Unpaid on a Pittsburgh job? LevelSet Collections prepares, files and serves Allegheny County mechanics liens for contractors and subcontractors on jobs from downtown and Oakland to Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park, Monroeville, Ross, McCandless and Penn Hills. Since 2020 we’ve filed more than 1,100 liens, and an Allegheny lien is one all-inclusive price from the formal notice to the affidavit of service.
Quick answer: An Allegheny County mechanics lien is a claim filed with the Civil/Family Division of the Department of Court Records, on the first floor of the City-County Building at 414 Grant Street in Pittsburgh, within 6 months of finishing your work. It is not recorded with the Division of Real Estate. See the full Pennsylvania deadlines and statutes.
Where Allegheny County liens are filed
Allegheny County doesn’t use the prothonotary title. Filings for the Court of Common Pleas go to the Department of Court Records, which has three divisions: Civil/Family, Criminal, and Wills/Orphans’ Court. Mechanics lien claims are civil filings, handled by the Civil/Family Division on the first floor of the City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, in downtown Pittsburgh.
The Department of Court Records runs an e-Filing and Retrieval System for filing and obtaining court documents online. After filing, we pull the docket so the court, term and number in the owner’s notice of filing are right.
Deeds are a separate office. The county’s Division of Real Estate records deeds, mortgages and military discharge papers and handles realty transfer taxes, while the Office of Property Assessments handles values and appeals. A lien claim sent to the Division of Real Estate isn’t a filed lien.
Finding the legal owner and legal description in Allegheny County
Allegheny County’s Real Estate Portal, its property record search, shows assessment records, building information, tax information and owner history for each parcel. That’s where we start on the owner and parcel.
We then pull the owner’s deed from the Division of Real Estate for the legal description. A single building can sit on more than one parcel, so we match the deed to the job before drafting.
Municipalities we file in across Allegheny County
Allegheny County has 130 municipalities, and only four are cities: Pittsburgh, McKeesport, Clairton and Duquesne. The rest are boroughs, townships and home-rule municipalities, including Penn Hills, Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park, Monroeville, Ross, McCandless and Plum.
Neighboring counties start close in. Cranberry Township is in Butler County, Canonsburg is in Washington County, and Murrysville is in Westmoreland County, so a “Pittsburgh” job in any of them is filed with that county’s prothonotary.
Allegheny work runs from hospital, university and research projects in Oakland to downtown conversions, industrial sites along the rivers and subdivisions in the North and South Hills. On the public side, the Allegheny County Airport Authority built a $1.7 billion new terminal at Pittsburgh International Airport. Public work can’t be liened in Pennsylvania; claimants use the payment bond.
What sinks liens in Allegheny County
- Filing with the Division of Real Estate. Lien claims go to the Department of Court Records, not the deed office.
- A sub-sub or supplier to a sub filing. Pennsylvania gives lien rights only to contractors and subcontractors in the first two tiers.
- A Butler, Washington or Westmoreland parcel. Cranberry, Canonsburg and Murrysville jobs belong in other counties.
- No affidavit of service. The affidavit has to be filed within 20 days after the owner is served.
- Letting two years pass. An action to enforce the lien has to start within two years after filing. See the Pennsylvania deadline table.
How LevelSet handles an Allegheny County lien
- Intake. Send us the job address, the company that hired you and who hired them, your unpaid invoices and your completion date.
- Statutory form. We pull the owner from the Real Estate Portal and the deed from the Division of Real Estate, send the 30-day formal notice for subs, and prepare the Pennsylvania lien claim.
- Notarization. Matt Rush signs and verifies the claim as the claimant’s agent in front of a notary.
- Recording. We file it with the Department of Court Records, Civil/Family Division.
- Service. We serve the owner with notice of the filing within one month, copy the general contractor, and file the affidavit of service within 20 days.
Example: an Allegheny County deadline walk-through
Example: A general contractor hired directly by the owner finishes a restaurant build-out in Mt. Lebanon on January 31. As the contractor, it doesn’t need the 30-day formal notice. Its claim has to be filed with the Department of Court Records by July 31 (6 months), the owner served within one month after filing, the affidavit of service filed within 20 days after that, and any enforcement action started within two years of filing.
Allegheny County deadline already gone?
Whoever hired you still owes you. Our construction collections service pursues unpaid Pittsburgh-area construction invoices on contingency, 10% to 33%, and there’s no fee if nothing is collected.
Other Pennsylvania counties we file in
Philadelphia County · Montgomery County
For the formal notice, the 6-month deadline and service rules statewide, see our Pennsylvania mechanics lien page. We file liens in every Pennsylvania county.
Pricing
Liens $199 to $500, including recording fees, notarizing and serving. Pre-lien notices $100. Typical turnaround 2 business days. No minimum. Call (469) 694-8003, Monday through Friday, 8am to 7pm.
Frequently asked questions
Where do you file an Allegheny County mechanics lien?
With the Department of Court Records, Civil/Family Division, first floor of the City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh. The department also offers an e-Filing and Retrieval System.
Does Allegheny County have a prothonotary?
Not by that title. Court of Common Pleas filings go to the Department of Court Records, which has Civil/Family, Criminal and Wills/Orphans’ Court divisions.
Is a lien recorded with the Allegheny County Division of Real Estate?
No. The Division of Real Estate records deeds and mortgages. Mechanics lien claims are court filings with the Department of Court Records.
Is a Cranberry Township job an Allegheny County lien?
No. Cranberry Township is in Butler County, so the claim goes to the Butler County prothonotary.
This page is general information, not legal advice. LevelSet Collections is not a law firm; we prepare and file liens and notices as agent for the claimant. Deadlines change and depend on the facts of your job. We'll check your dates against the statute before filing. Lien laws are constantly changing. Contact us for the most up-to-date information.
Owed money on a Pittsburgh job?
Allegheny liens $199 to $500, with filing, notarizing and serving included. Filed with the Department of Court Records, usually in 2 business days. Call (469) 694-8003.
