Ohio Payment Bond Claim — The 90-Day Statement Goes to the Sureties and Runs From Acceptance, Not From Your Last Day on the Job (Ohio R.C. § 153.56, 2026)
✓ Verified against Ohio statutes · Reviewed September 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Ohio mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
NOC-triggered — Notice of Furnishing
Mechanics Lien
75 days (comm) / 60 (res) — From last date of furnishing
Enforcement
6 years — From filing
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On Ohio Public Work, the Clock Belongs to the Project
An Ohio subcontractor’s private-work routine is built around its own dates: a notice of furnishing within 21 days of first furnishing, and a lien affidavit within 75 days of last furnishing on commercial work. Both are dates the claimant can read off its own job records. On a school, a state university building, or a county jail, that routine points at a lien that cannot attach to public property. Ohio replaces the lien with two remedies. The first is the contractor’s bond . Under R.C. § 153.54 the bond secures payment of all lawful claims of subcontractors, material suppliers, and laborers, and § 153.56 sets the procedure for claiming on it. The second is a claim against the public funds still owed on the contract, made by affidavit to the public authority under R.C. § 1311.26. The feature that separates Ohio from most Little Miller Act states is the bond claim’s anchor date. The statement to the sureties and the suit deadline both run from completion of the contract and acceptance of the public improvement — an event the claimant does not control and is not served with. The Mechanics Lien Management Method treats that as a reason to act early, because the statute allows the statement at any time after the work is performed.
What § 153.56 Actually Requires
Read together, the two divisions create a window with a moving floor. The statement can go out on the first day a balance is past due. The suit cannot be filed until 60 days after that. The last day to sue is fixed by acceptance of the whole project. A claimant that sends its statement early gets the waiting period out of the way while there is still plenty of time before the one-year bar. The recipient is equally specific: the sureties on the bond . Ohio does not route this statement to the public authority, and it does not make the principal contractor the recipient. The surety’s name and address are not something a lower-tier claimant has to pry out of the prime. R.C. § 1311.252 requires the public authority, before work begins, to prepare a notice of commencement listing the name and address of the sureties for all principal contractors, and to make it readily available to the public on request.
The $30,000 Notice of Furnishing and the 21-Day Lookback
Division (C) adds a condition for claimants lower in the chain. A subcontractor or materials supplier supplying labor or materials that cost more than $30,000 , who is not in direct privity of contract with the principal contractor, must serve a notice of furnishing on the principal contractor in the form provided in R.C. § 1311.261 to exercise rights under the bond. Division (D) sets the price of serving that notice late. The claimant can recover only for labor, work, and materials furnished during and after the 21 days immediately preceding service of the notice. A late notice does not destroy the claim, but it cuts off everything before that 21-day lookback. For a supplier with steady monthly deliveries, the difference between serving in week two and serving in month five can be most of the contract. R.C. § 1311.261 sets the same timing for the public funds remedy: the notice is served on the principal contractor within 21 days after the claimant first performed labor or furnished materials on the site, with the same lookback for late service. The practical rule is that on every Ohio public job, the notice of furnishing goes out at mobilization.
Every Ohio Public-Work Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System tracks the 21-day notice of furnishing, the bond statement, the 60-day waiting period, and the public funds affidavit from one project record. The underlying text sits at Ohio lien statutes , with the private-work calculator on the Ohio mechanics lien hub . The federal rows are a different statute. What matters is who signed the prime contract. A project let by the Army Corps of Engineers, the VA, or GSA is Miller Act work under 40 U.S.C. § 3133, measured from last furnishing rather than acceptance. Highway work needs its own check: R.C. § 153.54(A) expressly excludes the Department of Transportation, so confirm which statute an ODOT project’s bond was issued under.
