Updated Sept 2026 | Public Projects: Chapter 39.08 RCW

You cannot lien a public project in Washington. What you get instead is the contractor’s bond , and a short, unforgiving window in which to claim against it. This guide covers who the bond protects, the notice that has to come first, and how to file the claim.

Who Does the Bond Protect?

Whenever a state agency, county, municipality, or other public body contracts for public work, it must require the contractor to deliver a bond with a surety company as surety, conditioned that the contractor will faithfully perform the contract and pay all laborers, mechanics, subcontractors, and material suppliers, along with all persons who supply the contractor or its subcontractors with provisions and supplies for carrying on the work (RCW 39.08.010(1)(a)).

Anyone who performs services or furnishes material to a subcontractor has the same right under the bond as if the work or material had been furnished to the original contractor (RCW 39.08.010(1)(b)). So first- and second-tier subcontractors and material suppliers are covered. Suppliers to suppliers are not among the persons the statute names.

Two things worth checking before you rely on the bond:

• The bond may not exist. On contracts of $150,000 or less, the contractor , or the general contractor/construction manager under RCW 39.10.210 , may elect to have the public entity retain 10 percent of the contract amount in lieu of a bond, for 30 days after final acceptance or until all necessary releases are received from the Department of Revenue, the Employment Security Department, and the Department of Labor and Industries and any liens filed under chapter 60.28 RCW are settled, whichever is later. Recovery of unpaid wages and benefits is the first priority against retainage held by a state agency or an authorized local government.
  
• If the public body failed to take a bond at all, the county, incorporated city or town, or other municipal corporation is itself liable to the persons named in RCW 39.08.010, to the full extent and for the full amount of the debts the contractor contracted (RCW 39.08.015).

The bond generally must equal the full contract price. Cities, towns, public transportation benefit areas, passenger-only ferry service districts, and water-sewer districts may fix the amount by ordinance or resolution, but not less than 25 percent of the contract price for cities, towns, public transportation benefit areas, and passenger-only ferry service districts, and not less than the full contract price for water-sewer districts (RCW 39.08.030(1)(a)).

The Preliminary Notice: Notice to Contractor

This requirement is narrower than most guides suggest. RCW 39.08.065 applies to a person, firm, or corporation furnishing materials, supplies, or provisions that are delivered to a subcontractor, or to the agent of a person or firm holding a subcontract. If you supply the prime contractor directly, or you are a laborer, mechanic, or subcontractor, the section does not apply to you.

For those it does cover, the notice is a condition of suit: no action can be maintained against the contractor or the bond to recover for those materials, supplies, or provisions unless the section has been complied with.

When to Serve It

Not later than 10 days after the date of first delivery of the materials, supplies, or provisions to the subcontractor or its agent. The clock starts at first delivery, not at contract signing and not at your first day on site.

What It Must Say

The notice must be in writing and must state in substance and effect:

• That you have commenced to deliver materials, supplies, or provisions for use on the work
• The name of the subcontractor or agent that ordered them, or to whom they are furnished
• That the contractor and the contractor’s bond will be held for payment

How to Serve It

Deliver or mail the notice to the contractor. The statute prescribes no particular delivery service, but certified mail with return receipt requested, or personal delivery against a signed acknowledgment, gives you dated proof that the notice went out inside the 10-day window.

The Bond Claim: Notice of Claim Within 30 Days of Acceptance

The Notice to Contractor preserves your right to sue. The claim itself is a separate filing with a hard deadline.

Except for the state’s claims for taxes, increases, and penalties, no person has a right of action on the bond unless, within 30 days from and after completion of the contract with an acceptance of the work by the affirmative action of the public body, that person presents to and files with the board, council, commission, trustees, or body acting for the public entity a written notice of claim (RCW 39.08.030(1)(a)).

Note what starts the clock: not substantial completion, not your last day on site, but formal acceptance of the work by affirmative action of the awarding public body. Confirm the acceptance date with the public entity rather than assuming it.

What the Notice of Claim Must Say

The statute gives the substance of the notice. Addressed to the state, county, municipality, or other public body, it states that the undersigned , naming the laborer, mechanic, subcontractor, material supplier, or person claiming to have furnished labor, materials, or provisions , has a claim in a stated sum of dollars against the bond taken from the named principal and surety, for the work, with a brief description of the work for which the bond was taken. The notice must be signed by the person or corporation making the claim.

Once presented and filed, the notice is a public record open to inspection by anyone.

Attorneys’ Fees, and the 30-day Pause Before Suing

In a suit against the surety to recover the items covered by the statute, the claimant is entitled to recover attorneys’ fees in addition to all other costs, in an amount the court finds reasonable. But fees are not allowed in any suit brought before the expiration of 30 days following the date the notice of claim was filed (RCW 39.08.030(1)(b)). Filing suit the day after your claim goes in forfeits the fee award. Give the surety its 30 days.

How to Make a Washington Payment Bond Claim

1. Request the Bond and Project Information

As soon as you take on public work, ask the general contractor or the awarding public entity in writing for a copy of the payment bond, the name and address of the surety, and the name and address of the public body that awarded the contract. The bond itself sets out terms specific to the project, and you need the surety’s and the public body’s addresses to file and pursue the claim.

2. Confirm Your Preliminary Notice Is Done

If you supplied materials, supplies, or provisions to a subcontractor, verify that your Notice to Contractor went out within 10 days of your first delivery. Without it, the bond claim cannot be enforced in court. Make it a standing practice: first delivery triggers the notice.

3. Prepare the Notice of Claim

Include the substance the statute requires , your name, the amount claimed, the principal and surety on the bond, and a description of the work , and sign it. Add the name and address of the party that hired you and a description of what you furnished; the surety will ask for that anyway when it investigates. Check every name and figure before it goes out.

4. File It with the Awarding Public Entity Before the 30 Days Run

Present and file the notice with the board, council, commission, trustees, or body acting for the public entity that awarded the contract. That filing is what the statute requires , it is not satisfied by notifying the surety or the general contractor alone.

Send courtesy copies to the general contractor and the surety anyway. The surety will verify your claim, and being in direct contact usually speeds up the review. Just never let a conversation with the surety substitute for the filing with the public body.

5. Enforce the Claim If Payment Does Not Come

If the surety does not pay, enforcing the claim means suing on the bond. Wait out the 30 days after filing your notice so your attorneys’ fee claim survives, read the bond for any terms specific to your project, and get counsel involved , bond litigation against a surety is not a do-it-yourself exercise.

Best Practices

Ask for the bond on day one. The bond tells you the surety, the penal sum, and any project-specific conditions. On contracts of $150,000 or less it may also tell you there is no bond, and that your remedy runs against retainage instead.

Tie the Notice to Contractor to your first delivery ticket. The 10-day clock runs from first delivery to the subcontractor. Wiring the notice to the delivery ticket, rather than to a calendar reminder, is what keeps it from slipping.

Calendar the acceptance date, not the completion date. Your 30 days run from the public body’s affirmative acceptance of the work. Ask the public entity to notify you when the project is accepted, and confirm the date in writing.

Do not mistake the notice for the claim. The Notice to Contractor preserves your rights; the notice of claim is what actually claims the money. Both may be required, and only one of them gets you paid.