Washington Preliminary Notice Rules
At a Glance
- Private Jobs
- Public Jobs
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Preliminary Notices Are Required
Preliminary notice is required, but the type depends on the project and participant role.
GCs Must Send Notice
Under some circumstances, Notice to Owner required before commencing work. Model Disclosure Statement due before work begins on all residential projects of over $1,000; and commercial projects between $1,000 and $60,000.
Subcontractors Must Send Notice
Notice of Right to Claim Lien within 60 days from first delivering labor or materials.
NOTE, that on the new construction of a single-family home, the Notice to Owner should be delivered within 10 days of first providing labor or materials to the project.
Suppliers Must Send Notice
Notice of Right to Claim Lien within 60 days from first delivering labor or materials.
NOTE, that on the new construction of a single-family home, the Notice to Owner should be delivered within 10 days of first providing labor or materials to the project.
Notice Can Generally be Sent Late
A late notice in all commercial cases, and on a remodel, alteration, or repair of an owner-occupied single-family residence will protect your lien rights for 60 days prior to the date the Notice was delivered. In the case of a new construction of a single-family home, a late notice will protect your lien rights for the 10 days preceding the delivery of the notice.
Send to Owner and GC
Preliminary notice on Washington should always be given to the property owner. Notice form project participants that did not contract directly with the property owner must also be delivered to the GC.
Preliminary Notice Required
Washington requires any party furnishing materials, supplies, or provisions to any subcontractor to send preliminary notice to the general contractor to preserve the right to prosecute a bond claim.
N/A
On public jobs, any claims for non-payment are made against the general contractor's bond. 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.
Subs Must Send Notice
Subs must deliver Notice to Contractor to the prime contractor within 10 days if contracted with a sub or sub-sub.
Suppliers Must Send Notice
Suppliers must deliver Notice to Contractor to the prime contractor within 10 days if contracted with a sub or sub-sub.
Notice Cannot be Sent Late
When required, failure to give the preliminary notice timely is fatal to a bond claim in Washington.
Send to GC
The preliminary notice, when required, must be delivered to the general contractor.
Preliminary notice is required, but the particular notice required depends on the project type and participant role in Washington.
General Contractor Requirements
Project participants who did contract directly with the property owner are required to provide the owner a Model Disclosure Statement:
- If the work involves the repairing, altering or building of 4 or fewer residential units on residential property and the bid price is $1,000 or more, or
- When the work to be done is on a commercial building and the bid price is between $1,000 – 60,000.
Failure to send a Model Disclosure Statement can have significant consequences. A required party who fails to send this document can lose their lien rights and be subject to a fine.
Subcontractor & Supplier Requirements
Parties that did not contract directly with the property owner are generally required to serve a Washington Notice to Owner in order to protect their lien rights.
Note that parties who only furnish labor are not specifically required to send a preliminary notice in Washington (though a Model Disclosure statement will still be required for those parties contracting directly with the owner).
Washington’s “labor only” exception is a bit less known, which is that it protects at least some work performed by subcontractors who should have sent off a preliminary notice, but didn’t. So, here is the deal:
- Parties that furnish only labor to a project do not need to deliver preliminary notice in Washington State.
- If you furnish only materials to a project, you always need to deliver preliminary notice in Washington state. If you don’t deliver this notice, you’ll have no lien rights whatsoever.
- Contractors that furnish labor and materials to a project are supposed to deliver preliminary notice in Washington state. However, if you don’t deliver this notice, you’ll have a right to file a mechanics lien related to your labor only.
However, if there is any material component to the contract or furnishing, preliminary notice is required to protect the ability to later file a mechanics lien if one becomes necessary. In a circumstance in which project participant is providing labor and materials, it may be possible to file a lien for the labor portion of the work (and exclude the materials cost) without a preliminary notice…however, it is a best practice to avoid this need. It’s best practice to send preliminary notice to owner on every construction project in Washington.
As you can see, Washington’s statute contains some interesting nuances that affect preliminary notice requirements. Understand when you are required to send preliminary notice on a Washington construction project.
