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Washington State Preliminary Notice Process Clarification

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We are a Subcontractor primarily working within CA, but we now have a Washington Branch. I see the Preliminary Notice requirements are quite different. I have a couple of questions. When we have a Subcontract with the General Contractor for commercial work over 60K, do we need to submit a Model Disclosure Statement? If not, why is the requirement for less than 60K, but not over 60K? Also, the Washington Notice To Owner (Preliminary Notice) which reserves our right to lien. Is this sent for every project no matter the contract sum? Is there a different process or forms if we are contracted with the Owner vs. the GC? Are there different notices depending if the project is Private or Public? Please advise.

1 reply

May 4, 2020
Parties hired by the property owner must send a Model Disclosure Statement in some situations. But, if you were hired by someone other than the owner - like a GC, another sub, etc. - then a Model Disclosure Statement won't be required. As for the $60k benchmark for commercial projects - I'm not entirely sure why that's the cutoff rather than the threshold for providing the notice. It could be that lawmakers anticipate that owners on jobs over $60k might be a little more sophisticated and used to construction projects and all that they entail - but that's just a guess. Washington's Notice to Owner requirement applies regardless of the project price, and it's in a different form than the Model Disclosure Statement. If you're merely providing labor and aren't providing any material to the site - preliminary notice may not be required. But even then, it's a good idea to send notice on every project, regardless of what's required. Finally, yes - notice rules apply differently based on your project type and your role on the project. GC's hired by the owner and subs hired by a GC will have totally different requirements in Washington. On public projects, subcontractors and suppliers hired by the GC don't need to send preliminary notice (but again - it's a good idea to send anyway). Subs and suppliers hired by someone else (like when hired by a subcontractor or a sub-subcontractor) will need to send notice to preserve their rights to make payment claims. For more information on Washington preliminary notices, this page will break down all of the notice rules for both public and private projects in Washington: Washington Preliminary Notice Guide and FAQs. These articles should be helpful too: Washington Preliminary Notices: The Difference Between Public and Private Projects.
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