Iowa mechanics lien: what to do when a customer won't pay, the deadlines, and the letter to send

Published November 4, 2026 · Iowa Code, the lien registry rules and the 2026 court fees checked November 4, 2026

• Free. The demand letter and deadline worksheet come by email, as a Google Doc, a Word file or a PDF.
• 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 suit is a court case: talk to an Iowa attorney before you file one.

When an Iowa customer won't pay, send a written demand first, then post a mechanic's lien on the state's online registry within 90 days of your last day of work, and file suit on it within two years after those 90 days end. On a single-family or two-family home the lien only exists if you did two things at the start: gave the owner the lien notice in writing, and posted a notice of commencement within 10 days of starting. Under $6,500, small claims court is the cheaper route. It costs $115 to file since July 1, 2026.

A roofer on r/Roofing put the problem in one line: "We have a customer who completely refuses to pay." The top reply, at 177 votes, was "Slap a lien on the house." The roofer's answer shows where a lot of us get stuck: "He's not allowing the county to do the final inspection. Therefore, we aren't able to place a lien, or at least we think we can't from what we've read."²¹ In Iowa a missing inspection doesn't block a lien. The calendar does.

I read Iowa Code chapter 572, the registry rules, the 2026 court fee law and six Iowa court decisions on November 4, 2026, and every rule below links to its source. What goes in your contract is on the Iowa contract template page, so I won't repeat it here.

The download is a demand letter with Iowa's required debt-collection line, a nonpayment notice for subcontractors, and a deadline worksheet. Get it three ways: make your own copy in Google Docs (opens in your Drive), download the Word version (.docx), or download the PDF. Pick a format, enter your email and I'll send the links.

Iowa mechanics lien deadlines at a glance

Day 1 is the day after the event, and the last day counts.¹⁶ Don't cut it close: post early.

Example only: a bathroom remodel starts September 14, 2026 and ends October 1. The notice of commencement was due by September 24. Day 90 is December 30, 2026, and the last day to sue on the lien is December 30, 2028. Part 3 of the download is this table with blanks for your dates.

What to do first when a customer refuses to pay

Waiting is the expensive part. A painter on r/paint: "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."²² These five steps run in the first two weeks. They're the same in every state except where Iowa law changes them, and I've said where it does.

1. Stop work or keep going

No Iowa statute lets a contractor stop work on a home for late payment. Your contract has to say it, and the Iowa contract template does: you can stop after giving written notice. Walking off has an Iowa risk too. "In general, in order to enforce a mechanic's lien a contractor must show substantial performance of the contract," the Iowa Court of Appeals said in 2014, with an exception when the homeowner's "obstruction, hindrance, or delay" kept you from finishing. The contractor in that case was let go with the job unfinished. He lost his lien and was left with the value of his work, less what it cost to fix it.⁵

So if the job is nearly done, finish it and bill. If a progress payment is late, stop the way your contract says, in writing, and keep a copy. Either way, your 90 days start on your last day of work.

2. Put it in writing

Confirm every phone call by text or email. Keep dated photos of the finished work, the signed contract and every change order in one place. A Cedar Rapids builder with more than 30 years in the trades learned this the hard way in 2020. He had no written contract with the owners, never showed them time sheets, and "did not assemble that information into a written bill for the owners until he filed the mechanic's lien." The district court dismissed his lien, and the Court of Appeals agreed.²⁰

3. Send the invoice, then a demand letter

If the final invoice hasn't gone out, send it now with a due date. If it's past due, send a demand letter by certified mail and by email: what the work was, the account with every payment credited, the balance, a pay-by date about 10 days out, how to pay, and what you'll do if it isn't paid. Two Iowa laws shape the letter.

• It protects your attorney fees. If your contract has an attorney fee clause, an Iowa court "shall allow" a reasonable fee when you win.¹² But no fee is taxed against a customer who lives in the county "unless it shall be made to appear that such defendant had information of and a reasonable opportunity to pay the debt before action was brought." The certified letter is that proof.
• Iowa's debt collection rules can apply to you. Iowa defines a debt collector as anyone collecting a consumer debt, "whether for the person, the person's employer, or others," so a contractor chasing its own invoice can be one. The first written demand must say "that the debt collector is attempting to collect a debt and that information obtained will be used for that purpose." The rules also ban a "false threat" of the "seizure" or "sale of property," telling other people about the debt, and "deadbeat lists." A customer can recover actual damages plus a penalty of $100 to $1,000.¹³ So keep the debt line (the template has it), mention a lien only if you can post one, and keep the customer off Facebook.

