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Lien deadline calculator
Ontario's Construction Act gives you 60 days to preserve a lien and 90 days to perfect it, both counted from the date of substantial performance. Enter that date to get both deadlines.
- Preserve the lien by
- Register a claim for lien (Construction Act s.31)
- Perfect the lien by
- Start a court action and register a certificate of action (Construction Act s.36)
These calculators estimate statutory deadlines under Ontario's Construction Act. They adjust for weekends but not statutory holidays, and they're general information, not legal advice — confirm exact timing with a construction lawyer before relying on a computed date.
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Lien deadlines, explained
What's the difference between preserving and perfecting a lien?
Preserving a lien means registering a claim for lien (or, where there's no land interest, holding the claim in trust) within 60 days of the triggering date. Perfecting it means actually starting a court action and registering a certificate of action within 90 days of that same date — a preserved lien that's never perfected expires.
Is the 90-day perfection deadline counted from the preservation date?
No — both the 60-day preservation deadline and the 90-day perfection deadline run from the same triggering date (here, substantial performance), not from each other.
What if the triggering date isn't substantial performance?
The same 60/90-day clocks also run from the date of contract completion or termination/abandonment, and from the date of last supply for a subcontractor's or supplier's lien — whichever applies to your claim. This calculator assumes substantial performance; use the applicable date for a different trigger.
See lien expiry tracked next to every other deadline.
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