If you’re a subcontractor or supplier in Texas and haven’t sent a preliminary notice, you could lose your right to get paid — for good.
- Texas law requires subcontractors and suppliers to send a Texas preliminary notice for every month they work and don’t get paid
- Deadlines differ depending on whether your project is residential or commercial and where you sit in the payment chain
- Senate Bill 929, signed into law May 2025, clarified that deadlines falling on weekends or holidays extend to the next business day
- Missing even one monthly notice deadline voids your lien rights for that month’s work, with no way to recover them
Bottom line: A Texas preliminary notice is a legal requirement, not optional — and the 2026 rules matter. Here’s exactly what you need to know.
Getting paid for your work should be the easy part. You showed up, did the job, delivered the materials, and now you need your money. But in the construction industry, payment delays are a persistent problem. Rabbet’s 2024 Construction Payments Report found that slow payments cost the U.S. construction industry $280 billion annually, with 82% of contractors now waiting more than 30 days to get paid. For subcontractors and suppliers in Texas, understanding how the lien system protects you is one of the most critical things you can do for your business.
At the center of that system is the Texas preliminary notice. If you have a direct contract with the property owner, you generally don’t need to send one. But if you’re a subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, material supplier, or equipment lessor hired by a general contractor or another sub, this notice is your legal signal to the property owner that you’re on the job and haven’t been paid. Miss it, and you could lose everything you’re owed with no legal remedy.
This guide covers who must send a Texas preliminary notice, when to send it, what to include, and what the current rules mean for your deadlines in 2026.
What Is a Texas Preliminary Notice?
A Texas preliminary notice, also called a pre-lien notice, notice to owner Texas, or monthly notice, is a legal document that informs the property owner and the general contractor that you are performing work or supplying materials on their project and have not been paid. It is sent before you file a mechanic’s lien, and in most cases it must be sent before you are even allowed to file one.
Think of it as a warning system. Property owners often have no direct knowledge of who all the subs and suppliers on their project are. When you send this notice, you alert them that a payment gap exists further down the chain and that their property could be at risk if the general contractor doesn’t resolve it. This gives the owner a chance to withhold funds from the GC to make sure you get paid, without the situation ever reaching a lien filing. In many cases, sending the notice is enough to prompt payment without needing to go any further.
Who Must Send a Texas Preliminary Notice?
The short answer is: nearly everyone who does not have a direct contract with the property owner.
Under Texas Property Code Chapter 53, general contractors who contract directly with the property owner are generally not required to send monthly pre-lien notices on commercial projects. They have separate requirements on residential jobs, including providing a disclosure statement before signing, but the monthly notice requirement does not apply to them.
Everyone else in the payment chain must send this notice to preserve their lien rights. That includes first-tier subcontractors hired directly by the GC, second-tier subcontractors hired by another sub, material suppliers at any tier, equipment rental companies without a direct owner contract, and specialty trade contractors working under another contractor. It doesn’t matter how far down the chain you are. If the property owner is not the party who hired you, you need to send this notice before you can file a lien.
What Are the Texas Preliminary Notice Deadlines?
This is where things get specific, and where most contractors run into trouble. Deadlines depend on two factors: the project type (residential or commercial) and your position in the payment chain.
Texas lien law requires you to send a separate notice for each unpaid month of work. You cannot send one notice at the end of a project and consider yourself covered. Every month you perform work and don’t receive payment, a new deadline clock starts.
Commercial Projects
For commercial construction, subcontractors and suppliers at all tiers must send notice to both the property owner and the general contractor by the 15th day of the 3rd month following the month in which work was performed or materials supplied. Work done in January with no payment? Your notice is due March 15.
Before January 1, 2022, second-tier subcontractors were also required to send an additional second-month notice on commercial projects. House Bill 2237 eliminated that requirement. All tiers now follow the same single deadline: the 15th of the third month.
Residential Projects
Residential projects have a tighter window. Subcontractors and suppliers on residential jobs must send their notice to owner Texas by the 15th day of the 2nd month following the month in which work was performed or materials supplied. Work in January means your notice is due February 15.
This shorter deadline catches contractors off guard regularly, especially those who work across both project types and assume the rules are consistent. They are not.
The Weekend and Holiday Deadline Rule (Updated 2025, Still in Effect)
Senate Bill 929, signed by Governor Greg Abbott on May 21, 2025, resolved a question that had caused real confusion for years: what happens when the 15th falls on a weekend or legal holiday?
Under the updated Texas Property Code Section 53.003(e), any Chapter 53 deadline that falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday automatically extends to the next business day. This includes your preliminary lien notice TX deadline, your lien affidavit filing deadline, and any other Chapter 53 action date. You no longer have to guess or file early to be safe.
Here is a quick-reference deadline summary:
| Your Role | Project Type | Notice Deadline |
| 1st-tier Subcontractor / Supplier | Commercial | 15th of 3rd month after work |
| 2nd-tier Subcontractor / Supplier | Commercial | 15th of 3rd month after work |
| 1st-tier Subcontractor / Supplier | Residential | 15th of 2nd month after work |
| 2nd-tier Subcontractor / Supplier | Residential | 15th of 2nd month after work |
| General Contractor | Commercial | No notice required |
| General Contractor | Residential | Disclosure statement required before contract |
If the deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it automatically extends to the next business day (SB 929, effective May 2025).
