The builders lien BC deadline is 45 days, and it runs from one of three triggering events rather than from the date you invoiced or the day you left the site. Once that window closes the right to file is gone, a second triggering event does not restart it, and no amount owing changes the outcome. Contractors working across provincial lines need to treat British Columbia as its own system, because the deadlines and the mechanisms that start them are not the ones that apply elsewhere.
Key Takeaways
- BC gives 45 days to file a claim of lien, not the longer periods used in some provinces.
- Three separate events can start the 45 days running.
- A later triggering event does not reset a period that has already begun.
- A certificate of completion can start your clock without you being told.
- Owners must retain a 10 percent holdback, and the holdback period runs 55 days.
- Filing the lien is only the first step, since the lien expires unless an action follows.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Lien deadlines are strict and fact-specific, and a claim should be assessed by a construction lawyer.
The 45-Day Filing Period
Section 20 of British Columbia’s Builders Lien Act sets the filing period, and the Act is explicit about when it starts.
Vancouver and the Lower Mainland carry a large share of the province’s construction activity, and the volume of subcontractors and suppliers on any major project means a single triggering event can start the clock for dozens of parties at once. Anyone handling Vancouver debt collection on construction receivables is working against that deadline whether or not the client has noticed it.
The Three Triggering Events
Where a certificate of completion has been issued with respect to a contract or subcontract, claims of lien may be filed no later than 45 days after the date the certificate was issued.
Where no certificate of completion governs the claim, the 45 days runs from either the date the head contract was completed, abandoned, or terminated, if the owner engaged a head contractor, or the date the improvement was completed or abandoned, if there was no head contractor.
The distinction matters on smaller projects. A homeowner or developer who hires trades directly rather than through a general contractor puts every trade on the third trigger, which means the clock runs from the state of the improvement rather than from any contract milestone.
A Second Trigger Does Not Restart the Clock
Once a triggering event has occurred and the 45 days has begun, a later event does not reset or renew it.
This is where contractors lose rights without realizing anything has happened. Work continues on site, a deficiency gets fixed, a further certificate is issued, and the contractor assumes a fresh window has opened. It has not. The period that started first is the period that governs.
The Certificate of Completion
The certificate is the mechanism most likely to catch a subcontractor out, because it can start a deadline the claimant never sees.
How It Works
A payment certifier, typically an architect, engineer, or another person specified in the contract, can certify that a contract or subcontract has been completed. Where a contractor or subcontractor requests a certificate and the work is complete, the Act requires it to be issued within 10 days of the request, and notice of the certificate must be posted on the project site.
Issuance does two things at once. It starts the timer for releasing holdback on that work, and it starts the 45-day filing period for everyone working under the completed contract.
Why It Can Shorten Your Window Without Warning
An owner or head contractor who wants to close out lien exposure can apply for a certificate, which forces everyone under that scope to file within 45 days or lose the right.
A sub-subcontractor several layers down may never be told directly. The posted notice on site is the mechanism, and a crew that has already demobilized is not reading site postings. If you have finished a scope on a BC project, ask whether a certificate has been issued rather than waiting to be informed.
The 10 Percent Holdback and the 55-Day Period
The holdback is the fund liens are ultimately paid from, and it operates on its own timeline.
Owners are required to retain 10 percent of payments, and the obligation travels down the chain, with contractors holding back from subcontractors in turn. The 10 percent is a statutory minimum that the parties cannot contract out of.
Under section 8, where a certificate of completion has not been issued, the holdback period expires 55 days after the head contract is completed, abandoned, or terminated, or 55 days after the improvement is completed or abandoned where no head contractor was engaged. The 55 days is deliberately longer than the 45-day filing period, which gives the party holding the funds time to search title before releasing.
The Act also provides that once holdback is paid after expiry of the holdback period, liens of the person paid and of anyone engaged under them are discharged, unless a claim of lien has been filed or proceedings commenced in the meantime. Missing the filing window does not simply cost you the lien. It can release the fund the lien would have been paid from.
