Georgia Payment Bond Claim — The Contractor's Notice of Commencement Decides Whether You Have 30 Days or 90, and the Suit Clock Runs From Acceptance (O.C.G.A. §§ 13-10-63, 36-91-93, 2026)
✓ Verified against Georgia statutes · Reviewed September 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Georgia mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
30 days after NOC — Notice to Contractor
Mechanics Lien
90 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
1 year — From filing
Manage your Georgia deadlines and projects — your first project is on us → · All Georgia deadlines & forms
On Georgia Public Work, Your Deadline Depends on the Contractor’s Paperwork
A Georgia subcontractor on private work already knows the rhythm: a 30-day Notice to Contractor when a notice of commencement is on file, and a claim of lien within 90 days of last furnishing. On a county courthouse, a school system gym, or a state university lab, the lien is gone, because public property cannot be sold to pay a subcontractor. Georgia replaces it with the contractor’s payment bond , and it does so twice. O.C.G.A. §§ 13-10-60 through 13-10-65 govern state public works. O.C.G.A. §§ 36-91-90 through 36-91-95 govern local government public works: counties, cities, school districts, and authorities. The two articles are written in parallel, section for section, so the same rules apply to both with the citation changed. The feature that sets Georgia apart is that the remote claimant’s notice deadline is not fixed. It turns on whether the contractor complied with the public works notice of commencement requirement. That is a filing the claimant does not make and may never see. The Mechanics Lien Management Method starts every Georgia public job by checking the superior court clerk’s index for that notice.
Two Notices, One Condition
Both paragraphs apply only to a remote claimant , meaning a person in contract with a subcontractor but with no contractual relationship, express or implied, with the contractor that furnished the bond. A first-tier subcontractor or supplier owes neither notice. Both notices go to the contractor . Neither is addressed to the surety or the public owner. State projects follow the identical text in O.C.G.A. § 13-10-63(a). The two notices do different jobs. The 30-day notice is an early warning that tells the contractor who is on the job and for whom. It must give the claimant’s name, address, and telephone number, and the name and address of each person at whose instance the work is furnished. It must also give the name and location of the site, and a description of the work with its contract price or anticipated value if known. The 90-day notice is a claim. It states the amount claimed and the name of the party for whom the work was performed, with substantial accuracy.
The Notice of Commencement That Sets Your Clock
Under O.C.G.A. §§ 13-10-62(a) and 36-91-92(a), the contractor furnishing the payment bond or security deposit must post a notice of commencement on the jobsite and file it with the clerk of the superior court in the county where the site is located. It is due no later than 15 days after the contractor physically commences work . The notice lists the contractor’s name, address, and telephone number, and the name and location of the project. It also lists the contracting public entity, the name and address of the surety on the performance and payment bonds, and the holder of any security deposit. The contractor must supply a copy to any subcontractor, supplier, or person who asks in writing. On local government projects, § 36-91-92(a) sets a 10-calendar-day deadline for that copy and makes paragraph (1) of § 36-91-93(a) inapplicable to a requester who does not get one in time. The clerk indexes the notice under the name of the governmental entity and the name of the contractor. If the contractor never files, §§ 13-10-62(b) and 36-91-92(b) make the 30-day notice requirement inapplicable , and the remote claimant falls back to the 90-day notice from last furnishing. The practical rule is to search the clerk’s records before the first delivery, request the notice in writing, and send the 30-day notice regardless. A notice sent when it was not required costs a stamp. A notice…
Every Georgia Public-Work Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System tracks both notice paths, the right of action, and the one-year suit date from one project record. Private-work rules sit at Georgia lien statutes , with the calculator on the Georgia mechanics lien hub . The federal rows follow a different statute. Work under a prime contract with the Army Corps of Engineers, the VA, or GSA is Miller Act work under 40 U.S.C. § 3133. There, the notice and the suit deadline both run from last furnishing, and suit goes to federal court.
Suing on the Bond: A Year From Acceptance
The right of action belongs to a claimant that has not been paid in full 90 days after its last labor or materials, or after it completed its subcontract. Subsection (b) of §§ 13-10-63 and 36-91-93 adds that nothing in the section limits that right to the 90-day period that follows. The action is brought in the claimant’s own name , and the state agency or governmental entity is not made a party . The outer limit is in O.C.G.A. §§ 13-10-65 and 36-91-95: no action can be instituted after one year from the completion of the contract and the acceptance of the public works construction by the proper public authorities. The trigger is completion and acceptance of the prime contract, not the claimant’s own last delivery. On a two-year school project, a sitework subcontractor that left in month four may have well over a year. A finish trade that left a week before acceptance has about a year. The bond itself has two useful protections. Under §§ 13-10-61 and 36-91-91, no agreement, contract change, change in the work, or extension of time releases the sureties. And if the public owner never took a bond or deposit in the form the statute requires, the owner itself is liable to subcontractors and suppliers for the loss. The security can also be a cashier’s check, certified check, or cash deposit rather than a surety bond, and the claim procedure applies to it the same way.
