Tennessee Payment Bond Claim — Notice Is Due 90 Days After the PROJECT Is Complete, to the Contractor or the Official Who Let the Job, and Suit Runs Only Six Months (Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-205, 2026)
✓ Verified against Tennessee statutes · Reviewed October 2026 · By Michael Evan — Founder · 50 states · 799 rules
Tennessee mechanics lien deadlines at a glance
Preliminary Notice
Notice-of-nonpayment — Sub: 90-day rolling notice
Mechanics Lien
90 days — From completion
Enforcement
1 year — From filing
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Why Tennessee Public Work Runs on a Bond
On a private Tennessee job, an unpaid subcontractor or supplier works under the lien chapter, Tenn. Code Ann. § 66-11-101 et seq., including the recurring notice of nonpayment under § 66-11-145 and a lien recorded within 90 days after the improvement is completed or abandoned. A Metro Nashville school, a Shelby County justice building, a University of Tennessee lab, or a TDOT interchange is different. Public property cannot be liened. Tennessee’s Little Miller Act, §§ 12-4-201 to 12-4-206, replaces the lien with a payment bond the prime contractor must post before the contract is let. The statute is short, old, and unusual in three ways. The notice runs from completion of the public work , not from the claimant’s last day. It can go to either of two recipients, and the surety is not one of them. And the suit window is six months , half the federal Miller Act period. A claimant that runs a federal-style calendar on a Tennessee public job will usually get the notice right by accident and miss the suit date entirely. The Mechanics Lien Management Method treats a Tennessee public job as a completion-date file . Every deadline hangs off the date the public work was completed, so the first task when payment stalls is to get that date in writing.
What § 12-4-205 Actually Requires
Start with the window . It opens when your labor or material has been furnished and closes 90 days after the public work is completed. A notice sent before you furnish anything does not fit the statute, and one sent on day 91 after completion is late no matter when you left the job. Next, the recipient . The statute says either the bonded contractor or the letting official. For a city project, a notice to the mayor is deemed sufficient. For a county project it is the county mayor, and for state work, the governor. That places Tennessee among the twenty-three exceptions on the Little Miller Act deadlines map , and it is the only state on that map that lets the claimant choose between the contractor and the public side. Last, the content : the nature of the claim, an itemized account of the material furnished or labor done, the balance due, and a description of the property improved. Send it by return receipt certified mail or deliver it by hand, and keep the proof.
Which Recipient to Pick, and Why to Pick Both
Because the statute says either , one valid delivery is enough. In practice the two recipients do different jobs. The contractor who executed the bond is the party that can pay you and the party whose surety will be defending the suit. The letting official is the party holding the money, and a notice on the public side often prompts the owner to ask the prime why a supplier is unpaid before the next pay application is approved. Serving both costs one extra certified letter and removes any later argument that the notice went to the wrong person. Identify the letting official from the bid documents or the award resolution. If you cannot, the deemed-sufficient rule gives you a fallback: the mayor for a municipality or its commissions, the county mayor for a county, and the governor for the state or its commissions. The surety is not a statutory recipient, but you still want a copy of the bond. It names the surety you will be suing, and it tells you how much coverage there is. Ask the public owner for it in writing.
Every Tennessee Public-Work Claim Deadline in One Table
The Mechanics Lien Management State System calendars the 90-day notice and the six-month suit date from the completion date you enter. Private-work rules are on the Tennessee lien statutes page, with the calculator on the Tennessee mechanics lien hub . The last two rows cover federal prime contracts in Tennessee, such as work at Fort Campbell, Arnold Air Force Base, Oak Ridge, the Nashville and Memphis VA medical centers, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers locks on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. Those run under the federal Miller Act , which measures the notice from last furnishing and allows a full year to sue. A Tennessee sub working both kinds of jobs needs two calendars.
Six Months to Sue, From a Date the Statute Leaves Open
Section 12-4-206 lets several claimants join in one suit on the bond, or lets one claimant file on behalf of all, and requires that the action be brought or the claims filed within six months following the completion of such public work, or of the furnishing of such labor or materials . Section 12-4-204 gives every laborer or furnisher to the contractor, or to any immediate or remote subcontractor, the right to sue in its own name. The city, county, or state is not liable for costs. The statute names two possible starting points and does not say which one governs. For a supplier whose last delivery came months before the project finished, the gap can be large. The safe calendar counts six months from the earlier date. If that date is already close, a Tennessee construction attorney can tell you whether the later date is still available on your facts. Six months also interacts badly with the notice. A claimant that waits until day 89 after completion to send notice has used half its suit window on the notice alone. Send the notice as soon as a payment is meaningfully late, and open the suit file the same week.
