Project Awareness Letter Form

In California the preliminary notice required to preserve your lien rights only needs to be sent once at the start of the project, and should be sent certified. It secures lien rights (if you are not paid) for any work performed within 20 days before the notice and through the end of the project. If the subcontract price increases through change orders by more than 10% during the project, it is a good idea to send an amended preliminary notice showing the increased contract price.

The Prime Contractor likely has the right to issue joint checks for the amounts invoiced to you by your materials suppliers, but this may depend on the specific terms and conditions contained within your subcontract. For projects of significant value, it may be worth it to retain an attorney to review the proposed subcontract before you sign, and the attorney could give you feedback on the terms and conditions or suggest areas you may want to negotiate. 

A Notice of Indentification isn't required to have the right to file a MA mechanics lien, but it will gre atly increase the amount of protection (i.e. value recoverable under your lien claim). We recommend that Massachusetts subcontractors send this notice on every project. 

Typically, a subcontractor's lien claim in Massachusetts is limited to the unpaid balance owed to the prime contractor at the time the subcontractor filed their Notice of Contract. However, if the Notice of Identification is sent properly, and the subcontractor ultimately files a lien, the amount secured will be the entire contract price. 

So how does one "send a Notice of Identification properly?" 

The notice must be sent to the GC and the owner by certified mail with return receipt requested, within 30 days of first furnsihing labor or materials to the project. 

• You can download a free MA Notice of Identification template here 
• For more on the MA Notice of Identification, see: Massacushetts Preliminary Notices- All You Need to Know