4. Offer one payment plan, in writing

Some customers can pay, just not all at once. Write the plan down: each amount, each date, both signatures. Three Iowa points. A plan doesn't pause your 90 days or your two years, so make the last payment fall before day 90 or post the lien first. Taking a note or other security after the work is done doesn't cost you the lien "unless such new security shall, by express agreement, be given and received in lieu of such lien," so never sign a plan that says it replaces your lien.¹ And keep it interest-free. A seller that regularly sells on installments or with a finance charge to consumers is making consumer credit sales under Iowa's Consumer Credit Code, which brings its own rules.¹³

5. Know when to call a lawyer

A lien is cheap to post and expensive to enforce. In a Des Moines case, a waterproofing contractor's unpaid bill was $5,400. It won the right to foreclose its lien for all but $500 of that, after more than three years of litigation, and its attorney fees passed $58,000.⁶ Iowa lets the court award fees to a contractor who wins a lien suit, but it "may," not must.¹ Pay for an hour of advice:

• before you post a lien over a few thousand dollars, or one the owner disputes;
• before you file to foreclose;
• the day an owner serves you a written demand to sue, because the 30 days start then;
• when the owner says the work is defective and wants money back;
• when you're a sub and the general contractor has gone quiet.

The Iowa mechanics lien on a home

Who can file, and what if you're unregistered or unlicensed

Iowa gives a lien to "every person who furnishes any material or labor for, or performs any labor upon, any building or land for improvement, alteration, or repair thereof," and names grading, sodding, landscaping, sidewalk building and fencing.¹ If the owner hired you, Iowa calls you the general contractor, whatever your trade. Everyone else, suppliers included, is a subcontractor.

Registration. An unregistered contractor keeps the lien: "Registration under chapter 91C shall not be required in order to post a notice or a lien under this chapter."¹ You should still register; the fines are on the Iowa contractor registration page.

Trade licenses. The lien law says nothing about electrical, plumbing or HVAC licenses. The courts have. In 2020 the Iowa Supreme Court restated its "precedent holding contracts entered into by parties lacking a required license are void as against public policy."⁷ One of the cases it cited, from 1938, put the rule this way: when a law bars a business without a license and fines violators, "recovery cannot be had for services rendered in such occupation."⁸ I found no Iowa decision applying it to a lien for unlicensed trade work, so I can't tell you a court would. Plan on losing. The license rules are on the electrical, plumbing and HVAC pages.

The two notices you needed before the work started

On single-family and two-family homes, a contractor hired by the owner had to do two things, or it is "not entitled to a lien":¹

• give the owner Iowa's lien notice in writing, in boldface of at least 10 points, with the registry's web address and toll-free number, in the contract or a separate notice (572.13). It applies once you use any subcontractor, and Iowa counts the supply house as one;
• post a notice of commencement on the registry within 10 days after work started, for $7 online (572.13A).²

The notice wording and where it goes are on the Iowa contract template page, and that template has both built in. Commercial jobs and buildings with three or more units skip the notices: "Commercial construction projects file only a lien."^1,3

Missed one? Then you have no lien on that job. You still have the debt, so go to small claims or district court, and leave the lien out of your demand letter.

Subcontractors and suppliers: the preliminary notice, and the owner who already paid

If a contractor hired you, post a preliminary notice on the registry under the job's registry number, or you have no lien. It costs $7. If the general contractor never posted a notice of commencement, you can post that too.^1,3

Timing is the whole game. Your lien is "enforceable only to the extent of the balance due the general contractor" when your notice is posted, and again when the owner actually receives it. The owner doesn't have to pay "a greater amount or at an earlier date" than the contract says, unless the owner pays the general contractor after getting your notice.¹ So a homeowner who paid the general contractor in full before your notice owes you nothing on the lien. Post it the day you start.

