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Michigan Preliminary Notice FAQs

Fact-checked by the Levelset Legal Team
Last updated July 24, 2020
Sending a Michigan preliminary notice is an effective way to speed up payment on a construction project. A preliminary notice is an informational document typically sent to the property owner near the beginning of a construction project. Here's what you need to know about the rules and requirements for sending preliminary notice in Michigan.

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Michigan preliminary notice requirements for:

  • Prime contractors

Private projects

General contractors are not required to send notice on private projects.

Public projects

General contractors are not required to send preliminary notice on public projects.

Since GCs will not make a claim against their own bond for non-payment, they do not have bond claim rights, and have no preliminary notice requirement.

Private projects

Subcontractors and suppliers must provide notice on private projects.

  • Notice must be sent within 20 days
  • Notice may be sent late
  • Notice is sent to owner and GC

This deadline is extended for laborers, who have 30 days after wages were due, and not paid, to serve notice. Additionally, subs must provide a sworn statement like the GC on residential projects, prior to receipt of payment.

Send Your Notice

Public projects

2nd-tier subcontractors and suppliers must send notice on public projects.

  • Notice must be sent within 30 days
  • Notice cannot be sent late
  • Notice is sent to GC and public entity

Suppliers or others who contract with the GC are not specifically required to send preliminary notice.

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Preliminary Notice Frequently Asked Questions

There are a lot of rules and requirements surrounding providing Michigan preliminary notices, so it's important to make sure that you get the details right. Different notices can be required at different times depending on the specific project and the work being done. It can be a harder than it should be to make sure that the notice you're sending is effective and correct. Here are some frequently asked questions (and answers) about the Michigan preliminary notice process.

Prelim FAQs on Private Projects

Do I need to send an Michigan Preliminary Notice?

A prime contractor is not generally required to give any preliminary notice in Michigan, but must provide a list of subcontractors and suppliers, if requested. Any party who does not have a direct contract with the property owner (or owner’s agent) must provide a Notice of Furnishing within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials to the project.

On a residential project, a Sworn Statement must be provided to the owner (by a prime contractor) and to the prime contractor (by a subcontractor) before being paid any progress or final payment. The statement lists all subcontractors, sub-subs, suppliers, and laborers, with whom the party has contracted and lists amounts unpaid to them, if any.

When do I need to send an Michigan Preliminary Notice?

A Notice of Furnishing is required to be given no later than 20 days after first furnishing labor or materials to the project. If the lien claimant is a laborer, the notice must be given within 30 days from when wages were due. However, quicker noticing may be advisable because the owner is not liable for amounts already paid to the contractor prior to receiving the notice. The Sworn Statement should be provided whenever payment is due or requested on a residential project.

What if I send the Michigan Preliminary Notice Late?

If the Notice of Furnishing is not provided timely, all is not necessarily lost. The failure to give the notice within the proper time period is not fatal to a lien claim in Michigan, but will reduce the amount of the lien by any amount paid by the owner for that work prior to the receipt of the notice.

How Should the Michigan Preliminary Notice be Sent?

The Notice of Furnishing should be served on the owner’s designee (or owner if no person is designated by the notice of commencement) and the general contractor either by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested.

Do I have to send the Michigan Preliminary Notice to Someone Other than the Owner?

Yes. The Notice of Furnishing must also be served on the general contractor.

Public Jobs

Do I Need to Send a Michigan Preliminary Notice?

If you are a claimant with no contract with the general contractor, preliminary notice is required. This means all second-tier (and below) subcontractors and suppliers are required to provide preliminary notice in order to retain the ability to make a claim against the payment bond in the event of nonpayment.

When do I Need to Send a Michigan Preliminary Notice?

Preliminary notice must be sent within 30 days of first furnishing labor and/or materials.

What if I Send the Michigan Preliminary Notice Late?

When preliminary notice is required, the failure to timely give notice is fatal to a bond claim.

How Should the Michigan Preliminary Notice be Sent?

Preliminary notice should be sent by certified mail, but any method may be used if actual delivery is proved.

To Whom Must the Michigan Preliminary Notice be Given?

Preliminary notice must be sent to the general contractor.

People are asking Michigan construction attorneys:

Late Preliminary Notice – What Happens?

A Montana preliminary notice is an absolute requirement for anyone who didn't contract directly with the property owner to secure the right to file a mechanics lien. Exactly when this notice needs to be sent, depends on the type of project. The general rule is that notice needs to be sent within 45 days of first furnishing labor or materials to the project. If, however, the project is an owner-occupied residential property, the time to serve notice is reduced to just 20 days after first furnishing. A Montana preliminary notice can be sent late, but it will limit the amount of lien rights available. A late notice will only cover the value of labor or materials provided in the 45/20 days (whichever is applicable) preceding the notice, and everything thereafter. So even if you've missed your notice deadline, it's worth sending a late notice anyways. That way you've secured some lien rights, as opposed to none. Here are some other resource you may find helpful:
Answered by Alex Benarroche | Legal Associate

Should I file an Intent to Lien?

