File a Pre-Lien or Preliminary Notice
Finish your Prelien Notice in less than 10 minutes:
A Pre lien Notice is a notice provided prior to, at the start of, during or near the end of work on a construction project. The point of a pre lien varies, but many states require a prelien notice prior to the filing of a mechanics lien claim or a construction lien claim. Depending on state preliminary notice requirements, preliminary notices come in various forms (notice to owner, notice of furnishing, notice of delivery of labor or materials, notice of non-payment, or notice of intent), and must be provided at various times (within a certain number of days of the first or last day of work, prior to filing a lien, or within a certain number of days after payment is due). LienItNow's system takes the guesswork out of pre lien notice and preliminary notice requirements with its easy to use, automated system.
To complete a Prelien Notice, just answer a few questions, like:
- Your company name and address
- The name of the company you did work for
- The property location.
Next Step: Get started
Prelien notices protect your right to file a lien. Here are some reasons to complete a LienItNow preliminary notice:
* In many states, pre-lien notices are required to secure a mechanics lien.
* Pre-lien notices let the owner know you are working on the project.
* If money is owed to you, you can send a pre-lien as a warning.
* Maximize the amount of your mechanics lien by filing a pre-lien early.
* Owners who received notice that you are owed money usually investigate.
Understanding the importance of Pre Lien Notices
When given prior to starting work or delivering materials, a pre lien notice is usually informative: it notifies the owner of the project that a subcontractor or supplier is providing labor or materials to improve the owner's property and can speed up the payment process. Prelien notices are integral to the construction industry. Sending a preliminary notice isn't difficult, but it is important to note that preliminary notice requirements exist in every state that statutorily mandates them. Once received, a diligent property owner or general contractor will take the notice and make a list of companies or person supplying labor and materials. This list comes in handy when it is time for the owner to issue payment: the pre lien notices allow the owner to know for whom the contractor should be asking payment and who should get paid from the monies distributed from the owner to contractor. On many projects, the owner or contractor may require partial lien waivers that are required in order to receive payment: in those cases, the preliminary notice provided at the beginning of the work helps the owner to know that if someone's lien waiver is missing, they may also be missing a payment. Several states, including Florida, New Jersey, and California, along with many others, require pre lien notices within a short time from when a subcontractor or supplier begin work or deliver materials to a project. In some states, the preliminary notice is also know as a 20 day notice, because it must be provided within 20 days of commencing work.
When a pre lien notice is given after the work is completed, it is usually to warn the owner that there are unpaid amounts due and owing and a mechanics lien is about to be filed. This type of preliminary notice is also helpful because a notice of nonpayment or a notice of intent to lien allow the owner the opportunity to investigate the claim, and to attempt to resolve the issue before a construction lien is filed. Many states that require pre lien notices at the end of a project, and prior to filing a construction lien, do so to help resolve payment issues and to help avoid the filing of construction liens. These states, such as Missouri, Colorado and Maryland, among others, require that the pre lien notices be sent a minimum number of days prior to the filing of a construction lien.
While not all states require pre lien notices, most of the states that do require variations of pre liens have made the filing or service a prerequisite to the filing of a construction lien. Some states may still allow the filing of a construction lien, but the amount of the construction lien is often limited to the debt incurred after the notice was sent. Because of the negative effect that not sending a notice can have not only on potential construction lien rights, but also on obtaining full and timely payment, it is strongly recommended that pre lien notices be sent at the commencement of every project, as well as prior to the filing of a construction lien claim. This is especially true for a material supplier, who is generally not present on a construction project, and may not be known to the property owner or general contractor. If you decide to use LienItNow to process your preliminary notice, we will do the work for you, including sending it certified mail, if required, to the appropriate parties.
Need more information?
In many States, pre-lien notices are required to be served prior to the filing of a mechanics lien. Find out more information on your State's pre lien requirements by visiting our FAQ section.