New Jersey lien and bond deadlines, worked out on a calendar

Payment deadlines in construction run from specific events: the last day you furnished work, the completion of the project or a recorded notice. Miss one and the right can be lost. Below are New Jersey's key deadlines, with sample dates worked out from Jan. 7, 2027, around DPMC's upcoming letting dates. The dates are illustrations only. Count your own from your actual dates, and check the statute.

The deadlines

• Lodge lien claim (non-residential) (N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-6): 90 days; if your last work or materials were furnished on Jan. 7, 2027, by about April 7, 2027.
• Residential: file Notice of Unpaid Balance (N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-20, -21): 60 days; if your last work or materials were furnished on Jan. 7, 2027, by about March 8, 2027.
• Residential: lodge lien claim after arbitration (N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-21): 120 days; if your last work or materials were furnished on Jan. 7, 2027, by about May 7, 2027.
• Public bond: statement of amount due to sureties (N.J.S.A. 2A:44-145): 1 year; if your last work or materials were furnished on Jan. 7, 2027, by about Jan. 7, 2028.

The same deadlines from three start dates

• Lodge lien claim (non-residential): from Jan. 7, 2027, about April 7, 2027; from Jan. 15, 2027, about April 15, 2027; from March 31, 2027, about June 29, 2027.
• Residential: file Notice of Unpaid Balance: from Jan. 7, 2027, about March 8, 2027; from Jan. 15, 2027, about March 16, 2027; from March 31, 2027, about May 30, 2027.
• Residential: lodge lien claim after arbitration: from Jan. 7, 2027, about May 7, 2027; from Jan. 15, 2027, about May 15, 2027; from March 31, 2027, about July 29, 2027.
• Public bond: statement of amount due to sureties: from Jan. 7, 2027, about Jan. 7, 2028; from Jan. 15, 2027, about Jan. 15, 2028; from March 31, 2027, about March 31, 2028.

Lien papers are filed with the county clerk. Calendar months and day counts can land on weekends or holidays, and some deadlines are measured from events you may not see, such as a recorded notice of completion or acceptance. Build in a margin.

Public jobs

Public property generally cannot be liened, so payment on public jobs is protected by bonds. New Jersey public construction requires a payment and performance bond, generally 100% of the contract price; second-tier beneficiaries notify the contractor before starting work, and suit comes no sooner than 90 days after the statement of amount due and within one year of last work (N.J.S.A. 2A:44-143 to -145).

On a public job, ask the awarding agency early for a copy of the payment bond, and note the surety's name and address. Notices often must go to the surety or the bonded contractor, not just the party that hired you.

Federal-aid highway jobs

Most DPMC highway projects use state contracts with state payment bonds, even when federal money is involved. The federal Miller Act applies to contracts let by federal agencies themselves, not to state DOT lettings. Check the bond named in the contract.

Practical steps

1. Log your first and last furnishing date for every job.
2. Send any required preliminary notices as soon as you start.
3. Ask the owner or agency about notices of completion, termination or acceptance.
4. When a payment is late, count backward from the earliest deadline, not the latest.

Our lien and bond guide has the statute text and links.

Terms used in this story

• Change order: a written change to a signed contract's work, price or time.
• Notice to proceed: the agency's written go-ahead that starts the contract clock.
• Prevailing wage: minimum wage and fringe rates set for public works by trade and area, where state or federal law applies.
• Surety: the company that issues bid, performance and payment bonds and stands behind the contractor's obligations.
• Letting: the scheduled date when an agency opens and reads the bids for a group of projects.