Chapter 53 was overhauled effective January 1, 2022, and §53.003 was amended again in 2025. Three mailings matter to a claimant who is not the original contractor; the statute sets their clocks in days and months and says when a mailed notice counts.
The monthly notice of claim (§53.056)
"A claimant other than an original contractor must give the notice … for the lien to be valid" (§53.056(a)); an original contractor is "a person contracting with an owner either directly or through the owner's agent" (§53.001(7)). It goes to "the owner or reputed owner and the original contractor" (§53.056(a-1)).
The deadline is "not later than the 15th day of the third month after the month during which the labor or materials were provided" — the second month for residential construction projects (§53.056(a-1); §53.001(8)–(10)). Every unpaid month has its own deadline. The form is prescribed by §53.056(a-2), including two WARNING sentences.
The retainage notice (§53.057)
To the extent a claim for unpaid retainage is not already in a §53.056 notice, "a claimant other than an original contractor whose contract provides for retainage must give notice under this section for a lien for unpaid retainage to be valid" (§53.057(a)) — to the owner or reputed owner and the original contractor (§53.057(a-1)).
It is due "not later than the earlier of: (1) the 30th day after the date the claimant's contract is completed, terminated, or abandoned; or (2) the 30th day after the date the original contract is terminated or abandoned" (§53.057(a-1)); the form is in §53.057(a-2). A claimant who gives it and complies with Subchapter E, or files a timely affidavit, has a lien on the reserved funds and the owner is personally liable for them (§53.057(f)).
The copy of a filed affidavit (§53.055)
"A person who files an affidavit must send a copy of the affidavit to the owner or reputed owner at the owner's last known business or residence address not later than the fifth day after the date the affidavit is filed with the county clerk" (§53.055(a)); a person who is not an original contractor also sends a copy to the original contractor within the same period (§53.055(b)). The pinned section states the duty and no consequence for a late copy.
How Texas counts and mails
Certified mail is an enumerated method (§53.003(b)(2)), and "if notice is sent by certified mail, deposit or mailing of the notice in the United States mail in the form required constitutes compliance with the notice requirement" (§53.003(c)). Actual receipt makes the method immaterial (§53.003(d)).
If a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the period extends to the next day that is none of those (§53.003(e)). No return receipt is required by the chapter for these notices.