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On private projects of more than $100,000, general contractors must file a Notice of Contract.
A Notice of Lien Rightsmay also be required if the project is an owner-occupied, residential property.
General contractors are not required to send notice on public projects.
Since GCs will not make a claim against their own bond for non-payment, they do not have bond claim rights, and have no preliminary notice requirement.
Subcontractors are not required to send notice on private projects.
Subcontractors are not required to send notice on public projects in order to make a claim against the provided payment bond.
Suppliers must send a Notice of Non-Payment on private projects if hired by a subcontractor.
Equipment Lessors must deliver a Notice of Lease to the owner within 30 days of first furnishing.
Suppliers and equipment lessors must provide notice on public projects.
The preliminary notice requirements in Louisiana will depend on a few different factors such as project role, and project type.
• Notice of Contract: this is Louisiana’s equivalent to a Notice of Commencement, and is required to be filed on any private project valued at $100K or more. For more on this see LA Notice of Contract Overview & FAQs
• Notice of Lien Rights: required on owner-occupied, residential projects
• Monthly Notice of Nonpayment: suppliers hired by subcontractors are required to send this monthly notice if a Notice of Contract was filed
• Notice of Lease: equipment lessors who didn’t contract directly with the property owner
• Design professional notice: professional consultants and sub-consultants that didn’t contract directly with the property owner. This includes professional surveyors, engineers, and licensed architects.
Note that Louisiana’s preliminary notice requirements changed on January 1, 2020.
The Notice of Intent to Lien/ Final Notice of Nonpayment rules can be found here: Louisiana Notice of Intent FAQs & Guide.
The deadline to serve or file a preliminary notice varies depending on the type of notice.
Notice of Contract: prior to the commencement of the work
Notice of Lien Rights: prior to or at the time of execution of the contract
Monthly Notice of Nonpayment: no later than 75 days after the last day of each month in which materials were delivered to the project
→ Download a free 2022 Louisiana Monthly Notices Calendar here
Notice of Lease: within 30 days after the leased equipment is first placed on the job site
Design Professional Notice: within 30 days of being hired
The people who need to receive a preliminary notice in Louisiana will change depending on your role and the type of notice:
Notice of Contract: filed in the office of the recorder of mortgages in the parish in which the project is located
Notice of Lien Rights: the property owner or the owner’s authorized agent
Monthly Notice of Nonpayment: the property owner and the prime contractor
Notice of Lease: the prime contractor and, if a timely Notice of Contract is filed, then to the property owner also
Design Professional Notice: the property owner
Notice of Contract:
• Contractor’s name & address
• Property owner’s name & address
• Contract price, if there is no fixed price, then a description of the method by which the price is to be calculated and a reasonable estimate
• Payment schedule (terms)
• General description of the work to be performed
• Signature of the owner and the contractor
→ Download a free LA Notice of Contract form template
Notice of Lien Rights:
• Statutory language required under La. R.S. §9:4852
• Signature of the owner or the owner’s agent
→ Download a free LA Notice of Lien Rights form template
Monthly Notice of Nonpayment:
• Supplier’s name & address
• Hiring subcontractor’s name & address
• Statement of the unpaid balance owed
→ Download a free LA Monthly Notice of Nonpayment form template
Notice of Lease:
• Lessor’s name & address
• Lessee’s name & address
• Statement that the lessor has leased or intends to lease equipment for use on the project
→ Download a free LA Notice of Lease form template
Design Professional Notice:
• Design professional’s name & address
• Hiring party’s name & address
• General description of the nature of the work to be performed
→ Download a free LA Design Professional Notice form template
Notice of Contract: filed in the office of the recorder of mortgages for the parish in which the project is located
Notice of Lien Rights: generally included in the original signed contract with the property owner
All other notices: USPS certified or registered mail with return receipt requested, commercial courier, or (if agreed upon by the parties) by electronic means; i.e. fax or email
Notice of Contract: upon filing in the parish recorder of mortgages
Notice of Lien Rights: upon the signature of the owner
All other notices:
• If sent by USPS certified or registered mail with return receipt requested, when the notice is deposited in the mail
• If sent by a commercial courier, when the notice is deposited in the mail; but only if the intended recipient actually receives the notice
• If sent by electronic means, when sent to the appropriate email address, electronic information processing system, or upon receipt of a fax confirmation
For more on this, see: Mailing Construction Notices; is notice served when mailed or received?
If required to send or file a preliminary notice, failure to do so within the statutory time period will typically result in the loss of mechanics lien rights.
There is one exception, the Notice of Lease. If sent past the 30 day deadline, lien rights will be limited to any rent accrued after the notice has been given.
A discussion of what happens if a material supplier fails to send notice on time can be found here, and a similar look at the consequences for an equipment lessor’s failure to provide notice can be found here.
Generally in Louisiana, preliminary notice is not required in order to make a bond claim. However, there are two exceptions.
• Material suppliers to subcontractors are required to send Monthly Notices of Nonpayment if the contract has been recorded.
• Equipment lessors need to send a Notice of Lease along with a copy of the lease agreement.
Other claimants may give notice, but are not required to. Further information can be found in this expert examination of the preliminary notice requirements associated with making a bond claim in Louisiana.
The deadline to send a public project preliminary notice depends on the type of notice.
