Minnesota Payment Bond Claim — Every Claimant, First Tier Included, Serves the Surety and the Contractor Within 120 Days, and Sues Within One Year (Minn. Stat. § 574.31, 2026)
✓ Verified against Minnesota statutes · Reviewed September 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Minnesota mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
45 days — Pre-lien notice
Mechanics Lien
120 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
1 year — From filing
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Why Minnesota Public Work Runs on a Bond, Not a Lien
On a private Minnesota job, an unpaid subcontractor or supplier works under Chapter 514: a pre-lien notice early in the job where one is required, then a lien statement recorded within 120 days of last furnishing under Minn. Stat. § 514.08. A MnDOT bridge deck, a Minneapolis Public Schools renovation, a University of Minnesota lab, or a county highway building is different. Public property cannot be liened, so Minn. Stat. §§ 574.26 through 574.31 require the prime contractor to post a payment bond for everyone furnishing labor and materials to the job. Minnesota’s statute is easier to calendar than most. The notice window and the suit window both run from the claimant’s own last item of labor and materials , so a claimant does not need to learn a date from the public body’s books. What catches Minnesota claimants is not the timing. It is who has to give the notice and where it has to go . The Mechanics Lien Management Method treats a Minnesota public job as a one-trigger, two-recipient file : one date, the last item furnished, drives both deadlines, and every notice goes to two parties, the surety and the contractor, at the addresses printed in the bond.
What § 574.31 Actually Requires
Start with who owes the notice : a person furnishing labor and materials who makes a claim on the payment bond. The subdivision does not limit the obligation to claimants without a contract with the prime, which is how the federal Miller Act and most state versions are written. A first-tier subcontractor is covered, and so is a second-tier supplier. For a Minnesota sub used to working federal jobs, this is the most expensive assumption to carry across. Next is who receives it : the surety and the contractor, both of them. That puts Minnesota among the 35 prime-and-surety states on the Little Miller Act deadlines map , and it means the public body is not a recipient. The subdivision also fixes the address : the one stated in the bond, not whatever the surety’s website lists. Last is what it must say : the nature and amount of the claim and the date the claimant furnished its last item of labor and materials for the public work. The statute includes a form of notice that a claimant may use. Filling in that form with the job-specific amount is the simplest way to show every element is there.
The Bond Is a Public Record, So Get It First
Minnesota ties the notice to the addresses in the bond, then makes the bond easy to get. Under Minn. Stat. § 574.28 , before work begins the contractor must file its payment and performance bonds with the treasurer or chief financial officer of the public body named in them. The bonds must include the address of the contractor and of the surety. The public body must make them available for inspection and copying on request. Changes to the contract, changes in the work, and extensions of time do not release the sureties. The right time to ask is when you sign the subcontract, not when payment stops. A one-line email to the city, county, or school district finance office asking for a copy of the payment bond on the project gets you the surety’s name, the bond number, and the two service addresses, while everyone is still cooperative. Subdivision 2(b) adds a twist. If the contractor failed to include both addresses in the bond, a claimant need not give either the surety or the contractor written notice . That is a real protection, but it is a defense to raise after the fact, not a plan. Serving a notice anyway costs one certified letter and takes the argument off the table.
Every Minnesota Public-Work Claim Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System calculates both Minnesota bond deadlines from the claimant’s last item furnished. Private-work rules are on the Minnesota lien statutes page, with the calculator on the Minnesota mechanics lien hub . The last two rows cover federal prime contracts in Minnesota, such as work for the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, the Minneapolis–St. Paul Air Reserve Station, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers locks and dams on the Mississippi. That work falls under the federal Miller Act , not Chapter 574. The federal notice is 90 days, not 120. It goes only to the prime, and only a claimant without a contract with the prime owes it. A Minnesota sub that uses the state’s 120-day window on a federal job can miss the federal deadline by a month.
One Year to Sue, and Only Two Ways to Stretch It
Section 574.31, subd. 2(c) requires an action to enforce a claim against the surety to be commenced within one year from the date of completion, delivery, or provision of the claimant’s last item of labor and materials for the public work. Several claimants may join in one action. If the bond is not enough to pay every claim in full, recovery is prorated among them. That gives a claimant a reason not to be the last one to file on a troubled job. Subdivision 2(d) allows an extension in only two ways. The first is a written stipulation between the claimant and the surety stating the new deadline, signed by both before the year expires. The second is a certified-mail notice to the surety sent 90 days before the deadline , extending it by one year. It takes effect only if the surety does not send a written objection by certified mail within 30 days of receiving it. A promise from an adjuster on the phone is neither. The subdivision also protects claimants whose payment is not yet due. If the claimant’s payment is not contractually due within one year after its last item, for example because retainage is held until the project closes, the court must continue the action rather than dismiss it until payment is due. The action still has to be filed inside the year. The continuance only keeps it alive.
