Also known as: statutory lien · liens created by statute
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A lien created by statute that attaches to property by operation of law upon the occurrence of specified events. The lien secures payment for services, materials, taxes, or other obligations identified in the governing statute. Priority and enforcement are determined by the terms of the statute rather than by judicial process or contractual agreement.
Samuel Soto fails to pay a personal business loan. The lender obtains a money judgment and dockets it in the county real property records. The statutory lien immediately attaches to any real property Soto later acquires. When Soto exercises an option and takes title to a rural parcel, the lien encumbers the land and affects its marketability to subsequent purchasers.
Silverline Industries supplies seed and fertilizer to Green River Dairy under a state statute that creates an agricultural lien on the resulting crop. The supplier files the required notice after the inputs are delivered. The statutory lien becomes effective and perfected once the crop exists. The lien secures payment for the inputs even though the dairy later uses the crop as feed.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Statutory liens arise automatically under a state or federal statute when specified conditions are met. Judicial liens require court action such as docketing a judgment or obtaining a writ of execution. Both categories are nonconsensual, but only statutory liens are created by legislative enactment rather than judicial process.
Many statutory liens become effective upon the occurrence of the triggering event described in the statute. Perfection against third parties often requires an additional step such as filing a notice or financing statement. The precise requirements are set by the creating statute.
Yes. Some statutes expressly grant priority to statutory liens over earlier security interests. UCC section 9-310 provides one example in which a statutory lien for services or materials takes priority unless the statute creating the lien provides otherwise.
A landlord lien created by the terms of a lease is consensual and excluded from Article 9. A landlord lien created solely by statute is a statutory lien. The distinction determines whether Article 9 priority rules apply.
…of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in Goff v. Yauman , 237 Wis. 643 [298 N.W. 179, 134 A.L.R. 952]. There the court held that a statutory lien upon the interest of a joint tenant of real property created under the old age assistance statutes of Wisconsin survived the death of the joint tenant. The decision of the court was based…