State Construction Registry
General Contractors
System Benefits
The State Construction Registry (SCR) provides general contractors with an easy way to stay informed and to protect themselves. The SCR offers access to a list of all parties that have provided goods, services and/or equipment to a project, and have preserved their lien rights by filing a preliminary notice. Complete participant awareness, along with joint check arrangements and / or lien waivers, helps contractors minimize liability and risk.
The State Construction Registry also provides a quick and easy process for filing notices of commencement, as well as notices of completion. While notices of commencement are automatically generated for projects for which a building permit is issued, original contractors can utilize the system to file notices of commencement for public works projects and projects in which a permit hasn't been issued. At the completion of a project, general contractors can also use the system to file notices of completion.
Filing Details & Tips
Notices of Commencement
Permitted Projects
When a permit is issued for a new project, the issuing municipality is required to submit the permit data to the SCR within 15 days. A Notice of Commencement is generated when this information is received and entered into the system. Once the Notice of Commencement is available, original contractors should verify the information and associate the project with their account by completing an "I'm the Original Contractor" form. Associating the project with your account allows you to receive automated notification when preliminary notices are filed and provides access to the project's Filing Detail page - a page which lists all filings associated with the project. (Instructions for filing the "I'm the Original Contractor" forms are available in the User Guide.)
Note: If it appears a municipality is not going to meet the 15-day deadline, original contractors and owners may file the Notice of Commencement themselves. Ensuring a commencement is filed in a timely manner ensures projects participants are required to file preliminary notices to protect their lien rights (if a commencement is not filed within the designated timeframe the preliminary notice requirement is cancelled).
Non-permitted Projects / Government Projects
If a building permit is not required for a construction project, original contractors must manually file a Notice of Commencement within 15 days of the commencement of work. This includes both public works projects and exempt projects. (Instructions for notices of commencement are available in the User Guide)
Notices of Completion
Notices of Completion may be filed by the original contractor, owner, lender, surety or title company, and they certify that one of the following conditions has been met for the entire project:
- A permanent certificate of occupancy has been issued
- A final inspection has been completed
- All substantial work has been completed
Notices of Completion are optional yet they are recommended for their ability to limit outstanding liability. Benefits of filing a Notice of Completion include:
- Additional preliminary notices can only be filed in the 10 days following the filing of a Notice of Completion (preliminary notices are not valid if filed after the 10th day). Notices of Completion allow original contractors, owners, lenders, surety and title companies to set a clear date after which no additional preliminary notices may be filed.
- As of May 1st, 2006, if a Notice of Completion is not filed, then the window for filing a lien is extended from 90 days to 180 days.
Amendments
Any party that has associated themselves with a project (by filing some form of notice) can file an amendment to the project. Amendments are filed by clicking the "New Amendment" button found on the Filing Detail page of each project. Amendments are appended to a project and therefore the data contained in the original notice of commencement is never overwritten.
Preliminary Notices
All subcontractors and suppliers providing services, materials and / or equipment must file preliminary notices in the SCR system if the party wants to preserve their lien rights (assuming a Notice of Commencement is filed in a timely manner within the SCR system). Preliminary notices must be filed 20 days after the filing of the notice of commencement OR 20 days after furnishing labor, service, material and/or equipment, whichever comes later.