Michigan Preliminary Notice FAQs

Prime contractors are not generally required to send any type of preliminary notice in Michigan. However, if requested by the owner, they must provide a list of subcontractors and suppliers on the project.

All other parties who didn’t contract directly with the property owner must provide a Notice of Furnishing on all private construction projects.

Lastly, on residential projects, Sworn Statements must be provided to the owner (by the prime contractor) and to the prime contractor (by subcontractors) before receiving any progress or final payments. The statement must list all subs, sub-subs, suppliers, and laborers, with whom the party contracted, and lists the amounts paid to them; if any.

A Notice of Furnishing should generally be provided no later than 20 days after first furnishing labor and/or materials to the project. If a Notice of Commencement (NOC) has not been recorded or provided after sending a request, notice should be sent within 20 days after the NOC was filed or received. If the claimant is a wage laborer, then notice must be given within 30 days from when wages became 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 a payment is due or requested on a residential project.

A Michigan Notice of Furnishing must be sent to both the property owner (or the owner’s designee if there is one) and the general contractor to be valid.

A Michigan Notice of Furnishing must be in substantially the same form as provided under Mich Comp. Laws §570.1109(4) and include all of the following information:

• Claimant’s name & address

• Owner (owner designee) or lessee’s name

• Property address

• Hiring party’s name & address

• Description of labor and/or materials

• Notice of Commencement recording information (liner & page #) or a copy of the notice

• Statutory notice language

→ Download a free Michigan Notice of Furnishing form here

A Michigan Notice of Furnishing may be served either personally or mailed by certified mail.

If the Michigan Notice of Furnishing is sent by certified mail, service is considered complete upon deposit in the mail. Otherwise, service is complete upon actual receipt of the notice.

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 to the unpaid balance owed from the owner to the general contractor upon receipt of the notice

Preliminary notice on public projects in Michigan is required from all claimants who didn’t contract directly with the prime contractor,( i.e. second-tier subs and suppliers and below) in order to retain the ability to make a claim against the payment bond in the event of nonpayment.

Michigan public project preliminary notices must be served no later than 30 days after the date of first furnishing labor and/or materials to the project.

Public project preliminary notices in Michigan must be sent to the prime contractor who posted the payment bond. And, although not required, notice can also be sent to the surety who is providing the bond for full visibility on the project.

A public preliminary notice in Michigan must include all of the following information:

• Claimant’s name & address

• Hiring party’s name & address

• Description of labor and/or materials

• Property description

→ Download a free Michigan Preliminary Notice (Public Projects) form here

A Michigan public preliminary notice should be served by certified mail to any place the prime contractor maintains a business or residence. However, if the claimant can prove that the party actually received the notice sent by some other method, that notice will suffice.

Michigan courts have held that actual receipt is not necessary, therefore notice may be deemed served upon deposit in the mail by the proper means.

Failure to send preliminary notice on a public works project in Michigan within the 30-day timeframe is fatal to a claimant’s ability to make a claim against the payment bond.