Notice of Intent to Lien

A notice of intent to lien (NOI) is the last diplomatic step before a lien filing: a letter to the owner, general contractor, and customer stating the amount unpaid, the project, and the claimant's intention to record a mechanics lien if payment is not received by a stated date. A handful of states make it mandatory — an NOI a set number of days before filing is a statutory prerequisite in several jurisdictions — while in most states it is optional but standard practice.

The NOI works because it lands on desks with power to fix the problem. Your delinquent customer may be ignoring your calls, but the owner and GC above them care intensely about clear title: a recorded lien can freeze construction draws, breach loan covenants, and stall closings. An NOI gives those parties a short window to force payment down the chain — often by cutting a joint check or withholding the sub's next draw — before the public record is affected. Industry experience is that a large share of NOIs produce payment without an actual filing, which is why collectors treat the NOI as one of the highest-yield letters in construction receivables.

Use it with precision, not as a bluff. Send the NOI early enough that the lien filing deadline is still comfortably open when the NOI's cure period expires — a notice of intent you cannot follow through on teaches sophisticated debtors that your deadlines are hollow. State the amount accurately, deliver it by trackable means, and calendar the follow-through date. Where the NOI is statutory, its content and timing rules must be met exactly for the subsequent lien to be valid. This is education, not legal advice; verify your state's requirements.