North Dakota Notice a Lien Will Be Claimed
N.D.C.C. Section 35-27-02(4) requires written notice a lien will be claimed, sent to the legal or equitable owner by certified mail at least ten days ahead. Attorney review available.
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Introduction
The event North Dakota measures from is one you choose rather than one the job hands you. Section 35-27-02(4) of the Century Code requires that written notice a lien will be claimed be given to the legal or equitable owner of the real estate by certified mail at least ten days before the construction lien goes on record. There is no first-furnishing clock in the chapter and no notice tied to the start of the work. There used to be one: Section 35-27-05, headed Notice of intention to claim lien, was repealed in 2009, and the Century Code now prints the repealer where its text used to sit, so any guide describing a recorded North Dakota notice of intention is describing law that has been gone for seventeen years. The rest of the subsection is remarkable for how little it asks. The recipient list is one name long, the legal or equitable owner, a phrase House Bill 1323 of the 2023 Legislative Assembly substituted for title owner. The delivery method is one method, certified mail. And the contents are not prescribed at all: the statute asks for written notice that a lien will be claimed and stops, which leaves North Dakota with no numbered content list, no required amount and no notarization anywhere in chapter 35-27. The same subsection also hands you the tool for finding the right name, because on demand you may request and secure evidence of the legal description and of the owner's identity. DocDraft builds your North Dakota notice from your facts, with attorney review available before you mail it.
Key Things to Know
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North Dakota's construction lien notice is one sentence of Section 35-27-02(4): written notice a lien will be claimed, given to the legal or equitable owner of the real estate by certified mail, at least ten days ahead. The statute gives the document no title, so there is no North Dakota form number to look for.
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The ten days are counted backward from the day the construction lien goes on record, not forward from your first delivery. You fix the date yourself by deciding when you intend to record, which means the notice has to go out before you instruct anyone to prepare the lien.
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North Dakota once had a start-of-job instrument and does not any more. Section 35-27-05, Notice of intention to claim lien - Recordation, was repealed by S.L. 2009, ch. 293, Section 16, along with Sections 35-27-11, 35-27-12 and 35-27-26.
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The recipient list has exactly one entry, the legal or equitable owner of the real estate. Nothing in Section 35-27-02(4) directs a copy to the general contractor, to a construction lender or to a surety, which makes North Dakota one of the narrowest recipient states in the country.
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Certified mail is the only method the subsection names, and it is also the only proof the chapter leaves you. There is no affidavit, declaration or proof of service document prescribed for this notice, so the certified mail receipt and the return receipt are your file.
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Chapter 35-27 does not prescribe what the notice must say beyond the fact that a lien will be claimed. No form, no numbered content list, no required dollar amount, no first and last furnishing dates and no notarization. Identifying the property and the work clearly is practice, not a statutory requirement.
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The subsection does not name who owes the notice. Its first sentence addresses any person that extends credit or makes a contract with an agent, trustee, contractor or subcontractor of the owner, and the notice sentence that follows has no stated subject. Attorney review is available as an option on that question.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Preliminary Notice in North Dakota, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Preliminary Notice guide walks through them.
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North Dakota Requirements for Preliminary Notice
The Legal or Equitable Owner Is the Only Addressee
Section 35-27-02(4) directs the notice to the legal or equitable owner of the real estate. No general contractor, no construction lender and no surety appears in the subsection. House Bill 1323 of 2023 replaced title owner with legal or equitable owner, so check whether record title and beneficial ownership sit in the same name before addressing the envelope.
Ten Days, Counted Backward From the Recording
The notice must be given at least ten days before the construction lien goes on record. Nothing on the job starts this clock, so the date is set by when you intend to record. Count back from that date and mail by then.
No Start-of-Job Notice in North Dakota
Chapter 35-27 has no notice tied to first furnishing or to the start of the work. Section 35-27-05, Notice of intention to claim lien - Recordation, was repealed by S.L. 2009, ch. 293, Section 16, and the Century Code prints the repealer in place of its text. Sections 35-27-11, 35-27-12 and 35-27-26 went the same way.
Certified Mail, and Nothing Else Is Named
Section 35-27-02(4) names certified mail and no alternative. Personal delivery, ordinary first class mail, email and facsimile are not substitutes supplied by the statute. Mail early enough that delivery is not in question, because the subsection says the notice must be given at least ten days before and does not define given.
No Prescribed Form and No Prescribed Contents
The statute asks only for written notice that a lien will be claimed. Chapter 35-27 prescribes no form, no numbered content list, no dollar amount, no first and last contribution dates and no notarization for this notice. Identifying the property, the work and the party that hired you is practice rather than a statutory requirement.
The Certified Mail Receipt Is Your Only Proof
No affidavit, declaration or proof of service document is prescribed for this notice anywhere in chapter 35-27. Keep the certified mail receipt with its article number and date, and the return receipt if you requested one, because that is the whole of the record that the owner was told.
Your Right to Demand the Legal Description and the Owner's Name
The first sentence of Section 35-27-02(4) gives any person that extends credit or makes a contract with an agent, trustee, contractor or subcontractor of the owner the right, upon demand, to request and secure evidence of the legal description of the real estate and the name of the legal or equitable owner. Make that demand in writing at the start of the job and keep the copy.
Well and Pipeline Work Is Excluded From This Chapter
Section 35-27-02(5) provides that notwithstanding any provision in the section, a person performing labor or furnishing materials or services under chapter 35-24 is prohibited from claiming or maintaining a lien under chapter 35-27. Senate Bill 2311 of 2023 added that prohibition. Work under chapter 35-24 is on a separate track and this notice is not its step.