What is a Preliminary Notice?
This notice isn’t a mechanics lien or bond claim, nor is it a notice of intent to file a lien. It’s just letting the necessary parties know that you’re now working on the construction project. In many ways, its step one for getting your claim paid in the event you do need to file a mechanics lien or bond claim, but it has to be done before you know you’re going to have a payment issue. If you don’t follow a state’s preliminary notice requirements, you may not be qualified to file a lien or claim if an issue arises.
Property owners and general contractors like to receive preliminary notices because it helps them track exactly who is working on a project and how much they expect to be paid for their work. It helps the general contractor manage project security as well. Subcontractors who send their notices, in general, find they are paid more quickly than when they don’t send a notice.
How to Send a Preliminary Notice
In states where sending a preliminary notice is required, sending and receiving notice is common practice. If you’re qualified to file a mechanics lien, whether you’re furnishing labor or material to a construction project, you probably want to send a notice in these states. The property owners and contractors will be expecting to receive a notice from you.
Generally, preliminary notices are sent by certified mail with return receipt requested or by registered mail. Make sure to keep a copy of the notice and the return receipt so that if you do need to file a claim, you have the documentation you need to show you complied with the state’s procedure.
There’s a lot of work that goes into researching notice requirements, making sure your notice has the correct information, getting it properly mailed, keeping track of notices, and tracking whether a project has paid or not. You may have someone in house who can handle all this or you may want to reach out for some professional help. If you need any help or guidance, reach out to the team at National Lien and Bond. They can help you comply with the state’s rules or manage the whole process for you.
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Bond claims are generally used when you’re working on a government construction project. This could be a project for your local municipality or when you’re doing work at the state level. When working on these types of projects, your payment is generally ensured through a bond, so instead of filing a mechanics lien, you file a bond claim.
WHAT IS A BOND CLAIM?
In many ways, bond claims are similar to mechanics liens. They’re used by contractors and materials suppliers to construction projects, are fairly inexpensive to file, and tend to be very effective. A surety company, usually an insurance company that deals in bonds, is responsible for paying for the project in the event the responsible party does not, so there is a strong incentive to make sure you get paid.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BOND CLAIM AND A MECHANICS LIEN?
“These are most common when working with governments and public projects. It provides a way to ensure subcontractors can be paid without having to file a lien against government property or a lawsuit against the government. “
THE PROCESS
File Your Bond Claim:
You start by filing your bond claim. While this sounds simple, there are a number of complex requirements that vary from state to state. You have to comply with each of these requirements in order to make sure your claim is correct and can be enforced. States also have different timelines that cover when the bond claim is due and where they need to be filed.
Submit Your Backup Materials:
When you file a bond claim, the surety company will probably want to see some sort of proof of outstanding payment and collect a sworn statement from you. You’ll need to gather this material for the company quickly to keep your claim moving forward.
Follow-up
Once you’ve filed your information, the surety company will then reach out their customer to notify them of your claim. They’ll request information about your work and claim and try to see if the problem can be resolved. This is often where the process slows down, so be sure to follow up with the surety company regularly and encourage them to approve your claim.
Enforce Your Claim:
If your claim is denied or payment is taking an unreasonable amount of time, you need to start thinking about filing a lawsuit against the surety company. While this is a last step and will certainly cost you more out of pocket, it will certainly get their attention.
NLB'S PROCESS
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Why Preliminary Notices Decide More Construction-Payment Cases Than Any Other Single Factor
In more than thirty years of filing mechanics liens and pursuing construction-payment recovery for unpaid contractors, suppliers, and subcontractors, I have learned a hard truth: most lost recoveries are not lost on the merits of the underlying payment claim. They are lost on the preliminary notice. The notice is a piece of paper that costs $5 in certified mail and 15 minutes of paperwork. The recovery it protects can be hundreds of thousands of dollars. And yet preliminary notice failures are the single most common reason construction-payment claims fall apart.
The Pattern I See Every Year, in Every Notice-Required State
The pattern is depressingly consistent. A subcontractor or supplier starts work on a project. Payments are on time for the first two months. Then payments slow down. The contractor calls the GC. The GC promises payment is coming. Two more months pass. The contractor calls the GC again, this time with more urgency. The GC still promises payment. By the time the contractor has decided the relationship is hopeless and contacts a construction-payment attorney, four to five months have passed since the first material delivery. And in nearly every preliminary-notice state, the notice window has long since expired.
The contractor's lien rights are now barred in whole or in part — not because the underlying claim is weak, not because the contract was poorly drafted, not because the work was deficient, but because no one served a preliminary notice during the first three to ninety days of the project. The GC did not need to invoke this defense; the statute did the work. The county recorder will not even accept a Claim of Lien if the prerequisite notice deadline has run.
