R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-28-4 (2026)

Notice of intention to claim lien

✓ current as of July 2026
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(a) Except as provided in § 34-28-7, any and all liens claimed or that could be claimed under §§ 34-28-1, 34-28-2 or 34-28-3 shall be void and wholly lost to any person claiming under those sections unless the person shall, before or within two hundred (200) days after the doing of such work or the furnishing of such materials, mail by prepaid registered or certified mail, in either case return receipt requested, a notice of intention, hereinafter described, to do work or furnish material, or both, together with a statement that the person so mailing may within two hundred (200) days after the doing of the work or the furnishing of the materials, file a copy of such notice of intention in the records of land evidence in the city or town in which the land generally described in such notice of intention is located and a further statement that the mailing of the notice of intention and the filing of the copy will perfect a lien of the person so mailing against the land under and subject to the provisions of this chapter, to the owner of record of the land at the time of the mailing, or, in the case of a lien against the interest of any lessee or tenant, to the lessee or tenant, the mailing to be addressed to the last known residence or place of business of the owner or lessee or tenant, but if no residence or place of business is known or ascertainable by the person making the mailing by inquiry of the person with whom the person making the mailing is directly dealing or otherwise, then the mailing under this section shall be to the address of the land, and also shall before or within two hundred (200) days after the doing of the work or the furnishing of the materials file a copy of the notice of intention in the records of land evidence in the city or town in which the land generally described in the notice of lien is located. The mailing of the notice of intention and the filing of the copy in the land evidence records together with the mailing of another copy thereof as herein below provided shall perfect, subject to other sections of this chapter, the lien of the person so mailing and filing as to work done or materials furnished by the person during the two hundred (200) days prior to the filing and thereafter, but not as to work done or materials furnished by the person before the two hundred (200) days prior to the filing, any lien for which shall be void and wholly lost. In the event that the notice of intention, having been mailed, shall be returned to the person mailing the notice, not having been delivered for any reason, the lien of the person so mailing shall be void and wholly lost, notwithstanding any other provision of this section, unless such person shall, within thirty (30) days after the return of the notice of intention, and in no event more than two hundred (200) days after the mailing of the notice, file the notice together with the envelope in which the notice was returned, in the place and manner and with the consequences hereinbefore provided for the filing of a copy of the notice of intention, and the filing shall be in lieu of any filing required at any other time under this section.

(b) The notice of intention shall be executed under oath and shall contain:

(1) The name of the owner of record of the land at the time of the mailing, or in the case of a lien against the interest of any lessee or tenant, the name of the lessee or tenant, and the mailing address of the owner or lessee, the name and address to be located at the upper left hand corner of the notice, in addition to the text of the notice, as described in subsection (c);

(2) A general description of the land sufficient to identify it with reasonable certainty, including, for example only, street name and number, if available;

(3) A general description of the nature of the work done or to be done, or of the materials furnished, or to be furnished, or both, and the approximate value thereof as of the date of the notice;

(4) The name and address of the person or persons for whom directly the work has been done or is to be done, or to whom directly the materials have been furnished or are to be furnished;

(5) The name and address of the person mailing the notice and the name of the individual person or persons whose signature will bind the person so mailing on all matters pertaining to the notice or any lien claimed thereunder, or release thereof.

(6) A statement that the person mailing the notice has not been paid for the work done or materials furnished or both.

(c) The notice may be in substantially the following form:

_________________________________________

(Name of owner of record/Lessee)

_________________________________________

(Address of owner/Lessee)

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO DO WORK OR
FURNISH MATERIALS, OR BOTH

All persons are hereby notified that the undersigned has within the two hundred (200) days prior to the mailing hereof done work, furnished materials, or both, and/or intends to do so in the future (cross out inappropriate words), in the construction, erection, alteration, or preparation of an improvement on land described as follows: (here insert description) and that the land is owned by or leased to (here insert name of owner or lessee or tenant). The nature of the work being done or materials being furnished is as follows: (here insert general description of the nature of the work or materials, or both) and is being done for or furnished to (here insert name of person or persons for whom directly the work is being done or to whom directly the materials are being furnished), whose address is (here insert address).

The approximate value of said work or materials is, as of the date of the notice, $(include amount), itemized as follows: and the undersigned has not been paid for the work or materials or both;

The undersigned authorizes (here insert name or names) to act or sign documents in behalf of the undersigned in all matters pertaining to this notice, or any lien claimed hereunder, or release thereof.

You are hereby informed that the undersigned may within two hundred (200) days of the performance of the work or furnishing of the materials, file in the records of land evidence of the city or town of (here insert name of city or town) a copy of this notice of intention to do work or furnish materials. The filing of the notice of intention, together with this mailing, will perfect a lien against the land described herein, under and subject to the provisions of the Rhode Island Mechanics' Lien Law.

_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
(Name and address of person   
filing notice)          

