Chapter 3. What you get back · Step 12 of 16
Every deadline, for the field
A contract review ends at signing. The contract doesn't. From the first day on site it is running clocks: notice of a claim, pricing a change, curing a default, reporting a hidden condition. Miss one and a valid claim can be gone, whatever the merits. Redline pulls every clock out of the contract and puts them in the hands of the people who are on the job when the clock starts.
Live screen
7 deadlines on the sub in this contract, 3 of them 72 hours or less
This is the review's Deadlines tab on the sample contract. For each clock: what starts it, how long you have, whether it must be in writing, what the contract says happens if you miss it, and the page. The shortest ones on you come first; what the GC owes you (payment, retainage) is listed separately so your team knows when to chase it.
- 1
Print the field card
One page for the PM, the superintendent and the foreman. Try the button: it is the real card. - 2
Download it as a spreadsheet
Drop the rows into your job tracker or project calendar. - 3
Every row quotes the contract
Open "The contract's words" on any line to see the sentence it came from.
7
deadlines on you
3
72 hours or less
3
cost you a right if missed
Your deadlines
Report a site condition
Starts: discovery
24 hours
In writingp. 1The contract's words
2.4 Subcontractor shall notify Contractor in writing of any concealed or unknown conditions within twenty-four (24) hours of discovery and before disturbing them.
Cure a default
Starts: written notice
48 hours
In writingMiss it: the contract can be terminatedp. 4The contract's words
7.2 If Subcontractor fails to cure a default within forty-eight (48) hours after written notice, Contractor may terminate this Subcontract for cause.
Respond to a warranty call
Respond to a warranty call
48 hours
p. 4The contract's words
8.2 Subcontractor shall respond to warranty calls within forty-eight (48) hours.
Price a change
Starts: Contractor's request
5 days
Miss it: the right is waivedp. 3The contract's words
4.6 Subcontractor shall submit its pricing for any change within five (5) days after Contractor's request; pricing not submitted within that time shall be deemed a waiver of any adjustment.
Notice of a claim
Starts: the event giving rise to the claim
7 days
In writingMiss it: the right is waivedp. 3The contract's words
4.5 Subcontractor shall give Contractor written notice of any claim for additional time or compensation within seven (7) days after the event giving rise to the claim.
Warranty period
Starts: final completion of the Project
2 years
p. 4The contract's words
8.1 Subcontractor warrants its Work for two (2) years from final completion of the Project.
Submit your pay application
Submit your pay application
By the 25th of each month
p. 2The contract's words
3.6 Subcontractor shall submit its application for payment by the 25th day of each month.
Owed to you
Retainage is released
Starts: final completion
30 days
p. 2The contract's words
3.7 Contractor shall release retainage within thirty (30) days after final completion and acceptance of the entire Project by Owner.
Your payment is due
Starts: Contractor's receipt of an approved pay application
60 days
p. 2The contract's words
3.3 Progress payments shall be made within sixty (60) days after Contractor's receipt of an approved pay application.
Set by Georgia law, not this contract
For a subcontractor in contract with the GC. These run no matter what the contract says, and missing one can cost the lien or bond claim itself. Lower tiers and suppliers often have extra notices.
Private projects: your lien rights
Notice to Contractor (preliminary notice)
not required
Only claimants without a contract with the general contractor must send it; a first-tier sub has that contract. Not required of a first-tier subcontractor; lower-tier claimants send it to the owner and the contractor within 30 days after the Notice of Commencement is filed or after first delivery, whichever is later.
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.5(a) · effective April 29, 2014 (last amendment)
Check: Read from Justia's 2025 Georgia Code, because the official code is hosted by LexisNexis. The optional Preliminary Notice of Lien Rights (44-14-361.3) was not reviewed.
File your lien claim
90 days
Completion of your work, or the date your materials or machinery were furnished. Subcontractor files the claim of lien with the clerk of superior court in the county where the property is; it must include the 395-day expiration statement and the notice that the owner can contest it, or it is invalid.