The Notice Deadlines Vary, But the Loss Pattern Does Not
California's 20-day Preliminary Notice under Cal. Civ. Code § 8200 is one of the shortest windows in the U.S. Oregon's 8-business-day Notice of Right to Lien for material suppliers under ORS § 87.021 is even shorter. Florida's 45-day Notice to Owner under Fla. Stat. § 713.06 is more generous but still strict. Texas's monthly fund-trapping notice system under Tex. Prop. Code § 53.056 requires a notice every month — missing one bars that month's recovery permanently. Washington's 60-day Pre-Claim Notice under RCW 60.04.031 is among the longest. Ohio's 21-day Notice of Furnishing under ORC § 1311.05 catches a lot of out-of-state contractors who think they have more time.
What every notice-required state has in common is that the deadline runs from FIRST FURNISHING — not from the contract date, not from the project start, not from the day payments slowed down. The day the first material delivery hits the jobsite or the first labor hour is recorded, the notice clock starts. By the time a contractor recognizes that payments are slow, the clock has often run.
The Three Common Misunderstandings That Cause Notice Losses
The first misunderstanding I see, especially among contractors with experience in non-notice states like New York or Illinois, is that the notice is somehow optional or only required "if there's a dispute." There is no such carve-out in any preliminary-notice statute I know of. The notice is required at the start of work regardless of whether the relationship later goes sideways. Contractors who skip the notice because the GC "seems reliable" are gambling that the relationship never breaks down. The gamble loses often enough that the data is unambiguous: serve the notice on every project.
The second misunderstanding is the assumption that a late notice protects partial work. Some states have rolling-cure protection — California's § 8204 protects work performed in the 20 days before service, plus everything after. But most states do not have rolling cure. In Florida, missing the 45-day Notice to Owner bars the entire lien for the project, not just work outside the notice window. In Texas, missing a monthly fund-trapping notice bars THAT MONTH's recovery permanently. The cure-window approach is the exception, not the rule.
The third misunderstanding is the assumption that the wrong service method can be corrected. Most preliminary-notice statutes require service by certified mail with return receipt requested, registered mail, or personal delivery. First-class mail is not sufficient. Email is not sufficient. Hand-delivery without a signed receipt is not sufficient. A notice served by the wrong method is unenforceable, and there is typically no opportunity to cure the defective service if the deadline has already run. The contractor must use the right method the first time.
The Statutory-Form States Have Additional Pitfalls
California, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Utah, and a handful of other states require specific statutory notice content. The notice must contain particular warning language exactly as set out in the statute. A notice missing the statutory warning is unenforceable even if all other content is present and timely served. I have reviewed preliminary notices drafted by national supply companies that did not comply with California's § 8202 content requirements — and the notices were unenforceable on their face. The suppliers had no recourse when payment disputes arose months later.
The fix is to use a notice form that explicitly tracks the statutory language for the project state. National Lien & Bond's notice forms are reviewed annually against current statute text in every preliminary-notice state. Generic notice forms downloaded from commercial websites are often outdated or non-compliant. The cost of a non-compliant notice is the entire lien.
The Direct Contractor Exemption Is Narrower Than Most Contractors Think
Most preliminary-notice statutes exempt direct contractors — contractors in privity with the property owner — from the notice requirement. The reasoning is that the owner already knows about contractors it hired directly. But the exemption is narrower than most contractors assume. A direct contractor with a construction manager rather than the owner of record is not in direct privity with the owner — the construction manager is an intermediary. A direct contractor with a developer who does not actually own the land at the time of contracting may not qualify. A direct contractor on a project where the owner of record changes mid-project may need to serve a new notice. I recommend that even direct contractors serve a preliminary notice on the construction lender if one is involved — the lender does not have notice of every contract on its loan portfolio and the lender's awareness can become important if the owner's project funding dries up.
What I Recommend on Every Project
The discipline I recommend for every contractor, subcontractor, supplier, and equipment lessor on every project: serve the preliminary notice on day one of mobilization, not at the statutory deadline. Use certified mail with return receipt. Use a notice form reviewed for current statutory compliance. Serve all required recipients — owner, general contractor, and construction lender. Retain the return receipts permanently. The cost of this discipline is a few dollars and 15 minutes per project. The downside if the project goes sideways and you did not serve a notice is the entire underlying claim.
