Alabama Payment Bond Claim — Notice to the Surety, a 45-Day Wait, and One Year From Final Settlement (Ala. Code § 39-1-1, 2026)
✓ Verified against Alabama statutes · Reviewed October 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Alabama mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
None (sub) — No pre-lien required for subs
Mechanics Lien
6 months — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
6 months — From filing
Manage your Alabama deadlines and projects — your first project is on us → · All Alabama deadlines & forms
Why Alabama Public Work Runs on a Bond
On a private Alabama job, an unpaid subcontractor or supplier files a verified statement of lien with the judge of probate, within four months of its last work under Ala. Code § 35-11-215. The Alabama notice to owner guide walks through that process. A Birmingham school, a Huntsville road widening, a Mobile port building or a county jail in Montgomery is different. Public property cannot be liened, so Ala. Code § 39-1-1 puts a payment bond between the unpaid claimant and the public owner. Alabama’s statute is built differently from most Little Miller Acts. It does not count a notice window from the claimant’s last day on the job. It requires a notice to the surety, a 45-day pause, and a lawsuit within one year of an event the claimant does not control: the owner’s final settlement with the prime contractor. That design is more forgiving on the front end and less predictable on the back end. The Mechanics Lien Management Method treats an Alabama public job as a surety-first, close-out-watch file . The certified bond goes in the file in the first month. The surety notice goes out as soon as an invoice is past due. Someone watches for the contractor’s published notice of completion, because that notice is the warning that the one-year clock is about to start.
The Bond: 50 Percent of the Contract on Jobs of $100,000 or More
Section 39-1-1(a) requires any person entering into a contract with an awarding authority in Alabama for public works to execute two bonds before starting work. The first is a performance bond equal to 100 percent of the contract price. The second is a payment bond, payable to the awarding authority, in an amount not less than 50 percent of the contract price. The payment bond obligates the contractor to promptly pay all persons supplying labor, materials or supplies for or in the prosecution of the work. It also covers the reasonable attorney fees of successful claimants in suits on the bond. A 50 percent payment bond can run out. On a large job with several unpaid subs and suppliers, the penal sum may be smaller than the total of the claims. That is one more reason to give notice early rather than late. Under § 39-1-1(e), no bond is required on a contract of less than $100,000 . On a small job, ask the awarding authority before relying on a bond that may not exist.
What § 39-1-1(b) Actually Requires
The right of action belongs to any person that furnished labor, materials or supplies for or in the prosecution of a public work and has not been paid. The text does not divide claimants into tiers, and it does not exempt a first-tier subcontractor from the notice the way the federal Miller Act does. If you plan to sue on the bond, you give the notice. The notice must: The statute does not say how soon after your last work the notice must go out. It works backward from the suit bar instead. Because suit cannot be filed until 45 days after the notice, the notice has to be mailed at least 45 days before the one-year-from-final-settlement deadline. Waiting that long throws away leverage, so mail it as soon as the balance is past due.
The 45-Day Clock and the Fee Shift
The 45 days after notice does two jobs. First, it is a waiting period: no lawsuit on the bond until it has passed. Second, it is the surety’s and the contractor’s deadline to pay. If they fail to pay the claim in full within 45 days from the mailing of the notice, the claimant may recover, on top of the claim, a reasonable attorney fee based on the result and interest on the claim from the date of the notice . For a claimant with clean paperwork, that is real leverage. A surety that might otherwise investigate for months is weighing a fee award against the cost of paying a documented balance now. It also means that the date on the notice matters, because interest is measured from it. An early notice earns more interest than a late one. Fee exposure runs both ways at trial. Under § 39-1-1(d), either side may serve a written offer of judgment at least 15 days before trial, and the other side has 10 days to accept. A party that rejects an offer and then does worse at trial may owe the offering party’s attorney fees and costs incurred after the offer. A claim padded with disputed extras is the kind most likely to go wrong under that rule.
Final Settlement and the Notice of Completion
Everything in Alabama’s back end keys off final settlement of the contract between the awarding authority and the prime. Subsection (f) controls when that can happen. Immediately after completing the contract, the contractor must publish a notice of completion for at least three weeks, using one or more of: If no newspaper is published in the county and the authority has no notice website, the notice may be posted at the courthouse for 30 days. Final settlement cannot be made until 30 days after the notice is complete , and the contractor proves publication to the authority by affidavit. On annually awarded road-resurfacing materials contracts, the notice may be given once a year for the project as a whole. Two practical points follow. The notice of completion is the best early warning a claimant gets, so set up a watch on the county paper and the owner’s notice page for any job with an open balance. And because subsection (g) exempts contracts under $100,000 from the publication rule, on smaller jobs you may get no public signal at all. Ask the awarding authority directly for the final settlement date.