The Public Funds Claim Under R.C. § 1311.26
The second remedy works on the contract balance. A subcontractor, material supplier, or laborer may serve the public authority an affidavit , at any time not to exceed 120 days from the last labor or material furnished , stating the amount due and unpaid, when the last work and materials were furnished, all credits and setoffs, and the claimant’s post-office address. It is served on the representative of the public authority named in the notice of commencement . Once served, R.C. § 1311.28 requires the authority to detain from the principal contractor an amount up to the balance remaining on the contract, not exceeding the claims, and place it in escrow. A claimant that was required to serve a notice of furnishing must give the authority a copy of that notice and a sworn statement of the date it was served, or the authority does not detain. The dispute process is short. The authority serves the principal contractor within 5 days, and the principal contractor has 20 days to give notice that it disputes the claim or it is treated as having assented. If it disputes, R.C. § 1311.311 gives the claimant 60 days after service of the notice to sue, or the affidavit is void and the money goes back to the principal contractor. Unlike the bond claim, this remedy runs from the claimant’s own last furnishing and depends on money still being owed on the contract. It works best before final…
Generate the Ohio Notices From One Project Record
Ohio Bond Claim & Public Funds Notice Generator Produce the § 1311.261 notice of furnishing at mobilization, the § 153.56(A) statement of the amount due for the sureties, and the § 1311.26 affidavit for the public authority’s representative — from one project record, with the 60-day waiting period and the one-year suit date tracked from acceptance. Pair it with the property search tool to confirm the owning public authority, the bond claim hub for how Ohio compares to other Little Miller Act states, mechanics lien vs. bond claim for choosing a remedy before the clocks start, and the mechanics lien deadlines by state pillar for crews running both public and private work. When a surety denies the claim or a principal contractor disputes the affidavit, connect with an Ohio construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network.
Run Both Ohio Public-Work Remedies Automatically
The Mechanics Lien Management lien generator produces the notice of furnishing, the statement to the sureties, and the public funds affidavit from one project record. The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator tracks the 21-day lookback, the 60-day wait, and the one-year suit date. Miss the deadline and you lose your bond rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for an Ohio payment bond claim?
Ohio R.C. § 153.56(A) requires a person owed money for labor, work, or materials on a public improvement to furnish the sureties on the bond a statement of the amount due. The statement may be furnished at any time after the work is performed, but not later than 90 days after the completion of the contract by the principal contractor and the acceptance of the public improvement by the authorized board or officer. The deadline runs from acceptance of the project, not from the claimant's own last furnishing.
Who receives an Ohio bond claim statement?
The sureties on the bond. Section 153.56(A) directs the statement of the amount due to the sureties, not to the public authority. A separate notice of furnishing goes to the principal contractor under § 153.56(C) when that notice is required. The names and addresses of the sureties for every principal contractor must appear in the public authority's notice of commencement under R.C. § 1311.252, which the authority must make readily available to the public on request.
When can you sue on an Ohio payment bond?
Not right away. Under § 153.56(B) a suit may not be brought against the sureties until 60 days after the statement of the amount due was furnished. If the debt is still not paid in full when that 60 days expires, the claimant may sue in its own name on the bond, but not later than one year from the date the public improvement was accepted. A claimant that waits until day 90 after acceptance to send its statement cannot sue until roughly day 150.
Does an Ohio subcontractor need a notice of furnishing to make a bond claim?
Sometimes. Section 153.56(C) requires a subcontractor or materials supplier supplying labor or materials that cost more than $30,000, who is not in direct privity of contract with the principal contractor, to serve a notice of furnishing on the principal contractor in the form set by R.C. § 1311.261. Under § 153.56(D) that claimant can recover only amounts owed for work performed and materials furnished during and after the 21 days immediately before the notice was served. A late notice shrinks the claim; it does not revive the earlier months.
Can you make a claim against public funds in Ohio instead of the bond?
Yes, and the two remedies can run together. R.C. § 1311.26 lets a subcontractor, material supplier, or laborer serve an affidavit on the public authority, at any time up to 120 days after last furnishing, stating the amount due and unpaid, when the last work and materials were furnished, all credits and setoffs, and the claimant's post-office address. It is served on the representative named in the notice of commencement. Under § 1311.28 the public authority then detains up to the remaining contract balance in escrow.
What happens if the principal contractor disputes an Ohio public funds claim?
The public authority must serve the principal contractor with a copy of the affidavit within 5 days after receiving it, and the principal contractor has 20 days to give written notice that it intends to dispute the claim. A principal contractor that says nothing within 20 days is treated as having assented to the claim under § 1311.31. If the claim is disputed, § 1311.311 requires the claimant to commence suit within 60 days after service of that notice, or the affidavit is void and the detained funds are released to the principal contractor.
Are Ohio Department of Transportation projects covered by R.C. 153.54?
Not by that section. Ohio R.C. § 153.54(A) applies to contracts for public improvements with the state and its political subdivisions and agencies, but expressly excludes the Department of Transportation. Before relying on the § 153.56 deadlines on a highway project, confirm which statute the bond was issued under. A project whose prime contract was signed with a federal agency is governed by the federal Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. § 3133, with a 90-day notice for second-tier claimants and suit in federal district court.