National Lien & Bond drafts and serves preliminary notices for unpaid contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and equipment lessors in all 50 states. For Illinois-based engagements, my firm at Emalfarb Swan and Bain handles the strategic coordination directly. For other states, NLB connects claimants with vetted construction-payment counsel admitted in the project's jurisdiction. NLB maintains a 50-state deadline calendar that tracks the notice clock for every active project to prevent the missed-notice forfeitures that cause the majority of construction-payment losses. The infrastructure exists. The cost is minimal. Contact NLB for a free initial consultation if you have an active project where the preliminary notice has not yet been served, or if you have a payment dispute and are unsure whether your prior notice protects your recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a preliminary notice in construction?
A preliminary notice is a written notice served by sub-tier claimants (contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, equipment lessors not in direct contract with the property owner) on the owner, general contractor, and/or construction lender at the start of a project. It puts the owner on notice that the claimant is furnishing labor or materials and reserves the right to file a mechanics lien if not paid. About 35 states require some form of preliminary notice — failing to serve it correctly can bar lien rights entirely, regardless of the merits of the underlying payment claim.
Which states require a preliminary notice?
Major preliminary-notice states include California (20-day Preliminary Notice, Cal. Civ. Code § 8200), Florida (45-day Notice to Owner, Fla. Stat. § 713.06), Texas (monthly fund-trapping notices, Tex. Prop. Code § 53.056), Arizona (20-day Preliminary 20-Day Notice, A.R.S. § 33-992.01), Washington (60-day Pre-Claim Notice, RCW 60.04.031), Nevada (31-day Notice of Right to Lien, NRS § 108.245), and Utah (20-day Preliminary Notice, Utah Code § 38-1a-501). States that do NOT require preliminary notice include New York, Illinois (for most claimants), Pennsylvania (for most claimants), and Massachusetts.
When does the preliminary notice deadline start running?
In most states, the preliminary notice deadline runs from the date the claimant FIRST furnishes labor, materials, or equipment to the project — NOT from the contract date or the project start date. Even a single delivery of materials or one day of labor triggers the clock. Practical recommendation: serve the preliminary notice IMMEDIATELY upon starting work, not at the deadline. Project start dates frequently get fuzzy in retrospect, and 'first furnishing' can be earlier than the contractor remembers.
What happens if I serve the preliminary notice late?
Most states with preliminary notice requirements offer 'rolling cure' protection — a late notice protects work furnished within a specific lookback window (typically 10-60 days) BEFORE the notice was served, plus everything furnished thereafter. Anything furnished outside the lookback window is permanently barred. For example, California's § 8204 allows a late 20-day notice to protect work within 20 days before service. Texas requires monthly notices and unpaid work in earlier months is barred. Each state's rules vary — verify with construction-payment counsel before relying on a late cure.
How do I serve a preliminary notice?
Most states require service by certified mail with return receipt requested, registered mail, or personal delivery. First-class mail alone is usually insufficient and produces an unenforceable notice. The notice must typically be served on: (1) the property owner of record; (2) the general contractor or prime contractor; (3) the construction lender if one is involved. Some states require additional service (project lender, surety, county recorder). Retain the certified-mail return receipts permanently — they will be required to prove timely service in any future lien foreclosure or payment bond action.
Do direct contractors need to serve a preliminary notice?
Generally no — direct contractors in privity with the property owner are exempt from preliminary notice requirements in most states because the owner already knows them. However, direct contractors should still serve the construction lender if one is involved on the project (the lender does not have notice of every contract on its loan portfolio). Some states have nuanced rules for direct contractors that include design professionals, original contractors on residential projects, or contractors with specific contract terms. Verify exemption status before skipping notice.
Can I file a mechanics lien if I missed the preliminary notice deadline?
In most preliminary-notice states, missing the deadline permanently bars lien rights — the lien itself becomes unenforceable, regardless of how solid the underlying payment claim is. In rolling-cure states, a late notice protects only work within the lookback window. Practical reality: missing the preliminary notice is the SINGLE LARGEST CAUSE of construction-payment recovery losses nationally. National Lien & Bond's 50-state deadline-tracking system prevents these losses for unpaid contractors, suppliers, and equipment lessors.
How does National Lien & Bond help with preliminary notices?
National Lien & Bond drafts and serves preliminary notices for unpaid contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and equipment lessors in all 50 states. For Illinois-licensed engagements, Hal Emalfarb's firm at Emalfarb Swan and Bain coordinates the strategic approach. For other states, NLB connects claimants with vetted construction-payment attorneys who handle preliminary notice service, Claim of Lien recording, and foreclosure suit as integrated services. NLB also maintains a 50-state deadline calendar that tracks the notice clock for every active project to prevent missed-deadline forfeitures. Contact NLB for a free initial consultation.