To put a valid mechanics lien on a California property, you have to hit a sequence of deadlines without missing any of them: serve a preliminary notice within 20 days of starting work, record a proper claim of lien within 30, 60, or 90 days of project completion depending on your role, and file a foreclosure lawsuit within 90 days after recording. The California mechanics lien filing requirements and deadlines are strict, and a late filing or a missing notice at any stage can wipe out the claim entirely. Here is what each step requires and when it has to happen.
Who Can File
California’s Constitution gives a lien right to anyone who contributes labor or materials to a property improvement.1Justia. California Constitution Article XIV Section 3 – Labor Relations The Civil Code names six eligible categories: direct contractors (also called general or prime contractors), subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, laborers, and design professionals such as architects and land surveyors.2California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8400 – Who Is Entitled to Lien
One catch undoes a lot of claims before they start. If your work required a California contractor’s license, you must have held a valid license for the entire time you performed that work. State law bars unlicensed contractors from any legal action to collect payment and makes any security interest, including a mechanics lien, unenforceable when the person who did the work wasn’t properly licensed.3California Legislative Information. California Code, Business and Professions Code – BPC 7031 Laborers and suppliers whose work doesn’t require a license are not subject to this rule.
Serve the Preliminary Notice Within 20 Days
Before you can record a lien, you generally have to serve a preliminary notice on the property owner, the direct contractor, and any construction lender on the project. Two groups get a break: laborers don’t owe a preliminary notice at all, and a claimant who contracted directly with the owner only has to notify the construction lender, if there is one.4California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8200 – Preliminary Notice
Serve the notice within 20 days of first providing labor or materials. A late preliminary notice is still allowed, but it shrinks your lien rights to work performed during the 20 days before you served it, plus anything after. A subcontractor who works for three months before sending the notice can only lien the final 20 days of unbilled work before the notice, not the full three. Serve it early, even when payment seems to be flowing.
Recording Deadlines After the Work Ends
The deadline to record the claim with the county recorder depends on whether the owner files a notice of completion.
No Notice of Completion
If the owner records no notice of completion or cessation, every claimant has 90 days after the project is completed to record the lien.5California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8412-8414 – Time for Recording Lien “Completion” refers to the entire work of improvement, not just your portion.
Notice of Completion Filed
The owner has 15 days after the project wraps up to record a notice of completion. Once that notice is on record, the deadlines compress:
- Direct contractors: 60 days after the notice of completion is recorded.6California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8412 – Time for Recording Lien
- Subcontractors, suppliers, and all other claimants: 30 days after the notice of completion is recorded.7California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8414 – Time for Recording Lien
If you’re a subcontractor and the owner records a notice of completion, you may have only 30 days to get your paperwork filed. Don’t let payment negotiations eat that window.
What the Claim of Lien Must Contain
The claim is a written, verified statement, and the Civil Code specifies exactly what has to be in it.8California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien Required elements:
- The demand amount, after subtracting all payments, credits, and offsets already received.
- The name of the property owner or reputed owner, if known.
- A general statement of the kind of work you provided.
- The name of the person or company that hired you.
- A description of the job site detailed enough to identify it, typically a street address or legal description.
- The claimant’s mailing address.
- A proof of service affidavit showing how and when you served the lien on the owner.
You sign under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate based on personal knowledge or verified records. Notarization is not required; the statute says a properly verified claim “shall be accepted by the recorder for recording and shall be deemed duly recorded without acknowledgment.”8California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien
The Mandatory Homeowner Notice
Every claim of lien must include a specific “Notice of Mechanics Lien” statement printed in at least 10-point boldface type, warning the property owner that the property could be subject to a court-ordered foreclosure sale.8California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien The language tells the owner to contact their contractor or an attorney and directs them to the Contractors’ State License Board website. The final sentence has to appear in all uppercase letters. Leaving this notice out makes the entire lien unenforceable as a matter of law. No exceptions, no cure.
Serve the Lien, Then Record It
Service happens before recording. You can serve the owner by registered mail, certified mail, or first-class mail with a certificate of mailing. The proof of service affidavit, showing the date, place, and method of service, becomes part of the recorded document. Skip this step or do it after recording and the lien is unenforceable.8California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien
Record the lien at the county recorder’s office in the county where the property is located. Fees vary, but a standard document generally runs between $20 and $100 depending on page count and any additional county assessments under the Building Homes and Jobs Act. Once recorded, the lien is public and appears on any title search, which effectively blocks the owner from selling or refinancing without dealing with the debt.
File Suit Within 90 Days or Lose the Lien
Recording isn’t the finish line. You have to file a foreclosure lawsuit within 90 days after the lien is recorded.9California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8460 – Enforcement of Lien Miss it and the lien expires automatically and becomes completely unenforceable. No grace period, no way to revive it.
A narrow exception exists. If you and the owner agree in writing to extend credit, and a notice describing the terms of that extension is recorded within 90 days of the lien (or before a good-faith buyer acquires rights in the property), the enforcement deadline moves to 90 days after the credit period ends. Even so, no lawsuit can be filed later than one year after the work of improvement was completed.9California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8460 – Enforcement of Lien
Record a Lis Pendens Within 20 Days of Filing
After filing the foreclosure lawsuit, you have 20 days to record a notice of pending action (lis pendens) with the county recorder where the property sits.10California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8461 – Notice of Pendency of Action That recording puts any future buyer or lender on constructive notice of the pending case. Without it, someone who buys the property during your lawsuit may not be bound by the outcome.
Watch What You Sign on the Way to Payment
While the deadlines run, so does the risk of signing away your lien rights accidentally. California recognizes four statutory lien waiver forms, and using anything else can cause problems on both sides.11Contractors State License Board. Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release Forms The forms split by timing (progress payment or final payment) and by risk (conditional or unconditional):
- Conditional waiver on progress payment. You sign while a progress payment is expected but hasn’t cleared. Your lien rights are released only when the payment actually clears the bank.
- Unconditional waiver on progress payment. You sign after receiving and depositing the progress payment. It takes effect immediately, and your lien rights for that payment period are gone the moment you sign.
- Conditional waiver on final payment. Same conditional structure, but for the last payment on the project. Your lien rights stay intact until the check clears.
- Unconditional waiver on final payment. The most dangerous form to sign early. Once signed, your lien rights are fully released whether the money arrives or not.
A conditional waiver protects you if the payment bounces. An unconditional waiver eliminates your lien rights the moment you sign it. Never sign an unconditional waiver before the funds have actually cleared your account, no matter when during the deadline sequence you’re asked to do it.