Then there's the general contractor. On a home, unless your agreement says otherwise, it must pay you in full within 30 days after the owner pays it in full. Give it written notice of nonpayment that identifies the property and the amount. If you sue, the court adds 1% to 15% of what's owed, unless the general contractor shows the money went to the job or posts a bond within 15 days.¹ Part 2 of the download is that notice.

On commercial jobs, a supplier or sub hired by a subcontractor has a different first step: a written notice to the general contractor within 30 days of first furnishing.¹

The deadline: 90 days from your last day of work

The clock runs from "the date on which the last of the material was furnished or the last of the labor was performed."¹ Real work under the contract counts. Small fixes don't. In 1980 an HVAC subcontractor billed for "material and labor complete" in March, came back in June to install a $220 humidifier, and filed its lien a week later (the window was 60 days then). The Iowa Supreme Court said the later work had to be "a good-faith act to complete performance of the contract, not a dodge to revive a dead lien," and that a subcontractor "may not extend the time for filing by performing some trivial amount of work, remedying small defects, or making trifling changes." The lien was late.⁴ That case was about a sub, but the same section sets your deadline. Count from the last real day of work. A punch-list touch-up, a warranty call or a trip back for an inspector's correction won't move it.

You can still post up to two years and 90 days after your last day, but after day 90 the lien gets weaker:

• you also have to serve written notice on the owner "in the manner original notices are required to be served," which means the way a lawsuit is served;
• anyone who buys the house or lends on it in good faith without notice of your lien comes ahead of you;
• a subcontractor's lien reaches only "the balance due from the owner to the general contractor" when the notice is served, which is often nothing.¹

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

Iowa liens don't go to the county recorder. They go on the Secretary of State's mechanics' notice and lien registry (MNLR) at sos.iowa.gov/mnlr, toll-free 1-888-767-8683.³ You need a user account to post online. The lien is a "verified statement of account of the demand due the person, after allowing all credits," with:^1,2

• the first and last days you furnished labor or materials;
• the legal description and the tax parcel number;
• the owner's name and last known mailing address;
• the property address.

It costs $30 online or $40 by mail. The paper form has you certify the amount "under penalty of perjury."^2,3 The lien reaches only the county named on the job's registry notices. You can lower the amount later, never raise it, so get the number right the first time.¹ Service is done for you: "Upon posting of the lien, the administrator shall mail a copy of the lien to the owner."¹ After day 90, as above, you serve the owner yourself.

Enforce it within two years, or it dies

Posting a lien doesn't collect anything. If the owner still doesn't pay, you file suit in the district court of the county where the property is. It's an equity case, and "no other cause of action shall be joined therewith." The deadline is "two years from the expiration of ninety days" after your last day of work.¹

The owner can shorten that. Serve you a written demand to sue, and you have 30 days, "or the lien and all benefits derived therefrom shall be forfeited." The owner can also clear the title by posting a bond for twice your claim, and then you claim against the bond.¹ If you win, the court may add your attorney fees, and a house that's the owner's homestead can be sold for a mechanic's lien "including reasonable attorney fees."^1,14

An overstated or wrongful lien costs you

Claim only what's owed after every credit. If an owner challenges a lien on a home and wins, the court may award the owner's attorney fees and actual damages. If the lien was "posted in bad faith or the supporting affidavit was materially false," the court must award the owner's fees "plus an amount not less than five hundred dollars or the amount of the lien, whichever is less."¹ False information on the registry also carries a civil penalty of up to $750, or $1,000 for a repeat.² And when the lien is $6,500 or less, the owner can bring that challenge in small claims court.^1,9

When you're paid, post the acknowledgment of satisfaction (the release) on the registry.² If the owner has to serve you a written demand for it and you take more than 30 days, you owe $25 plus any damage you caused.¹

Lien waivers: when to sign them

Iowa has no required lien waiver form for homes. The registry's own notice to homeowners tells them to "obtain lien waivers from your general contractor and from persons or companies registered as furnishing labor or materials," and waivers posted to the registry show on the property's record.^1,3 Expect the request with every payment. Sign one only for money you've actually received, and never sign one in blank. The HVAC sub in the 1980 case had signed lien waivers in blank for the general contractor, the owner paid on the strength of them, and the court counted that against the sub.⁴

