Georgia material suppliers can claim a lien on private jobs, but the claim of lien must be filed within 90 days after the material is furnished, and if a Notice of Commencement was filed, a remote supplier must also send a Notice to Contractor within 30 days. Public jobs use payment bond claims instead, with their own notice and suit deadlines.
Suppliers are the easiest people on a construction job to forget. You don't swing a hammer, you aren't on the site, and you often never meet the owner. But when a contractor falls behind, the supplier who shipped $80,000 of shingles or ductwork on open account is frequently the one left holding the bill.
This handbook walks through the process in the order it happens: opening the account, tracking the job, sending notices, filing a lien or bond claim, handling lien waivers, and suing when you have to. Jerry Parisi works with suppliers and trade businesses across Jefferson, Jackson County, and Northeast Georgia to build these habits into their credit department and to collect when a customer stops paying.
Step 1: Open every account with a real credit application
Your credit application is the contract you will sue on if things go wrong, so treat it that way. A good application identifies the exact legal entity you are selling to (not just a trade name), states your payment terms, and addresses late charges, collection costs, and attorney's fees. It should also require the customer to tell you which jobs your material is going to.
When the customer is a small LLC or corporation, a personal guaranty from the owner can be the difference between collecting and writing off the account. The guaranty should be a clearly labeled, separate signature by the individual in his or her personal capacity. Have your application and guaranty reviewed by a Georgia attorney; small drafting problems are what customers argue about later.
Step 2: Track every job and your first-delivery date
Georgia lien and bond rights are job-by-job, not account-by-account. Your deadlines run from dates on each project, so your system has to know which job each delivery went to.
- Get the job name, street address, and owner for every order, not just the contractor's name.
- Record the first delivery date and the most recent delivery date for each job.
- Find out whether a Notice of Commencement was filed with the superior court clerk and who the contractor and owner are on it. The contractor must give you a copy if you ask in writing.
- Note whether the job is private or public (a city, county, school board, state agency, or federal project).
- Keep signed delivery tickets and invoices organized by job. They prove what was furnished and when.
Step 3: Send a Notice to Contractor when an NOC is filed
On a private job with a Notice of Commencement on file, O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.5 requires anyone with lien rights who has no contract with the prime contractor to send a written Notice to Contractor within 30 days after the NOC is filed or 30 days after your first delivery to the property, whichever is later. If you sell to a subcontractor, this applies to you.
The notice goes to the owner (or the owner's agent) and to the contractor at the addresses on the NOC, by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. It must state your name, address, and phone number; who you are furnishing material for; the project name and location as shown on the NOC; and a description of the material and, if known, the contract price, anticipated value, or amount due.
Skipping a required Notice to Contractor invalidates the lien. If no NOC was filed, this step does not apply. Many suppliers send one on every qualifying job as a matter of routine.
Step 4: File your lien within 90 days of furnishing material
Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2), a supplier's claim of lien must be recorded within 90 days after the material is furnished, in the office of the clerk of superior court for the county where the property is located. Weekends and holidays do not extend that deadline, and a customer's promise to pay does not excuse missing it.
- The lien must include the statement, in at least 12-point bold font, that it expires and is void 395 days from filing if no notice of commencement of lien action is filed, plus a notice that the owner has the right to contest the lien. Leaving either out invalidates the lien.
- No later than 2 business days after filing, send a true copy of the lien to the owner by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. If an NOC was filed, also send a copy to the contractor at the NOC address.
- File suit to enforce the lien within 365 days of filing it.
- Within 30 days after filing that suit, file a notice of commencement of lien action with the clerk in the county where the lien was filed. Missing it makes the lien unenforceable, just like missing the 365-day suit deadline.
Step 5: Handle lien waivers without giving away your rights
Contractors will ask you to sign Georgia's statutory lien waiver forms before they pay. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366, a signed waiver becomes conclusively effective 90 days after you sign it, even if the check never comes, unless you file an affidavit of nonpayment in the property's county before day 90. Filing a claim of lien does not stop that clock.
The practical rules: sign a waiver only for money you have actually received, calendar day 90 on every waiver you sign, and file the affidavit if you are still unpaid. Since 2021, a statutory waiver releases only lien and payment bond rights, so your claim against the customer on the account survives. A waiver of lien or bond rights signed before you furnish material is void.
Step 6: On public jobs, use the payment bond
You generally cannot put a lien on public property in Georgia. The security on a public job is the contractor's payment bond, and suppliers to the prime or to a subcontractor can claim against it.
- State projects: payment bonds are required on contracts over $100,000 (O.C.G.A. § 13-10-60). Local-government projects: since July 1, 2025, bonds are effectively required at $250,000 or more (O.C.G.A. §§ 36-91-22, 36-91-90).
