Unpaid on a Columbia-area job? LevelSet Collections serves and records Richland County mechanics liens for contractors, subcontractors and suppliers on jobs in Columbia, Forest Acres, Irmo, Blythewood, Arcadia Lakes and Eastover. Since 2020 we’ve filed more than 1,100 liens, and a Richland County lien is one all-inclusive price.
Quick answer: A Richland County mechanics lien is a statement of account served on the owner and recorded with the Register of Deeds in Room 101 of the Richland County Judicial Center, 1701 Main Street, Columbia. Service and recording are due within 90 days of your last work, and the suit within 6 months of that last day. See the full South Carolina deadlines and statutes.
Where Richland County liens are recorded
The Richland County Register of Deeds is in Room 101 of the Richland County Judicial Center, 1701 Main Street, Columbia, open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, with mail going to P.O. Box 192, Columbia, SC 29202. The office posts its recording guidelines along with notary acknowledgment and notary probate forms.
A statement of account isn’t complete until the owner has been served, so we schedule service and recording together and make sure both land inside the 90 days.
Paid records search and finding the owner
Richland’s land records search isn’t free. Register of Deeds records are online through Subscription Data Services, which sells access by the day, week, month or year. We carry the access we need to pull the owner’s vesting deed and legal description for every Richland County lien.
We match the deed to the job address and the county’s parcel records before drafting, so the owner on the statement of account is the owner of record.
Where we file across Richland County
Richland County takes in Columbia, the state capital, along with the towns of Arcadia Lakes, Blythewood, Eastover, Forest Acres and Irmo and a large unincorporated area. We confirm from the parcel record that the job is in Richland before serving anyone.
Richland County work runs from downtown Columbia offices, apartments and student housing to subdivisions in the northeast and industrial work near Blythewood. On the public side, the county is building a new 275- to 350-bed housing unit at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, a $45 million design-build project expected to finish by June 30, 2029, alongside a $6.5 million facility-wide security system. County work is public and protected by payment bonds, not liens.
What sinks liens in Richland County
- Recording without serving. The owner has to be served as well as the statement recorded, both within 90 days.
- Owner pulled from an old record. The current deed comes from the Register of Deeds’ subscription search, not a stale printout.
- A parcel outside Richland. A mailing address isn’t proof the job is in Richland County. The parcel record is.
- No notice to the owner as a sub. Without it, the lien can’t exceed what the owner still owes the contractor.
- Suing late. The 6 months run from your last work. See the South Carolina deadline table.
How LevelSet handles a Richland County lien
- Intake. Send us the job address, the company that hired you, your itemized account, your last day of work and any notice to the owner you sent.
- Statutory form. We pull the deed through Subscription Data Services, confirm the county and prepare the South Carolina statement of account.
- Notarization. Matt Rush, as the claimant’s agent, signs the statement of account in front of a notary.
- Recording. We record it with the Richland County Register of Deeds at the Judicial Center.
- Service. We have the owner served within the 90 days and copy the general contractor.
Example: a Richland County deadline walk-through
Example: A roofing subcontractor’s last day on a Forest Acres retail building is August 25. The owner has to be served and the statement of account recorded with the Richland County Register of Deeds by November 23 (90 days). The suit and notice of pendency are due by February 25, six months after its last day on the roof.
Richland County deadline already gone?
Whoever hired you still owes you. Our construction collections service pursues unpaid Richland County construction invoices on contingency, 10% to 33%, and there’s no fee if nothing is collected.
Other South Carolina counties we file in
Greenville County · Charleston County
For the notice to owner, the Notice of Project Commencement and the 90-day and 6-month deadlines statewide, see our South Carolina mechanics lien page. We file liens across South Carolina.
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 Richland County mechanics lien?
With the Richland County Register of Deeds, Judicial Center, 1701 Main Street, Room 101, Columbia, or by mail to P.O. Box 192, Columbia, SC 29202.
Can I search Richland County deed records online for free?
No. Register of Deeds records are online through Subscription Data Services, sold by the day, week, month or year.
Which towns are in Richland County?
Columbia and the towns of Arcadia Lakes, Blythewood, Eastover, Forest Acres and Irmo, plus the unincorporated county.
When does a Richland County lien suit have to be filed?
Within 6 months after your last day of work or materials, not 6 months after the lien is recorded.
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 Richland County job?
Richland County liens $199 to $500, with service, recording and notarizing included. Recorded in Columbia, usually in 2 business days. Call (469) 694-8003.
