If you miss a Preliminary Notice deadline, can you still file a valid lien? What are the best practices to ensure payment? Find out in this video.
You can send a Preliminary Notice for free through Levelset: [ Ссылка ].
Check out our free, state-by-state Preliminary Notices guide here: [ Ссылка ].
States typically fall into 1 of 3 categories when it comes to sending Preliminary Notice and preserving lien rights: (0:28)
States with no real deadline;
States with real deadlines but sliding protection; and
States with hard and fast deadlines.
States with no real Preliminary Notice deadline include: Alabama, Kansas, and South Carolina. (0:44)
Generally speaking, in these states, the only deadline requirement is that the notice must be sent prior to the mechanics lien itself, or that the notice must state that they are only effective as to money unpaid up to the point that the notice is sent.
In these states, you should actually go ahead and send the preliminary notice whenever you realize that you have not yet sent one on the project, no matter how late it is.
States with real Preliminary Notice deadlines but sliding protection include: California, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, Washington, Michigan, and Massachusetts. (2:27)
In these states, there is a specific Preliminary Notice deadline. However, if the deadline is missed, you may still be protected for a period of time relating back a number of days from when the notice is sent.
For example, in California, you are required to provide a Preliminary Notice within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials to the project to get full protection over the work you perform. However, if you miss the required date, you won’t necessarily lose all the protection. You can still provide the notice at a later date, but it only secure lien rights for materials and/or labor furnished within 20 days preceding the late notice, and thereafter.
While it's clearly in your best interest to meet deadlines and be fully protected, notice should still be sent, even if it’s late.
States with hard Preliminary Notice deadlines include Florida, Minnesota, Georgia, Indiana, and Kentucky. (4:03)
In these states, you would completely lose your lien rights if you missed your deadline. If you’re working in one of these states, you’ll absolutely want to make sure you don’t miss your preliminary notice deadline. I
What should I do if I missed my Preliminary Notice deadlines in a state with strict Preliminary Notice deadlines? (4:23)
The first thing to do is to check if you’ve actually missed your deadline. Some states consider the deadline met when the notice is mailed rather than when it is received, so there may still be time for you to beat the deadline. Also, if the notice deadline is dependent on your first furnishing of labor or material – there may be a gap between when you signed the contract and when you actually did the “first furnishing,” so the deadline could potentially be later than what you thought.
If you really have missed the deadline, you’ve probably lost your lien rights. But there’s no reason not to send the preliminary notice anyway.
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