Bond Claim Filing

When unpaid on a state, county or municipal construction project, rather than filing a traditional mechanics lien to get paid, contractors or suppliers can file a “Bond Claim” or “Bond / Lien Claim.”

Just like a mechanics lien claim, Bond Claims are inexpensive to file and very effective. A properly filed bond claim provides your company security in receiving payment, as it obligates a surety company (usually a well-funded insurance company) to your claim directly, and it puts substantial pressure on the prime contractor’s relationship with their surety.

Zlien files and helps administer bond claims all across the nation for a low flat fee of $295. There are no hidden fees or memberships to confuse our pricing. We lead the industry in filing bond claims throughout the United States, trusted by thousands in the construction industry.  Zlien is the right choice for your company.

Why Zlien Should File Your Payment Bond Claim

When filing a bond claim, for instance, the following factors can be very important:

• Who Receives Your Claim: You must file your bond claim with the right parties, and every state is different. The validity of your claim can turn upon whether it gets delivered to the prime contractor, the surety, the contracting agency, or someone else, and when sending to the contracting agency, it’s important to have the right contact and department.
• Where It Gets Filed: Where your bond claim must be filed varies project-by-project.
• How The Claim Is Sent: Should the claim be sent by certified mail, with or without return receipt, with or without registered delivery; or must be it be sent by personal delivery or some other method?
• What The Claim Form Says: The claim form is very important, and each state has different requirements as to what must be included in your bond claim.

Zlien makes the Bond Claim process simple, because we take care of all the grunt work in getting your bond claim filed, and we pay all of the fees (courier, service, recording, postage). You place your order, you sit back and relax, and we handle all the small, time-consuming tasks.

You can trust Zlien.  We handle bond claims for thousands in the construction industry everyday. Plus, our systems are second to none in the industry, relying on our proprietary software that understands bond claim law nuances everywhere and ensures bond claims get filed timely and accurately.

Zlien offers the web’s most professional and reliable service in processing bond claims. Zlien is licensed, insured and bonded, complies with all federal credit card processing requirements, secures sensitive data behind an SSL certificate, and has a Norton / Verisign Trust Certificate. Learn more about Why Zlien is the right choice for your company.

The Difference Between A Bond Claim and A Mechanics Lien

When you’re unpaid for materials or labor furnished to a private project, the law allows you to file a lien claim against that property. When working on a state, county or municipal project, of course, the government isn’t going to tolerate claims against its interest in the land.

Therefore, to protect contractors and suppliers on the job, prime contractors working on these projects are required to post a payment bond. The payment bond is secured by a surety company, who must meet certain qualifications to guarantee they have the finances to secure the value of the project. When someone goes unpaid on the state, county or municipal project, they can make a claim for payment directly against the payment bond.

So, while a mechanics lien filing attaches to and is secured by the physical property, a bond claim attaches to and is secured by the payment bond. In a lot of ways, since properties can be over-leveraged and complex to foreclose upon, claims against payment bonds are cleaner, simpler and faster than mechanics lien claims.

What Exactly Is The Bond Claim Process?

This is a very common question, and it’s understandable, because the bond claims process is a bit confusing. We’ve written a helpful article on this subject titled “How Lien and Bond Claims Against State Projects Work.”  Essentially, these are the stages of a typical bond claim:

Step 1: File Bond Claim

The first step in filing a bond claim, is of course, filing the bond claim!  This step is simple enough, but because of the complexity of state requirements and the chance of error, it’s worth having a reputable bond claim processing company like Zlien file the claim for you.

The biggest mistake you can make when filing your bond claim, however, is not getting the claim filed on time. Each state has separate deadlines for when these bond claims are due.  You must get the bond claim prepared correctly, and filed in the right place all before the state’s deadline. State deadlines and other state bond claim resources are available on our resources page.

Step 2: Reply To Bonding Company with Backup

After your bond claim is filed, you’ll be contacted by the surety to advise that a claim has been opened, and to request you reply with backup materials about your claim and a sworn statement of claim. Your next step is to return this sworn statement and any backup documentation you have.  Return these documents as quickly as possible to keep the claim moving along, as your claim will be delayed as long as you delay returning the materials.

Step 3: Followup with the Bonding Company

After you file your bond claim and return your bond claim sworn statement and information, the bonding company will contact their customer (the prime contractor) and notify them of the claim. They will also give the prime contractor an opportunity to respond to the claim. Prime contractors often delay responding to the bonding company, which delays your claim.

Move your claim along by following up with the bonding company and pushing them to approve the claim.

Step 4: File An Enforcement Action

If the bond claim doesn’t produce payment right away, and your claim is either denied or delayed unreasonably, it may be time to file a lawsuit against the surety to enforce your bond claim. That is the last step, if necessary.