Private projects
General contractors do not need to send preliminary notice on private projects.
Mississippi Preliminary Notice FAQs
Last updated December 10, 2021
Sending a Mississippi 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 Mississippi.
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Mississippi preliminary notice requirements for:
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 are required to send notice on private projects.
- Notice must be sent within 30 days
- Notice cannot be sent late
- Notice is sent to the GC
If there is no GC, notice is sent to the owner. On single-family residential projects only, all parties who did not contract directly with the property owner must provide the owner with a “pre-lien written notice” (notice of intent to lien) at least 10 days prior to filing a claim of lien.
Public projects
Subcontractors and suppliers are not required to send notice on public projects.
Preliminary Notice Frequently Asked Questions
If you're working on projects in Mississippi it's important to know what notices you may be required to send, the timeline for sending them, and the consequences of making a mistake. It's important to get all the details right, and make sure that the rules and requirements are met in order to make sure your notice is effective. If you're receiving prelims, it's important to know what you're looking at and know what to do in followup. Since prelims are subject to a lot of complex rules and requirements, all of this can all be difficult to get a good grasp on. Here are some frequently asked questions about the Mississippi preliminary notice process.
Prelim FAQs on Private Projects
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-do-i-need-to-send-a-mississippi-preliminary-notice
Do I Need to Send a Mississippi Preliminary Notice?
It depends. Contractors who contracted directly with the property owner are not generally required to send any notice. However, if they receive a written request from the property owner, the contractor must provide a list of all subs and materialmen.
A party entitled to lien rights who does not have a contract with either the property owner or the general contractor must provide a preliminary notice to the general contractor (or, if there is no general contractor, to the owner) within 30 days of first furnishing labor and or materials to the project.
On single-family residential projects only, all parties who did not contract directly with the property owner must provide the owner with a “pre-lien written notice” (notice of intent to lien) at least 10 days prior to filing a claim of lien.
View our detailed discussion of Mississippi’s new preliminary notice framework and requirements in the article, “Changes to Mississippi Lien Law Include Required Notices.“
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-when-do-i-need-to-send-a-mississippi-preliminary-notice
When do I Need to Send a Mississippi Preliminary Notice?
List of Subs/Suppliers: After written request from property owner.
Preliminary Notice: When required, the general preliminary notice must be sent within 30 days of first furnishing labor and/or materials to the project.
Notice of Intent: At least 10 days prior to filing a lien on a single-family residential project.
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-what-if-i-send-the-mississippi-preliminary-notice-late
What if I Send the Mississippi Preliminary Notice Late?
Failure to comply with the preliminary notice requirements (when required) in the time set forth by statute in Mississippi is fatal to a subsequent lien claim.
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-how-should-the-mississippi-preliminary-notice-be-sent
How Should the Mississippi Preliminary Notice be Sent?
List of Subs/Suppliers: “Provided” to the property owner.
Preliminary Notice: Registered or certified mail, statutory overnight delivery, e-mail with confirmed receipt.
Notice of Intent: “Any reliable means of delivery”.
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-do-i-have-to-send-the-mississippi-preliminary-notice-to-someone-other-than-the-owner
Do I Have to Send the Mississippi Preliminary Notice to Someone Other than the Owner?
The general preliminary notice, when required, should be sent to the general contractor, or the owner if there is no general contractor.
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-is-the-mississippi-preliminary-notice-requirement-met-when-sent-or-delivered
Is the Mississippi Preliminary Notice Requirement met when sent or delivered?
In Mississippi the copy is considered delivered when sent.
Prelim FAQs on Public Projects
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-do-i-need-to-send-a-mississippi-preliminary-notice
Do I Need to Send a Mississippi Preliminary Notice?
No. Mississippi does not require preliminary notice to be sent in order to retain the right to file a valid and enforceable claim against the payment bond obtained for a public works project.
even when not specifically required, though, there can be numerous benefits to sending preliminary notice. Providing notice promotes visibility on the project, gets you noticed, provides information and collaboration, and gets you paid faster.
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-when-do-i-need-to-send-a-mississippi-preliminary-notice
When do I Need to Send a Mississippi Preliminary Notice?
N/A
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-what-if-i-send-the-mississippi-preliminary-notice-late
What if I Send the Mississippi Preliminary Notice Late?
N/A
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-how-should-the-mississippi-preliminary-notice-be-sent
How Should the Mississippi Preliminary Notice be Sent?
N/A
https://www.levelset.com/preliminary-notice/mississippi-preliminary-notice-faqs/#faq-item-to-whom-must-the-mississippi-preliminary-notice-be-given
To Whom Must the Mississippi Preliminary Notice be Given?
N/A
People are asking Mississippi construction attorneys:
https://www.levelset.com/payment-help/question/can-we-send-one-preliminary-notice-for-a-job-that-has-multiple-addresses-in-mississippi/
Can we send one preliminary notice for a job that has multiple addresses in Mississippi?