Every Alabama Public-Project Claim Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System calendars the 45-day payment date and the one-year suit bar once you enter the notice date and the final settlement date. Private-work rules are on the Alabama lien statutes page, with the calculator on the Alabama mechanics lien hub . The last row covers federal prime contracts in Alabama, such as Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Fort Novosel and Anniston Army Depot. Those run under the federal Miller Act , where only a second-tier claimant gives notice, within 90 days of its last work. An Alabama supplier working both kinds of jobs follows two very different rules.
Getting the Bond and Filing Suit
Under § 39-1-1(c), anyone with a right of action on the payment bond who applies in writing to the authority that directed the work, stating that labor, materials or supplies were furnished and not paid for, is entitled to be promptly furnished a certified copy of the bond and the contract . Make that request early. You need the surety’s legal name and an office address to give a valid notice. The suit is brought in the claimant’s own name against the contractor and the surety, or either of them. Venue lies in the county where the work is to be or has been performed, or in any other county where venue is otherwise allowed by law. Before filing, have an Alabama construction attorney check the amount and the final settlement date against the awarding authority’s records.
Send the Surety Notice and Track the Suit Date
Alabama Public Works Workflow Prepare the § 39-1-1(b) notice to the surety with the amount and nature of the claim, and keep the 45-day payment date, the final settlement date and the one-year suit bar on one calendar. Pair it with these resources: When the 45 days pass without payment, connect with an Alabama construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network, or request a formal attorney review of the claim file.
Notice the Surety, Then Watch the Close-Out
The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator tracks the 45-day payment date and the one-year-from-final-settlement suit bar for every Alabama public job. Miss the deadline and you lose your claim rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for an Alabama payment bond claim?
The deadline that matters is the suit deadline. Under Ala. Code § 39-1-1(b), a civil action on the payment bond must be commenced not later than one year from the date of final settlement of the contract. The statute sets no separate notice deadline measured from your last day on the job. The notice to the surety has to go out at least 45 days before you sue, so in practice it must be mailed at least 45 days before the one-year mark, and much earlier is better.
Who do you send an Alabama bond claim notice to?
The surety. Section 39-1-1(b) bars suit until 45 days after written notice to the surety of the amount claimed to be due and the nature of the claim. Notice by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the surety at any of its places of business or offices is sufficient. The statute does not require a notice to the prime contractor or the awarding authority, although copying the prime is sensible and costs nothing.
Do first-tier subcontractors have to send notice in Alabama?
Yes, if they intend to sue. The 45-day notice in § 39-1-1(b) is a condition on any civil action on the bond, and the statute does not exempt claimants in direct contract with the prime the way the federal Miller Act does. Any person that furnished labor, materials or supplies for or in the prosecution of the public work and has not been paid gives the same notice.
What is final settlement on an Alabama public contract?
It is the awarding authority's final settlement of the contract with the prime contractor. Under § 39-1-1(f), the contractor must publish a notice of completion for at least three weeks, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, on that newspaper's website, or on the awarding authority's notice website. Final settlement cannot be made until 30 days after that notice is complete. The notice of completion is the claimant's public warning that the one-year clock is about to start.
Can you recover attorney fees on an Alabama bond claim?
Yes. The payment bond itself must cover reasonable attorney fees incurred by successful claimants in civil actions on the bond, under § 39-1-1(a). And under § 39-1-1(b), if the surety or contractor fails to pay the claim in full within 45 days from the mailing of the notice, the claimant may recover, in addition to the claim, a reasonable attorney fee based on the result, together with interest on the claim from the date of the notice.
Is a bond required on every Alabama public job?
No. Section 39-1-1(e) does not require a bond to secure contracts in an amount less than $100,000, and the notice-of-completion rule in subsection (f) does not apply to contracts under $100,000 either. On a contract of $100,000 or more, the contractor must post a performance bond of 100 percent and a separate payment bond of not less than 50 percent of the contract price before starting work.
Where do you file suit on an Alabama payment bond?
Under § 39-1-1(c), the claimant may bring the civil action in its own name against the contractor and the surety, or either of them, in the county in which the work is to be or has been performed, or in any other county where venue is otherwise allowed by law. The same subsection entitles a claimant who applies in writing to the awarding authority to a certified copy of the payment bond and the contract.