Other ways to get paid in Iowa

Small claims court: up to $6,500

Iowa small claims hears money claims of $6,500 or less, "exclusive of interest and costs."⁹ The filing fee went from $95 to $115 on July 1, 2026, and the clerk charges $20 for each person served by certified mail.^9,10,18 You file electronically: the Original Notice (Form 3.1) and a Verification of Account (Form 3.27) with "an itemized statement showing how you arrived at the amount of your claim." The customer has 20 days after service to answer, and a magistrate hears most cases.¹⁰ Over $6,500, a district court petition is $215.^9,10 You have 10 years to sue on a written contract and 5 on an unwritten one, far longer than the lien.¹⁵

A judgment isn't a check. Another roofer in that r/Roofing thread: "Just because you win in small claims doesn't mean you get paid, you still have to collect. The court doesn't do that for you."²¹ One Iowa rule helps here: a homestead, normally protected, can be sold for debts "incurred for work done or material furnished ... exclusively for the improvement of the homestead."¹⁴

Interest and attorney fees

Interest is where Iowa gets fussy. Three rules overlap:

• No rate in writing: Iowa's legal rate is 5% a year on money after it becomes due.¹¹
• A rate in your contract: Iowa's usury law caps a written interest rate at a figure the Division of Banking sets each month: 7.00% for agreements made in November 2026, 7.25% in December, unless an exemption applies.^11,19 Go over it and "the plaintiff shall not have judgment for more than the principal sum." You lose all the interest.¹¹
• A finance charge on your invoices: where the contract sets no rate, Iowa lets you charge one on an unpaid account if the invoice states "the rate of the finance charge and the date or day of the month before which payment must be received if the finance charge is to be avoided," up to 21% a year, never compounded.¹¹

Have a lawyer pick your rate once and use it on every contract and invoice. Attorney fees are simpler: you get them if your written contract provides for them, subject to the demand-letter rule above,¹² or if the judge awards them in a lien suit.¹

Prompt payment: no Iowa law for homeowners

I found no Iowa prompt-payment law for an owner paying a contractor on private residential work. The one private timing rule in the lien chapter is the 30 days a general contractor has to pay its subs on a home, above.¹ Your due dates come from your contract and your invoice.

A collection agency

An agency takes a share of what it collects and follows the same Iowa debt collection rules you do. Agencies above a small size must file a notification with the Iowa Attorney General each year, so ask for it before you sign.¹³ Hand an account over only after your own letter, and before your lien deadline passes: the agency can't post your lien for you.

Card payments

If the customer paid by card and files a chargeback, answer it through your processor before its deadline, with the signed quote, change orders, dated photos and the invoice.

By trade

Roofers: the deductible and the claim check

The deductible is the owner's share, and in Iowa you can't waive it. A roofer may not "advertise or promise to rebate any insurance deductible," and doing it, negotiating the owner's claim, or skipping the signed Notice of Contract Obligations and Rights on a storm job makes the contract void. The owner then has "no responsibility for payment under the contract," and you have nothing to lien for.¹⁷ The notice the owner signed also works for you: it says the owner "may be responsible for payment ... whether or not you receive payment from any property and casualty insurance policy." So a claim check stuck with the mortgage company doesn't move your contract's payment dates. Bill the deductible as its own line, send the final invoice the day the roof is done so the owner can claim any held-back depreciation, and keep your lien dates. The claim rules are on the Iowa roofing insurance claim law page.

Electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors: bill by stage, and the inspection hold

Bill by stage: a deposit, then rough-in, then trim-out or set, then a small final after the final inspection. When the last invoice is small, a customer holding it back hurts less.

The inspection hold is the roofer's problem from the top of this page. A customer who won't let the inspector in hasn't stopped your clock. Your 90 days run from your last day of work, and a trip back to fix an inspector's note doesn't restart them.⁴ A skipped permit doesn't automatically cost you the bill either: in 1938 the Iowa Supreme Court let a furnace installer collect on its note even though, the owner said, it never pulled the Des Moines permit, because "a distinction must be made between the doing of a thing which the law prohibits, and the doing of a thing which the law allows, but in a manner prohibited."⁸ A missing license is the other kind of thing, as above. Pull the permit.

