Montana Payment Bond Claim — The 90-Day Notice Filed With the Public Body, the 30-Day Supplier Notice and the Missing Suit Deadline (Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-204, 2026)
✓ Verified against Montana statutes · Reviewed October 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Montana mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
None — N/A
Mechanics Lien
90 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
2 years — From filing
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Why Montana Public Work Runs on Security, Not a Lien
On a private Montana job, an unpaid contractor or supplier files a construction lien with the county clerk and recorder within 90 days after its last furnishing under Mont. Code Ann. § 71-3-535, after the notice covered in the Montana notice of right to claim lien guide . A Billings school, a Montana Department of Transportation bridge, a Montana State University building in Bozeman or a Missoula wastewater plant is different. Public property is not sold to pay a contractor’s debts, so the claimant’s protection is the security the public body required of the contractor. Montana’s rules are in Title 18, chapter 2, part 2, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 18-2-201 through 18-2-208 . They are older and shorter than most Little Miller Acts, and they work differently. The claim is not a letter to the prime and its surety. It is a notice filed with the public owner , timed from the owner’s acceptance of the work. Part 2 also contains no deadline to sue . The Mechanics Lien Management Method treats a Montana public job as an owner-calendar file . Your own last delivery date does not start the main clock. The public body’s acceptance vote does, so the file needs the board or council meeting schedule as much as it needs your invoices.
The Security: Full Contract Price, Waivable Under $150,000
Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-201(1) requires any board, council, commission, trustees or other body acting for the state, a county, municipality or other public body that contracts for work to require a good and sufficient bond from a surety company licensed in Montana . The bond is conditioned on performing the contract and on paying all laborers, mechanics, subcontractors and material suppliers, and everyone who supplies the contractor or its subcontractors with provisions, materials or supplies for the work. Under § 18-2-203, the security must equal the full contract price . Cities and towns may set their own amount by general ordinance, but not below 25% of the contract price . In place of a surety bond, the public body may accept a deposit of cash, a cashier’s or certified check, a certificate of deposit or an irrevocable letter of credit at least equal to the contract sum (§ 18-2-201(2)). A county or city may also accept a bond with two or more individual sureties (§ 18-2-201(3)). The requirement can be waived on building or construction projects under $150,000 , or under $7,500 for a school district (§ 18-2-201(4)-(5)). Waiver does not leave claimants empty-handed. Under § 18-2-202, a public body that waives or fails to take the security makes the state, county, city, town or other municipal corporation liable for the full amount of the contracted debts of the contractor and…
The 90-Day Notice of Claim Goes to the Public Body
Section 18-2-204(1) gives everyone listed in § 18-2-201 a right of action in their own name on the security. Section 18-2-205 gives a supplier or worker dealing with a subcontractor the same rights as if it had dealt with the original contractor. All of them face the same condition. There is no right of action on the security unless, within 90 days after the completion of the contract with an acceptance of the work by the affirmative action of the public body, the claimant presents to and files with that body a written notice. The statute supplies the form. The notice is addressed to the public entity and states that the claimant has a claim in a stated dollar amount against the security taken from the named principal and surety, for a briefly described work. Under § 18-2-204(2), it must be signed by the person or company making the claim. Section 18-2-208(3) adds that the 90-day notice does not prevent or delay payment of money due the contractor. Filing a claim does not freeze the contract funds. It preserves your right to sue on the security.
Suppliers to Subcontractors: The 30-Day Notice to the Contractor
Section 18-2-206 adds a second, earlier notice for one group: anyone furnishing provisions, materials or supplies to a subcontractor on public work. Not later than 30 days after the first delivery , that supplier must give the contractor a notice of a right of action on the security , delivered personally or sent by certified mail. The written notice must state (i) that it is a notice of a right of action on the security, (ii) that the supplier has begun delivering, (iii) the name of the subcontractor or agent who placed the order or received the goods, and (iv) that the contractor and its security will be held for the unpaid price if the supplier is not paid. Under § 18-2-206(3), any other kind of actual or constructive notice is not sufficient. Under § 18-2-206(4), no suit may be maintained against the contractor or the security unless the part has been complied with. The 30-day clock runs from the first delivery, at the start of the job, when nobody expects a problem. Build it into the order intake for every Montana public job where your customer is a subcontractor.