Filing Is Not the End
Registering a claim of lien preserves your position. It does not resolve anything on its own, and it expires if nothing follows.
A lien claimant must commence an action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and register a certificate of pending litigation against the title within the period the Act specifies, or the lien ceases to have effect. Published sources differ on that period, so confirm it with counsel for your file rather than working from a general summary.
An owner who considers a lien invalid can also serve a notice requiring the claimant to commence an action within a short prescribed time, which compresses the schedule considerably. A claimant who registers a lien and then waits for a negotiation to develop can find that notice arrives with days rather than months to respond.
If You Miss the Deadline
The lien right is extinguished. The debt is not.
A contractor who misses the filing window still holds an ordinary contractual claim, subject to British Columbia’s Limitation Act, which gives most claims two years from discovery. What is lost is the security and the leverage that came with it, since an unsecured construction receivable competes with every other creditor rather than attaching to the land.
There is also a separate line of argument in BC concerning claims against unreleased holdback funds where a land lien has failed. It is technical, it depends heavily on whether holdback remains in hand, and it is a question for a construction lawyer rather than an assumption to plan around.
Past that point, recovery becomes ordinary commercial debt collection, pursued against the party you contracted with. Where heavy equipment was supplied or rented into the project, those balances and any registered security should be assessed separately from the construction receivable, since they may sit in a different position.
What to Do Before the Window Closes
Six steps, and most of them belong at the start of a project rather than the end:
- Identify who engaged you and whether the owner used a head contractor, since that determines which trigger applies.
- Ask whether a certificate of completion has been requested or issued for your scope, and keep asking as you approach completion.
- Record the date your work was completed or abandoned, separately from your invoice dates.
- Calculate 45 days from the earliest applicable trigger, not the most convenient one.
- Escalate at the halfway mark. An unpaid balance at day 20 needs a decision, not a reminder.
- Get lien eligibility assessed before the deadline, because after it there is nothing to assess.
Smaller trades and suppliers carry the most exposure here, since a single unpaid project can represent a large share of the year. Treating the lien deadline as part of routine small business debt collection discipline rather than a legal afterthought is what keeps the option open.
Common Questions About BC Builders Liens
The questions below account for most of the confusion.
How many days do I have to file a builders lien in BC?
Forty-five days, running from a certificate of completion, from completion, abandonment, or termination of the head contract, or from completion or abandonment of the improvement where there was no head contractor.
Can I lien if I contracted with the general contractor rather than the owner?
Lien rights generally attach to the improvement and the land rather than requiring a direct contract with the owner, so subcontractors and suppliers can typically file. Your contractual claim still runs against the party that engaged you.
What is the holdback in BC?
Ten percent, retained by the owner from the contractor and by each party from those below them. It is a statutory minimum and cannot be reduced by agreement.
Does more work on site extend my deadline?
No. Once a triggering event has started the 45 days, further work or a later event does not restart the period.
The deadline passed. Is the money gone?
No. The lien right is extinguished while the underlying debt survives and can still be pursued, including through third-party collections, subject to the ordinary limitation period.
Do other provinces’ lien rules apply to my BC project?
No. The deadlines, the triggering events, and the holdback mechanics are set by British Columbia legislation, and applying another province’s periods to a BC project is a reliable way to file late.
Track the Trigger, Not the Invoice
BC’s lien deadline is short, it runs from events that may happen without your knowledge, and it does not forgive a late filing regardless of how much is owed. The contractors who preserve their position are the ones who identify the trigger early and treat 45 days as the outside limit rather than the target.
If you are holding unpaid balances on BC projects, the first question is which accounts still support a filing and which have moved past it. Bison Credit Solutions recovers construction and supply receivables on a contingency basis, with no charge where nothing is collected, and works accounts alongside whatever lien steps your counsel is managing.
Contact Bison Credit Solutions to review unpaid project accounts and determine the route for each one.
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