Arizona’s preliminary 20-day lien notice is a written form that subcontractors, suppliers, and other project participants must send within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials to a job site if they want to keep the right to record a mechanic’s lien. Under A.R.S. § 33-992.01, the notice goes to four parties by a prescribed mailing method, and missing the 20-day window shrinks the amount you can later claim.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice The notice itself is not a lien. It puts the owner, contractor, and lender on notice that you are on the project and expect to be paid.
Who Has to Send One
Anyone furnishing labor, professional services, materials, machinery, fixtures, or tools to a construction project must send the preliminary notice to preserve lien rights. The one exception is workers performing actual labor for wages. That exemption covers hourly and salaried employees; it does not cover independent subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment rental companies, or design professionals.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice
Two prerequisites decide whether you have lien rights in the first place. If Arizona law requires you to hold a contractor’s license, you must have a valid one to claim a lien. Architects, engineers, and other design professionals must hold a valid certificate of registration and must have a direct contract with the owner, or with a contractor who has a contract with the owner.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-981 – Property Without the required license or registration, the notice preserves nothing.
What Goes on the Form
The statute prescribes a form that your notice must substantially follow. Leaving any required field blank invites a challenge later. The form calls for:
- The full name and address of the property owner, or the person you reasonably believe to be the owner.
- The name and address of the original contractor, or reputed original contractor.
- The name and address of any construction lender with a deed of trust on the property.
- The name and address of the party you contracted with. For a lower-tier subcontractor, that is the subcontractor above you, not the general contractor. If you contracted directly with the general, list that entity in both this field and the original-contractor field.
- Your own name, address, the date, and your signature.
- A general description of the labor, services, materials, machinery, fixtures, or tools you are furnishing or plan to furnish.
- A description of the job site sufficient to identify it: a legal description, a subdivision and lot, a street address, or a location fixed by common landmarks all work.
- A good-faith estimate of the total price for everything you expect to furnish on the project.
The prescribed form also carries a bold-faced “Notice to Property Owner” warning that unpaid bills could lead to a lien and possible foreclosure. That block is part of the statutory form and should not be edited out.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice
Names and property descriptions are worth double-checking against county assessor records before you mail. A misspelled owner name or a wrong parcel gives the other side something to argue about if payment ever turns into litigation.
Who Gets a Copy and How to Find Them
Four recipients: the owner or reputed owner, the original contractor or reputed original contractor, any construction lender or reputed construction lender, and the person you directly contracted with.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice
If you do not know all of those identities, the statute gives you a tool. Send a written request identifying yourself, your address, the job site, and the general nature of your work. Within ten days, the recipient must respond with the legal description of the site, the names and addresses of the owner, original contractor, and any construction lender, and a copy of any recorded payment bond.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice
The 20-Day Clock and What Late Service Costs
Serve the notice no later than 20 days after you first furnish labor, materials, or services to the job site. The clock starts when you deliver the first shipment, begin the first work on site, or provide the first professional service. Signing the contract does not start it.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice
Late service does not eliminate your lien rights, but it cuts them back. If you serve after the 20-day window, your lien can only cover labor, services, or materials furnished within the 20 days immediately before service, plus anything furnished after. Everything you provided earlier goes unprotected.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice On a large supply order that gap can be substantial. The safest practice is to send the notice on day one, before you have every detail nailed down.
When Your Estimate Grows: The 30 Percent Rule
The estimated total price on your notice does not have to be exact. If the actual amount ends up exceeding your original estimate by less than 30 percent, the notice is not defective on that ground. If it exceeds the estimate by 30 percent or more, you need to serve a new notice covering the additional amount. A separate notice is also required if you are furnishing labor or materials under contracts with more than one subcontractor on the same project.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice The same 20-day timing rules apply to the supplemental notice, so estimating on the high side is the practical play.
How to Serve It
Arizona recognizes three mailing methods:
- First-class mail with a certificate of mailing. The postal certificate is not the same as certified mail; it proves the date you deposited the notice.
- Registered mail, which gives you a tracked chain of custody.
- Certified mail, which lets you request a return receipt.
Postage must be prepaid, and each copy must be addressed to the recipient at a residence or business address. Service is legally complete the moment you deposit the notice in the mail. You do not have to prove the recipient actually received it.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-992.01 – Preliminary Twenty Day Notice The statute does not list personal hand delivery, so relying on hand delivery alone is risky.
Keep the proof organized. The certificate of mailing or the certified receipt is what you will produce if the notice is later challenged. Log the date, the recipient’s name and address, and the mailing method used for each copy. If a certified envelope comes back undeliverable, keep it sealed. An affidavit of service, completed while the details are fresh, adds another layer of documentation.
Keep the Estimate Honest
A.R.S. § 33-420 sets sharp penalties for recording documents against real property that are forged, groundless, or contain a material misstatement. Someone who does so knowingly is liable for the greater of $5,000 or three times the actual damages, plus the owner’s reasonable attorney fees. Refusing to release or correct a document you know is invalid within 20 days of a written request from the owner carries a separate liability of at least $1,000 or treble actual damages, plus attorney fees. Knowingly recording a false claim against real property is also a class 1 misdemeanor.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-420 – False Documents
The takeaway for the preliminary notice: describe the work accurately, estimate in good faith, and do not inflate. Exaggeration can flip the financial exposure onto you.
After the Notice
Serving the preliminary notice preserves your right to record a lien; it does not create one. To record the notice and claim of lien, you have 120 days after completion of the building, structure, or improvement, shortened to 60 days if the owner records a notice of completion, and you must serve a copy of the recorded lien on the owner within a reasonable time.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-993 – Procedure to Perfect Lien A recorded lien then expires six months after recording unless you file a foreclosure action and record notice of the pending suit with the county recorder.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 33-998 – Limitation of Action to Foreclose Lien Calendar those dates the day the underlying event happens.