Filing Timeline

Key Dates & Details:

Notices of Commencement

Notices of Commencement must be filed within 15 days of commencement of physical work or the issuance of a building permit. If a Notice of Commencement is not filed within the 15-day window the preliminary notice requirement is voided and lien rights are automatically preserved.

For the majority of projects, Notices of Commencement are automatically filed in the SCR based on permit data received from the issuing municipalities. For projects in which a Notice of Commencement is not automatically filed, owners and original contractors may file a Commencement in order to enforce the preliminary notice requirement. Examples: state projects in which permits are not issued, exempt projects, projects in which a municipality fails to transmit permit data.

Preliminary Notices

Preliminary notices must be filed within 20 days of furnishing labor, service, material and/or equipment OR within 20 days of the filing of the notice of commencement, whichever comes later.

The timeline for filing a preliminary notice is affected by the filing of a Notice of Completion. The window for filing Preliminary Notices is closed 10 days after the filing of a Notice of Completion. Therefore, parties providing goods and services at the end of a project may have less than 20 days to file their Preliminary Notice (a party providing materials 2 days prior to the filing of a Notice of Completion only have 12 days total to file a Preliminary Notice).

A party that misses their initial 20-day window may still file a Preliminary Notice to protect future work and / or materials. If a Preliminary Notice is filed after the initial 20-day period passes, there is a 5-day penalty and any material and / or service provided after the penalty period is protected.

Notices of Completion

Notices of completion may be filed by owners, original contractors, lenders, surety or title companies anytime after one of the following conditions has been met:

A permanent certificate of occupancy has been issued
A final inspection has been completed
All substantial work has been completed