First, it'd probably be worthwhile to check and see what your attorney did last time a similar project was done. That'd probably be a useful baseline for moving forward - a Mississippi attorney should be privy to a niche MS lien law issue, like this one.
When providing supplies for a project that spans multiple buildings and lots, the safest way to proceed would be to send a notice for each property where work is being done. Granted, that may not be necessary. Sending one notice which identifies all of the addresses associated with a singular project may well be sufficient, especially when the properties all fall under the same agreement, are owned by the same owner, and lay adjacent to one another.
Looking at Mississippi's notice laws, specifically - MS requires that a subcontractor's preliminary notice be sent to the GC, and they should understand the project particularly well. So, sending that GC a notice which identifies all of the separate addressess where work is being done could be perfectly effective when they're also doing work at all of those same addresses. That'd seem especially true when all of the separate lots were adjacent to eachother and owned by the same owner.
Ultimately, though, Mississippi's mechanics lien statute doesn't address notice requirements where a project extends to multiple lots. So, unfortunately, there's no cut and dry rule. For other questions on Mississippi's preliminary notice rules: Mississippi Mechanics Lien Guide and FAQs.
https://www.levelset.com/payment-help/question/mississippi-preliminary-notice/
Mississippi preliminary notice
A Mississippi preliminary notice is governed by §85-7-407(2). Under this statute, the notice should be sent by registered or certified mail, statutory overnight mail, or even by email with a confirmed receipt. As far as the actual contents of the notice, MS law requires a description of the labor, services, or materials being provided and, if known, the contract price or anticipated value of the labor, services, or materials to be provided. Therefore, if you so have this amount readily available, it should be included in the notice. Here are some additional resources that may prove valuable:
https://www.levelset.com/payment-help/question/olive-branch-ms-wrong-project-address/
Olive branch ms. Wrong project address
Since this is merely a preliminary notice, as opposed to an actual mechanics lien filing, I don't believe legal action is particularly necessary or even warranted. Since Mississippi preliminary notices are not filed documents, there hasn't really been any adverse actions taken or recorded against your property. This may just be a clerical mistake. Even if the rental company does eventually file a mechanics lien, it would be invalid for two reasons; (A) if the lien is filed against your address the property address is wrong, and (B) if the lien is filed against the proper address, they failed to send the required preliminary notice to the real owner. The best option would be to simply send a letter to the contractor and equipment rental company informing them that the project address they have is incorrect. That way the rental company can send the preliminary notice to the proper owner.
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About Mississippi Preliminary Notices
Mississippi generally requires construction participants to provide preliminary notice in order to retain the right to file a valid and enforceable mechanics lien. But besides the specific requirement to provide preliminary notice, it’s always a good idea to send preliminary notice on all projects in order to promote visibility and speed up payment.
Mississippi changed it’s laws several years ago, and there has been plenty of time to catch up, but parties who rarely perform work in Mississippi may still be caught off guard.
Parties who contract directly with the property owner do not have general preliminary notice or notice of intent requirements in Mississippi, but that does not mean that they are completely exempt from potential notice requirements. In fact, if a property owner makes a written request upon the contractor, the contractor must provide a complete list of all subcontractors and materialmen. This obligation extends down the payment chain, as well, so GCs can make the same request of their subs, and so on. This is not a toothless requirement, either. Mississippi law states that a “willful” failure to provide this information within a reasonable time when required to do so will result in a forfeiture of that party’s right to file a lien.
The preliminary notice for parties who have not contracted directly with the owner or the GC is more traditional. These parties are required to send preliminary notice to the GC (or to the owner if there is no GC) within 30 days of first furnishing labor or materials to the project.
Additionally, there is a separate requirement for single family residential projects. On such projects, all parties who did not contract with the property owner are required to send a “pre-lien written notice” (notice of intent to lien) at least 10 days prior to filing a lien itself, if payment issues on the project have devolved to that point.
How to send preliminary notice in Mississippi (DIY)
1
Read the guide
The first step is to read the guide to preliminary notices in Mississippi. The guide breaks down what you need to know about the form: who needs to send one, when it needs to be sent, what information it must include, and which party should receive it.
2
Download a free notice form
Next, download the Mississippi preliminary notice form. Levelset’s free forms were written by construction attorneys to meet the language and formatting requirements under Mississippi law, making this part easy for you to get right.
3
Fill your notice out
Be careful! Accuracy is important.
Making a mistake on your lien form could hinder your right to file a Mississippi mechanics lien if you’re left unpaid. Include all the required information, and recheck the information you include to ensure it’s completely accurate.
4
Deliver your notice
Preliminary notices in Mississippi must be sent by registered or certified mail, by statutory overnight delivery, or by e-mail with confirmed receipt.
Make sure your notice is sent within 30 days of first work, and send the notice to the general contractor. If there’s no GC, the notice may be sent to the owner.
How to send a Preliminary Notice with Levelset
1
Select Preliminary Notice document.
2
Provide basic job information.
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