Preliminary Notice Template (Free Word Download)

Do you need to send one?

• You are a subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, material supplier or equipment lessor with no direct contract with the owner — this is the group most states require notice from.
• Even general contractors must give notice in some states (often a disclosure or notice to the owner at contract time) — check yours.
• The project is private. On public projects the equivalent is usually a notice to the prime contractor to preserve payment-bond rights — see the bond claim checklist.
• Timing: many states set a window measured from your first day of furnishing (windows of roughly 20 to 45 days are common); some allow a later notice that protects only work after the notice; a few require none. Confirm your state's window with the free 50-state lookup and enter it here: ____________
• When in doubt, send it anyway — an unnecessary notice costs a stamp; a missing one can cost the whole receivable.

Information to gather before you draft

Template — Preliminary Notice

Bracketed fields are yours to complete. Some states require specific statutory wording, a specific title (for example "Preliminary 20-Day Notice" or "Notice to Owner"), or a warning paragraph in a set font size — substitute your state's language where the free 50-state lookup says one is required.

PRELIMINARY NOTICE (Notice of Furnishing / Notice to Owner)

Date: [date sent]

To: [Owner name and address] · [General contractor name and address] · [Construction lender name and address, if any]

From: [Your legal business name, address, phone, email; licence no. if applicable]

Project: [Project name], located at [street address, city, state, ZIP] [legal description / parcel no. if required].

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that the undersigned has furnished, or will furnish, [describe labour, services, equipment or materials] for the improvement of the above property, under a contract with, or at the request of, [name and address of the party who hired you].

The undersigned first furnished labour or materials to the project on or about [date]. The estimated total value of the labour and materials to be furnished is $[amount]. The amount furnished to date is $[amount, if applicable].

This notice is given to preserve the undersigned's rights under the mechanics lien and payment-bond laws of the State of [state]. It is NOT a lien, NOT a reflection on the credit or integrity of any party, and NOT a claim that any amount is presently past due. Its purpose is to inform you that the undersigned may have lien rights against the property if not paid for its work.

[Insert any statutory notice paragraph required by your state here.]

Signed: ______________________ Name: [name] Title: [title] Company: [company] Date: [date]

Delivery and proof of service

• Send to every required recipient — owner, general contractor, and lender where the state requires — at their correct addresses. A notice to the wrong owner (e.g., the tenant instead of the fee owner) may not count.
• Use the method your state prescribes; certified mail with return receipt (or a comparable tracked method) is the common baseline because it gives you dated proof of mailing and delivery.
• Keep: a copy of the notice, the certified-mail receipt, the tracking printout, the signed return receipt, and a log entry (below).
• Some states measure compliance from the date of mailing, others from receipt — record both.