MCL 570.1109 · 570.1108 — Michigan notice of furnishing service
Your Michigan Notice
of Furnishing.
$39 flat, every recipient included.
On a Michigan job with a recorded Notice of Commencement, a subcontractor or supplier has 20 days from first furnishing to serve a notice of furnishing on the designee and the general contractor named in it (MCL 570.1109(1)). A 3-minute wizard becomes the statutory form, submitted for certified mailing in minutes — service is complete on mailing (570.1109(1)) — with the proof archived permanently.
Statutory text pinned from legislature.mi.gov — cited on every document.
WARNING TO OWNER: THIS NOTICE IS REQUIRED BY THE MICHIGAN CONSTRUCTION LIEN ACT. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR RIGHTS AND DUTIES UNDER THIS ACT…
The deadline, exactly
Provided "within 20 days after furnishing the first labor or material" (570.1109(1)). If the owner fails to record the Notice of Commencement, or to provide it on written request, the window runs 20 days from when it is recorded or furnished (570.1108(10), (11)).
Certified mail is an enumerated method, and "If service of the notice of furnishing is made by certified mail, service is complete on mailing" (570.1109(1)). The mailing evidence is exactly what your archive holds.
A late notice still preserves lien rights for work after it is served (570.1109(5)), and for work before service except what the owner already paid the contractor for against a sworn statement or lien waiver (570.1109(6)) — a reason to mail sooner, not to give up.
Not sure where you stand? Run the free deadline calculator — it applies these rules to your first-furnishing date and cites each one.
Who must be served
Recipients come from the recorded Notice of Commencement (570.1109(1)). The wizard asks the two gating questions first, plans the recipients from your answers, and you verify every name and address before paying.
"The designee … as named in the notice of commencement at the address shown in the notice of commencement"; "If a designee has not been named in the notice of commencement, or if the designee has died, service must be made on the owner or lessee named in the notice of commencement" (570.1109(1)).
"And the general contractor, if any, as named in the notice of commencement" — served whenever the Notice of Commencement names one (570.1109(1)).
The statutory form cites the Notice of Commencement "recorded in liber …, on page …, … records" (570.1109(4)) — from the register of deeds stamp on your copy. The wizard prints it in the statutory sentence.
Not required: a contractor in direct contract with the owner or lessee (570.1109(1)). Residential structures: supported — attach the unrecorded Notice of Commencement copy and the form's attached-copy branch prints (see the questions below). Not sold here: laborers' wage and fringe-benefit notices (570.1109(2), (3)), a different document.
How it works
Answer a short wizard
The two gating questions, the parties from the Notice of Commencement, its liber, page, and county, the property, your work, and your first-furnishing date — about 3 minutes. The document carries the statutory form text and the WARNING TO OWNER verbatim.
We certified-mail every required recipient
Designee or owner, and the general contractor when one is named — submitted for certified mailing in minutes of payment, at the addresses shown in the Notice of Commencement. You verify every name and address before paying.
Your evidence archive
The PDF, the certified tracking number for each recipient, and a timestamped record of the mailing date — the fact 570.1109(1) turns on — kept on a permanent page, ready to attach to a claim of lien as proof of service (570.1111(4)).
Questions, answered straight
Who has to serve a Michigan Notice of Furnishing?
Under MCL 570.1109(1), a subcontractor or supplier that contracts to provide an improvement to real property serves a notice of furnishing on the designee and the general contractor, if any, named in the Notice of Commencement, within 20 days after furnishing the first labor or material. A contractor in direct contract with the owner or lessee does not need one to preserve lien rights on that contract, and laborers have their own notices with different triggers (570.1109(2), (3)). Whether that describes your job is a legal question we cannot answer.
What if I don't have the Notice of Commencement?
The recipients and their addresses come from it (570.1109(1)). A written request by certified mail obligates the owner, lessee, or designee to provide a copy, with a blank notice of furnishing attached, within 10 days after the date of mailing (570.1108(5)); until it is recorded or furnished, your 20 days do not run (570.1108(10), (11)). The wizard needs the recorded Notice of Commencement's liber, page, and county.
Does this cover residential jobs?
Yes. On a residential structure — a condominium unit or a one- or two-unit building that the contracting owner or lessee lives in or will live in (570.1106(4)) — the Notice of Commencement is not recorded (570.1108(18); 570.1108a): the owner, lessee, or designee must provide a copy within 10 days of your written request by certified mail (570.1108a(5)). Attach that copy in the wizard; the notice then says "(a copy of which is attached to this notice)" (570.1109(4)) and the copy is mailed behind it to every recipient, included in the $39.
Is this legal advice?
No. NoticeSent is a document preparation and mailing service, not a law firm. We prepare and mail documents from the information you provide and give no advice or guarantees about outcomes.
What exactly do I get?
The generated notice in the statutory form with the WARNING TO OWNER text, USPS certified mailing with tracking to each required recipient, and a permanent archive page with a timestamped record of every step — for one flat $39.
A Notice of Intent to Lien, generated and certified-mailed to the owner — and the contractor, if you choose — for $49 flat, any state.
Send a Notice of Intent to Lien — $49Run the 20-day calculator once per job and we'll email you 10, 5, and 2 days before the statutory deadline. No account; stop anytime.
Track a deadline freeThe clock is statutory. The proof should be too.
20 days from first furnishing. One flat $39.
Start your noticeMore for Michigan
- Michigan Notice of Furnishing: 20 days, the Notice of Commencement, and the residential copy
Guide · quoted from the statute