Monthly Notice of Nonpayment: no later than 75 days from the last day of the month in which the materials were delivered. Although it was previously presumed that this notice requirement was only triggered after the “last” delivery of materials, a recent First Circuit appeals decision states that the notice must be sent for every month that unpaid materials are furnished.
Notice of Lease: within 10 days after the leased equipment is first placed on the job site
Monthly Notice of Nonpayment: the prime contractor and the public entity
Notice of Lease: the public entity
Monthly Notice of Nonpayment
• Supplier’s name & address
• Hiring subcontractor’s name & address
• Statement of the unpaid balance owed
Notice of Lease
• Lessor’s name & address
• Lessee’s name & address
• Statement that the lessor has leased or intends to lease equipment for use on the project
• A copy of the signed lease agreement
Louisiana statutes require that the preliminary notice be “delivered” to the public entity and/or general contractor (depending on notice). This may be accomplished by personal delivery, or registered or certified mail.
If a notice is required, failure to send preliminary notice timely is fatal to a bond claim in Louisiana.
I would to look at the contract to answer that question accurately. There are a number of provisions that may benefit you depending on the precise type of work you are doing and they manner in which you are paid.
Preliminary notice in Louisiana is very specific to the project participant and their role. General contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, material suppliers, and equipment rental companies will all have different notice requirements in many situations.
Most states have some sort of preliminary notice requirement in order for parties to retain the right to file a mechanics lien or make a bond claim. Louisiana is no exception, though it does have a wider variety of notice types than most states. Louisiana’s notice requirements are defined in LRS 38:2242.
Louisiana’s preliminary notice rules significantly changed on January 1, 2020: Learn more about Louisiana’s preliminary notice changes.
Among the biggest changes:
While notice is not required of some project participants, it is always a good idea to provide preliminary notice anyway.
There are a lot of different notices in Louisiana, so let’s break them down notice-by-notice.
Notice of Lien Rights: Prior to the commencement of the work.
Notice of Non-Payment (Monthly Notice): Within 75 days of the last day of the month in which the material was delivered.
Notice of Lease: Within 30 days from first furnishing the equipment to the project.
Design Professional Notice: Must send to owner within 30 days of being hired.
Final Notice of Non-Payment: Must be sent at least 10 days prior to filing a lien (effectively, at least 10 days before the lien deadline.
Notice of Contract
Prime Contractors must file a Notice of Contract on all projects exceeding $100,000. The Notice of Contract must be filed with the recorder of mortgages in the parish in which the project is located prior to the commencement of the work. View contact information for all Louisiana parish recorder offices.
Download a free Notice of Contract form.
Notice of Lien Rights
Prime contractors on owner-occupied residential projects (not including new construction) must deliver a Notice of Lien Rights to the property owner before commencing work. This document is often included in the contract.
Download a free Notice of Lien Rights form.
Notice of Lease
Equipment lessors must deliver notice to the property owner and prime contractor within 30 days from the date of first delivering the equipment to the project to preserve lien rights. Senders no longer need to send to their direct customers, however.
Download a free Notice of Lease form: For Private Projects | For State Projects.
Design Professional Notice
This is a preliminary notice for “professional consultants and subconsultants” (i.e. design professionals). It must be sent by design professionals hired by someone other than the property owner.
Download a free Design Professional Notice form.
Notice of Non-Payment (Monthly Notice)
Material suppliers who provide materials to a subcontractor (or party below – like a sub-subcontractor) must send a Notice of Non-Payment to the property owner and general contractor within 75 days of the last day of each month during which material was delivered. Learn more about Louisiana’s monthly notice requirement for suppliers.
Download a free Notice of Non-Payment form.
Notice to Owner of Obligations
Any party may provide this voluntary notice to the property owner to request notification of the filing of a Notice of Termination, abandonment, or substantial completion. With that information, project participants can ensure they don’t miss a deadline.
Final Notice of Non-Payment
This is a voluntary notice for residential projects where no Notice of Contract was filed. It can be sent by all suppliers and equipment rental companies (regardless of who hired them), as well as all other parties hired by someone other than the owner.
If the Final Notice of Non-Payment is sent at least 10 days before the lien deadline, the deadline will change a bit. The deadline to file a lien will change to 70 days after a Notice of Termination, or 70 days after substantial completion if a Notice of Termination wasn’t filed.
Request for Notice of Termination
General contractors in Louisiana can now force a property owner to file a Notice of Termination by sending a Request for Termination. An owner must file the Notice of Termination within 10 days of such a request.
There are several types of preliminary notice in Louisiana depending on your role. Whether you need a notice of contract, notice of lien rights, notice of lease, design professional notice, or notice of nonpayment, you can find them all on the construction payment resources page for Louisiana.
Our free forms were created by construction attorneys to meet the specific language and formatting requirements in Louisiana, making this part easy for you to get right.
This is the trickiest part, and it’s important that you get it right. Louisiana construction law is strict about the information you provide on your preliminary notice, and making a mistake could compromise your ability to file a mechanics lien later. Recheck the information you include to ensure it’s 100% accurate.
In Louisiana, the manner in which you send your notice depends on the type of notice you’re sending. Notices are either sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, along with the contract, electronically, registered mail, or recorded with the parish clerk.
Send your specific notice following those guidelines and within the specified due date.
Select Preliminary Notice document.
Provide basic job information.
Levelset sends the document for you. Postage included!