Demand Letter Generator
Generate a demand letter for a construction payment dispute — GC owed by owner, sub owed by GC, or final retention. Free PDF, cites state lien deadlines.
Generate my demand letter ↓Generate my demand letter
Free · no accountPick the scenario, pick the state, and fill in the job facts. The letter is assembled in your own name, and for California, Texas, and Florida it cites the lien deadlines with their statute numbers — conditional statutory facts, not threats.
The signature line stays blank on purpose — review the letter against your records, print, sign by hand, and send it yourself.
The letter is signed in your own name — print, review, and sign by hand. A form, not legal advice.
Letter preview
General contractorDemand for Payment
[Your name] [Your company] [Your address] [Your phone]
[Letter date]
[Recipient name] [Recipient address]
RE: Request for payment — Invoice [Invoice #] — [Amount owed] — [Project name], [Project address]
Dear [Recipient name]:
We completed the work described in our contract dated [Contract date] on [Work completed date]. Invoice [Invoice #] for [Amount owed] was issued for that work and remains unpaid as of [Letter date].
This letter is a formal request for payment. Please send the full balance of [Amount owed] by [Payment requested by].
If any part of the work or the billing needs attention, contact me at [Your phone] by [Payment requested by], and I will work with you to resolve it.
If payment is not received by [Payment requested by], I intend to pursue the remedies available to me under the laws of Texas, including recording a mechanics lien against the property. Under Texas law:
– Original contractor: record the sworn affidavit by the 15th day of the 4th month after the month work was completed, terminated, or abandoned (3rd month on residential). Lower-tier claimants anchor the same offsets to their last month of furnishing. (Tex. Prop. Code §53.052(a)(1)).
– Suit must be filed within 1 year after the last day the affidavit could be recorded (contracts signed on or after 01/01/2022). A recorded written agreement can extend the deadline to 2 years. (Tex. Prop. Code §53.158).
I would prefer to resolve this matter directly. Please send payment by [Payment requested by], or contact me so we can resolve any remaining questions.
Thank you,
[Your name] [Your company] [Your address] [Your phone]
Signature: sign by hand
The deadline facts come from the Texas rule data (verified 10/09/2026) and appear in the letter with their statute citations.
Three ways to write a demand letter
The sender changes with the role. The facts the letter carries — contract, amounts, dates, and the next step — stay the same.
General contractor owed by the owner
The letter references the contract and the invoices already submitted, and points to the lien remedy and its recording deadline as the next step. For the states with verified rule data, the letter cites the recording and suit deadlines with their statute numbers.
Subcontractor owed by the general contractor
The letter references the subcontract and the notices already served where the state requires them. In Texas, the monthly notice is a condition of the lien itself — one per unpaid month, due by the 15th of the 3rd month on commercial jobs (§53.056(a-1)(1)); the letter cites that window when Texas is selected.
Final retention after completion
The letter targets the retained percentage released at the contract’s completion threshold. In Texas, retainage carries its own notice deadline — the earlier of 30 days after the claimant’s own contract ends or 30 days after the original contract ends (§53.057(a-1)).
How to send a demand letter
The letter only works as a record if the record exists. Three functional channels, in the order contractors typically use them:
Fast and normal for an active business relationship. Send it from your own address so the record shows it came from you, and keep the sent copy with the invoice and the contract in the job file.
Certified mail
USPS Certified Mail with return receipt produces a delivery record with a signature. That record is the paper trail the later steps reference — keep the receipt and the green card with the job file when they come back.
Keep the paper trail together
Save the signed letter, the invoice, and the delivery record in one place. The statutory lien deadlines keep running on their own clocks regardless of any response date in the letter, and the later steps reference this file.
How to generate a demand letter
- 01
Pick your scenario
General contractor owed by the owner, subcontractor owed by the general contractor, or final retention after completion. The scenario sets who the letter addresses and how it names the agreement.
- 02
Pick the state
The project state decides which statutory deadline facts the letter can cite. California, Texas, and Florida outputs cite the verified recording and suit windows with statute numbers; Illinois and North Carolina get the general remedy wording until their rule data is verified.
- 03
Fill in the job facts
Parties, project, invoice number, contract date, completion date, the unpaid amount, and the response date you want payment by. Dates use MM/DD/YYYY. The amount is the actual unpaid balance from your records.
- 04
Preview, download, sign, and send
Review the letter against your records, download the PDF, print and sign it in your own name, and send it on your own behalf. The signature line stays blank until you sign.
What is a demand letter?