The 25% Bond and the Disclaimer Letter
Tennessee requires a payment bond only on contracts over $100,000, and only for no less than 25% of the contract price , under § 12-4-201(a)(1). The surety must appear on the U.S. Treasury list of approved bonding companies and be licensed in Tennessee, and a non-conforming bond is void. Treasury securities, Tennessee general obligation bonds, certificates of deposit, a letter of credit, or cash can stand in for the bond under § 12-4-201(c). An officer who lets a covered contract without a bond commits a Class C misdemeanor under § 12-4-202. Twenty-five percent is a thin cushion. On a $4 million project the bond may be as small as $1 million, and every unpaid sub and supplier on the job draws from it. Claimants who give notice and sue early have the strongest position when a bond is oversubscribed. Section 12-4-203 adds a tool for the prime. If the bonded contractor tells a laborer, supplier, or subcontractor by return receipt registered mail that it will not be responsible for that party’s labor or materials, anything furnished after the letter is received is outside the bond. Earlier deliveries stay covered. Treat that letter as a stop-ship notice.
Generate the Tennessee Notice From the Completion Date
Tennessee Public Works Notice Generator Produce the § 12-4-205 notice with the itemized account, balance due, and property description, addressed to the bonded contractor and the letting official. Your calendar gets the 90-day notice cutoff and a six-month suit date counted from the earlier of completion or your last furnishing. Pair it with these resources: When the surety denies the claim or the six months are running short, connect with a Tennessee construction attorney through the Mechanics Lien Management network.
Six Months Goes Fast in Tennessee
The Mechanics Lien Management lien generator produces the § 12-4-205 notice with the itemized account the statute requires. The Mechanics Lien Management deadline calculator tracks the 90-day notice and the six-month suit date together. Miss the deadline and you lose your claim rights entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the deadline for a Tennessee payment bond claim notice?
Within 90 days after the completion of the public work, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-205. The clock runs from completion of the project, not from your own last day on the job, and the notice must be given after your labor or material has been furnished. A subcontractor that finished early has the rest of the project plus 90 days. A claimant that does not know when the public work was completed has to find out, because the statute does not tell anyone.
Who do you serve with a Tennessee bond claim notice?
Either the contractor who executed the bond or the public official who had charge of letting or awarding the contract. Section 12-4-205 uses the word either, so one is enough. On municipal work, delivery to the mayor is deemed sufficient; on county work, the county mayor; and on state work, the governor. The surety is not a named recipient. Serving both the contractor and the letting official costs one extra letter and removes any argument about which one counted.
How must the Tennessee bond notice be delivered?
By return receipt certified mail or by personal delivery, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-205. Regular mail, email, and an invoice do not match the statute. Keep the green card or the signed delivery receipt in the job file, because the date of receipt is the evidence that the notice landed inside the 90 days.
What must a Tennessee payment bond notice include?
Section 12-4-205 requires the nature of the claim, an itemized account of the material furnished or labor done, the balance due, and a description of the property improved. A notice that states only a lump-sum balance is exposed to an argument that it was not itemized. Attach the invoice ledger or a schedule of deliveries and identify the project by name, address, and public owner.
How long do you have to sue on a Tennessee payment bond?
Six months. Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-206 requires the action to be brought, or claims filed in a pending action, within six months following the completion of the public work or of the furnishing of the labor or materials. The statute does not say which of those two dates controls, so the conservative calendar counts six months from whichever is earlier. That is half the one-year period used in most states and under the federal Miller Act.
When does Tennessee require a payment bond on public work?
On any contract for public work let by a city, county, or state authority in excess of $100,000, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-201(a)(1). The bond must be for no less than 25% of the contract price and written by a surety on the U.S. Treasury list that is licensed in Tennessee. Sections 12-4-201 to 12-4-206 do not apply to contracts of $100,000 or less. Treasury securities, certificates of deposit, a letter of credit, or cash may be substituted under § 12-4-201(c).
Can a Tennessee prime contractor cut off a supplier's bond rights?
For future deliveries, yes. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 12-4-203, if the bonded contractor gives written notice by return receipt registered mail to a laborer, supplier, or subcontractor that it will not be responsible for that party's labor or materials, anything furnished after the notice is received is not protected by the bond. Labor and material furnished before receipt remains covered. A supplier that receives such a letter should stop shipping on open credit to that customer immediately.