Construction Document Management in Michigan

Michigan Construction Lien Act & Notice of Furnishing (MCL 570.1109)

In Michigan, subcontractors and material suppliers must strictly adhere to the Construction Lien Act (Act 497 of 1980) to protect their right to payment. Under MCL 570.1109, a subcontractor or supplier who contracts to provide an improvement to real property shall provide a Notice of Furnishing to the designee and the general contractor, if any, either personally or by certified mail, within 20 days after furnishing the first labor or material.

What the Notice of Furnishing Must Include

Under MCL 570.1109(1), the notice must contain specific information:

• The name and address of the lien claimant
• The name and address of the person who contracted with the lien claimant
• A general description of the labor or materials furnished
• The name of the project or the property description
• The name and address of the designee (if one has been named)
• The name and address of the general contractor (if different from the designee)

The notice must be served on both the designee and the general contractor. Service may be made personally or by certified mail.

What Happens If You Miss the 20-Day Deadline

Under MCL 570.1109(3), a lien claimant who fails to provide a Notice of Furnishing within the 20-day window is not entitled to a construction lien under the Act. Michigan courts have consistently applied this as a strict prerequisite. As the Michigan Court of Appeals held in *Fischer-Flack, Inc. v. Churchfield*, the preliminary notice “shall be given not later than 20 days after the claimant has first furnished labor”.

Laborers Have an Extended Deadline

Under MCL 570.1109(2), a laborer who provides an improvement to real property may provide the Notice of Furnishing within a longer window:

• 30 days after wages were contractually due but not paid
• By the fifth day of the second month following the month in which fringe benefits or withholdings from wages were contractually due but not paid

The Notice of Commencement Extension

Under MCL 570.1109(4), if a Notice of Commencement has not been recorded or furnished, the time for a subcontractor or supplier to provide a Notice of Furnishing is extended until 20 days after the Notice of Commencement has been furnished. This protects subcontractors who join a project before the owner records the Notice of Commencement.

Using MyCrewTracker's Daily Reports, contractors establish a verifiable, date-stamped record of when work actually began on site, ensuring the back office tracks the 20-day window and securely archives certified mail receipts via Quick Docs.

Michigan Lien Deadlines at a Glance

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

How to File a Construction Lien in Michigan: Step by Step

The process below reflects the standard path for a Michigan subcontractor, supplier, or laborer seeking to preserve and enforce lien rights under the Construction Lien Act.

1. Log your first day of work. The 20-day Notice of Furnishing clock starts from your first day of furnishing labor or materials. MyCrewTracker's Daily Reports timestamp this automatically.

2. Prepare and serve the Notice of Furnishing. Under MCL 570.1109, serve the notice on the designee and general contractor personally or by certified mail within 20 days of first furnishing.

3. Track the last day of work. Michigan's 90-day filing clock starts from your last day of substantial work. The clock runs from the date the claimant's work is completed, regardless of when or whether the work was inspected or paid for.

4. Record the Claim of Lien with the Register of Deeds. Under MCL 570.1111, the claim of lien must be recorded within 90 days after the lien claimant's last furnishing of labor or material. The claim must include proof of service of the Notice of Furnishing.

5. Serve a copy of the Claim of Lien on the owner or designee. Under MCL 570.1111, a copy of the claim of lien and recorded proof of service must be served on the designee, owner, or lessee within 15 days after recording.

6. File suit within 1 year. Under MCL 570.1117, proceedings for enforcement of a construction lien shall not be brought later than 1 year after the date the claim of lien was recorded.

7. Record a notice of lis pendens. When you file suit, record a notice of pendency of action to protect priority.

8. Preserve all project documentation. Daily reports, delivery tickets, change orders, and photos become evidence in the foreclosure action.

9. Consider a bond to discharge the lien. Under MCL 570.1129, an owner may discharge a lien by filing a bond with the court in an amount equal to 1.25 times the lien amount.

Documents to Preserve for a Michigan Lien Claim

Michigan 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 of Furnishing
• 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.

Michigan-Specific Gotchas

The 20-day Notice of Furnishing is a strict prerequisite. Michigan courts have consistently held that failure to serve the Notice of Furnishing within the 20-day window voids the lien entirely. There is no exception for substantial compliance on this particular requirement.

The 90-day filing deadline is strictly enforced. Unlike other provisions of the Construction Lien Act that allow substantial compliance, the 90-day deadline under MCL 570.1111(1) is strictly enforced. Courts have described it as providing “precisely 90 days from the last date of furnishing”.

