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Wyoming · LiensWyoming judgment liens: filing with the county clerk and the five-year dormancy rule

In Wyoming a judgment reaches land through the county clerk. The lands and tenements within the county where judgment is entered are bound for its satisfaction from the day the judgment is filed with the county clerk, and a judgment that must be filed with the clerk is recorded in the real estate records (W.S. 1-17-302). The lien doesn't last on its own: if execution isn't issued within five years from the date of the judgment, or if five years pass between the last execution and the next, the judgment becomes dormant and ceases to operate as a lien on the debtor's estate (W.S. 1-17-307). A dormant judgment can be revived, but no action to revive it may be brought more than ten years after it becomes dormant, except for parties under a legal disability (fifteen years after the disability ends) or in child support cases (twenty-one years) (W.S. 1-16-503(a)).

What the statutes set

  1. Filing (1-17-302)

    Binds land in the county from filing with the county clerk.

  2. Recorded (1-17-302)

    Recorded in the real estate records.

  3. Dormancy (1-17-307)

    No execution for five years: no longer a lien.

  4. Revival (1-16-503)

    Within ten years after dormancy, with listed exceptions.

What the TC does when a Wyoming title search shows a judgment

  • List each judgment recorded against the seller with its filing date.
  • Ask the title company whether any judgment is dormant under the five-year rule.
  • Otherwise get a payoff and a recorded release for each judgment before closing.

Questions about Wyoming judgment liens

When does a Wyoming judgment become a lien on land?

From the day the judgment is filed with the county clerk of the county where the land lies (W.S. 1-17-302).

When does a Wyoming judgment lien end?

When the judgment becomes dormant because no execution issued within five years, or five years passed between executions (W.S. 1-17-307).

Related guides

Track each judgment payoff and release as tasks on the deal in ClosingCode.

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Sources: W.S. 1-17-302, 1-17-307, 1-16-503 (wyoleg.gov), read October 31, 2026.

General information, not legal advice. ClosingCode is software; it is not a law firm or brokerage. This guide is not a substitute for the advice or services of an attorney.