Notice of Intent to Lien in Georgia: Deadlines and Challenges

Georgia law does not recognize a document called a “notice of intent to lien.” In Georgia, a notice of intent to lien is an informal demand letter a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier sends before filing an actual lien, and it carries no independent legal force. What the state does require, under the Mechanics and Materialmen’s Lien Act (O.C.G.A. 44-14-360 through 44-14-369), are separate statutory notices with strict deadlines: an optional Preliminary Notice of Lien Rights, a mandatory Notice to Contractor for certain subcontractors and suppliers, and a post-filing notice to the property owner. Missing any deadline that does apply can wipe out the lien entirely.

The Informal Notice of Intent to Lien

When people in Georgia talk about a “notice of intent to lien,” they almost always mean a pre-lien demand letter. It’s a business communication, not a statutory filing. Georgia law does not prescribe its content, delivery, or timing, and skipping it does not affect lien rights.

The reason to send one is practical. A formal letter announcing that a lien is coming often prompts payment before the dispute reaches the courthouse. It gives the owner or general contractor a window to resolve the debt before the property title is clouded, and it creates a paper trail showing the claimant tried to work things out first.

Because nothing in the statute governs the letter, a well-drafted version borrows the elements of the statutory notices so it does real work:

Name, address, and phone number of the party claiming the debt.
Name and address of the party who owes it and the party who hired the claimant.
A description sufficient to identify the property.
A description of the labor, services, or materials provided.
The amount owed and the date of last work or delivery.
The lien filing deadline, which creates urgency.

Send it by certified mail with return receipt requested. If the dispute ends up in court, that signed green card is proof of who received the notice and when. Keep the letter, the mailing receipt, and the return receipt together in your project file.

Statutory Notices That Actually Carry Legal Weight

Two notices in Georgia’s lien statute matter to your rights, and they are separate from the informal letter above.

Preliminary Notice of Lien Rights

Under O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.3, any potential lien claimant may file a Preliminary Notice of Lien Rights with the clerk of superior court in the county where the property is located.¹ Filing is optional. Choosing not to file does not forfeit the right to file an actual lien later. The value is the same as with the informal notice: putting the owner and contractor on notice early often gets a payment dispute moving.

To be effective, a preliminary notice must be filed within 30 days after the claimant first delivered materials or provided labor or services. It must include the claimant’s name, address, and phone number; the name and address of the contractor or hiring party; the owner’s name and a property description sufficient to identify it; and a general description of the work or materials furnished or to be furnished. Anyone who files it (other than the general contractor) must send a copy to the contractor or property owner by certified mail, registered mail, or statutory overnight delivery within seven days of filing. The filing fee is $5.00.

Notice to Contractor

The Notice to Contractor under O.C.G.A. 44-14-361.5 is mandatory, not optional, for subcontractors, material suppliers, laborers, and equipment rental suppliers who do not have a direct contract with the general contractor — but only when a Notice of Commencement has been recorded for the project.² If no Notice of Commencement is filed, the Notice to Contractor requirement does not apply.

The Notice of Commencement is filed by the owner, the owner’s agent, or the contractor no later than 15 days after the contractor physically begins work. It is filed with the clerk of superior court in the county where the project is located and must also be posted on the project site. It identifies the contractor, the project, the owner, any surety, and the construction lender if one exists.

The contractor must give a copy of the Notice of Commencement to any subcontractor or supplier who requests one in writing. Failure to provide that copy within ten calendar days releases the requesting party from the Notice to Contractor obligation entirely.

When the requirement does apply, a subcontractor or supplier without privity must send a written Notice to Contractor within 30 days of the Notice of Commencement being filed, or within 30 days of first delivering labor, services, or materials to the property, whichever is later. It must go by certified mail, registered mail, or statutory overnight delivery to both the owner (or the owner’s agent) and the contractor, at the addresses on the Notice of Commencement. Content required:

Name, address, and phone number of the claimant.
Name and address of each party at whose request the work or materials are being furnished.
Project name and location as shown on the Notice of Commencement.
A description of the labor, services, or materials, plus the contract price or anticipated value if known.

Miss this notice on a project with a recorded Notice of Commencement and the subcontractor’s lien rights are gone.

Deadlines That Decide Whether the Lien Survives

Georgia courts strictly construe the lien statutes, and small procedural mistakes can destroy an otherwise valid claim. The Georgia Court of Appeals made that explicit in Roberts v. Porter, Davis, Saunders & Churchill, 193 Ga. App. 898 (1989). These are the windows that matter.

