North Carolina Payment Bond Claim — The 120-Day Notice Goes to the Contractor, and a Second Notice Served at the Start of the Job Protects Everything Above $20,000 (G.S. 44A-27, 2026)
✓ Verified against North Carolina statutes · Reviewed September 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
North Carolina mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
None — Subrogation notice for subs
Mechanics Lien
120 days — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
180 days — From filing
Manage your North Carolina deadlines and projects — your first project is on us → · All North Carolina deadlines & forms
A Model Bond Statute With Two Notices, Not One
On a private North Carolina job, a subcontractor protects itself with a notice to lien agent and, if payment stops, a claim of lien within 120 days of last furnishing. None of that works on a county school, a city water plant, or a university building. Public property cannot be liened, and G.S. 44A-34 says the bond article is not to be read as extending the lien articles to public bodies or public buildings. The substitute is Article 3 of Chapter 44A , titled the Model Payment and Performance Bond, G.S. 44A-25 through 44A-34. It covers any department, agency, or political subdivision of the State that has authority to enter into construction contracts, which reaches State agencies, the UNC system, counties, cities, and school boards alike. Unlike Pennsylvania or Georgia, North Carolina runs every public owner through one statute. What makes North Carolina different is that a lower-tier claimant has two notices to think about. The 120-day notice of claim preserves the right to sue. A separate notice of public subcontract , served early, protects how much can be recovered. The Mechanics Lien Management Method treats the second one as a start-of-job document, not an end-of-job one.
What G.S. 44A-27 Actually Requires
Subsection (a) is the general right of action. Any claimant that performed labor or furnished materials on a bonded contract and has not been paid in full 90 days after its last furnishing may sue on the bond in its own name. That 90 days is a waiting period, not a notice deadline. A subcontractor or supplier in direct contract with the contractor owes no statutory notice at all. Subsection (b) adds the notice requirement, and it binds only a claimant with no contract with the contractor: a second-tier subcontractor, or a supplier to a subcontractor. The notice goes to the contractor within 120 days from last furnishing. It must state with substantial accuracy the amount claimed and the name of the person for whom the work was performed or to whom the material was furnished. “Labor or materials” is defined broadly in 44A-25(5). It includes materials that never become part of the improvement, along with gas, power, light, heat, oil, gasoline, telephone service, and rental of equipment or the reasonable value of equipment directly used in the work. A fuel supplier or an equipment rental company on a bonded job is a claimant in the same position as a drywall subcontractor.
The 75-Day Lookback and the $20,000 Carve-Out
The same subsection that sets the 120-day deadline also limits the claim’s size. For a lower-tier claimant, the claim shall not include labor or materials provided more than 75 days before the claimant served its written notice of public subcontract on the contractor. A supplier that delivers for eight months and serves nothing until the account goes bad may find most of the balance outside the window. Two exceptions narrow the rule. Under G.S. 44A-27(e) , the notice of public subcontract requirement does not apply to claims of $20,000 or less , and for a larger claim it applies only to the portion above $20,000 . And the lookback does not apply if the contractor failed to send a copy of the payment bond within seven calendar days of a properly served written request. A bond request served at the start of the job therefore does two things at once: it gets you the surety’s name, and it puts the contractor on a short statutory clock. The notice of public subcontract itself is simple. Subsection (d) sets out the form: the name and address of the subcontractor giving notice, a general description of the real property, a general description of the subcontract including the names and addresses of the parties, and a general description of the labor and material furnished, dated and signed. It carries no amount and makes no demand, so serving it early does not strain the relationship.
Every North Carolina Public-Work Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System builds the 120-day notice, the day-91 earliest suit date, and the one-year limitation from a single last-furnishing date. The private-work rules are on the North Carolina lien statutes page, with the calculator on the North Carolina mechanics lien hub . The last two rows are 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. The federal notice window is 90 days, a full month shorter than North Carolina’s, and a claimant that carries the state habit onto a federal base will miss it.
