Preliminary Notice Program
Construction credit carries an inordinate amount of risk. Serving a preliminary notice, or notice to owner, can help you leverage payment and offers protection by establishing the right to file a mechanic’s lien or bond claim in the case of nonpayment. Most states do not allow the filing of a mechanic's lien without claimants being able to prove they first sent a preliminary notice.
Approximately 40 states in the U.S. and one province in Canada now require some form of a preliminary notice to the owner and general contractor of a construction project.
At NCS we prepare and serve preliminary notices in the U.S. and in Canada for flat fees. We are proud to say that 85 percent of the time when a preliminary notice is served through NCS, payment is received with no further action required.
We constructed three levels of notices to best serve your business needs.
Attorney Notice (formerly Option 1):
This option is best for those who do not have reliable project information, the claim is likely to be disputed, or a bankruptcy has been filed.
All notices are prepared and sent through our established attorney network, which has extensive experience with construction lien laws in the U.S. and Canada. These professionals are your assurance that all requests will be completed professionally, accurately and timely. In addition, NCS will monitor your projects, tracking and reporting deadlines to you via email.
Premium Notice (formerly Option 2):
This option offers accurate, cost-effective preparation and certified delivery of your notice, and ensures compliance with individual state statutes. All notices are sent by NCS using the information as provided on the transmittal form. We will review for reasonability and will attempt to confirm ownership when it is required that the notice be served upon the owner. NCS will monitor your projects, tracking and reporting deadlines to you via email.
NEW! Express Notice:
This option is a cost effective solution best-suited for those with complete and accurate project information. All notices are sent by NCS using only the information as provided on the transmittal form. NCS will not review for accuracy or reasonability. Self-tracking is available online.
With all three notices, address information entered into the online transmittal form is electronically verified as "reasonable" against the U.S. Postal Service database.
Additionally, the Premium and the Express* notice options use NCS' proprietary search logic to verify the owner information entered into the online transmittal form.
*When owner verification is requested.
