Unpaid on a Philadelphia job? LevelSet Collections prepares, files and serves Philadelphia County mechanics liens for contractors and subcontractors on jobs from Center City and University City to Fishtown, South Philly, the Northeast and Manayunk. We have filed more than 1,100 liens since 2020, and one all-inclusive price covers the formal notice, the filing, service and the affidavit of service.
Quick answer: A Philadelphia County mechanics lien is a claim filed with the court, not with the deed office. It goes to the Office of Judicial Records (formerly the Prothonotary) of the Court of Common Pleas at City Hall, within 6 months of finishing your work. Subs owe the owner a 30-day formal notice first, and the owner has to be served within a month after filing. See the full Pennsylvania deadlines and statutes.
Where Philadelphia County liens are filed
Philadelphia splits two jobs that people expect to happen in one office. Mechanics lien claims are court filings, so they go to the Office of Judicial Records – Civil of the First Judicial District, the office that used to be called the Prothonotary. It keeps the court’s records and the Great Seal, enters judgments and certifies records. Its main office is Room 266 in City Hall, and filings are taken at the Civil Filing Center in Room 296, weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Deeds and mortgages are a different office entirely: the City’s Department of Records in City Hall Room 154, open 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., which keeps recorded documents from the late 1600s to the present. A lien claim taken to the Department of Records instead of the court doesn’t count as filed.
Right now the court’s Civil, Criminal and Orphans’ e-filing system is offline while it’s being relaunched. Filings can still be made at the counter or by mail to Room 266 with a cover letter, the filing fee and a self-addressed stamped envelope; rejected filings come back with a letter explaining why. Close to a 6-month deadline, we don’t leave the claim to the mail.
Finding the legal owner and legal description in Philadelphia
Philadelphia is one city and one county, so every job inside the city limits is a Philadelphia County lien. The owner and legal description come from the Department of Records. Its PhilaDox system has deeds and property records from 1974 to the present online, and older records are available by mail or in person.
Rowhomes take care. Each attached house is its own parcel, and a building converted to condos or apartments may be several. We pull the current deed for the exact address before naming the owner on the claim.
Neighborhoods we file in across Philadelphia
We file liens across the city, from Center City, Old City and University City to Fishtown, Kensington, Northern Liberties, South Philly, Point Breeze, Germantown, Manayunk and Northeast Philadelphia.
The city line is close everywhere. Cheltenham and Lower Merion are in Montgomery County, Upper Darby is in Delaware County, Bensalem is in Bucks County, and Camden is across the river in New Jersey under a different state’s lien law. A claim filed in Philadelphia only covers property in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia work runs from rowhome renovations and new multifamily to hospital, university and commercial projects. On the public side, PennDOT’s $328.9 million I-95 CAP project at Penn’s Landing replaces and expands the I-95 structure along the Delaware waterfront. Public projects can’t be liened in Pennsylvania; they run on payment bonds.
What sinks liens in Philadelphia County
- Filing at the deed office. Room 154 records deeds. Lien claims go to the Office of Judicial Records.
- Waiting on e-filing. With the court’s e-filing system offline, a claim left for the last day may not get filed in time.
- No 30-day formal notice. Subcontractors have to give the owner written notice at least 30 days before filing, and it doesn’t extend the 6 months.
- A rowhome where the owner already paid. On an owner-occupied one- or two-unit residence, a sub has no lien if the owner paid the contractor in full.
- Skipping the affidavit of service. After serving the owner, an affidavit of service has to be filed within 20 days. See the Pennsylvania deadline table.
How LevelSet handles a Philadelphia County lien
- Intake. You send the job address, the full contract chain, your invoices and your completion date.
- Statutory form. We pull the owner and deed from the Department of Records, send the 30-day formal notice if you’re a sub, and prepare the lien claim for the Court of Common Pleas.
- Notarization. Matt Rush signs and verifies the claim as agent for the claimant before a notary.
- Recording. We file it with the Office of Judicial Records at City Hall.
- Service. Within one month we serve the owner with notice of the filing, send a copy to the general contractor, and file the affidavit of service within 20 days after.
Example: a Philadelphia County deadline walk-through
Example: A drywall subcontractor finishes its work on a mixed-use storefront conversion in Fishtown on May 20. Its lien claim has to be filed with the Office of Judicial Records by November 20 (6 months), so the formal notice to the owner has to go out no later than October 21. After filing, the owner has to be served within one month, and the affidavit of service filed within 20 days after service.
Philadelphia lien deadline passed?
The lien may be gone, but the money is still owed. We go after the contractor or customer on your Philadelphia job through construction collections on contingency, 10% to 33%, and you pay nothing if we don’t collect.
Other Pennsylvania counties we file in
Allegheny County · Montgomery County
Pennsylvania’s notice, filing and service deadlines, with statute citations, are on our Pennsylvania mechanics lien page. We file in all 67 Pennsylvania counties.
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 a Philadelphia County mechanics lien?
With the Office of Judicial Records – Civil (formerly the Prothonotary) of the Court of Common Pleas at City Hall. Filings are taken at the Civil Filing Center in Room 296, and mail goes to Room 266.
Is a Philadelphia lien recorded with the Department of Records?
No. The Department of Records in Room 154 records deeds and mortgages. A mechanics lien claim is a court filing with the Office of Judicial Records.
Can I e-file a mechanics lien in Philadelphia right now?
The court’s e-filing system is currently offline while it’s being relaunched. Claims can still be filed at City Hall or by mail.
How do you find the owner of a Philadelphia rowhome?
From the Department of Records. Its PhilaDox system has deeds from 1974 to the present online, and we pull the current deed before naming the owner.
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 Philadelphia job?
Liens $199 to $500, filing, notarizing and serving included. Filed at City Hall, usually in 2 business days. Call (469) 694-8003.
