Not anymore.

There used to be a Notice of Commencement requirement for private projects in Utah, that set the deadlines by which sub-tier parties had to file their preliminary notices in order to retain full lien rights. And, there is still a lot of information online and elsewhere related to the old requirement.

Now, however, there is no longer an NOC requirement for private projects. The only current Utah Notice of Commencement requirement relates to government projects.

Yes. Utah requires a Notice of Commencement to be filed on governmental projects, which is defined as a project “undertaken by or for:

On public projects in Utah, where a Notice of Commencement is required, the notice must be filed by “the original contractor, owner, or owner-builder.”

As a practical matter, the notice is generally filed by the GC. However, the notice has the significant consequence that sub-tier parties are excused from preliminary notice requirements if the Notice of Commencement is not filed, and, if multiple notices of commencement are filed they all relate back to the first such notice filed. Accordingly, it is likely best practice for the public property owner to also file a Utah Notice of Commencement if it appears that the GC may miss the filing deadline.

Utah has strict requirements for the deadline by which a Notice of Commencement may be filed. In Utah, the Notice of Commencement must be filed to the Utah State Construction Registry “no later than 15 days after commencement of physical construction work.”

This deadline is strict and may not be extended. If the deadline is missed, no sub-tier party is required to file a preliminary notice in order to retain the right to make a claim against the project’s payment bond.

Utah law requires that, when applicable, a Utah notice of commencement must be filed in the Utah State Construction Registry, which is identified in statute as “the designated agent” for filing. Any party filing a notice in the registry may appoint a third party to file the notice on their behalf, but the original party remains “responsible for verifying the accuracy of the information entered into the registry.”

So, a Utah Notice of Commencement may be filled out and filed by the user on the registry’s website, but it requires the construction participant to register for an account to do so. Alternatively, you can also file your Utah Notice of Commencement electronically here.

Kind of.

Filing a Notice of Commencement does not have any impact on the filing party’s rights – however, since NOCs are only required on public projects, and GCs do not have bond claim rights against their own bond, there are no rights that it would impact.

Filing or not filing a timely Notice of Commencement may have an impact on bond claim exposure, however. If the NOC is filed, sub-tier participants must file a preliminary notice within 20 days in order to retain the ability to make a claim against the bond. If the NOC is not filed, this preliminary notice requirement is waived.

According to Utah statute, a Notice of Commencement must include:

No. Unlike some other states with strict time limits for the effective period of a Notice of Commencement, there is no specific effective period set forth by Utah law for a notice of commencement in that state.

No.

Utah requires the use of an online registry filing system for the filing of Notices of Commencement. Accordingly, there is no notarization requirement with respect to the filing of these notices.

There is no specific requirement to cancel or release the NOC directly. However, contractors on projects in Utah can and should file both a Notice of Intent to Complete (at least 45 days prior to the completion of the project) and a Notice of Completion (after the final inspection, certificate of occupancy, or substantial completion of work).

No.

In Utah, a Notice of Commencement is only to be filed by the GC, the owner, or the owner-builder. As the filing of a Notice of Commencement imposes additional notice requirements on sub-tiered parties bond claim rights, it does not make sense for any sub-tier party to file a Notice of Commencement.

Yes. On public projects for which a Notice of Commencement is required, the filing of or failure to file a Notice of Commencement directly determines whether a preliminary notice is strictly required. While it is always best practice to send a preliminary notice in every case, whether or not specifically required, any sub-tier party “need not file a preliminary notice to maintain any right the person would otherwise have, if the notice of commencement” is not filed or is filed untimely.

Kind of.

The right to make a bond claim is not specific affected by the filing of a Notice Commencement, but as noted above, if the NOC is filed, sub-tier parties must provide a preliminary notice in order to retain these rights.

So, while the Notice of Commencement doesn’t directly impact bond claim rights, it does add an additional step to the process.