General contractors and remodelers: the punch list

Final payments get held over punch lists. The punch list doesn't extend your 90 days, so count from the last real day of work and post on time even while you're still fixing small items. If you hire subs, you're also the general contractor in their 30-day rule.¹

What to do this week if a customer owes you now

1. Find your last day of work in your schedule, texts and photos. Write down day 90.
2. Check the job file: the signed contract with the lien notice, and your notice of commencement on the registry (search the address at sos.iowa.gov/mnlr). Subs: your preliminary notice.
3. Send the final invoice with a due date if it hasn't gone out.
4. Send the demand letter by certified mail and email, with the debt line. Mention a lien only if step 2 checked out.
5. Offer one written payment plan that ends before day 90.
6. Gather what the lien needs: legal description, parcel number, owner's mailing address, first and last days, the amount after credits. Create your registry account.
7. No money by about day 60? Post the lien online ($30).
8. Under $6,500: file in small claims ($115). Over: call a lawyer about foreclosing, and calendar the two-year date.
9. Don't tell neighbors or post online about the customer.

The demand letter and deadline worksheet

Part 1 is the demand letter: the account table, a pay-by date, a payment plan offer, an interest line, a lien or court paragraph (with a note on when you may use the lien one) and the debt-collection line. Part 2 is a subcontractor's notice of nonpayment to the general contractor under Iowa Code 572.30. Part 3 is the deadline worksheet: your last day of work, each deadline in days with a blank date, the statute and a box to tick, plus what the lien needs. Part 4 is notes for you, not the customer.

Download 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 does the paper trail that keeps a lien or a small claims case short. When a customer approves a quote online and signs on screen, the quote records their name, the signature, the time and the IP address. Each invoice gets a due date from your shop's "due in" setting and a footer you write once, which the customer sees on the invoice, so your late-charge rate and pay-by date can go there. Overdue invoices show on the dashboard, you can re-send an invoice by email with a message, and the customer can pay the balance by card from the link. Checks are recorded with the check number. Visits record when they were marked complete, which helps when you need your last day of work. Deepsel doesn't chase anyone for you, though. It sends no automatic overdue reminders, doesn't calculate interest or late fees, doesn't track lien deadlines, and doesn't post anything to the Iowa registry. 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

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

Post it on the state's lien registry within 90 days after your last day of work. You can post as late as two years and 90 days after that day, but past day 90 you must also serve the owner the way a lawsuit is served, and later buyers and lenders come first. Suit on the lien is due within two years after day 90, or within 30 days if the owner serves you a written demand to sue.

How do I file a mechanics lien in Iowa, and what does it cost?

Post it on the Secretary of State's mechanics' notice and lien registry (MNLR) at sos.iowa.gov/mnlr, not at the county. It's a verified statement of the amount due after all credits, with your first and last days of work, the owner's name and mailing address, and the property's address, parcel number and legal description. It costs $30 online or $40 by mail, and the state mails the owner a copy.

Can I put a lien on a customer's house in Iowa?

Yes, if you improved it and followed the residential rules. On a single-family or two-family home, a contractor hired by the owner needed the lien notice in writing at signing and a notice of commencement on the registry within 10 days of starting. Miss either and Iowa law says you are 'not entitled to a lien.' You can still sue for the money.

What is the Iowa mechanic's lien registry (MNLR)?

The mechanics' notice and lien registry is the Iowa Secretary of State's online database of notices of commencement, preliminary notices and mechanic's liens. It replaced filing liens with the county clerk on January 1, 2013. Anyone can search it free at sos.iowa.gov/mnlr (toll-free 1-888-767-8683). Notices cost $7 online, a lien $30.

Do I need to be registered or licensed to file a lien in Iowa?

Registration isn't required: 'Registration under chapter 91C shall not be required in order to post a notice or a lien.' A trade license is riskier. The lien law is silent on electrical, plumbing and HVAC licenses, and the Iowa Supreme Court treats contracts made by 'parties lacking a required license' as void. Don't be the test case.

What is the small claims limit in Iowa?

$6,500, not counting interest and court costs. Filing costs $115 since July 1, 2026 (it was $95), plus $20 for each person served by certified mail. Small claims can't foreclose a mechanic's lien; that takes the district court, where a petition costs $215.

Do I have to send a notice of intent to lien in Iowa?