No Statutory Suit Deadline, and a Fee Rule That Rewards Patience
Part 2 sets no deadline to sue on the security. Practitioner summaries agree that the bond’s own terms usually supply the limit, and that the general statute of limitations for the underlying claim applies when the bond is silent. A bond that sets its own limit can be much shorter than the general rule. Read the bond the day you get it. Section 18-2-207 awards reasonable attorney fees, plus costs, to the prevailing party in a suit against the surety or anyone else liable on the security. Fees are not allowed in a suit filed before 30 days have passed after the filing of the notice required by § 18-2-206. Waiting that long before suing protects the fee claim. Because the fee rule favors whoever wins, a claim you cannot document is a liability. A conservative plan is to sue well within one year of acceptance unless the bond says otherwise. If the bond limit or acceptance date is unclear, take the file to a Montana construction attorney before the 90-day notice window closes.
Every Montana Public-Project Claim Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System calendars the 30-day supplier notice from your first-delivery date and the 90-day claim from the acceptance date you enter. Private-work rules are on the Montana lien statutes page, and the calculator is on the Montana mechanics lien hub . The last row covers federal prime contracts in Montana, such as work at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls or for federal land agencies. Those run under the federal Miller Act, which counts its notice and suit deadlines from the claimant’s own last furnishing. A supplier working both kinds of jobs needs two different calculations.
Send the Supplier Notice, Track Acceptance, File With the Owner
Montana Public Works Workflow If your customer is a subcontractor, send the 30-day notice to the contractor by certified mail after your first delivery. Get a copy of the bond or deposit from the public body. Track the acceptance vote, then file a signed notice of claim with the public body inside 90 days and keep the file-stamped copy. Pair it with these resources: Because the claim may end in a lawsuit against the surety, connect early with a Montana construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network, or request a formal attorney review of the claim file.
The Owner’s Vote Starts Your Clock
The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator tracks the 30-day supplier notice and the 90-day claim on every Montana public job. Miss the deadline and you lose your claim rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for a Montana payment bond claim?
Ninety days after completion of the contract with an acceptance of the work by the affirmative action of the public body. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-204, a laborer, mechanic, subcontractor or material supplier has no right of action on the security unless it presents to and files with that public body a signed written notice of its claim within that window. The clock runs from the public body's acceptance, not from the claimant's last day on the job.
Who gets the Montana bond claim notice?
The public body that let the contract: the board, council, commission, trustees, officer or body acting for the state, county, city, town, district or other public entity. Section 18-2-204 requires the notice to be presented to and filed with that body, not mailed to the surety. A supplier selling to a subcontractor also owes a separate notice to the contractor under § 18-2-206.
What is the 30-day supplier notice in Montana?
A supplier furnishing provisions, materials or supplies to a subcontractor on Montana public work must, within 30 days after its first delivery, give the contractor a written notice of a right of action on the security. Under Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-206, it is delivered personally or sent by certified mail, and it states that it is such a notice, that delivery has begun, the name of the subcontractor or agent who ordered or received the goods, and that the contractor and its security will be held for the unpaid price. No other actual or constructive notice is sufficient.
When is the deadline to sue on a Montana public works bond?
Montana's public contract security statutes, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 18-2-201 through 18-2-208, do not set one. The deadline usually comes from the bond form itself, which may impose its own limit, and otherwise from the general statute of limitations for the underlying claim. Read the bond before you rely on any date, and do not wait: a short contractual limit in the bond can control.
Which Montana public jobs require a payment bond?
Under Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-201, whenever the state, a county, municipality or other public body contracts for work, it must require a bond from a Montana-licensed surety conditioned on performance and on paying laborers, mechanics, subcontractors and material suppliers. Under § 18-2-203 the security equals the full contract price, though a city or town may set a lower amount by ordinance, not below 25%. The requirement may be waived on building or construction projects under $150,000, or under $7,500 for a school district.
What if the Montana public body never took a bond?
Then the public entity is liable. Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-202 provides that if the public body waives or fails to take the security required or authorized by § 18-2-201, the state, county, city, town or other municipal corporation is liable to the protected laborers, subcontractors and suppliers for the full amount of all the contracted debts of the contractor and any subcontractor.
Can you recover attorney fees on a Montana bond claim?
Yes, the prevailing party can. Mont. Code Ann. § 18-2-207 awards reasonable attorney fees, in addition to costs, to the prevailing party in a suit against the surety or other person liable on the security. Fees are not allowed in a suit filed before 30 days have passed after the filing of the notice required by § 18-2-206, so a claimant that sues too quickly can forfeit them.