Q: Not sure what Lien type to file, please help. 1. Claim of Lien (Mechanics Lien), 2. Notice of Payment Bond Claim private

A: Civil Code section 9300 requires subcontractors to give a preliminary notice to the owner and the prime contractor before the subcontractor is entitled to assert a claim against a payment bond or serve a stop payment notice. The preliminary notice gives the owner and prime contractor basic information about the type of services to be provided and the estimated amount for the purpose of informing the owner who is performing work on their property. The payment bond claim or stop payment notice can only cover labor and materials furnished 20 days prior to service of the preliminary notice. So it's critical that you serve a preliminary notice as soon as possible when you commence a project. There are construction form services available on the the web to help you prepare a preliminary notice if you don't already have a form, and construction lawyers frequently have forms that you can use. Since you say it's a public works project, it's likely that no mechanics lien remedies are available. Even if you are too late to serve a preliminary notice and obtain rights to make a payment bond claim or serve a stop payment notice, you should still have contract claims against the general contractor to help you get paid.

A: For public works projects in California, a "preliminary bond notice" typically refers to a preliminary notice to the surety on a payment bond. This isn't exactly a lien but a notice to the surety bond to protect your rights under the bond. If you're working on a public project, a Mechanics Lien would not be appropriate; instead, you'd want to lean towards the "Notice of Payment Bond Claim" for public works to assert your claim against the bond.