RCW 60.04.031 — Washington notice of right to claim a lien service
Your Washington
Notice to Owner.
$39 flat, every recipient included.
Suppliers, professionals and lower-tier subcontractors on a Washington job give the owner — and the prime contractor — written notice of the right to claim a lien; mailed by certified mail it protects everything supplied after the date sixty days before the mailing, ten days on a new single-family residence (RCW 60.04.031(1)). A 3-minute wizard becomes the statutory two-sided form, submitted for certified mailing in minutes, with the mailing date archived permanently.
Statutory text pinned from app.leg.wa.gov — cited on every document.
IMPORTANT: READ BOTH SIDES OF THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY. PROTECT YOURSELF FROM PAYING TWICE
The window, exactly
The notice "only protects the right to claim a lien for professional services, materials, or equipment supplied after the date which is sixty days before" it is mailed by certified or registered mail to the owner (60.04.031(1)(a)). Mail within 60 days of first furnishing and nothing is lost.
"In the case of new construction of a single-family residence" the notice protects only what was supplied after a date ten days before it is given (60.04.031(1)). The calculator and the wizard run this clock when you choose that project kind.
There is no cutoff — a later notice still protects the rolling window after the date sixty (or ten) days before mailing, and "a lien authorized by this chapter shall not be enforced unless the lien claimant has complied" (60.04.031(6)). Mail now.
Not sure where you stand? Run the free deadline calculator — it shows the last mailing date that protects everything from your first furnishing.
Who must be served
The wizard asks three gating questions first — what you furnish, whom you contracted with, and the kind of project — plans the recipients from the statute, and you verify every name and address before paying.
Always — the statutory form is addressed to the owner and tells them the two common ways to protect the property: joint checks and lien releases (60.04.031(1), (4)).
"This notice shall also be given to the prime contractor … unless the potential lien claimant has contracted directly with the prime contractor" (60.04.031(1)). We serve the prime whenever you contracted below it.
Persons contracting directly with the owner, labor-only claimants, and subcontractors contracting directly with the prime (60.04.031(2)) — except on an owner-occupied repair or remodel, where the lower-tier notice is required (60.04.031(3)(b)). The wizard will not sell you a notice you do not need.
How it works
Answer a short wizard
The three gating questions, the parties, the property, what you furnish, and your first-furnishing date — about 3 minutes. The document carries the statutory NOTICE TO OWNER text, both sides, verbatim.
We certified-mail every required recipient
Owner or reputed owner, and the prime contractor when required — submitted for certified mailing in minutes of payment. 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 date the sixty-day lookback runs from — kept on a permanent page.
Questions, answered straight
Who has to send a Washington notice of right to claim a lien?
Under RCW 60.04.031(1), every person furnishing professional services, materials, or equipment for the improvement of real property gives the owner or reputed owner written notice of the right to claim a lien — and the prime contractor too, unless the claimant contracted directly with it. Not required of persons who contract directly with the owner, laborers whose claim is based solely on labor, or subcontractors who contract directly with the prime contractor (60.04.031(2)) — except on the repair or remodel of an existing owner-occupied single-family residence (60.04.031(3)(b)). Whether that describes your job is a legal question we cannot answer.
Is there a deadline?
The notice may be given at any time, but mailed by certified or registered mail it only protects the right to claim a lien for what was supplied after the date sixty days before the mailing — ten days on new construction of a single-family residence (60.04.031(1)). Mail within 60 days of first furnishing to protect everything; a later mailing still protects the rolling window, so mail now rather than never.
What about an owner-occupied repair or remodel?
On the repair, alteration, or remodel of an existing owner-occupied single-family residence, a claimant who did not contract directly with the owner-occupier must still give the notice, and the lien is limited to what the owner has not yet paid the prime contractor when the notice is received — actual receipt, or three days after certified or registered mailing, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays (60.04.031(3)(b)). Every day counts.
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 statutory NOTICE TO OWNER form, both sides, with your details in the blanks; USPS certified mailing with tracking to the owner and, when required, the prime contractor; and a permanent archive page with a timestamped record of the mailing date — 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 calculator once per job and we'll email you 10, 5, and 2 days before the last full-protection mailing date. No account; stop anytime.
Track a deadline freeA registered contractor on four or fewer residential units (or a commercial job under $60,000) must give the customer the RCW 18.27.114 disclosure statement before starting work — a prerequisite to the contractor's own lien. Generate it free; certified-mail a copy for $19.
Generate the Notice to Customer — freeThe clock is statutory. The proof should be too.
Sixty days back from the mailing date. One flat $39.
Start your noticeMore for Washington
- Washington Notice to Owner: the 60-day lookback, who is exempt, and the two-sided statutory form
Guide · quoted from the statute
- Contractor's Notice to Customer
Free form · RCW 18.27.114