Oklahoma Pre-Lien Notice Form

Whether or not lien claims are valid can be difficult to easily determine. There are, however, certain requirements that must be met in order for liens to be enforceable.

In Oklahoma, parties without a contract with the property owner are required to provide preliminary notice within 75 days of first furnishing labor or materials in order to retain lien rights when one of the following circumstances apply:

1. the property includes an owner-occupied dwelling; or
2. the project is non-residential and the claimant's aggregate claim is greater than $10,000.

So, to the extent that a project took place on an owner-occupied dwelling, all parties that did not contract with the property owner must deliver a preliminary notice in order to retain lien rights. If the 75-day deadline is not met, or if the notice is not ever actually given, it is fatal to lien rights.

If the preliminary notice is given, the lien itself may be filed within 4 months after the last date labor or material was furnished.

Whether the fact that a property owner didn't intend for a contractor to hire subs, or whether any unfinished work limits the availability of mechanics lien protection is a complex question, although the general rule is that construction participants are entitled to mechanics lien protection to for the value of the labor they performed or materials they furnished to a project.

But, to the extent preliminary notice is required but not delivered (or not delivered timely), any subsequent lien is likely invalid and unenforceable.

Good question, and I'm sorry to hear you're having payment trouble on this job. Everyone deserves to be paid what they've earned. First, it's worth exploring whether notice was required to begin with. In Oklahoma, on residential projects, preliminary notice is only required when the residential property is actually occupied by the owner of the property. So, for properties where the owner does not reside - such as rental properties, or a condominium or apartment where the owner does not reside - preliminary notice won't be necessary. Moving on, where notice is required, there's a slight chance that a different document sent (such as a Notice of Intent to Lien) might actually fulfill the Oklahoma preliminary notice requirements. Based on section 142.6 of the Oklahoma lien statute, in order for a notice to satisfy the content requirements of an Oklahoma preliminary notice, the following information must be included: "(a) a statement that the notice is a pre-lien notice; (b) the complete name, address, and telephone number of the claimant, or the claimant’s representative; (c) the date of supply of material, services, labor, or equipment; (d) a description of the material, services, labor, or equipment; (e) the name and last-known address of the person who requested that the claimant provide the material, services, labor, or equipment; (f) the address, legal description, or location of the property to which the material, services, labor, or equipment has been supplied; (g) a statement of the dollar amount of the material, services, labor, or equipment furnished or to be furnished, and; (h)the signature of the claimant, or the claimant’s representative." Thus, depending on the actual information on the face of the documentation sent, a document that wasn't technically intended to be an Oklahoma preliminary notice could be effectively fulfilling the Oklahoma preliminary notice requirements. Down to brass tacks, in the event that the notice requirement was not fulfilled and a lien claimant still decides to file their lien claim - such an issue could certainly cause a filed mechanics lien to be deemed invalid and unenforceable. At the same time, though, where a debt is actually owed and the claim is filed in a timely manner, typically, a lien claim that is flawed only due to technical requirements won't rise to the level of a fraudulent lien</strong>. Most states agree that there's a difference between a fraudulent lien and honest mistakes - so filing an invalid lien won't automatically result in serious damages or liability. Of course, there's always a chance that where a claimant knows their lien won't be valid and proceeds with it anyway that the lien claim could cause problems. But, practically speaking, even where a lien claim won't be enforceable, a claimant will often have the ability to release their filed lien before serious liability is incurred as a result of the filing. Naturally, for full clarity on the potential fallout of a lien claim, plus for legal review of a potential claim, consulting a construction attorney versed in Oklahoma lien law would be helpful. They'll be able to review the relevant circumstances and documentation and advise on how best to proceed.