A demand letter is a formal written request for payment sent before a dispute escalates. It states the amount owed, the work performed, a deadline, and the next step — typically a mechanics lien or a lawsuit — if the deadline passes. On a construction job it is a business document, not a statutory step: its weight comes from the lien deadlines it cites, which expire by statute whether or not anyone sends a letter. It works best when it sticks to verifiable facts — the contract, the invoice, the dates — names a specific response date, and describes the available remedies as conditional statutory facts rather than threats. Sending one creates a dated record that the debt was pressed while the lien windows were still open, and gives the other side a clear way to resolve the matter before the next step. This generator builds the letter in your own name, for three scenarios: contractor owed by owner, subcontractor owed by general contractor, and final retention.
What should a demand letter include?
A demand letter carries four blocks of facts. First, the paper trail: the contract or subcontract date, the completion date, the invoice number, and the amount owed, stated so the recipient can match it against their records. Second, a clear request: the full balance and the date you ask for payment by — a business deadline you choose, not a statutory one. Third, a contact path: a phone number or email, and an invitation to raise any dispute about the work or the billing by the same date. Fourth, the next step, stated conditionally: the remedies the law makes available, with the lien deadlines cited as statutory facts with their citations — never as threats, and never with added penalties the contract or the statute does not provide. The generator assembles the four blocks from the details you enter, adds deadline facts where rule data is verified, and leaves the signature to you — you sign by hand.
Is a demand letter legally required before filing a mechanics lien?
In the states we cover, no — the lien statutes set their own notice steps. Texas requires monthly notices from subcontractors and suppliers (§53.056(a-1)(1)), California a preliminary notice (§8204(a)), and Florida a Notice to Owner (§713.06(2)(a)). A demand letter sits in front of those steps as a business document; whether it produces payment is a practical question, not a legal one. What it does do, every time, is create a dated record that the debt was pressed while the statutory windows were still open. That record matters later, because the recording and suit deadlines run on their own clocks regardless of what correspondence passes between the parties. The generator keeps the two separate on purpose: it never presents the demand letter as a required step, and the response date you pick for the letter never stands in for a statutory deadline.
What each field means
Letter date
The date the letter is sent, MM/DD/YYYY. It anchors the paper trail and the response date.
Your name and company
The sender block and the signature. The letter goes out under your name and company — you are the creditor, and the letter never names LienBuild as a party.
Recipient
The party who owes the balance — the owner in the GC scenario, the general contractor in the sub scenario, or whoever holds the retention.
Project
The project name and address as they appear on the contract and the invoice, so the recipient can match the letter to the job.
Invoice number and agreement date
The invoice being demanded on, and the date of the contract or subcontract the work was furnished under.
Completion date
The date the work was completed. The statutory lien windows run from completion or last furnishing in most states, which is why the letter asks for it.
Amount
The unpaid balance from your records — the number on the invoice, not a rounded-up figure. Added fees or interest belong only where the contract or the statute provides for them.
Response date
The date you ask for payment by. It is a business deadline you choose, not a statutory deadline; the letter treats it that way and cites the statutory lien deadlines separately as facts.
Demand letter generator questions, answered straight.
Is the demand letter generator free?
Yes — free, no account. Pick the scenario, pick the state, fill in the job facts, preview, and download the PDF. There is no email wall and no payment step.
Who sends the demand letter?
You do, in your own name. The letter carries your name and company in the signature block, and you send it from your own email or mailbox. The generator never sends anything and never appears as the sender — it only formats the document from the facts you enter.
How does the letter describe the next step?
As a conditional statutory fact. The letter states that if payment is not received by the response date, you intend to pursue the remedies available under law, including recording a mechanics lien — and for the states with verified rule data it lists the recording and suit deadlines with their statute citations. It never states a consequence as certain, never adds penalties or fees the contract or statute does not provide, and never uses collection-agency wording.
What deadline should I set in the letter?
The response date is a business deadline you choose; it is not a statutory deadline. The statutory lien deadlines run on their own clocks — where we have verified data the letter cites them as facts, and they keep running regardless of the response date. Pick a date that leaves room for the mail and for a real conversation.
What if part of the invoice is disputed?
The letter includes a contact line inviting the recipient to raise any dispute about the work or the billing by the same response date. Whether and how you adjust the amount is your call — the generator only formats the facts you enter.
Where to go next
- Demand letter guide
What a demand letter is and where it sits between the invoice and the lien.
- Lien waiver form
The waiver exchanged with each payment, generated for the five states we cover.
- California mechanics lien rules
California’s 20-day preliminary notice and the 90/60/30-day recording windows.
- Texas mechanics lien rules
The monthly notice cycle and the 15th-of-the-month recording deadlines.
- Florida mechanics lien rules
The full Florida notice, recording, and suit deadlines with statute citations.