(a) The state Title IV-D agency, by or through any employee, agent, or representative, shall file a notice of a lien against any real or personal property of any noncustodial parent who resides or owns property in this state and owes past due child support payments under 42 U.S.C.A. Section 666(a) (4) as follows:

Terms Used In Alabama Code 30-3-198

  • following: means next after. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action and evidence of debt, deeds and conveyances. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • property: includes both real and personal property. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • real property: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. Source: OCC
(i) liens against any real property shall be filed in the office of the judge of probate where the real property is located;
(ii) liens against personal property, other than personal property subject to a certificate of title, shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State in the records where Uniform Commercial Code financing statements are filed; and
(iii) liens against personal property which is subject to a certificate of title shall be filed in the office of the Alabama Department of Revenue on such forms as may be prescribed by the Department of Revenue and upon delivery to the Department of Revenue of the outstanding certificate of title on the personal property and payment of the fees required under the provisions of the Uniform Certificate of Title and Anti-Theft Act, Section 32-8-1, et seq.
(b) Upon the filing of a notice, a lien shall arise by operation of law and shall serve as notice of the contents from the time of the filing of the notice. The lien shall be subject and subordinate to the following:

(1) Mortgages, security interests, and other liens perfected, filed, or recorded prior to the time the state Title IV-D agency lien is recorded.
(2) Right of set-off.
(3) Purchase money security interests and other purchase money liens.
(4) Mechanic and materialmen liens.
(c) The state shall accord full faith and credit to liens arising from any judicial or administrative action in another state. When the state Title IV-D employee, agent, or representative seeks to enforce a lien or a judicial order, notice shall not be required. The state Title IV-D agency shall not be required to obtain a judgment for an amount certain prior to filing for the enforcement of a lien.