No. The notices Iowa requires come at the start of the job, and the state mails the owner a copy of the lien when you post it. A demand letter that says you intend to post a lien still helps, if you can actually post one.

Sources

1. Iowa Code chapter 572, Mechanic's Lien: 572.1 (definitions of "general contractor", "residential construction", "subcontractor"), 572.2 (persons entitled to a lien), 572.4 (security after completion "in lieu of such lien"), 572.8 (verified statement of account; "the administrator shall mail a copy of the lien to the owner"; county limit), 572.9 ("within two years and ninety days"), 572.10 (after ninety days, written notice served "in the manner original notices are required to be served"), 572.11 ("balance due from the owner to the general contractor"), 572.13 (owner notice; "not entitled to a lien"), 572.13A (notice of commencement within ten days; the registry's owner notice on lien waivers), 572.13B (preliminary notice; "enforceable only to the extent of the balance due the general contractor"), 572.15 (bond in twice the amount), 572.16 (owner not required to pay "a greater amount or at an earlier date"), 572.18 (priority; good-faith buyers and lenders after ninety days), 572.23 (satisfaction; $25), 572.24 to 572.28 (district court, county, equitable proceedings, no amendment to increase, two years after the ninety days, 30-day demand), 572.30 (subcontractors on homes; 30 days; 1% to 15%), 572.32 (attorney fees; bad-faith liens), 572.33 (commercial 30-day notice), 572.34(11) (registration not required). legis.iowa.gov, Iowa Code 2026, read November 4, 2026. No 2026 amendments (source 18).
2. Iowa Administrative Code chapter 721-45, Mechanics' Notice and Lien Registry: 45.2(4) (user registration), 45.4(1) (notice of commencement within ten days), 45.6 (posting a lien; owner copy), 45.7(2) (demand to commence action), 45.13(1) (notice $7 online, $10 paper; lien $30 online, $40 by mail), 45.17 (civil penalty up to $750, $1,000 repeat). legis.iowa.gov, IAC 9/17/25, read November 4, 2026.
3. Iowa Secretary of State, "Mechanics Liens" (General Contractors, Subcontractors/Suppliers, Property Owners and Paper Forms tabs): notice of commencement "within ten days", "$7", toll-free 1-888-767-8683, "Commercial construction projects file only a lien", preliminary notice "prior to the balance due is paid to the general contractor", waivers posted to the registry; paper form "Mechanic's Lien - Residential" ($40.00, "I certify under penalty of perjury"). sos.iowa.gov and MLR form, read November 4, 2026.
4. Pater Painter, Inc. v. William R. Higgins, Jr. Foundation, Inc., 295 N.W.2d 451 (Iowa 1980): "a good-faith act to complete performance of the contract, not a dodge to revive a dead lien"; "A subcontractor may not extend the time for filing by performing some trivial amount of work, remedying small defects, or making trifling changes"; the $220 humidifier; lien waivers "in blank". law.justia.com, read November 4, 2026.
5. Halstead v. Langel, No. 14-0237 (Iowa Court of Appeals, October 29, 2014): "In general, in order to enforce a mechanic's lien a contractor must show substantial performance of the contract"; the exception for "obstruction, hindrance, or delay by the home owner"; recovery "at most only in quantum meruit". iowacourts.gov, read November 4, 2026.
6. Standard Water Control Systems, Inc. v. Jones, No. 17-2009 (Iowa Supreme Court, February 7, 2020): "the homeowners had to pay all but $500 of the contractor's unpaid $5400 bill"; "After more than three years of litigation"; attorney fees "now amount to over $58,000". iowacourts.gov, read November 4, 2026.
7. 33 Carpenters Construction, Inc. v. State Farm Life and Casualty Co., 939 N.W.2d 69 (Iowa 2020): "our precedent holding contracts entered into by parties lacking a required license are void as against public policy". iowacourts.gov, read November 4, 2026.
8. Keith Furnace Co. v. MacVicar, 225 Iowa 246, 280 N.W. 496 (1938): "recovery cannot be had for services rendered in such occupation"; the furnace installer without a Des Moines permit recovered: "a distinction must be made between the doing of a thing which the law prohibits, and the doing of a thing which the law allows, but in a manner prohibited." courtlistener.com, read November 4, 2026.
