Montana
What is the preliminary notice required for Montana?
For Montana, preliminary notice required is conditional — required of every claimant except an original contractor furnishing directly to the owner, a wage earner or laborer, a claimant on a dwelling for five or more families, and a claimant on an improvement partly or wholly commercial in character; notice name is notice of the right to claim a lien; notice deadline — gc (days) is not required; notice deadline — sub/supplier (days) is 20 days; lien recording deadline — gc (days) is 90 days, recorded from its source on 2026-09-24.
(3) Except as provided in subsection (4), the notice may not be given later than 20 days after the date on which the services or materials are first furnished to the contracting owner. If notice is not given within this period, a lien is enforceable only for the services or materials furnished within the 20-day period before the date on which notice is given.
— mca.legmt.gov, retrieved 2026-09-24
- State
- Montana verified
- Preliminary notice required
- conditional — required of every claimant except an original contractor furnishing directly to the owner, a wage earner or laborer, a claimant on a dwelling for five or more families, and a claimant on an improvement partly or wholly commercial in character our reading
- Notice name
- notice of the right to claim a lien verified
- Notice deadline — GC (days)
- not required verified
- Notice deadline — sub/supplier (days)
- 20 days verified
- Lien recording deadline — GC (days)
- 90 days verified
- Lien recording deadline — sub/supplier (days)
- 90 days verified
- Enforcement deadline (days)
- 2 years verified
- Late notice consequence
- partial — a lien is enforceable only for the services or materials furnished within the 20-day period before the date on which notice is given our reading
- Statute
- Montana Code Annotated §71-3-521 et seq.
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
Where each value comes from
This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.
State
Montana Code Annotated 2025
Preliminary notice required
(1) The following are not required to give notice of the right to claim a lien as required by this section: (a) an original contractor who furnishes services or materials directly to the owner at the owner's request; (b) a wage earner or laborer who performs personal labor services for a person furnishing any service or material pursuant to a real estate improvement contract; (c) a person who furnishes services or materials pursuant to a real estate improvement contract that relates to a dwelling for five or more families; and (d) a person who furnishes services or materials pursuant to a real estate improvement contract that relates to an improvement that is partly or wholly commercial in character.
Notice name
(2) A person who may claim a construction lien pursuant to this part shall give notice of the right to claim a lien to the contracting owner in order to claim a lien.
Notice deadline — GC (days)
(1) The following are not required to give notice of the right to claim a lien as required by this section:
Lien recording deadline — GC (days) and Lien recording deadline — sub/supplier (days)
(1) A person's lien does not attach and may not be enforced unless, after entering into the contract under which the lien arises, the person has filed a lien not later than 90 days after:
Enforcement deadline (days)
71-3-562. Limitation on actions. All actions under this part must be commenced within 2 years from the date of the filing of the lien.
Statute
71-3-521. Scope. This part creates and provides for the attachment and enforceability of a construction lien against real estate in favor of a person furnishing services or materials under a real estate improvement contract.
— all from mca.legmt.gov, retrieved 2026-09-24
Sources
- mca.legmt.govhttps://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0310/0710-0030-0050-0310.html
- mca.legmt.govhttps://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0210/0710-0030-0050-0210.html
- mca.legmt.govhttps://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0350/0710-0030-0050-0350.html
- mca.legmt.govhttps://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0710/chapter_0030/part_0050/section_0620/0710-0030-0050-0620.html