Alabama 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 Alabama's key deadlines, with sample dates worked out from Dec. 4, 2026, around ALDOT's upcoming letting dates. The dates are illustrations only. Count your own from your actual dates, and check the statute.

The deadlines

• Original contractor files verified statement (Ala. Code § 35-11-215): 6 months; if your last work or materials were furnished on Dec. 4, 2026, by about June 4, 2027.
• Subcontractor or supplier files verified statement (Ala. Code § 35-11-215): 4 months; if your last work or materials were furnished on Dec. 4, 2026, by about April 4, 2027.
• Journeyman or day laborer files verified statement (Ala. Code § 35-11-215): 30 days; if your last work or materials were furnished on Dec. 4, 2026, by about Jan. 3, 2027.

The same deadlines from three start dates

• Original contractor files verified statement: from Dec. 4, about June 4, 2027; from Jan. 15, 2027, about July 15, 2027; from March 31, 2027, about Sept. 30, 2027.
• Subcontractor or supplier files verified statement: from Dec. 4, about April 4, 2027; from Jan. 15, 2027, about May 15, 2027; from March 31, 2027, about July 31, 2027.
• Journeyman or day laborer files verified statement: from Dec. 4, about Jan. 3, 2027; from Jan. 15, 2027, about Feb. 14, 2027; from March 31, 2027, about April 30, 2027.

Lien papers are filed with the judge of probate in the county where the property is. 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. Public works contracts of $50,000 or more carry a 100% performance bond and a payment bond of at least 50% (Ala. Code § 39-1-1). A claimant must give the surety written notice and wait 45 days before suing, and must sue within one year of final settlement.

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 ALDOT 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.
• Proposal: the bid package for one project: the quantities, special provisions and forms a bidder fills in.
• Addendum: a change the agency issues to a proposal before the letting; bidders must acknowledge each one.
• Plan holders list: the list of firms that requested a project's plans, which subs and suppliers use to find primes to quote.