Preliminary Notice
A preliminary notice is the early written notice a contractor, subcontractor or supplier serves at the start of a construction job so that a mechanics lien stays available later. What it is called, who receives it and how many days you have are set by each state.
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Introduction
A preliminary notice is a written notice that a contractor, subcontractor, equipment lessor or material supplier serves near the start of a construction job, telling the people who control the money that it is on the project and expects to be paid. It is not a demand for payment and it is not a lien. It is the step that keeps the lien available, and in most states a claimant who skips it cannot record a lien at all later, no matter how good the underlying debt is. That is the whole reason this document exists and the reason the deadline matters more than the wording. The clock usually starts from an event rather than from an invoice: the day you first furnished labor or materials to the site, the day the job commenced, or the day the owner recorded a notice of commencement. A few states work the other way around and set no deadline at all, letting you serve whenever you like and then protecting only the work you supplied in a fixed window before the day you served, so that serving later shrinks the claim instead of destroying it. Miss the window and some states bar the lien outright, while others let you serve late and then shrink the claim to the work done in the days just before service. Four things about this notice are set by your own state rather than by any national rule, and they are why the state pages exist. The first is what the document is even called, because the same instrument is a preliminary notice in one state, a pre-lien notice in another, a notice to owner in a third and a notice of furnishing in a fourth. The second is the deadline and the event that starts it. The third is who has to receive a copy, which can be the owner alone or the owner plus the general contractor plus the construction lender. The fourth is the service method, because several states accept nothing short of certified or registered mail with a receipt you keep. Select your state to see its name for this notice, its deadline, its recipient list and its service rule. DocDraft builds your preliminary notice from your facts, with attorney review available before you serve it.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A preliminary notice is an early written notice served at the start of a construction job that preserves the server's right to record a mechanics lien later. It is not itself a lien, and it does not demand payment or create a debt.
- 2
In most states serving it on time is a precondition to the lien, not a courtesy. A claimant who never served the notice usually cannot record a valid lien afterward, even where the money is plainly owed.
- 3
The timing runs off an event on the job, not off an unpaid invoice. In most states that event starts a countdown: the day you first furnished labor or materials, the day the project commenced, or the day the owner recorded a notice of commencement. In a minority there is no countdown to miss, and the notice instead reaches backward to cover only a set period before the day you served it.
- 4
The document goes by different names in different states. Preliminary notice, pre-lien notice, notice to owner and notice of furnishing are all the same instrument performing the same job, so search using your own state's term.
- 5
Who must serve it is a dividing line worth checking first. A subcontractor or supplier with no contract with the owner almost always has to serve one, while a general contractor who signed directly with the owner is often excused or has a lighter obligation.
- 6
States split into two camps on a missed deadline, and the split decides how much a late notice is still worth. One camp bars the lien outright. The other allows late service and then shrinks the claim to the work done shortly before service.
- 7
Public projects usually run on a different track. Public property generally cannot be liened, so the remedy is a claim on the payment bond, and the early-notice step that protects a bond claim can have its own deadline and its own recipients.
Key Decisions
Your Role
This is the first dividing line in every state. A business that had no contract with the owner is the party the notice requirement is aimed at, while a contractor who signed directly with the owner is often excused or owes a lighter obligation.
Subcontractor hired by the general contractor
The most common case, and the one almost every state requires a notice from.
Most Common OptionMaterial supplier or equipment lessor
Also squarely covered. Suppliers are often the parties an owner has no way of knowing about.
General contractor who signed with the owner
Frequently excused, or required to notify only the construction lender. Check your state's rule before skipping it.
Sub-subcontractor, lower down the chain
Covered, and worth serving carefully, because the distance from the owner is exactly the problem the notice solves.
The Project
The deadline runs from an event on the job rather than from an unpaid invoice, and the first furnishing date is the trigger in most states. Fixing that date is what tells you whether the window is open.
Within the last week
The comfortable case. Serving early is always safer than serving on the last day.
Most Common OptionTwo to four weeks ago
Already past the window in the shortest-deadline states. Check your state's number before anything else.
More than a month ago
Late in many states. Some bar the lien outright, others let you serve now and limit the claim to recent work.
I have not started yet
The best place to be. Several states let you serve before you begin, which removes the deadline risk entirely.
Most states require the owner, and many require the general contractor and any construction lender as well. Serving an incomplete list can leave the notice ineffective against the party best able to hold money back.
Yes, I have all of them
Straightforward. Serve every recipient your state names, not just the owner.
Most Common OptionI know the owner but not the lender
Common. Many states oblige the general contractor to give you the owner and lender details if you ask.
I only know the company that hired me
Start with a request to that company, and check the building permit and the county land records for the owner.
Service
Several states specify the method and will not treat an ordinary posted letter as service. Choosing a method with a receipt also gives you the proof you would need if a lien were later contested.
Certified or registered mail with a return receipt
The method most states either require or accept, and the one that generates its own proof.
Most Common OptionPersonal delivery
Accepted in many states. Record who accepted it, where and when.
Overnight or express carrier
Allowed in several states as an alternative to certified mail, with the tracking record as proof.
Ordinary first class mail
Sufficient in only a few states. Check your state's page before relying on it, because the method can decide the notice's validity.
Preliminary Notice Requirements
Your Name, Address and Role on the Project
The claimant's legal name and mailing address, with the relationship to the job stated plainly: subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, material supplier, equipment lessor or design professional. Your role is what determines whether your state requires a notice from you at all.
Who Hired You, and the Date of That Contract
The name and address of the party that hired you, whether that is the general contractor, another subcontractor or the owner. The notice is meant to show the owner the chain it never saw, so the hiring party has to appear by name.