90 Days to File the Lien

A lien must be filed with the clerk of superior court in the county where the property is located within 90 days after completion of the work or the last delivery of materials, services, or equipment.³ The clock starts when you finish or make your last delivery, not when the invoice was due. This is the most commonly missed deadline.

The lien document itself must include a specific expiration statement in at least 12-point bold font: “This claim of lien expires and is void 395 days from the date of filing of the claim of lien if no notice of commencement of lien action is filed in that time period.” Without that language the lien is invalid, and the clerk should not accept it for filing.⁴

2 Business Days to Notify the Owner After Filing

Within two business days after filing, the claimant must send a true and accurate copy of the lien to the property owner by certified mail, registered mail, or statutory overnight delivery. If the owner’s address cannot be found, the copy may be sent to the contractor as the owner’s agent. On projects with a recorded Notice of Commencement, a copy must also go to the contractor at the address listed on that notice.³

365 Days to Start a Lawsuit

Filing the lien is not the end. The claimant must commence a lien action (a lawsuit, bankruptcy proof of claim, or binding arbitration) within 365 days from the date the lien was filed. Within 30 days after starting the action, the claimant must also file a notice of commencement of lien action with the clerk of superior court in the county where the lien was recorded. Miss either step and the lien becomes unenforceable and may be disregarded after 395 days.⁴

The Notice of Contest Shortcut

A property owner or contractor can compress the 365-day window by recording a Notice of Contest of Lien and delivering it to the claimant. Once filed and delivered, the claimant has only 60 days to commence a lien action. If no notice of commencement of lien action is filed within 90 days after the Notice of Contest is recorded, the lien is extinguished by operation of law.⁵ It’s an effective tool against claimants who file liens but aren’t prepared to actually sue.

Delivery Methods That Count

For the statutory notices — the Notice to Contractor, the copy of a Preliminary Notice sent to the contractor or owner, and the post-filing copy of the lien sent to the owner — Georgia recognizes three delivery methods: registered mail, certified mail, or statutory overnight delivery. Regular mail, email, and hand delivery do not satisfy the statute and invite a challenge that the notice was deficient.

The informal notice of intent to lien has no statutory delivery rule because it has no statutory basis. Certified mail with return receipt requested is still the practical standard. It’s cheap, it gives you a signed record of receipt, and it looks serious to the recipient.

What Happens if You Miss a Step

Georgia does not give second chances on lien procedure. A lien filed on day 91 is invalid. A lien that omits the required expiration statement is invalid. A Notice to Contractor sent on day 31 when the deadline was day 30 may not preserve the subcontractor’s lien rights on a project with a Notice of Commencement. The strict-compliance standard means a minor procedural error can eliminate a claim worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There is a separate risk on the other side. Filing a lien that is procedurally defective or overstated can expose the claimant to attorney’s fees under Georgia’s general litigation sanctions statute, which allows an award against a party who pursues a claim lacking substantial justification. Not every unsuccessful lien draws sanctions, but filing one you know is defective or inflated is an invitation.

One more practical point on timing: Georgia caps the total of all liens on a project at the contract price for the improvements.³ If the owner has already paid the contractor most of the contract, the remaining pool for subcontractor and supplier liens can be small. Early notice — the informal letter, or a preliminary notice — is how you put the owner on alert to withhold funds before that money is gone.

Challenging a Lien as a Property Owner

Owners who believe a lien is invalid have several options.

Procedural Challenges

The simplest defense is to check compliance. Was the lien filed within 90 days? Does it contain the mandatory expiration statement in 12-point bold font? Was the owner notified within two business days of filing? Did a subcontractor without privity send a timely Notice to Contractor on a project with a Notice of Commencement? Any procedural gap can invalidate the lien, and Georgia courts will not overlook these defects.

Disputing the Debt

If the claimant overstated the amount, billed for work not performed, or claimed payment for defective work, the owner can challenge the lien on the merits. The aggregate lien cap can also cut the claim down: if the owner has already paid the full contract price, subcontractor liens exceeding the cap are subject to reduction.

Bonding Off the Lien

An owner or contractor can discharge a lien from the property by posting a bond with the clerk of superior court. The bond must equal double the amount claimed under the lien, except for a lien against an owner-occupied home, where the bond equals the lien claim itself. Once the clerk approves the bond, the property is released, and the fight shifts to the bond.⁶ This is common when the owner needs to sell or refinance and cannot have a lien clouding the title.

Filing a Notice of Contest

Recording a Notice of Contest of Lien forces the claimant to commence a lien action within 60 days instead of 365. If the claimant does not file suit within that window, the lien is extinguished automatically.⁵