Georgia Construction Document Management

Georgia Prompt Pay Act (O.C.G.A. § 13-11-4)

To prevent abusive payment withholding on construction projects, the Georgia Prompt Pay Act establishes strict deadlines for exchanging funds. Under O.C.G.A. § 13-11-4, when a contractor has performed in accordance with their contract, the property owner must pay the general contractor within 15 days of receipt of any payment request based upon work completed or services provided under the contract.

Once the general contractor receives those funds, they must pay each subcontractor within 10 days of receipt of each periodic or final payment. This applies down the chain — each subcontractor must pay its own subcontractors within 10 days of receiving payment.

What the Georgia Prompt Pay Act Covers

The Prompt Pay Act establishes statutory payment cycles for private construction projects in Georgia:

• Owners must pay contractors within 15 days of receiving a proper payment request
• Contractors must pay subcontractors within 10 days of receiving periodic or final payment
• Subcontractors must pay lower-tier subcontractors within 10 days of receiving payment
• If these deadlines are missed without a legally documented, good-faith reason (such as a formal notice of defective work), the withholding party can be penalized with interest

Documentation Requirements for Prompt Pay Enforcement

Enforcing these rights requires an ironclad paper trail. Georgia courts require proof that a valid payment request was submitted and received. MyCrewTracker's Quick Docs system allows contractors to securely store dated payment applications, delivery receipts, and formal communications, providing the necessary evidence to enforce prompt payment timelines.

Georgia Notices of Commencement and Notices to Contractor

Georgia mechanics lien law heavily utilizes the Notice of Commencement system. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.5, if a property owner or general contractor properly files and posts a Notice of Commencement at the project start, any subcontractor or supplier not in direct privity with the GC must send a formal "Notice to Contractor" to preserve their lien rights.

What Is a Notice of Commencement?

A Notice of Commencement is a document that the property owner or general contractor may file to trigger the Notice to Contractor requirement for lower-tier subcontractors and suppliers. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.5(b), the notice must be filed within 15 days after work physically commences on the project. The notice must be recorded in the superior court in the county where the project is located and posted at the project site.

The notice must contain basic information regarding:

• The identity of the owner
• The general contractor
• The project location and legal description
• Any construction lender or surety (if applicable)

Important: Georgia courts have held that compliance with the 15-day filing deadline is not a condition precedent to the effectiveness of a Notice of Commencement. A late-filed notice can still trigger the statutory Notice to Contractor requirement for liens arising after its filing. Lower-tier subcontractors and suppliers should continue to diligently check for its filing even after the 15-day deadline has passed.

What Is a Notice to Contractor?

If the owner or general contractor filed a valid Notice of Commencement (even if late), lower-tier subcontractors and suppliers (those not hired directly by the general contractor) must send a Notice to Contractor to preserve their lien rights.

This Notice to Contractor must be sent within 30 days from the filing of the Notice of Commencement or 30 days following the first delivery of labor, services, or materials, whichever is later.

How to Confirm Whether a Notice of Commencement Was Filed

Lower-tier subcontractors and suppliers should take proactive steps to confirm whether a Notice of Commencement has been filed. Claimants can periodically check the county's real estate records, but the better approach is to submit a written request to the general contractor for a copy of the notice. If the general contractor fails to provide a copy within 10 days of the request, the Notice to Contractor requirements are rendered inapplicable to the requesting party. Claimants should document their written requests in a manner that generates proof of delivery.

Using MyCrewTracker's Daily Reports, field supervisors generate a verifiable, date-stamped log of when work actually began, ensuring your back office accurately calculates this critical deadline.

Georgia Lien Deadlines at a Glance

Missing a single deadline in Georgia can void your lien rights entirely. The table below summarizes the statutory deadlines every Georgia contractor, subcontractor, and material supplier must track.

How to File a Mechanics Lien in Georgia: Step by Step

The process below reflects the standard path for a Georgia subcontractor, supplier, or laborer seeking to preserve and enforce lien rights under Title 44, Chapter 14 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.

1. Log your first day of work. The Notice to Contractor deadline runs from your first day of delivery or the Notice of Commencement filing, whichever is later. MyCrewTracker's Daily Reports timestamp this automatically.
2. Check for a Notice of Commencement. Search the county superior court records for a filed Notice of Commencement. If one exists, you must serve a Notice to Contractor.
3. Serve the Notice to Contractor. On projects where a Notice of Commencement was filed, send the Notice to Contractor within 30 days of the later of: the Notice of Commencement filing, or your first delivery of labor or materials.
4. Track the completion date. Georgia's 90-day filing clock starts from completion of the work or the last furnishing of materials. The clock runs from the date on which the last service was furnished or materials supplied.
5. Prepare the Claim of Lien. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2), the claim must include a statement regarding its expiration pursuant to Code Section 44-14-367 and a notice to the owner that such owner has the right to contest the lien.
6. Record the Claim of Lien with the Superior Court Clerk. Georgia mechanics liens are recorded at the county level. File in the county where the property is located.
7. File suit within 12 months. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(3), you must commence an action to recover the amount of your claim within 12 months from the time the claim became due. There are no extensions.
8. Preserve all project documentation. Daily reports, delivery tickets, change orders, and photos become evidence in the lien action.
9. Consider alternative remedies in parallel. Prompt Pay Act claims, contract claims, and payment bond claims can run alongside the lien.

