§ 16-65-117 - Judgment as lien on land.
16-65-117. Judgment as lien on land.
(a) (1) (A) A judgment in the Supreme Court or circuit courts of this state, and in the United States district courts or United States bankruptcy courts within this state, shall be a lien on the real estate owned by the defendant in the county in which the judgment was rendered from the date of its rendition only if the clerk of the court which rendered the judgment maintains a permanent office within the county, at which office permanent records of the judgments of the court are continuously kept and maintained, and the judgment has been filed with the circuit clerk. A judgment in the district courts of this state shall not be a lien on the real estate owned by the defendant in the county in which the judgment was rendered until the judgment has been filed and indexed in the judgment records of the circuit clerk in the county in which the judgment was rendered.
(B) As to any person who does not have actual notice of the rendition of the judgment, the judgment shall be a lien from the date the judgment is recorded and indexed by the court clerk in a manner that provides reasonable notice to the public.
(2) (A) If a judgment is rendered by one (1) of the courts in a county where the clerk of the court does not maintain a permanent office at which permanent records of the judgments of the court are continuously kept and maintained, the judgment shall not be a lien on the land of the defendant in that county until a certified copy of the judgment is filed in the office of the circuit clerk of that county.
(B) As to any person who does not have actual notice of the rendition of the judgment, the judgment shall be a lien from the date the judgment is recorded and indexed by the court clerk in a manner that provides reasonable notice to the public.
(b) (1) No such judgment shall be a lien on the land of the defendant in any other county until a certified copy of the judgment is filed in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of the county in which the land lies.
(2) As to any person who does not have actual notice of the rendition of the judgment, the judgment shall be a lien from the date the judgment is recorded and indexed by the court clerk in a manner that provides reasonable notice to the public.
(c) (1) The clerk, on the filing in his office of a certified copy of a judgment of any of the courts mentioned in subsection (a) of this section, and upon the payment of three dollars ($3.00), shall immediately proceed to docket and index the judgment in the same manner as though rendered in the court of his or her own county. From that time, the judgment shall be a lien on the defendant's lands in that county.
(2) It shall be the duty of the court clerk to index each judgment immediately upon filing it in the permanent records of the judgments of the court. For purposes of this section, the term "judgments" shall include any order, decree, or judgment which contains a provision for payment of money for the support and care of any child or children through the registry of the court.
(d) The liens authorized by this section shall continue in force for ten (10) years from the date of the judgment and may be revived. A transcript of the judgment of revivor, when filed in other counties, shall have the same and like effect as a judgment of revivor has in the county in which it is rendered.