Preliminary notices help protect your right to payment when experiencing slow pay, short pay, or no pay situations and are a prerequisite to filing a mechanics lien. Because of this, it is critical that you prepare your prelims properly and avoid even the smallest of mistakes, as they could impact your lien rights.

Preliminary notice rules and regulations can differ from state to state. So, if you are starting a new construction project in Arizona, it is important that you are aware of Arizona pre-lien laws.

CNS, your resource for construction notices, has been helping contractors and subcontractors prepare and send prelims for over three decades. View all of our AZ lien services.

To get a preliminary notice started in Arizona, contact CNS today or call us at 800-366-5660.

Keep reading to learn how an Arizona preliminary lien notice works.

Understanding the Arizona 20 Day Preliminary Notice

Preliminary notices, also called “pre-liens,” “prelims,” or “preliminary lien notices,” are official documents sent at the beginning of a construction project.

Simply put, preliminary notices reduce your risk, helping to ensure you get paid for your work. In the event that a customer doesn’t pay you, sending a prelim protects your right to file a mechanics lien. Sending a prelim is also the law, so you want to ensure you mail a prelim for every project, or you won’t be able to record a mechanics lien if you aren’t paid.

Generally, a contractor sends a prelim to the property owner, construction lender, and general contractor. However, as mentioned earlier, the steps involved can vary from state to state.

One of the main differences is that Arizona has a 20 day preliminary notice. That means you must mail your Arizona preliminary lien notice within 20 days of starting your project. Keep in mind that your recipients don’t need to receive it within 20 days, though, as long as you make sure you mail it out before the 20 days are up.

Mailing Your Arizona Pre-Lien

When sending your Arizona 20 day preliminary notice, the following rules apply:

• Send the preliminary notice as first-class mail and with a certificate of mailing.
• All contractors are required to send a prelim, including general contractors (GCs).
• If your project’s dollar value (as indicated on your pre-lien) increases 30% or more during the process, you might have to send another pre-lien. You can find more details on Arizona lien laws in the state’s Revised Statutes.

Arizona Pre-Lien Services

At CNS, we take pride in offering our customers the most value with our preliminary notice services.

We work as an extension of your team, understanding how you like to do business. We couple that with premium customer care, in-depth research and verification across the board, and transparent pricing.

Learn more about what differentiates our pre-lien services from everyone else.

Contact us today to get an AZ pre-lien started.

Prefer to call? You can reach us at 800-366-5660.

Disclaimer: CNS is not an attorney, and if you need legal advice, please contact one.