Filing a mechanics lien is a great credit and collections tool, but there are a lot of compliance requirements tied to the remedy. Sometimes, notices must be sent at the start of construction (preliminary notices). Sometimes, notices must be sent at the end of construction before a mechanics lien is filed (notice of intent to lien).
These notices go by all sorts of names: Notice to Owner, Notice of Furnishing, Pre-Lien Notice, Preliminary Notice, NTO, Notice of Intent to Lien, Notice of Intent, etc., etc. The notices are also tied to all sorts of differing rules.
Getting all of the rules and requirements reduced to a single chart is a difficult task. The above color-coded map tries to do this at a big picture level. Here is what the colors mean:
RED: Preliminary notice is required.
GREEN: Notice of Intent to Lien required.
Blue: Preliminary Notice and Notice of Intent to Lien Required.
GRAY: No notice requirements.
This relates to private construction projects only. You can download the full PDF chart here.
