Mechanics lien claims can create havoc on a construction job. They can cause major financial risks for property owners, construction lenders, and general contractors. And, quite frankly, keeping up with all of the mechanics lien laws, preliminary notice requirements, and chasing lien waivers down can be a total mess. To help all stakeholders on a construction project better manage the lien rights process and lien risks, many states have structured “Notice of Commencement” filing requirements and processes.
The Notice of Commencement helps all parties establish when a project begins, identify who is involved, and get everyone on the same page to make the exchange of notices and waivers easy. This article provides you with a comprehensive guide to understand what these documents are, why they matter, how they impact lien rights and lien risks for stakeholders, and more.
Table of Contents
A Notice of Commencement is a construction document that publicly announces the beginning of a construction project and identifies the project stakeholders. Because this notice can add extra hurdles to filing a mechanics lien, it also reduces risk for the property owner.
Only a few states have a notice of commencement process. When starting a project in one of these states, whether or not you file a NOC may significantly impact the lien rights process on the job.
Also, a notice of commencement is not a preliminary notice, a notice of intent to lien, or other types of construction notices. There are many, many different “construction notices” that get exchanged during the course of a job. This is a good post to help you understand the differences between all the construction notices: Notices Sent In Construction: FAQs, Forms, And Guide.
In your collection of the above information, consider being very specific when identifying the stakeholders — especially yourself. If you just put generic information about yourself, the subcontractors and suppliers will send their preliminary notices to you with the generic label. This runs the risk of the notices not actually getting into your hands. Be very specific about where the notices should be sent, and to who.
The notice of commencement form is extremely important. These documents are highly regulated. You need to make sure that you get the notice of commencement form right.
You can find free Notice of Commencement forms here on Levelset, which meet state and county requirements.
The next step is to record your Notice of Commencement. Generally speaking, the notice of commencement must be recorded with the county where the project is located. However, this will really depend on the county. The name of the recording unit will vary from county to county. It may be the clerk’s office, the recorder’s office, the tax records office, etc., etc. Pay careful attention to this because recording your document at the wrong office can be fatal to following the process. After you find the right location, mail your notice to them, bring it in by hand, or file it electronically. Your best bet is electronic filing. When it’s time to record and if you want to record electronically, e-filing your Notice of Commencement with Levelset makes it super easy.
File your notice of commencement electronically in minutes, for free.
You’re almost there…but not done yet. Most also require you to display the NOC publicly on the job site! Do not skip this important step. And do not try to be clever by posting it somewhere hard to locate. Many states specifically require that the NOC be posted somewhere “conspicuous”. The last thing you need is a legal argument about whether you were conspicuous enough, or not. Post your notice prominently at the job site, and keep some type of evidence that you did this on time.
Subcontractors and Suppliers may not have to do anything to get a notice of commencement filed (and if one is not filed, it likely is just fine and dandy for you and your rights), but they are substantially impacted by these documents. Here are just a few ways that subs & suppliers are impacted by NOC filings:
While the notice of commencement’s impact on a subcontractor or suppliers lien rights will vary from state to state, it’s universally the case that subs & suppliers should get their hands on the notice of commencement. These notices contain highly valuable information to them. This is a guide to help subcontractors and suppliers protect their lien rights when they are working in a NOC state.
If you’re a sub or supplier in a NOC state, you want to get your hands on the NOC that is filed on the project. There are a few options for you here:
Here are some guides to help you find the notice of commencement on your project:
The next step for subs and suppliers is to send a preliminary notice. And you should do this one no matter what. Regardless of whether a NOC is or is not filed, and regardless of whether you have a copy or not — SEND your preliminary notice! You can even use your notice to make a request for the NOC.
We’re the Preliminary Notice experts. With us it’s fast, easy, and done right.
![What Is a Notice of Commencement? [Free Download]](https://www.levelset.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Notice-of-Commencement.jpg)
A Notice of Commencement formally designates the start date of a construction project and can impact preliminary notice and lien requirements and deadlines.
