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Do I need to send a certified letter to receive a copy of the notice of commencement?

GeorgiaNotice of Commencement
Anonymous Subcontractor

I have a project in Georgia, GA is a state which you need a NOC. I have requested the General Contractor to send to me. They are telling me that I need to send a Certified Letter Requesting. They have also told me that it is a GA Law/Statute? Why can't I just send an email and aren't NOCs public documents. Isn't Email (kinda) considered a legal document.

2 replies

Alex Benarroche
Construction Lawyer
Levelset Admin at Levelset
| 334 reviews
Jun 26, 2020
The Georgia Notice of Commencement (NOC) requirements can be found in a few different statutes depending on the project type: In any sense, each of these statutes includes similar language, which states: "The contractor shall be required to give a copy of the Notice of Commencement within ten calendar days of receipt of the written request from the subcontractor, materialman, or person shall render the provision of this Code section inapplicable to the subcontractor, materialman, or person making the request." There is no mention of sending a "certified letter" to request this information. Only that the notices must be sent by registered or certified mail. Failure to provide the NOC upon request within ten days will render the notice provisions inapplicable to secure their lien or bond rights. However, I'd still recommend getting your hands on that NOC. That way there's zero room for the GC to dispute a claim based on failure to send a notice. There are places you can look to find the NOC. First is the job site itself. Under each statute, the contractor is required to post a copy of the NOC on site. Another place to search is online, you can visit the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Authority website and search for the NOC there because, as you mentioned, it is public record. Good luck!
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Richard Storrs
Construction Lawyer
Attorney and Owner at The Storrs Law Firm
| 96 reviews
Jun 27, 2020
The GC's position and attitude is ridiculous. The NOC is a matter of public record, so it should be freely distributed to subcontractors and suppliers. You can obtain a copy by a property records search. An attorney can help you pull it if you don't have access to the GSCCCA website.
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