Free Notice of Intent to Lien Template
A notice of intent to lien is the letter you send before recording a mechanics lien. It is not a lien. It is a warning, and in most cases the warning is what gets you paid, because it is the first document in the sequence that costs the property owner something to ignore.
Fill it in online Type your details in and download it already filled in.Download the blank template
Print it, fill it in by hand, or open it and type. Nothing to sign up for.
Free, no signup, no email, no watermark.
What belongs on a notice of intent to lien
- A clear statement that this is a notice and not a lien
- The property address, described the way the county would recognize it
- The exact unpaid amount, matching an invoice you can produce
- The last day you furnished labor or material, which most deadlines run from
- The invoice or contract the claim arises under
- A deadline to pay, and what happens after it
- Who else is receiving a copy: owner, lender, general contractor
- A route to resolve it without recording, which is the point of sending it
A finished notice of intent to lien, filled in
A framing subcontractor, $27,400 unpaid, ten days before anything is recorded. The whole letter fits on one sheet, which is deliberate: this is a document somebody has to read in full, and a notice that runs to a second page of argument gets skimmed and filed.
- The first thing on the page says it is not a lienThe band sits above the letter and it is doing the work. A recipient who thinks a lien has already been recorded has nothing left to gain by paying quickly. A recipient who understands there is a window, and that the window is closing, has a reason to move today. That is the entire mechanism of this letter.
- Addressed to a company and to a person inside itAttn: Ellis Rowe, Managing Member. A notice addressed to an LLC and to nobody in particular is opened by nobody in particular. On the same point, the letter goes to the owner's business address in Denver while the property is in Aurora, because the person who pays is not standing on the job site.
- Four facts lifted out of the prose and boxedProperty address, amount unpaid, last day furnished, and the invoice it arises under. Somebody who reads nothing but those four lines has the whole claim. They are also, not by coincidence, the four facts a lien claim is actually built on, so a notice that cannot fill them in is a notice that is not ready to be sent.
- The last day furnished is not the invoice dateLast day on site 22 September, invoice dated 25 September. They are deliberately different here because almost every state runs its lien deadlines from the last day labor or material was furnished, not from the invoice and not from the day payment was due. Getting that date wrong is how a valid claim expires while somebody is still counting.
- One number, and it matches a document you can produce$27,400.00, not "approximately $27,000" and not a running balance that includes next month's work. A rounded or moving figure turns the conversation into an argument about the number, which is a conversation the recipient would much rather have than the one about paying it.
- The reference names the invoice and the contract under itInvoice VF-2211, issued under the subcontract dated 6 July. This is a subcontractor, so the claim runs through the subcontract with the general contractor, while the lien would attach to property the owner holds. Naming both is what connects the money to the building.
- Ten days is what this letter chose, not a ruleThe period is a field, because it is a decision. Some states prescribe how much notice must be given before recording, and where they do, the statute governs and the number in your letter is irrelevant. Ten to fifteen days is common practice everywhere else. Find out which situation you are in before you pick.
- The lien law named is the property's, not the contractor'sThe letter invokes the mechanics lien law of Colorado, and the property is in Colorado. That is easy here because everybody involved is in one state. It stops being easy on an out of state job, where the rule is still the same: the law that decides this is the law where the building stands.
- The last paragraph offers a way outAn invitation to say in writing that it was already paid or is disputed. It costs nothing, and it is frequently the paragraph that gets the letter paid, because it gives a recipient who has been avoiding the problem something to do that is not writing a check and is not ignoring you again.
- Page 1 of 2, and page two is only the signatureThe entire letter is on this sheet. Page two carries the signature block, the line recording that copies went to the owner, the lender and the general contractor, and the state law caution, kept together rather than split across the break. Those copies matter as much as the letter: in many states notice to the owner is the step that preserves the right, and the copy you cannot prove you sent is the copy you did not send.
This is a worked illustration of a letter, not legal advice, and it is the part of the lien process where generic guidance is least safe. Which states require this notice, how many days it must give, whether it must go by certified mail and who else must receive a copy all vary, and a missed deadline can end the lien right entirely. Read the statute for the state where the property sits, or ask a construction attorney there, before you send it.
The notice is a collection tool, not a legal step
In most states a notice of intent is not required before recording, though several do require it and set the number of days. Contractors send it anyway because it works. A homeowner who has been ignoring invoices reacts differently to a document that mentions their title.
That is also why the tone matters. The letter should be factual, specific and unexcited. A threatening letter invites a lawyer. A precise one invites a check.
Your deadlines started on the last day you worked, not today
Almost every state measures lien deadlines from the last day labor or material was furnished, and the windows are short, often 60 to 120 days for recording and shorter still for preliminary notice.
Going back to touch up a scratch to restart the clock is a known and frequently rejected tactic. Work out the real date and work backwards from it.
Preliminary notice usually comes first
Many states only preserve lien rights for claimants who served a preliminary notice near the start of the job. If that step was missed, the intent letter may be the end of the road rather than the beginning.
Check what your state required at the start before you rely on what it allows at the end.
Questions people ask
Is a notice of intent to lien required before filing a lien?
It depends on the state. Some require it and prescribe both the deadline and the method of service, others do not require it at all. Check the statute for the state where the property sits.
How long does an owner have to pay after a notice of intent?
Whatever period you state, unless your state prescribes one. Ten to fifteen days is common in practice. If your state sets a required notice period, that governs.
Should I send it by certified mail?
Yes, or by whatever method your state requires. Proof of service is often the part that fails, not the letter. Keep the receipt with the copy of the notice.
Does sending this hurt the relationship with the customer?
It formalises it. By the time you are considering this letter, the relationship is already a payment dispute. Contractors who send it consistently tend to get paid sooner and record fewer liens, not more.