in a concrete patio. Suggestions?" reddit.com.