Generate the Minnesota Notice From One Project Record
Minnesota Public Works Notice Generator Produce the § 574.31, subd. 2(a) notice of claim with the nature and amount of the claim and your last date of supply, addressed to both the surety and the contractor, plus a calendar carrying the 120-day notice cutoff, the one-year suit date, and the 90-day window for an extension notice. Pair it with the property search tool to confirm the public owner, the bond claim hub to compare Minnesota with other Little Miller Act states, mechanics lien vs. bond claim for choosing the remedy early, the preliminary notice center for the private-work analogue, and the mechanics lien deadlines by state pillar. When the surety denies the claim or the year is running short, connect with a Minnesota construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network.
Track the Minnesota Notice and Suit Clocks Automatically
The Mechanics Lien Management lien generator produces the § 574.31 notice for both recipients from one project record. The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator carries the 120-day notice cutoff and the one-year suit date together. Miss the deadline and you lose your claim rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for a Minnesota payment bond claim notice?
One hundred twenty days after you complete, deliver, or provide your last item of labor and materials for the public work. Minn. Stat. § 574.31, subd. 2(a) provides that no action may be maintained on the payment bond unless the claimant serves written notice of claim within that window. The 120 days runs from the claimant's own last item, not from substantial completion of the project and not from the public body's acceptance. A claimant that returns to the site only for warranty or punch-list work should expect an argument about whether that trip counts as its last item for the public work, so do not build a deadline around a late return visit.
Do first-tier subcontractors have to give notice on a Minnesota bond claim?
Yes. This is the feature that most separates Minnesota from its neighbors. Many Little Miller Act statutes, like the federal Miller Act, require notice only from claimants that have no contract with the prime contractor. Section 574.31, subd. 2(a) is written for any person furnishing labor and materials who makes a claim on the payment bond. A first-tier subcontractor that signed directly with the prime is inside that language and must serve the 120-day notice on both the surety and the contractor, the same as a second-tier supplier. A sub that assumes its direct contract excuses the notice can lose the bond claim.
Who do you serve with a Minnesota bond claim notice?
Both the surety that issued the bond and the contractor on whose behalf it was issued, at their addresses as stated in the bond. Section 574.31, subd. 2(a) permits service personally or by certified mail. The public body is not a statutory recipient. Because the addresses that count are the ones written in the bond, the practical first step is getting a copy of the bond: Minn. Stat. § 574.28 requires the contractor to file it with the treasurer or chief financial officer of the public body before work begins, and requires the public body to make it available for inspection and copying on request.
What must a Minnesota bond claim notice say?
Section 574.31, subd. 2(a) requires the notice to specify the nature and amount of the claim and the date the claimant furnished its last item of labor and materials for the public work. The statute also sets out a form of notice that a claimant may use. Using the statutory form, filled in with the job-specific amount rather than an account balance across several projects, is the simplest way to show that every required element is present.
How long do you have to sue on a Minnesota payment bond?
One year from the date of completion, delivery, or provision of your last item of labor and materials for the public work, under § 574.31, subd. 2(c). Both the notice and the suit run from the same event, which makes Minnesota easier to calendar than states that measure suit from final acceptance or final payment. Multiple claimants may join in one action, and if the bond is not enough to pay every claim in full, the recovery is prorated among them.
Can you extend the one-year deadline to sue on a Minnesota bond?
Yes, in two narrow ways under § 574.31, subd. 2(d). The first is a written stipulation between the claimant and the surety, stating the extended deadline and signed by both before the year expires. The second is a written notice extending the deadline by one year, sent by the claimant to the surety by certified mail 90 days before the deadline, which works only if the surety does not object in a certified-mail response within 30 days after receiving it. Separately, if the claimant's payment is not contractually due within the year, the court must continue rather than dismiss the action until it is.
What if the contractor left the addresses out of the Minnesota bond?
Then the notice requirement falls away. Minn. Stat. § 574.28 requires the bonds to include the address of the contractor and of the surety. Under § 574.31, subd. 2(b), if the contractor fails to include both addresses as that section requires, a claimant need not give either the surety or the contractor written notice of its claim. The one-year suit period in subdivision 2(c) still applies. A claimant should not rely on this exception without having seen the bond, and serving a notice anyway costs little and removes the argument.