NOTARIZATION CLAUSE

_________

Signed and sworn before me this ______ day of ______ ,

_______________________________________________________________________
Notary Public          
My Commission Expires:    

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24 cases, 1976–2016 · leading case: Gem Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. v. Rossi, 867 A.2d 796 (R.I. 2005).
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Gem Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. v. Rossi, 867 A.2d 796 (R.I. 2005). · cites it 15× “On January 28, 2002, Gem mailed the Rossis a notice of intention to do work or furnish materials in connection with the building and recorded a copy of such notice in the land records in the Town of Smithfield, pursuant to § 34-28-4. As prescribed by statute,, 120 days later, on…”
Laurence F. Whittemore, III v. Westerly Tax Assessor, 139 A.3d 530 (R.I. 2016). · cites it 8× “The only explicit consequences provided in the statute—that “whoever neglects or refuses to bring in the account, if overtaxed, shall have no remedy therefor,” § 44-5-16—are directed at taxpayers rather than assessors.”
GSM Indus., Inc. v. Grinnell Fire Prot. Sys. Co., 47 A.3d 264 (R.I. 2012). · cites it 12× “” However, within the framework of § 34-28-4, the oath requirement manifestly serves an additional purpose: to militate against meritless claims.”
Frank N. Gustafson & Sons, Inc. v. Walek, 599 A.2d 730 (R.I. 1991). · cites it 10× “To perfect a claim for a mechanic’s lien one must first satisfy the requirements of § 34-28-4, as amended by P.L.1989, ch. 189, § 1 and § 34-28-10.”
Rossi v. Gemma, 489 F.3d 26 (1st Cir. 2007). · cites it 2× “See R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-28-4 (2002); 2 Gem, 867 A.”
Pezzuco Constr., Inc. v. Melrose Assocs., L.P., 764 A.2d 174 (R.I. 2001). · cites it 4× “Second, plaintiff did not send the notices of intention to file its mechanic’s hens to defendant by prepaid registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, as required by § 34-28-4. Third, one of the lots upon which a hen was to be placed was misdescribed in the notice…”
Newman v. Valleywood Assocs., Inc., 874 A.2d 1286 (R.I. 2005). · cites it 3× “Beyond providing a procedural mechanism to secure payment for services or materials rendered, multiple sections of the statute require that notice be given to the world of the dispute between the parties: § 34-28-4 requires a claimant to file a notice of intention in the land…”
Aponik v. Lauricella, 844 A.2d 698 (R.I. 2004). · cites it 2× “The previous day, on April 9, 1997, with opportune clairvoyance, Aponik filed a notice of intention to claim a hen on the property, pursuant to G.L.1956 § 34-28-4, for work and materials totaling $47,800.”
Keystone Elevator Co. v. Johnson & Wales Univ., 850 A.2d 912 (R.I. 2004). “34-28-3 or 34-28-7) shall be the same as if no notices of intention under § 34-28-4 had been mailed or filed and as if no petition under §§ 34-28-10 and 34-28-13 had been filed.”
Faraone v. Faraone, 413 A.2d 90 (R.I. 1980). · cites it 2× “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 34-28-4. On the same day a copy of the notice of intention was recorded in the records of land evidence of the town of Johnston.”
In Re CNN Dev. Corp., 112 B.R. 1 (Bankr. D.R.I. 1990). · cites it 3× “LAWS § 34-28-4 (1956, reenactment 1984), on October 20, 1989.”
Providence Elec. Co., Inc. v. Donatelli Bldg. Co., Inc., 356 A.2d 483 (R.I. 1976). “rson, such bond shall enure to the benefit of any person who does any work in the construction, erection, alteration or reparation thereof, or who furnishes any materials used in the same, and such person doing such work or furnishing such materials may bring suit in his own…”
Show all 24 citing cases →
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-28-4(a) — 5 cases
Gem Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. v. Rossi, 867 A.2d 796 (R.I. 2005). “On January 28, 2002, Gem mailed the Rossis a notice of intention to do work or furnish materials in connection with the building and recorded a copy of such notice in the land records in the Town of Smithfield, pursuant to § 34-28-4. As prescribed by statute,, 120 days later, on…”
Laurence F. Whittemore, III v. Westerly Tax Assessor, 139 A.3d 530 (R.I. 2016). “The only explicit consequences provided in the statute—that “whoever neglects or refuses to bring in the account, if overtaxed, shall have no remedy therefor,” § 44-5-16—are directed at taxpayers rather than assessors.”
Newman v. Valleywood Assocs., Inc., 874 A.2d 1286 (R.I. 2005). “Beyond providing a procedural mechanism to secure payment for services or materials rendered, multiple sections of the statute require that notice be given to the world of the dispute between the parties: § 34-28-4 requires a claimant to file a notice of intention in the land…”
GSM Indus., Inc. v. Grinnell Fire Prot. Sys. Co., 47 A.3d 264 (R.I. 2012). “” However, within the framework of § 34-28-4, the oath requirement manifestly serves an additional purpose: to militate against meritless claims.”
Pezzuco Constr., Inc. v. Melrose Assocs., L.P., 764 A.2d 174 (R.I. 2001). “Second, plaintiff did not send the notices of intention to file its mechanic’s hens to defendant by prepaid registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, as required by § 34-28-4. Third, one of the lots upon which a hen was to be placed was misdescribed in the notice…”
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-28-4(b) — 3 cases
Gem Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. v. Rossi, 867 A.2d 796 (R.I. 2005). “On January 28, 2002, Gem mailed the Rossis a notice of intention to do work or furnish materials in connection with the building and recorded a copy of such notice in the land records in the Town of Smithfield, pursuant to § 34-28-4. As prescribed by statute,, 120 days later, on…”
GSM Indus., Inc. v. Grinnell Fire Prot. Sys. Co., 47 A.3d 264 (R.I. 2012). “” However, within the framework of § 34-28-4, the oath requirement manifestly serves an additional purpose: to militate against meritless claims.”
Rossi v. Gemma, 489 F.3d 26 (1st Cir. 2007). “See R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-28-4 (2002); 2 Gem, 867 A.”
— R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-28-4(c) — 1 case
Gem Plumbing & Heating Co., Inc. v. Rossi, 867 A.2d 796 (R.I. 2005). “On January 28, 2002, Gem mailed the Rossis a notice of intention to do work or furnish materials in connection with the building and recorded a copy of such notice in the land records in the Town of Smithfield, pursuant to § 34-28-4. As prescribed by statute,, 120 days later, on…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.