Maryland Preliminary Notice FAQs

About Maryland Preliminary Notices

In Maryland, like in many states, preliminary notices are not required for general contractors or other parties with a direct contractual relationship with the property owner. Maryland does, however, require preliminary notice from subcontractors, suppliers, and others who did not directly contract with the property owner. This notice is kind of more similar to a notice of intent than a traditional preliminary notice since it must be sent within 120 days from the date that the project participant last provided labor or supplies, and can sometimes be called a “notice of lien” despite not being an actual lien itself.

For single-family residential properties, there are some special deadline requirements. The notice must not only be sent within 120 days from the last day, the participant last provided labor or supplies but additionally prior to the property owner, making full payment to the general contractor.

It’s further important to note that liens filed on owner-occupied single-resident properties are also limited to a specific worth dependent on the contract (between the property owner and the general contractor) amount due at the time the property owners received preliminary notice. While there are many reasons that it is best to send preliminary notices early in the project, since the ultimate goal is to provide visibility into project participants, it is worth additional attention when the amount available to be secured by a lien claim depends on the amount left to be paid when notice is received. This means that while Maryland can be an unpaid balance lien state, there is a mechanism in place for subcontractors and suppliers to ensure that is not the case and to be fully protected.