What Must Your Texas Preliminary Notice Include?
A Texas preliminary notice is a formal legal document with specific required content under Texas Property Code Section 53.056 — it carries far more weight than an informal payment request. Leave out required information and your notice may not be legally valid, even if you sent it on time.
Here is what every notice to owner Texas must include:
- Your name and address as the claimant
- The property owner’s name and address
- The general contractor’s name and address (and the hiring subcontractor’s information if you are a second-tier claimant)
- A description of the work or materials provided, specific to the month in question — for example, “Electrical rough-in work performed in March 2025”
- The unpaid amount for each specific month — Texas requires a separate notice per unpaid month, and each must state the amount owed for that individual month
- The property address or legal description of the project location
- The required statutory warning language alerting the owner that their property could be subject to a lien — this exact language is mandated by law and cannot be modified or omitted
Errors or omissions in your lien documents can compromise your rights even when your timing was correct. Getting the content right is every bit as important as hitting the deadline.
How to Send a Preliminary Lien Notice TX Correctly
Once your notice is properly prepared, deliver it to the right parties. Under Texas law, the notice must go to both the property owner and the general contractor. If you are a second-tier subcontractor, it must also be sent to the subcontractor directly above you in the chain.
House Bill 2237, effective January 1, 2022, expanded the acceptable delivery methods. You can now send via certified mail, registered mail, or any traceable delivery service that provides documented proof of receipt. Hand delivery is also permitted but must be thoroughly documented. Whichever method you use, hold on to your proof of delivery. If your lien rights are ever questioned, that documentation is what proves the notice was sent and received within the required timeframe.
One point worth reinforcing: you need a completely separate notice for each unpaid month. If you worked from January through April without payment, that is four notices, each with its own deadline and required content. You cannot bundle them or retroactively fill a gap. Losing lien rights for even one month can mean a significant portion of your unpaid work becomes unrecoverable.
What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?
The consequences are serious and essentially permanent. If you miss the notice deadline for a given month, you lose your lien rights for that month’s work. There is no grace period and no mechanism to reinstate forfeited rights. Texas courts enforce these deadlines strictly.
That means if you performed $30,000 in work over three months but only sent notices for two of them, you may only be able to pursue a lien on two months’ worth of unpaid work. The third is gone.
It is also important to understand that sending the notice does not automatically file a lien. The notice preserves your right to file. You still must file your mechanic’s lien affidavit within the next required deadline: the 15th of the 4th month after the unpaid month on commercial projects, or the 15th of the 3rd month on residential. Once the lien is filed, you have one year from the last date you could have filed to enforce it through a lawsuit. Miss that window and the lien expires.
Understanding how these deadlines chain together is essential to protecting your payment rights at every stage.
Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Preliminary Notice
Does a general contractor need to send a Texas preliminary notice? Generally no. On commercial projects, GCs with a direct contract with the property owner are not required to send monthly pre-lien notices. On residential projects, the GC must provide an owner disclosure statement before signing the contract, but that is a separate requirement from the monthly notice that applies to subcontractors and suppliers.
Can one notice cover multiple unpaid months? No. Texas law requires a separate notice for each month in which you worked and were not paid, with the specific month and unpaid amount identified in each. A single combined notice does not satisfy the requirement for each individual month, and missing any one month means losing lien rights for that month’s work.
What if I am a second-tier subcontractor? As of January 1, 2022, both first-tier and second-tier subcontractors on commercial projects follow the same deadline: the 15th of the third month after each unpaid month. On residential projects, all tiers must send their notice to owner Texas by the 15th of the second month. The old second-month notice for commercial second-tier subs was eliminated by House Bill 2237.
What did Senate Bill 929 change in 2025? SB 929, effective May 21, 2025, clarified that any Chapter 53 deadline falling on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday automatically extends to the next business day. This applies to both preliminary notice deadlines and lien affidavit filing deadlines.
Does sending the notice guarantee payment? Not guaranteed, but it often works. The notice formally alerts the property owner that unpaid work has occurred on their property and that a mechanic’s lien could follow, and many owners resolve the payment rather than risk a lien. If payment still does not come, the notice preserves your right to file a lien affidavit as the next step.
Don’t Leave Your Payment Rights to Chance
A Texas preliminary notice is a straightforward document, but the rules surrounding it are firm and unforgiving. The right parties must receive it. The right content must be in it. And it must arrive by the correct deadline for every unpaid month. Senate Bill 929’s clarification on weekend and holiday deadlines — now fully in effect — removes one long-standing source of confusion, but everything else still demands close attention.
Texas Easy Lien makes the entire process fast, affordable, and accurate. For just $29, you can prepare a legally compliant preliminary lien notice TX online in minutes, with every required field guided step by step. Add certified mailing directly from the platform and your notices go out without you leaving your computer. No attorney, no guesswork on statutory language, no risk of missing required content.
If you’re ready to stop chasing payments and start protecting your lien rights, get started with Texas Easy Lien and take control of what you are owed.