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2); § 44-14-367 · effective May 10, 2021 (HB 480)
Check: The statute says 90 days after the completion of the work, generally read as the claimant's own last work, though the text does not say so word for word. Read from Justia, not the official Lexis-hosted code.
Send a copy of the filed lien
2 business days
The date the claim of lien is filed. Subcontractor sends a true copy by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery to the owner (to the contractor as the owner's agent if the owner's address cannot be found), and to the contractor at the address on any Notice of Commencement.
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(2) · effective May 10, 2021 (HB 480)
Start a lawsuit to enforce the lien
365 days
The date the claim of lien was filed. Subcontractor files a lien action (in court or arbitration) for the amount of its claim.
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(3); § 44-14-367 · effective May 10, 2021 (HB 480)
Check: In some cases (the contractor dies, leaves the state or goes bankrupt) the sub can sue the property directly instead of the contractor (44-14-361.1(a)(4)); the deadline stays the same.
File a Notice of Commencement of Lien Action
30 days
The date you start the lien action. Subcontractor or its attorney files the notice, under oath, with the clerk of superior court in the county where the lien was filed; with no such notice within 395 days after filing, the lien can be disregarded.
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-361.1(a)(3); § 44-14-367
Check: The effective date of 44-14-367's current text was not captured.
Sue fast if the owner files a Notice of Contest
60 days
Your receipt of a Notice of Contest of Lien recorded by the owner or contractor. Subcontractor starts the lien action within 60 days and still files the Notice of Commencement of Lien Action within 30 days after suing; the lien is void 90 days after the contest is filed if that notice has not been filed.
O.C.G.A. § 44-14-368(a), (c) · effective March 31, 2009
Public projects: the payment bond
Payment bond claim notice
not required
The 90-day and 30-day notices to the contractor apply only to claimants with no contract with the bonded contractor. Not required of a first-tier subcontractor; lower-tier claimants send notice to the contractor.
O.C.G.A. § 13-10-63(a) (state projects); § 36-91-93(a) (local projects)
Check: Read on FindLaw (current as of March 28, 2024), not the official Lexis-hosted code; the same wording was confirmed for 36-91-93.
Earliest date to sue on the bond
after 90 days
Your last day of labor or materials, or completion of your subcontract. An unpaid subcontractor may sue the bond for the unpaid balance once 90 days have passed.
O.C.G.A. § 13-10-63(a), (b); § 36-91-93(a)
Check: Subsection (b) says the right of action is not limited to the 90-day period; whether this is a strict waiting period is uncertain, so confirm with counsel.
Sue on the payment bond (state project)
1 year
Completion of the contract and acceptance of the work by the public authority. Subcontractor sues in its own name against the principal or surety; the state is not a party.
Check: Read on FindLaw, not the official code. What counts as acceptance has been litigated; secondary sources tie it to substantial completion, not final payment.
Sue on the payment bond (county or city project)
1 year
Completion of the contract and acceptance of the work by the public authority. Subcontractor sues in its own name against the principal or surety; the local government is not a party.
Check: The same acceptance question as for state projects. Read on Justia, not the official code.
Pending attorney verification; checked against the statutes on 2026-10-31. Orientation, not legal advice: confirm with counsel before relying on a date.
Read from the contract text, page-cited. Check the page before relying on a line. Not legal advice.
Live document
The field card, as it prints
Why it matters
The deadline nobody on site knew about
- 1
Notice clauses are enforced
Courts routinely hold subcontractors to written-notice windows. The review flags a window that is unfair; the card makes sure the one you signed is met. - 2
The field is where the clock starts
A hidden condition, a delay, a verbal change: the people who see it first are rarely the people who read the contract. - 3
It works on every contract you've run
Deadlines are read from the stored contract text, so every past review has its card too.