9. Iowa Code chapter 631, Small Claims: 631.1(1)(b) ("six thousand five hundred dollars or less ... exclusive of interest and costs"), 631.1(6) (challenges to a mechanic's lien), 631.4 (20 days to appear), 631.6 (fees; postage $20). legis.iowa.gov. 2026 Iowa Acts, House File 2770, sections 24 and 26 (small claims filing fee $95 to $115; district court petition $195 to $215; fees paid on and after July 1, 2026). legis.iowa.gov. Both read November 4, 2026.
10. Iowa Judicial Branch, "Small Claims" ("$6,500 or less"; "the $115 filing fee"), "Civil Court Fees" (petition $215; small claims $115), and "Instructions for Filing a Small Claims Action for Money Judgment" (Forms 3.1 and 3.27; "an itemized statement"; "$20.00 for each party you wish to serve by certified mail"; 20 days to answer). Small Claims, Civil Court Fees, instructions, iowacourts.gov, read November 4, 2026.
11. Iowa Code 535.2(1) (five percent on money due by contract and "after the same becomes due"), 535.5 ("not have judgment for more than the principal sum"), 535.11 (finance charge on accounts receivable with notice on the invoice; no compounding), legis.iowa.gov; and 537.2201(2) ("twenty-one percent per year"), legis.iowa.gov. Read November 4, 2026.
12. Iowa Code 625.22(1) (written contract fee clause: the court "shall allow and tax as a part of the costs a reasonable attorney fee") and 625.25 (no fee against a county resident unless the defendant "had information of and a reasonable opportunity to pay the debt before action was brought"). legis.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
13. Iowa Code chapter 537, Consumer Credit Code: 537.1301(13) (consumer credit sale), 537.5201(1)(a)(25) (actual damages plus $100 to $1,000), 537.6103, 537.6201 and 537.6202 (debt collectors' notification to the administrator, the Attorney General), 537.7102(3) and (5) ("debt"; "debt collector ... whether for the person, the person's employer, or others"), 537.7103(1)(e), (3)(a)-(b), (4)(b) (false threats, third parties, "deadbeat lists", the required disclosure). legis.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
14. Iowa Code 561.21(3) (homestead liable for a mechanic's lien "including reasonable attorney fees as provided under section 572.32, subsection 1" and for work "exclusively for the improvement of the homestead"; 2020 Acts chapter 1075). legis.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
15. Iowa Code 614.1(4) (unwritten contracts, five years) and 614.1(5)(a) (written contracts, ten years). legis.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
16. Iowa Code 4.1(34) ("the first day shall be excluded and the last included"). legis.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
17. Iowa Code 103A.71 (no deductible rebates; no negotiating claims; the Notice of Contract Obligations and Rights, including "may be responsible for payment ... whether or not you receive payment from any property and casualty insurance policy"; contract void; "no responsibility for payment under the contract"). legis.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
18. Iowa Legislature, "Code & Acts Sections Amended - 2026 Report" (631.6 and 602.8105 amended by HF 2770, effective July 1, 2026; no entries for chapter 572, 535, 561, 614 or 625). legis.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
19. Iowa Division of Banking, "Usury Rate History": "the Superintendent of Banking has determined that the maximum lawful rate of interest shall be" 7.00% for November 1 to 30, 2026 and 7.25% for December 1 to 31, 2026 (Iowa Code 535.2(3)(a)). idob.iowa.gov, read November 4, 2026.
20. Kollias v. Cardis, No. 19-0540 (Iowa Court of Appeals, July 22, 2020): no written contract; "did not assemble that information into a written bill for the owners until he filed the mechanic's lien"; dismissal of the lien foreclosure affirmed. iowacourts.gov, read November 4, 2026.
21. r/Roofing, "Customer refuses to pay. What should we do?" (March 24, 2025): "We have a customer who completely refuses to pay."; replies "Slap a lien on the house.", "He's not allowing the county to do the final inspection. Therefore, we aren't able to place a lien, or at least we think we can't from what we've read.", and "Just because you win in small claims doesn't mean you get paid, you still have to collect. The court doesn't do that for you." reddit.com, read November 4, 2026.
22. r/paint thread (December 5, 2025): "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.