Documents to Preserve for a Georgia Lien Claim

Georgia courts require proof that you furnished labor or materials and that they were incorporated into the property. The following records are what you need:

• Signed contract or purchase order with the prime contractor
• Certified mail receipts for the Notice to Contractor
• Copy of the Notice of Commencement (if filed)
• Delivery tickets signed by an authorized site representative
• Daily reports showing crew on site and work performed
• Photo evidence of installed work (timestamped and geotagged)
• Jobsite sign-in logs and crew attendance records
• Invoices, statements, and payment applications
• Email or text correspondence about scope and payment
• Change orders and extra work authorizations
• Written demand letters and any response

MyCrewTracker stores all of these in one project record. When a lien deadline approaches, the back office can generate the timeline needed to prepare the claim of lien without reconstructing months of field activity.

Georgia-Specific Gotchas

The Notice to Contractor is a strict prerequisite. Unlike some states where preliminary notice is only required for certain claimants, Georgia requires the Notice to Contractor for all lower-tier subcontractors and suppliers on projects where a Notice of Commencement has been filed. Missing it voids the lien entirely.

The Notice of Commencement can be filed late. Georgia courts have held that compliance with the 15-day filing deadline is not a condition precedent to effectiveness. A late-filed notice can still trigger the Notice to Contractor requirement. Check for it throughout the project.

90-day filing deadline is absolute. O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2) requires the claim of lien to be filed within 90 days after completion of the work or furnishing of materials. There are no extensions.

12-month enforcement deadline is absolute. O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(3) gives you exactly 12 months from the date the claim became due to file suit. Set two calendar reminders: one at 9 months, one at 11 months.

Statutory lien waiver forms are mandatory. O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366 prescribes statutory forms for interim and final waivers. The failure to include the statutory notice language on the face of the form renders it unenforceable and invalid as a waiver and release. Never sign an unconditional waiver before you have received and deposited the payment.

Construction defect statute of repose. Georgia's statute of repose for construction defects is 8 years from substantial completion under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-51. The statute was amended in 2020 to clarify that it applies to contract-based claims as well as tort claims. Retain project records for at least 8 years.

Public project record retention. On Georgia public works projects, contractors must retain records for at least 3 years from the date final payment is made. Records that are the subject of audit findings must be retained for 3 years or until the findings are resolved, whichever is later.

Example Scenario: How Documentation Determines the Outcome

*The following is an illustrative scenario, not a specific case. It demonstrates how record-keeping affects outcomes in Georgia lien disputes.*

Consider an Atlanta mechanical subcontractor on a $500,000 commercial office renovation. The sub first furnishes labor on March 1. The general contractor filed a Notice of Commencement on March 10. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.5, the sub has 30 days from March 10 to serve a Notice to Contractor — the deadline is April 9. The sub serves it via certified mail on April 5. The green card returns signed on April 8.

The project completes on October 15. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2), the sub has 90 days from completion to record a Claim of Lien. That deadline is January 13. The sub records the lien on January 5.

Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(3), the sub has 12 months from the date the claim became due to file suit. The claim became due when payment was not received. The sub files suit on November 15, well within the window. The lien is enforceable.

Compare that to the same sub who never checks for a Notice of Commencement. Without the Notice to Contractor, the lien is void entirely. The sub loses all lien rights, regardless of how much documentation they have. The $68,000 owed becomes significantly harder to collect.

Documentation is what separates these outcomes. MyCrewTracker logs the first day of work, the Notice of Commencement filing date, the Notice to Contractor service date, and the daily reports that prove performance.

Georgia Lien Waiver Forms (O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366)

Georgia law prescribes specific statutory forms for interim and final lien waivers. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-14-366, a right to claim a lien may not be waived in advance of furnishing labor, services, or materials. Any purported waiver executed in advance is null, void, and unenforceable.

No oral or written statement purporting to waive or release a lien is enforceable unless it is pursuant to a waiver and release form duly executed by the claimant AND the claimant has received payment for the claim.

The failure to include the statutory notice language on the face of the form in boldface capital letters renders the form unenforceable and invalid as a waiver and release.

What This Means for Georgia Contractors

• Never sign an unconditional waiver before you have received and deposited the payment
• Verify that any waiver form you are asked to sign contains the statutory notice language in boldface capital letters
• Document the date payment is received and deposited

What MyCrewTracker Does (and Does Not Do) in Georgia

MyCrewTracker is a construction documentation platform, not a legal service. Here is what it does for Georgia contractors:

• Logs first day and last day of work per project so you can calculate the Notice to Contractor deadline and the 90-day filing window
• Stores certified mail receipts and Notice to Contractor documents in the project file
• Records delivery tickets with photo and signature capture
• Captures timestamped, GPS-tagged site photos that document installation
• Generates daily report PDFs that serve as contemporaneous records
• Tracks lien waiver forms to ensure the correct statutory form is used
• Archives project records for 8+ years to support construction defect defense

It does not draft lien notices, file documents with the Superior Court Clerk, or provide legal advice. Those steps require a Georgia construction attorney.