Oklahoma Pre-Lien Notice

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   An Oklahoma pre-lien notice has to announce itself. The first of the eight items Section 142.6(B)(4) requires is a statement that the notice is a pre-lien notice, so a letter that merely describes your work and your invoice does not meet the section even if everything else in it is right.

2. 2

   Only a claimant owes this notice, and claimant is a defined term: a person, other than an original contractor, that is entitled or may be entitled to a lien under Section 141. An original contractor is outside the section by definition rather than by exemption.

3. 3

   Two recipients, both at their last-known address: the original contractor, and an owner of the property. The statute says an owner rather than the owner, and it names no construction lender and no surety.

4. 4

   The seventy-five days run from the last date of supply of material, services, labor or equipment, and the notice must also be out before the lien statement goes in. Both conditions have to be satisfied.

5. 5

   On property then occupied as a dwelling by an owner, the rule is absolute: no lien is valid unless the pre-lien notice was sent within seventy-five days of the claimant's last furnishing. Neither the four-or-fewer-dwelling-unit carve-out nor the ten thousand dollar floor rescues a claimant there, because paragraph 3 is expressly subject to paragraph 1.

6. 6

   Three sending methods create a rebuttable presumption of compliance: hand delivery supported by a delivery confirmation receipt, an automated transaction under Section 15-115 of Title 12A, or certified mail with return receipt requested. Certified mail is effective on the date mailed, so posting on the last day still counts.

7. 7

   Oklahoma turns the proof into a filed document. At the time the lien statement is filed, the claimant must furnish the county clerk a notarized affidavit verifying compliance with the pre-lien notice requirements, and a claimant who falsifies that affidavit is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to five thousand dollars, up to thirty days in the county jail, or both.

Oklahoma Requirements for Preliminary Notice

• Only a Claimant Owes It, and That Excludes the Original Contractor

  Section 142.6(A)(1) defines claimant as a person, other than an original contractor, that is entitled or may be entitled to a lien under Section 141. Subcontractors, sub-subcontractors, suppliers and equipment lessors are in; the contractor that signed with the owner is outside the section. Section 146 also takes oil and gas leasehold and pipeline liens under Sections 144 and 145 outside Section 142.6 entirely.

• Seventy-Five Days From the LAST Date of Supply

  The notice must go out no later than seventy-five days after the last date of supply of material, services, labor or equipment, and it must also be sent before the lien statement goes in. Both conditions apply. Because the trigger is your last supply date and not your first, the period does not begin while you are still delivering on the project.

• Owner-Occupied Dwellings Are Absolute

  No lien affecting property then occupied as a dwelling by an owner is valid unless the pre-lien notice was sent within seventy-five days of the claimant's last furnishing. Paragraph 3's exemptions open with the words except as otherwise required in paragraph 1, so neither the four-or-fewer-unit carve-out nor the ten thousand dollar floor helps a claimant on a house the owner lives in.

• Two Exemptions: Non-Owner-Occupied Small Residential, and Under $10,000

  Paragraph 3 excuses a claimant whose claim relates to supply furnished in connection with a residential project, defined as a single family or multifamily project of four or fewer dwelling units none of which are occupied by an owner, and a claimant whose aggregate claim is less than Ten Thousand Dollars. Paragraph 2(a) separately excuses retainage held by agreement between an owner, contractor or subcontractor.

• The Original Contractor and an Owner, at Last-Known Addresses

  Paragraph 1 directs the notice to the last-known address of the original contractor and of an owner of the property. Under paragraph 6 you may ask the original contractor in writing for the name and last-known address of an owner, and a failure to answer within five days from receipt of the request makes the pre-lien notice requirement to the owner unenforceable.

• The Eight Content Items, Starting With Naming Itself

  Paragraph 4 requires a statement that the notice is a pre-lien notice; the claimant's complete name, address and telephone number; the date of supply; a description of the material, services, labor or equipment; the name and last-known address of the person who requested it; the address, legal description or location of the property; the dollar amount furnished or to be furnished; and the claimant's signature. The phrase shall contain, but not be limited to, makes that a floor.

• Three Methods That Create a Presumption of Compliance

  Paragraph 5 creates a rebuttable presumption of compliance where the notice is sent by hand delivery supported by a delivery confirmation receipt, by automated transaction under Section 15-115 of Title 12A, or by certified mail with return receipt requested. Notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, is effective on the date mailed, so a slow delivery does not cost you the period.

• A Notarized Affidavit of Compliance for the County Clerk

  Subsection C requires the claimant to furnish the county clerk a notarized affidavit verifying compliance with the pre-lien notice requirements at the time the lien statement is filed, and makes falsifying that affidavit a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to Five Thousand Dollars, up to thirty days in the county jail, or both. Subsection D renders invalid and unenforceable that portion of the claim for which no notice was sent.