A notice of intent to lien in not required in California. The only reason to send one would be to attempt to apply pressure without the cost of recording and eventually the cost of releasing a lien.

You may be eliebile to file a lien if you performed work to improve the property and you either:

-Had a contract directly with the owner;

-Served preliminary notice within 20 days of commencing work;

-The owner had actualy knowledge of your work.

If you are eleible, you must record your lien within 90 days of project completion (by all trades) absent a notice of completion or notice of cessastion. If the project was not completed, a cessation of labor for 60 contiguous days also consistutes completion for lien purposes, triggering the start of the 90 day deadline. 

 If a notice of completion or cessation was filed, then you have 60 days from that notice if your contract is directly with the owner and 30 days from the notice otherwise, to record your lien.

If you require legal assistance email me a ryan@huntortmann.com to schedule a free consultation.  

Answered by Peter Ryan | Attorney

Notice to Owner

The manner in which a Florida Notice to Owner should be mailed is outlined in Fla. Stat. §713.18(1)(b). Under this statute, the notice needs to be sent "by common carrier delivery service by registered, Global Express Guaranteed, or certified mail, with postage or shipping paid by the sender and with evidence of delivery, which may be in an electronic format." In states that require "return receipt requested," this is explicitly mentioned in the statute. Which it does not in Florida. Furthermore, subsection (1)(a) of the same statute mentions service can be made by "actual delivery," although without some evidence of actual delivery this could prove challenging. Obviously the safest bet is to send with return receipt requested. However, as long as you maintain an electronic tracking record generated by the USPS that has the tracking number, the name and address of the recipient, and the date of receipt from the USPS the service should be sufficient. Here are some other resources you may find helpful:
Answered by Alex Benarroche | Legal Associate

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About Michigan Preliminary Notices

Michigan requires most project participants to provide a preliminary notice, but the notice and the deadline can change depending on the project type, and the role of the particular participant furnishing the notice. And, in fact, while not a “preliminary notice” in the usual sense, some notice requirements even extend to the property owner him/herself. Michigan is one of the few states that specifically requires the filing of a notice of commencement, and provides consequences for the failure to do so.

On most projects, parties who contract directly with the property owner are not required to deliver a preliminary notice, although if requested to do so a direct contractor must provide a list of subs and suppliers on the project. On residential projects, however, providing notice is specifically required of direct contractors. Prior to receiving any progress or final payment, the contractor must provide the property owner with a sworn statement listing all sub-tier parties with whom the contractor has contracted and the amounts unpaid to them, if any. This sworn statement notice is to allow the property owner to keep track of liabilities down the payment chain, to gain project visibility, and to serve as a check for the receipt of lien waivers from sub-tier parties. Likewise, the sworn statement is also required of subcontractors on residential projects, is delivered to the GC, and lists the sub-tier parties with whom the sub contracted, and amounts due (if any).

Additionally, those who do not have direct contact with the property owner (or the owner’s agent) are required to deliver a Notice of Furnishing within 20 days of the first furnishing of labor or materials on the project. This is a “traditional” preliminary notice requirement, and generally what people are referring to when Michigan preliminary notices, or the rules and requirements surrounding them, ae being discussed.

Michigan also has preliminary notice rules for parties performing work on public projects. Every 2nd-tier subcontractor or below, that is everybody who didn’t contract with either the public entity or the general contractor, must deliver a preliminary notice within 30 days of first furnishing labor or materials.

How to file preliminary notice in Michigan (DIY)

1

Read the guide

Read the guide
construction payment Michigan

First, read the guide to preliminary notices in Michigan. The guide introduces you to the notice of furnishing form, including what you need to include, who you need to send it to, when it needs to be sent, and how it needs to be sent.

2

Download the free notice form

Get the free form
Preliminary notice form download

Next, download a copy of the Michigan preliminary notice. Michigan mechanics lien law is strict when it comes to the language and formatting for construction notices. Levelset’s free forms were written by construction attorneys to meet those requirements, making this part easy for you to get right.

3

Fill out the notice form

Be careful! Accuracy is important.
Filling out a preliminary notice

The next step is to fill the form out. To ensure you secure your right to file a mechanics lien, be careful to include al the required information and make sure that information is 100% accurate. Failure to do this could forfeit your Michigan lien rights.

4

Deliver your notice

Send a preliminary notice

Lastly, it’s time to deliver the Michigan preliminary notice. You have two delivery options: either by personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested.

Send your notice to the owner or the owner’s designee within 20 days of first furnishing. Laborers have 30 days from when payment was due.

How to send a Preliminary Notice with Levelset
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Michigan construction payment topics

Mechanics Lien
Lien Waivers
Bond Claim
Prompt Payment
Retainage