- If the prime filed a Notice of Commencement, a supplier with no contract with the prime must give the contractor written notice within 30 days of the NOC filing or first delivery, whichever is later. If no NOC was filed, notice is due within 90 days of your last delivery.
- Suit on a Georgia public payment bond must be filed within 1 year from completion of the contract and acceptance of the work by the public owner.
- Federal jobs fall under the Miller Act (40 U.S.C. § 3133), which requires payment bonds on federal construction contracts over $150,000 (FAR 28.102-1). If you sold to a subcontractor, you must give the prime written notice within 90 days of your last delivery, and suit is due within 1 year of your last delivery.
- The Miller Act protects only claimants with a contract with the prime or with a subcontractor. If you sold to another supplier rather than to a subcontractor, you are generally outside the bond's protection, so check your customer's role before extending credit on a federal job.
Step 7: Charge Prompt Pay Act interest where it applies
Georgia's Prompt Pay Act, O.C.G.A. § 13-11-1 et seq., counts materialmen as subcontractors. A contractor or subcontractor generally must pay its subcontractors within 10 days of receiving payment for their work. Late payments can carry interest of 1 percent per month, but only if the party being charged was notified of the interest provision (§ 13-11-7) when payment was requested, so put that notice on your invoices or pay requests. Accepting the payment releases the interest claim.
Contracts can set different payment periods and interest rates, and those terms control. The Act does not apply to residential projects of 12 or fewer units, or to certain small counties and cities. In a suit to enforce the Act, the prevailing party can recover reasonable attorney's fees.
Step 8: When to file a collection lawsuit
If the demand letters haven't worked, a lawsuit may be the next step. Depending on the job, that can mean suing your customer on the account and any personal guarantor, foreclosing your lien against the property, or suing on a payment bond. Each has its own deadline.
Watch the limitations period too. Georgia's six-year limitations period for written contracts (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24) expressly does not apply to contracts for the sale of goods under the Uniform Commercial Code, which can include material supply sales, so don't assume you have six years. We review your paperwork, map every deadline, and pursue the path most likely to get you paid.
Your security by job type
| Job type | Your security | Key deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Private job, NOC filed | Lien, if Notice to Contractor sent | Notice to Contractor within 30 days of NOC filing or first delivery (later of the two); lien within 90 days after material furnished |
| Private job, no NOC | Lien | Lien within 90 days after material furnished; copy within 2 business days; suit within 365 days of filing; notice of commencement of lien action within 30 days after suit |
| Georgia state or local public job | Payment bond claim (no lien on public property) | Notice within 30 days (NOC filed) or 90 days after last delivery (no NOC); suit within 1 year of completion and acceptance |
| Federal job (Miller Act) | Payment bond claim, if you sold to the prime or a subcontractor | Second-tier notice to prime within 90 days of last delivery; suit within 1 year of last delivery |
| Any signed lien waiver | Affidavit of nonpayment | File before 90 days after signing if unpaid |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a material supplier file a lien in Georgia?
Yes. Suppliers who furnish material to improve private property have lien rights in Georgia. The claim of lien must be filed within 90 days after the material is furnished, in the superior court clerk's office of the county where the property is located, with a copy sent to the owner within 2 business days.
Do I need to send a Notice to Contractor as a supplier?
Yes, if a Notice of Commencement was filed and you have no contract with the prime contractor. Send it within 30 days after the NOC was filed or 30 days after your first delivery, whichever is later, to the owner and the contractor. Missing a required Notice to Contractor invalidates your lien.
When does the 90-day lien clock start for a supplier?
Georgia measures it from when the material is furnished. The lien form describes the due date as the last date the materials were supplied to the premises. Weekends and holidays do not extend the deadline, and a customer's promise to pay does not excuse a late filing.
Can I put a lien on a school or county building?
Generally no. Georgia courts hold that public property is not subject to a construction lien. On public jobs, suppliers to the prime or to a subcontractor claim against the contractor's payment bond, which has its own notice deadlines and a 1-year suit deadline measured from completion and acceptance of the work.
Am I covered by the Miller Act if I sold to another supplier?
Generally not. The Miller Act protects claimants who have a contract with the prime contractor or with a subcontractor. A supplier who sold to another supplier, rather than to a subcontractor, usually falls outside the payment bond's protection, so confirm who your customer is before extending credit on a federal job.
What if I signed a lien waiver and wasn't paid?
File an affidavit of nonpayment in the county where the property is located before 90 days pass from the date you signed the waiver. Otherwise the waiver becomes effective and your lien and bond rights for that amount are gone. Your claim against the customer on the account still survives.
Can a supplier charge interest under Georgia's Prompt Pay Act?
Often, yes. The Act treats materialmen as subcontractors and allows interest of 1 percent per month on late payments, but only if the paying party was notified of the interest provision when payment was requested. Contract terms can change the rate and timing, and small residential projects are excluded.