All lien affidavits (construction liens), Sworn Statement of Accounts (document attached to a bond claim), and lien releases must be notarized and filed.
Bond Claim Sworn Statement of Accounts are filed with the Surety Company on record, and they should be mailed via Certified Mail with Return Receipt Requested.
Related questions and answers
Yes. You do not have to wait any number of days to file a lien affidavit after you have sent your required pre-lien notices. Many notices and liens are mailed and filed the same day. If you have concerns you will not get paid until you enforce a lien on the property you can always execute both documents at the same time.
The dates and deadlines related for lien claims are based off the month and year in which the work was actually performed. The invoice date and company accounting methods are irrelevant in these cases.
Additionally, to qualify to file a lien claim on a property for a commercial project, the subcontractor or supplier, is required to send the invoice or request payment by the 15th day of the second month after the month the work was performed.
A subcontractor who has a direct contract with the General Contractor is called a Tier 1 Subcontractor. The chart below shows the deadline to send Invoices, Pre-lien Notice Letter and Lien Affidavit for private commercial projects for Tier 1 Subcontractors:
FOR CLAIMS RESULTING FROM A CONTRACT SIGNED BEFORE DECEMBER 31ST, 2021
IF THE 15th OF THE MONTH FALLS ON A WEEKEND OR A HOLIDAY, THE LAST DAY TO FILE A VALID LIEN WILL BE THE EARLIEST BUSINESS DAY.
FOR CLAIMS RESULTING FROM A CONTRACT SIGNED AFTER JANUARY 1ST, 2022
IF THE 15th OF THE MONTH FALLS ON A WEEKEND OR A HOLIDAY, THE LAST DAY TO FILE A VALID LIEN WILL EXTEND TO THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY AFTER THAT WEEKEND OR HOLIDAY.
Original (General) Contractor - Constitutional - Mechanic’s Lien Requirements | |||
---|---|---|---|
Chart of Filing Deadlines | |||
Month of: a) Written Termination b) Abandonment of Project c) Settlement or: d) Completion of the Contract | Commercial Projects (Private) 🔗 | ||
Pre-lien Notice to Property Owner is Not Required |
File the Lien Affidavit On or Before: | ||
January | None | May 15th | |
February | None | June 15th | |
March | None | July 15th | |
April | None | August 15th | |
May | None | September 15th | |
June | None | October 15th | |
July | None | November 15th | |
August | None | December 15th | |
September | None | January 15th | |
October | None | February 15th | |
November | None | March 15th | |
December | None | April 15th |
Subcontractor (1st Tier) Lien Requirements | |||
---|---|---|---|
Chart of Filing Deadlines | |||
Month of Activity | Commercial Projects (Private) 🔗 | ||
Send Invoice by: | Send Pre-lien Notice to Property Owner and Original Contractor by: |
File the lien by the following date OR within 30 days after the overall project is complete**. | |
January | March 15th | April 15th | May 15th |
February | April 15th | May 15th | June 15th |
March | May 15th | June 15th | July 15th |
April | June 15th | July 15th | August 15th |
May | July 15th | August 15th | September 15th |
June | August 15th | September 15th | October 15th |
July | September 15th | October 15th | November 15th |
August | October 15th | November 15th | December 15th |
September | November 15th | December 15th | January 15th |
October | December 15th | January 15th | February 15th |
November | January 15th | February 15th | March 15th |
December | February 15th | March 15th | April 15th |
IMPORTANT:
**You can file a lien affidavit 30 days after completing the overall project only if you sent the pre-lien notice for that specific month on time.
|
Sub-subcontractor (2nd Tier) Lien Requirements | |||
---|---|---|---|
Chart of Filing Deadlines | |||
Month of Activity | Commercial Projects (Private) 🔗 | ||
Send Invoice by: | Send Pre-lien Notice to Property Owner and Original Contractor by: |
File the lien by the following date OR within 30 days after the overall project is complete**. | |
January | March 15th | April 15th | May 15th |
February | April 15th | May 15th | June 15th |
March | May 15th | June 15th | July 15th |
April | June 15th | July 15th | August 15th |
May | July 15th | August 15th | September 15th |
June | August 15th | September 15th | October 15th |
July | September 15th | October 15th | November 15th |
August | October 15th | November 15th | December 15th |
September | November 15th | December 15th | January 15th |
October | December 15th | January 15th | February 15th |
November | January 15th | February 15th | March 15th |
December | February 15th | March 15th | April 15th |
IMPORTANT:
**You can file a lien affidavit 30 days after completing the overall project only if you sent the pre-lien notice for that specific month on time.
|
Sometimes, contractors are not aware that when they have a direct contract with the project owner, they are not required to send notices of intent to lien (or pre-lien notices). Original contractors have a constitutional right to file a lien directly without giving any notice to anyone. They do however, must file the lien no later than the 15th day of the 4th month after ANY the following events happened during the execution of the contract: a) Written Termination b) Abandonment of Project c) Settlement or; d) Completion of the Contract Unlike mechanic’s liens filed by subcontractors where they must file a lien per each month that goes unpaid, general contractors only need to file one lien claiming for one grand total owed. And must also send a copy of the recorded lien affidavit to the owner within 5 calendar days following the date the lien affidavit was recorded with the county clerk. Below is a chart with the deadline to file a lien for each month of the year. IMPORTANT, IF THE 15th OF THE MONTH FALLS ON A WEEKEND OR A HOLIDAY, THE LAST DAY TO FILE A LIEN WILL ALWAYS MOVE TO THE EARLIEST BUSINESS DAY.
ORIGINAL (GENERAL) CONTRACTOR CONSTITUTIONAL LIEN CHART OF TIME DEADLINES | ||
---|---|---|
Month of: a) Written Termination b) Abandonment of Project c) Settlement or: d) Completion of the Contract | PRIVATE COMMERCIAL PROJECTS | |
Notice To Owner | File Lien Affidavit By: | |
January | None | May 15th |
February | None | June 15th |
March | None | July 15th |
April | None | August 15th |
May | None | September 15th |
June | None | October 15th |
July | None | November 15th |
August | None | December 15th |
September | None | January 15th |
October | None | February 15th |
November | None | March 15th |
December | None | April 15th |
The legal description is a record of the real property (piece of land) that contains information that clearly identifies it such as property dimensions and boundaries. This description can be written in a few different forms and will typically appear on sales contracts and the property deed. If it is not printed in the contract or blueprints, it can be found in the “Property Search” section of each individual county. Instructions on how to find the legal description of a property
No, they are not necessarily the same. The project owner is who hired the general contractor and/or subcontractors to perform labor or services to a construction or repair project and whose name is in the contract. This person or entity could be only leasing the property you are working on and not really own it.