Tennessee Pre-Mobilization Survival Guide: Don’t Start the Job Without Starting Smart
By: Abbie Dierbeck
Most construction disasters don’t begin with a dramatic jobsite failure. They start quietly, with something much less exciting: a missed deadline, notice sent to the wrong person, an assumption that Tennessee works like the next state over, or a contractor realizing too late that the legal protections they thought they had never got preserved in the first place.
Tennessee construction law is not built around second chances. A lot of contractor rights here exist only because the legislature created them, which means courts tend to enforce the rules exactly as written. If the statute says you had to do something by a certain date, doing it late usually isn’t “close enough.”
That’s why mobilization in Tennessee isn’t just a project event. It’s a legal event. The clock starts running early, and if you wait until payment problems show up, you may already be behind.
Before work begins, the smartest question to ask is simple: have you mobilized your protections, or just your equipment?
Why Tennessee Can Be Unforgiving at the Start
Tennessee is what lawyers call a compliance-heavy state. Simply meaning that timing matters, notice matters, and details matter.
The state’s lien and bond statutes are full of deadlines that do not adjust based on fairness, effort, or how obvious the debt may be. Contractors don’t usually lose rights because the work wasn’t done. They lose rights because the paperwork wasn’t done correctly or the calendar wasn’t tracked early enough.
And the biggest mistake is assuming you can deal with those issues later.
In Tennessee, “later” is often too late.
Private vs. Public: Figure This Out Immediately!
Before you do anything else, you need to know whether the project is public or private. That single fact determines what payment protections are even available.
Public projects include things like schools, city buildings, TDOT work, county utilities, and other government-owned property. Private projects are everything else: commercial developments, industrial sites, apartments, private owners.
The difference matters because, generally speaking, you cannot file a mechanics’ lien against public property in Tennessee. If the job is public, your payment remedy is usually a bond claim, not a lien.
So, if you assume you can “just lien it later,” and it turns out the project is public, you may have already lost your main leverage.
Bonds & Liens: Choose Your Fighter
Tennessee gives contractors real tools to protect payment, but the tool depends on the project type.
On private jobs, mechanics’ liens can be powerful. On public jobs, payment bonds take their place. Both remedies can work well, but only if the statutory steps are followed.
The problem is that many contractors don’t focus on those steps until payment becomes an issue. Tennessee prefers the opposite approach: protect the claim early, before you need it.
Private Projects: Liens & the 90-Day Notice Rule
Mechanics’ liens are one of the strongest payment tools on private work, but Tennessee lien law is not casual. For subcontractors and suppliers who do not contract directly with the owner (called “remote contractors”), lien rights require strict statutory notice.
Under T.C.A. § 66-11-145, remote contractors must serve a Notice of Nonpayment within 90 days from the end of the month in which labor or materials were provided and unpaid. That deadline runs from the work, not from the invoice date. If you miss it, lien rights for that unpaid work can disappear, even if everyone agrees the money is owed.
This is one of the most common traps: contractors track billing dates instead of furnishing dates, or wait for change orders to be approved, only to realize the notice clock has already run.
Tennessee does not reward waiting.
Common Lien Mistakes (Private Jobs)
Most Tennessee lien rights aren’t lost because someone did something outrageous. They’re lost because someone missed something small and timing-related.
The most common mistakes are painfully predictable:
Tracking the invoice date instead of the last furnishing date
Waiting on change order approval before sending notice
Forgetting that the 90-day clock runs month-by-month for unpaid work
Sending notice to the wrong “owner” or failing to include the prime contractor
Treating notice like a formality instead of a deadline-driven requirement
Tennessee lien law is very clear on one thing: if you don’t preserve the lien correctly, the lien is gone, even if the debt is real.
Public Projects: Bonds Are the Main Remedy
On public jobs, liens are generally not available, so payment bonds become the substitute protection. Tennessee’s public bonding statute requires payment bonds on most public contracts over $100,000. (T.C.A. § 12-4-201).
That means if you are working on a bonded public job, you should know from the start:
who the surety is
where the bond is filed
what notice requirements apply
what lawsuit deadlines control the claim
Bond claims are not something you want to research for the first time after payment stops. The contractors who protect themselves best are the ones who get the bond information early, before there is ever a dispute.
Common Bond Mistakes (Public Jobs)
Bond claims are supposed to replace liens on public projects, but they come with their own set of traps. The most common public-job bond mistakes include:
never getting a copy of the bond at the start of the job
assuming every public project is bonded (especially under $100,000)
waiting until closeout to figure out who the surety is
missing notice requirements because “we thought we had more time”
letting negotiations drag past the lawsuit deadline
The bond may be there, but bond rights don’t protect you automatically. Tennessee requires contractors to treat the bond process like part of the project, not an emergency plan after payment collapses.
Small Public Jobs: The Under-$100,000 Surprise!
Most contractors hear “public job” and assume there’s automatically a bond sitting there as a safety net.
Often that’s true. But Tennessee’s bond requirement generally applies only when the public contract exceeds $100,000. (T.C.A. § 12-4-201).
So, on smaller public projects there may be no bond at all unless the owner voluntarily required one. And because lien rights are still usually unavailable on public property, that can leave contractors in an uncomfortable gap: no lien, no bond, just contract remedies.
The best approach is simple: if the job is under $100,000, ask early whether a bond exists. Get a copy if it does. Do not assume.
Tennessee does not guarantee you’ll be fine. It guarantees you’ll find out the hard way if you ignore what you should have confirmed upfront.
Contract Protections Still Matter
Even with liens and bonds, your contract is still your first line of defense. Before mobilization, pay attention to provisions that can quietly shape your risk, including:
retainage terms
pay-if-paid or pay-when-paid clauses
dispute resolution requirements
notice provisions for delays and change orders
joint check agreements when appropriate
A contract can create just as many problems as the statute if you don’t read it early.
Taxes: The Risk That Doesn’t Show Up Until Later
Nobody gets into construction because they love taxes. Tennessee, however, takes them seriously.
Out-of-state contractors are especially vulnerable because Tennessee sales and use tax rules can create exposure if materials are purchased or furnished incorrectly.
Tax mistakes don’t show up on the punch list. They show up years later in an audit, usually with interest. It’s worth reviewing tax responsibilities before procurement begins, not after closeout.
Contract Notice Provisions Apply Immediately
Most Tennessee construction contracts contain notice requirements that apply long before anyone thinks they are “in dispute.”
Change orders, delays, differing site conditions, disruption claims—these often require written notice within a short window, sometimes as little as seven days.
Tennessee courts enforce these provisions. And contract notice does not replace statutory notice. You may need to comply with both.
Yes, it is possible to miss your contract claim and your lien or bond claim at the same time.
Efficient. And devastating.
Pre-Mobilization Checklist (Tennessee Edition) - Download Link
Bottom Line Takeaway
Tennessee construction risk is front-loaded. The biggest problems rarely happen because someone can’t build. They happen because someone didn’t treat mobilization as a legal starting point.
Contractors who do well here are the ones who show up prepared: knowing whether the job is public or private, locking in payment protections early, tracking furnishing dates, and respecting deadlines before the project ever goes sideways.
In Tennessee, the best claims are often the ones you never have to file because you set the job up correctly before the calendar started working against you.
Start smart. Stay protected. And don’t let the deadline be the thing that beats you before the job even begins.
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The information provided is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. While we strive to ensure that the content is accurate and up-to-date, laws and regulations are subject to change, and the application of the law can vary based on specific circumstances. Therefore, the information presented here should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel.
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