Serving the Notices and Getting the Bond
G.S. 44A-27(c) uses one service rule for three documents: the notice of claim, the notice of public subcontract, and a request for a copy of the payment bond. Each is served by certified mail or by USPS signature confirmation , postage prepaid, addressed to the contractor at any place where its office is regularly maintained for business, or to the agent named in the contractor’s project statement. Any method allowed for serving a summons also works. There are two routes to the bond. The contractor must send a copy within seven calendar days of a properly served request. Separately, G.S. 44A-31 lets anyone entitled to sue on the bond require the contracting body to certify and furnish copies of the payment bond and the construction contract on not less than 10 days’ notice, for a reasonable charge covering the actual cost. The certified copy is prima facie evidence of the contents, execution, and delivery of the bond and contract, so it is worth requesting even when the contractor has already sent one. Two more provisions protect the claimant. Under G.S. 44A-30(a) , no act or agreement between the public body, the contractor, or the surety can shorten the notice or suit periods or otherwise limit liability, so a subcontract clause purporting to require notice in 30 days does not change the statute. Under 44A-30(b), every bond given under the article is conclusively presumed to…
Generate the North Carolina Bond Notices From One Project Record
North Carolina Bond Claim Notice Generator Produce the G.S. 44A-27(d) notice of public subcontract and a written bond request at the start of the job, the 44A-27(b) notice of claim on payment bond when payment stops, the 44A-31 request for a certified bond copy, and a calendar with the day-120 notice deadline, the day-91 earliest suit date, and the one-year 44A-28(b) deadline. Pair it with the property search tool to confirm the public owner, the bond claim hub to compare North Carolina with other Little Miller Act states, mechanics lien vs. bond claim for choosing the remedy early, the preliminary notice guide for the private-work equivalent, and the lien waiver center before signing a release that also waives bond rights. When the contractor disputes the amount or the surety stops responding, connect with a North Carolina construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network.
Track the North Carolina Bond Clock Automatically
The Mechanics Lien Management lien generator produces the notice of public subcontract, the bond request, and the notice of claim from one project record. The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator tracks the 120-day notice, the day-91 suit date, and the one-year limitation. Miss the deadline and you lose your bond rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for a North Carolina payment bond claim notice?
120 days. Under G.S. 44A-27(b), a claimant that has a direct contract with a subcontractor but no contractual relationship, express or implied, with the contractor may sue on the payment bond only if it gave the contractor a written notice of claim on payment bond within 120 days from the date it performed the last of its labor or furnished the last of its materials. The notice must state with substantial accuracy the amount claimed and the name of the person for whom the work was performed or to whom the material was furnished.
Does a first-tier subcontractor need to send notice on a North Carolina bond claim?
No. G.S. 44A-27(a) lets any claimant that performed labor or furnished materials on a bonded contract, and was not paid in full within 90 days after its last furnishing, sue on the payment bond in its own name. The 120-day notice of claim in subsection (b) applies only to a claimant with no contractual relationship with the contractor, which means a second-tier subcontractor or a supplier to a subcontractor. A subcontractor or supplier in direct contract with the contractor owes no statutory notice, though a written demand is still sensible practice.
What is a notice of public subcontract in North Carolina?
It is a short written notice to the contractor, in the form set out in G.S. 44A-27(d), identifying the subcontractor giving notice, the real property, the subcontract and its parties, and the labor and materials furnished. It matters because of a lookback rule. For a claimant that owes the 120-day notice, the claim cannot include labor or materials provided more than 75 days before it served the notice of public subcontract, unless the contractor failed to send a copy of the payment bond within seven days of a proper request. Under G.S. 44A-27(e) the rule does not apply to claims of $20,000 or less, and applies only to the portion of a larger claim above $20,000.
Who receives a North Carolina bond claim notice, and how is it served?
The contractor, meaning the party that entered into the construction contract with the public body. The statute does not name the surety or the public owner. Under G.S. 44A-27(c), the notice of claim, the notice of public subcontract, and any request for a copy of the payment bond are served by certified mail or by USPS signature confirmation, postage prepaid, addressed to the contractor at any place where its office is regularly maintained for business or to the agent identified in the contractor's project statement, or in any manner provided by law for service of a summons.
How long do you have to sue on a North Carolina payment bond?
G.S. 44A-28(b) bars any action commenced after the longer of two periods: one year from the day the claimant last performed labor or furnished material, or one year from the day final settlement was made with the contractor. Because a claimant rarely knows when final settlement occurs, the safe calendar date is one year from its own last furnishing. Suit also cannot come too early, because 44A-27(a) allows it only after 90 days unpaid. Venue is a county where the construction contract, or any part of it, was performed. No agreement can shorten either the notice period or the suit period under G.S. 44A-30(a).
Which North Carolina public projects require a payment bond?
Under G.S. 44A-26(a), when the total amount of construction contracts awarded for one project exceeds $300,000, the contracting body must require a 100 percent performance bond and a 100 percent payment bond from any contractor or construction manager at risk whose contract exceeds $50,000. For State departments, State agencies, and The University of North Carolina and its constituent institutions, the project threshold is $500,000. A contracting body may require bonds on any construction contract at its discretion. The bonds must be written by a surety authorized to do business in North Carolina.
Can you file a mechanics lien on a North Carolina public project?
Generally no. Public property is not subject to a lien, which is why Article 3 of Chapter 44A requires the payment bond, and G.S. 44A-34 states that adding the bond article is not to be construed as making the lien articles apply to public bodies or public buildings. The private-work procedure, with its notice to lien agent and 120-day claim of lien, does not carry over. On a project where the prime contract was signed with a federal agency, the federal Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. 3133, governs instead, with a 90-day notice for second-tier claimants and suit in U.S. District Court.