Notice of Intent to Lien Explained

A notice of intent to lien is a written warning that you will file a mechanics lien if you are not paid by a stated date. A few states require one before you can file, with a set lead time. Everywhere else it is optional, and it often gets an overdue bill paid without a lien.

What is a notice of intent to lien?

A mechanics lien is a claim against real property that secures payment for work or materials that improved it. A notice of intent to lien is the step just before it. It goes to the property owner, and often to the general contractor, and says how much you are owed, for what job, and that you will file a lien if the balance is not paid.

It is different from a preliminary notice, which you send near the start of a job to tell the owner you are working there. The notice of intent comes later, once payment is overdue. Some states require one of them, some both, some neither.

Which states require a notice of intent?

The statutes below set a pre-lien notice rule. Read the "when" column closely. In Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, North Dakota and Pennsylvania you count back from the day you file. In Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey and Tennessee the clock counts forward from your work, and it can run out before you are ready to file.

Two rows are not a notice of intent in the usual sense. New Jersey's residential step is a filed notice followed by arbitration, and Tennessee's is a monthly notice of nonpayment. Both are listed because missing them costs you the lien. Maryland's lien is then established by a court petition, so confirm the next steps there with counsel.

Why send one when your state does not require it?

In most states the notice is optional. It still works, for plain reasons. A lien clouds the owner's title, which can hold up a sale or a loan draw. The owner often pays, or leans on the general contractor to pay, to keep that from happening. The notice also puts your numbers in writing and gives everyone a last chance to fix an error before a public filing.

It has one cost: time. An optional notice does not stop your filing clock. In New York, for example, nothing in the filing statute extends the deadline because you sent a warning (N.Y. Lien Law § 10). Pick a pay-by date that leaves room to file if the money does not come. The lien deadline calculator shows how much room you have.

What should a notice of intent say?

Some statutes set the contents. Arkansas and Missouri require the amount and who owes it (RSMo § 429.100). Kentucky requires your intention to hold the property liable and the amount you will claim. Louisiana requires the amount and nature of the obligation (La. R.S. 9:4822(D)). Nevada requires substantially the same information as the notice of lien itself. Pennsylvania lists six items: your name, who you contracted with, the amount due, the general nature of the work or materials, the date you completed the work, and a description of the property (49 P.S. § 1501(c)). Maryland prescribes a form, so use its wording.

Where the statute is silent, include:

• Your company name and address
• The owner's name and the property address or legal description
• Who hired you and the general contractor's name
• What you furnished and when you last furnished it
• The amount owed, after payments and credits
• The date by which you need payment
• A plain statement that you will file a mechanics lien if you are not paid

Keep the amount exact. In Colorado, knowingly liening for more than is due forfeits the lien and makes you pay the owner's costs and attorney fees (C.R.S. § 38-22-128). A demand that matches your later lien helps you if the claim is ever challenged.

How do you send it?

Use the method your statute names, and keep proof.

• Colorado: personal service, or registered or certified mail with return receipt requested. An affidavit of the service is recorded with the lien statement.
• North Dakota: certified mail.
• Missouri: service by an officer who serves civil process or by any competent adult, proved by the officer's return or the server's affidavit.
• Arkansas: an officer, a competent adult, return-receipt mail restricted to the addressee, or a delivery service with third-party proof of delivery.
• Maryland: registered or certified mail with return receipt, or personal delivery. If the owner cannot be reached, it may be posted on the building before a witness.
• Nevada: personal delivery or certified mail.
• Pennsylvania: first-class, registered or certified mail, or service by an adult like a writ of summons. If neither works, post it on a conspicuous public part of the property.
• Kentucky: proof that it was mailed to the owner's last known address is enough.

In optional states, certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof of the date. eRegister's notice of intent service prepares and mails the letter for $99.

Common mistakes

• Counting the wrong way. In Kentucky and Maryland the 120 days run from your work. Waiting until you are ready to file can mean the notice is already late.
• Filing before the lead time ends. In Missouri, file only after ten full days have passed since service.
• Sending it to the owner only. Colorado requires service on the principal contractor too, and Nevada on the reputed prime contractor.
• Letting it eat the filing window. If the pay-by date falls after your lien deadline, the warning has cost you the lien.

If the date passes without payment, the next step is the lien. Our guide on how to file a mechanics lien walks through it, and the mechanics lien service can prepare it.