ORIGINAL CONTRACTORS/GENERAL CONTRACTORS (those hired by the Property Owner or the Property Owner’s Agent): If you were hired by the Property Owner or the Property Owner’s Agent, then you are not required to serve or file any Pre-Lien Notices before filing your Mechanics Lien. You can go straight to filing a Lien against the Property. However, you might consider sending a strong Payment Demand Letter before filing a Lien if you think it will resolve the payment dispute.
Download Texas Pre-Lien Notice Forms.
FIRST-TIER SUBCONTRACTORS/SUPPLIERS (those hired by the General Contractor): If you were hired by the Project General Contractor (or any Contractor who was hired by the Property Owner), then you must serve the Property Owner and the General Contractor with a Pre-Lien Notice by no later than the 15th day of the third month, for each and every month that you provide labor or materials to the Project and have not been paid. If you have a question about the Pre-Lien service deadlines, 
.
Download Texas Pre-Lien Notice Forms.
Example
If you provided labor/materials in January and February and were not paid, then for the work done in January you must serve a Pre-Lien Notice by no later than April 15; for the work done in February, you must serve the Pre-Lien Notice by no later than May 15. In other words, you have to notify the Property Owner each and every month payment has not been made.
Inside Tip
In the above example, you could serve just one Notice (combining both months) as long as the Notice is sent before April 15th (which would be the 15th of the third month for the work performed in January). Keep in mind, you can serve the Notice as early as the first month following the month that you provided the labor/materials. For example, if you provided the labor/materials in March, you can serve the Pre-Lien Notice on April 1.
Practice Pointer
To calculate the Pre-Lien Notice deadline, do not look to the date of your invoice or the date payment is due under your contract—both are irrelevant. Your sole concern in calculating the deadline is the month that the labor/materials were provided to the Property.
Warning
A Property Owner is allowed to release final payment (typically withheld statutory retainage) to the General Contractor within 30 days after completion of the entire Project. Once it has been released, you can no longer require the Property Owner to withhold it or place a Mechanics Lien against it. As such, if possible, always serve the Pre-Lien Notice (regardless of your final deadline) before the Property Owner releases final payment to the General Contractor.
Warning
The deadline to serve a Notice is not extended if the 15th falls on a Sunday or legal holiday. Therefore, if your deadline falls on one of these days, you must serve the Notice on the preceding business day for it to be timely.
SECOND-TIER SUBCONTRACTORS/SUPPLIERS (those hired by a Subcontractor): If you were hired by a Subcontractor, then you must serve a Pre-Lien Notice on the General Contractor by the 15th day of the second month, for each and every month that you provide labor and materials to the Property and have not been paid. Additionally, like a first-tier Subcontractor, you must also serve the Property Owner and the General Contractor with a Pre-Lien Notice by the 15th of the third month, for each and every month that you provide labor/materials to the Property and have not been paid.
Download Texas Pre-Lien Notice Forms.
Example
If you provided labor/materials in January and were not paid, then you must serve the first Pre-Lien Notice on the General Contractor by no later than March 15 and the second Pre-Lien Notice on the General Contractor and the Property Owner by April 15. See the Inside Tip below for combining these Notices into one Notice.
Inside Tip
You may combine the Second and Third Month Notices into one Notice by sending the Notice to the Property Owner and the General Contractor by the 15th day of the second month from when you provided the labor/materials and by including the special “fund trapping” language that is included in the Third Month Notice.
Warning
A Property Owner is allowed to release final payment (typically withheld statutory retainage) to the General Contractor within 30 days after completion of the entire Project. Once it has been released, you can no longer require the Property Owner to withhold it or place a Mechanics Lien against it. As such, if possible, always serve the Pre-Lien Notice (regardless of your final deadline) before the Property Owner releases final payment to the General Contractor.
Inside Tip
Although you are not required to serve the Subcontractor who hired you with these Notices, you should consider doing so anyway. If the Subcontractor is aware of your intentions to file a Lien and does not want you to do so, sending the Notice to the Subcontractor may increase your odds of getting paid without filing the Mechanics Lien.
Warning
The deadline to serve a Notice is not extended if the 15th falls on a Sunday or legal holiday. Therefore, if your deadline falls on one of these days, you must serve the Notice on the preceding business day for it to be timely.
