A preliminary notice (called a prelim, notice to owner, or notice of furnishing depending on the state) is sent by a subcontractor or supplier to the owner, GC and sometimes the lender, stating that it is providing labor or materials to the project. In many states it is required to preserve lien rights, and must be sent within a set number of days of first furnishing (California’s well-known version is the 20-day preliminary notice). Not every state uses one. Rules vary widely; this is not legal advice.
Why it matters
Prelims tell the GC who is actually on the job, including sub-tier suppliers it never contracted with directly. Every prelim is someone you may need a lien waiver from. Ignoring them is how a GC ends up paying twice.
Worked example
Illustrative: on Riverside Medical Center, the GC receives a prelim from a drywall supplier to CoreDry. That supplier is now added to the waiver list for CoreDry’s billings. Since CoreDry’s waivers are already missing (sample data), the GC might consider a joint check to make sure the supplier is paid.
Common mistakes
- Filing prelims in a drawer instead of adding the sender to the waiver list.
- Subs and suppliers missing the state deadline and losing lien rights.
- Treating a prelim as a sign of a dispute; in many states it’s routine.
How os.construction handles it
We’re building vendor records on the project that can capture received prelims, so the waiver requirements for each payment include the sub-tier suppliers who sent them.