Pennsylvania Notice of Furnishing

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Pennsylvania calls this instrument a Notice of Furnishing, and it is not mailed to anybody. Section 501.3(b)(1) requires a subcontractor to file it with the State Construction Notices Directory, the Department of General Services Internet website created by Section 501.1(a), and the directory then distributes it.

2. 2

   The window is 45 days after first performing work or services at the job site, or first providing materials to the job site, in connection with the searchable project. The count starts from your own first day on the site, not from the contract date and not from an invoice.

3. 3

   The duty only exists if two things are true. Section 201(18) requires the project to cost a minimum of $1,500,000 to be a searchable project, and Section 501.3(b) only bites if a Notice of Commencement has already been filed and posted under Section 501.3(a). The owner's filing is permissive, so plenty of Pennsylvania jobs have no Notice of Furnishing duty at all.

4. 4

   Only a subcontractor files. A contractor, meaning one who contracts with the owner, has no Notice of Furnishing duty, and Section 201(5) further excludes an architect or engineer who contracts with a contractor or subcontractor, anyone who contracts with a materialman, and anyone who contracts with a subcontractor not in direct privity with a contractor.

5. 5

   Section 501.3(b)(3) prints the form. It wants the searchable project owner name and address, the Notice of Commencement Number, the name and address of the party you contracted with, the property location, and the date the labor, work or materials were or will be first furnished, over the lien claimant name, address and signature.

6. 6

   Section 501.5(f) adds three identifiers to every directory filing that people routinely miss: the county name, the tax identification number of each parcel in the project property, and the number of the building permit for the searchable project. Collect those before you open the filing screen.

7. 7

   Your proof comes from the directory, not from a mail receipt. Section 501.1(e)(3) obliges it to produce a certified hard copy of your electronic receipt on request, showing the date, time and content of the filing, and Section 501.1(e)(5) gives you a verification process to confirm your notice indexed and linked to the right Notice of Commencement.

Pennsylvania Requirements for Preliminary Notice

• Failing to File Forfeits the Right to File a Lien Claim

  Section 501.3(c) of the Mechanics' Lien Law of 1963 provides that a subcontractor that fails to substantially comply with the section forfeits the right to file a lien claim. The statute gives no cure period and no reduced recovery. The only escape is Section 501.6(b), where the subcontractor proves the failure was directly the result of the searchable project owner, the owner's agent or the contractor violating the anti-coercion rule.

• Forty Five Days From First Work or First Delivery at the Job Site

  Section 501.3(b)(1) requires the subcontractor to file a Notice of Furnishing with the directory within forty five days after first performing work or services at the job site, or first providing materials to the job site, in connection with the searchable project. The clock is per claimant and is tied to the job site, so shop fabrication is not the trigger.

• The Duty Needs a $1,500,000 Searchable Project and a Posted Notice of Commencement

  Section 201(18) defines a searchable project as erection and construction, or alteration or repair, of an improvement costing a minimum of one million five hundred thousand dollars. Section 501.3(b) imposes the Notice of Furnishing duty only if a Notice of Commencement has been filed and posted in accordance with subsection (a), and Section 501.3(a)(1) makes the owner's filing permissive. Check the directory and the site posting before concluding either way.

• Only a Subcontractor Files, and Three Classes Are Outside the Definition

  Section 501.3(b) puts the duty on a subcontractor that performs work or services or provides material in furtherance of a searchable project. A contractor, defined by Section 201(4) as one who contracts with the owner, has no such duty. Section 201(5) excludes from subcontractor an architect or engineer who contracts with a contractor or subcontractor, a person who contracts with a materialman, and a person who contracts with a subcontractor not in direct privity of a contract with a contractor.

• Filing in the State Construction Notices Directory Is the Service

  Section 501.1(a) requires the Department of General Services to provide an Internet website known as the State Construction Notices Directory as the standardized statewide system for filing construction notices, and Section 501.3(b)(1) makes that directory the place of filing. No mailing or personal delivery is required. Section 501.1(e)(2) and (4) make the directory deliver copies to the searchable project owner who filed the Notice of Commencement and list every Notice of Furnishing against it, and Section 501.5 pushes notifications to other filers. Section 501.5(e) makes the filer responsible for accuracy even when a third party files.

• Four Content Items, the Statutory Form, and Three Directory Identifiers

  Section 501.3(b)(2) requires a general description of the labor or materials furnished, the full name and address of the person supplying them, the full name and address of the person that contracted for them, and a description sufficient to identify the searchable project based on the description in the Notice of Commencement. Section 501.3(b)(3) requires substantial conformity with the printed form, which also calls for the owner name and address, the Notice of Commencement Number, the property location, the first furnishing date and the signer's name and capacity. Section 501.5(f) requires the county, the tax identification number of each parcel and the building permit number.

• Certified Electronic Receipt and Indexing Verification Are the Proof

  Section 501.1(e)(3) requires the directory to provide certified hard copy printing of electronic receipts on request for a Section 501.3 filing, and the certified copy must include the date, time and content of the individual filing. Section 501.1(e)(5) requires a verification process allowing filers to confirm the proper indexing and linkage of their filings, which is how you catch a notice filed against the wrong Notice of Commencement number.

• The Contract Warning, the Anti-Coercion Crime, and the Abuse Penalty

  Section 501.2 requires every searchable project contract to carry a written warning, in wording the statute prints, that failure to file a Notice of Furnishing on the Department of General Services website may forfeit the right to file a mechanics lien, and that pressuring a subcontractor not to file is unlawful. Section 501.6(a) makes that pressure a misdemeanor of the second degree, Section 501.6(c) gives a civil cause of action with actual damages, reasonable attorneys fees and court costs, and Section 501.6(d) and (e) make abusing the directory, such as filing without a good faith reason, cost actual damages or $2,000, whichever is greater.