Generate the Georgia Bond Notices From One Project Record
Georgia Bond Claim Notice Generator Produce the 30-day notice to contractor with all four statutory elements at first delivery, and the 90-day notice stating the amount claimed if no notice of commencement was filed. Then track the one-year suit date from the acceptance date the public owner confirms. Pair it with the property search tool to confirm the owner is a public entity, the bond claim hub for how Georgia compares to other Little Miller Act states, the preliminary notice guide for the private-work analogue, mechanics lien vs. bond claim , and the mechanics lien deadlines by state pillar. When a contractor disputes the claim or the surety denies it, connect with a Georgia construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network.
Run Both Georgia Notice Paths Automatically
The Mechanics Lien Management lien generator produces the 30-day and 90-day notices to contractor from one project record. The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator tracks the notice of commencement date, your first and last delivery, and the one-year suit date from acceptance. Miss the deadline and you lose your bond rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for a Georgia payment bond claim notice?
It depends on the contractor. A claimant with a contract only with a subcontractor, and no contract with the contractor that furnished the bond, must give that contractor written notice. If the contractor filed and posted a notice of commencement, the notice is due within 30 days from the filing of the notice of commencement or 30 days after the claimant's first delivery of labor or materials, whichever is later. If the contractor did not comply with the notice of commencement requirement, the notice is due within 90 days from the claimant's last labor or materials. The rules are in O.C.G.A. § 13-10-63(a) for state projects and § 36-91-93(a) for local government projects.
Does a first-tier subcontractor need to send a Georgia bond claim notice?
Georgia's notice provisions apply to a person having a direct contractual relationship with a subcontractor but no contractual relationship, express or implied, with the contractor furnishing the payment bond. A first-tier subcontractor or supplier that contracted directly with that contractor is not a remote claimant, and the statute does not require it to give either the 30-day or the 90-day notice before suing on the bond. It still has to meet the one-year suit deadline.
Who receives a Georgia bond claim notice?
The contractor that furnished the payment bond or security deposit. Neither the 30-day nor the 90-day notice is directed to the surety or the governmental entity. The 90-day notice may be served by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, addressed to the contractor at any place it maintains an office or conducts business or at its residence, or in any manner Georgia sheriffs may serve process. The surety's name and address are listed on the contractor's notice of commencement, so copying the surety costs nothing extra.
How long do you have to sue on a Georgia payment bond?
No action can be instituted on the payment bond or security deposit after one year from the completion of the contract and the acceptance of the public works construction by the proper public authorities. The rule is O.C.G.A. § 13-10-65 for state projects and § 36-91-95 for local government projects. The clock runs from completion and acceptance of the whole contract, not from the claimant's own last day of work. The action is brought in the claimant's name, and the governmental entity is not made a party.
What is a Georgia public works notice of commencement?
It is a notice the contractor furnishing the payment bond must post on the jobsite and file with the clerk of the superior court in the county where the site is located, no later than 15 days after the contractor physically commences work. It lists the contractor's name, address, and telephone number, the name and location of the project, the name and address of the contracting public entity, the name and address of the surety on the performance and payment bonds, and the holder of any security deposit. Under O.C.G.A. §§ 13-10-62(b) and 36-91-92(b), a contractor's failure to file it makes the 30-day notice requirement inapplicable.
Which Georgia public projects require a payment bond?
Payment bonds are required on state public works construction contracts with an estimated contract amount greater than $100,000 under O.C.G.A. § 13-10-60, and on local government public works construction contracts above the same figure under § 36-91-90. The public entity may require a bond on smaller contracts. It may also accept a cashier's check, certified check, or cash as a security deposit in place of a bond. The bond or deposit must be at least the total amount payable under the initial contract and must increase if the contract amount increases.
What if a Georgia public owner never required a payment bond?
Then the public body can be liable. Under O.C.G.A. § 13-10-61 for state work and § 36-91-91 for local government work, if a payment bond or security deposit is not taken in the manner and form the statute requires, the corporation or body for which the work is done is liable to all subcontractors and persons furnishing labor, materials, machinery, or equipment for any loss resulting from that failure. The same sections provide that no contract change or time extension releases the sureties on a bond that was taken.