The 15-day service requirement after recording is often overlooked. After recording the Claim of Lien, you must serve a copy on the owner or designee within 15 days. Failure to do so can dissolve the lien.

The 1-year enforcement deadline is absolute. MCL 570.1117 gives you exactly 1 year from the date the claim of lien was recorded to file suit. Set two calendar reminders: one at 9 months, one at 11 months.

The Building Contract Fund Act creates criminal liability. Under MCL 570.151, construction funds paid to a contractor or subcontractor are considered trust funds held for the benefit of downstream parties (subcontractors, laborers, materialmen). Under MCL 570.152, fraudulent retention or use of these funds is a felony punishable by a fine of $100 to $5,000 and/or 6 months to 3 years imprisonment.

Construction defect statute of repose. Michigan's statute of repose for construction defects is 6 years from the time of use or acceptance of the improvement under MCL 600.5839(1). For architects, engineers, and contractors, the period is also 6 years. Retain project records for at least 6 years.

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 Michigan lien disputes.*

Consider a Grand Rapids mechanical subcontractor on a $500,000 commercial office renovation. The sub first furnishes labor on March 1. Under MCL 570.1109, the 20-day Notice of Furnishing must be served by March 21. The sub serves it via certified mail on March 15. The green card returns signed on March 18.

The sub's last day of substantial work is August 15. Under MCL 570.1111, the sub has 90 days from August 15 to record the Claim of Lien. That deadline is November 13. The sub records the lien on November 5 and serves a copy on the owner on November 15 — within the 15-day service window.

Under MCL 570.1117, the sub has 1 year from November 5 to file suit. That deadline is November 5 of the following year. The sub files suit on June 15, well within the window. The lien is enforceable.

Now consider the same sub who never serves the Notice of Furnishing. Under MCL 570.1109(3), the sub has no lien right at all. The $68,000 owed becomes significantly harder to collect — and the owner may have already paid the general contractor in full.

Documentation is what separates these outcomes. MyCrewTracker logs the first day of work, the notice service date, the recording date, and the daily reports that prove performance.

Building Contract Fund Act (Michigan Trust Fund Act) — MCL 570.151

Another crucial regulation for Michigan contractors is the Building Contract Fund Act. Under MCL 570.151, building contract funds paid by any person to a contractor or by such person or contractor to a subcontractor shall be considered to be a trust fund, for the benefit of the person making the payment, contractors, laborers, subcontractors, or materialmen.

What the Trust Fund Act Requires

The contractor or subcontractor holds these funds in trust. They must be used to pay the downstream parties who contributed labor or materials to the project. If a contractor diverts trust funds to other uses and then fails to pay a subcontractor, the contractor has committed a violation of the trust fund statute.

Penalties for Violation (MCL 570.152)

Under MCL 570.152, any contractor or subcontractor who fraudulently retains or uses building contract funds for any purpose other than to pay the parties entitled to them is guilty of a felony. The penalty includes:

• A fine of not less than $100** or more than **$5,000
• And/or imprisonment for not less than 6 months nor more than 3 years in a state prison

Michigan courts have upheld felony convictions for trust fund violations. In one case, a defendant pleaded guilty to fraudulent use of a building contract fund and was sentenced to 11 months in jail and ordered to pay $327,127 in restitution.

To defend against claims of misappropriation, contractors must maintain immaculate accounting and project documentation. Using MyCrewTracker's Quick Docs system, contractors can securely store properly dated payment applications, lien waivers, and bank disbursement records in the cloud, helping establish a clear paper trail of how project funds were distributed.

Michigan Lien Discharge Bonds (MCL 570.1129)

Michigan property owners have a statutory right to discharge a construction lien by filing a bond with the court in an amount equal to 1.25 times the amount of the lien. When a bond is substituted, the lien is discharged from the real property and the claim shifts to the bond.

Contractors and suppliers should be aware of this process because it can happen without their consent — the property owner simply needs to post the bond. The claim remains enforceable, but against the surety rather than the property.

What MyCrewTracker Does (and Does Not Do) in Michigan

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

• Logs first day and last day of work per project so you can calculate the 20-day Notice of Furnishing deadline and the 90-day filing window
• Stores certified mail receipts and Notice of Furnishing 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 trust fund disbursements to demonstrate Building Contract Fund Act compliance
• Archives project records for 6+ years to support construction defect defense

It does not draft Notices of Furnishing, file Claims of Lien with the Register of Deeds, or provide legal advice. Those steps require a Michigan construction attorney.