To file a mechanics lien in California, you serve a preliminary notice within 20 days of first supplying labor or materials, record a Claim of Lien with the county recorder in the county where the property sits within 30, 60, or 90 days after project completion depending on your role and whether the owner records a Notice of Completion, serve the owner with a copy of that claim before you record it, and then file a foreclosure lawsuit within 90 days of recording. Miss any of those steps and the lien is unenforceable.
The lien is a claim against the private property itself. Once recorded it clouds the title, which is the leverage that gets contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers paid. California courts read the statutes strictly, so the procedure below is not a set of best practices. It is the requirements.
Confirm You Can File in the First Place
Mechanics liens are available to anyone who contributed labor, materials, or equipment that improved private real property and has not been paid. That includes general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, and equipment lessors.
Liens do not attach to government-owned property. If your project is a school, highway, or other public work, skip to the public works note near the end of this article, because a different set of remedies applies.
Step 1: Serve the Preliminary Notice Within 20 Days
Before any lien can be recorded, most claimants must first serve a preliminary notice on the property owner, the general contractor, and the construction lender if there is one.1California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 8200 – Preliminary Notice
Two carve-outs. A direct contractor who has a contract with the owner only needs to notify the construction lender, if one exists. Laborers who are wage employees are exempt from the requirement entirely. Everyone else, subcontractors and suppliers included, has to send the full notice to all three parties.1California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 8200 – Preliminary Notice
Serve it within 20 days of the first day you provide labor or materials. A late notice is not fatal, but it costs you: your lien rights will only reach amounts earned in the 20 days before you sent the notice, plus everything after. Work performed before that window is lost. Deliver materials on June 1, serve the notice on July 15, and your lien can only cover deliveries from June 25 onward.
The notice itself must describe the work you will provide in general terms, estimate the total price, and carry a boldface warning to the owner that a lien could be placed on the property if you go unpaid.2California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 8202 – Preliminary Notice Send it by certified mail with return receipt, or at minimum first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, and keep the proof. If you cannot prove service, a court can invalidate the lien later.
Step 2: Track Completion and Your Recording Deadline
The clock for recording the Claim of Lien starts at project completion, and how much time you have depends on whether the owner records a Notice of Completion or Notice of Cessation.
If no such notice is recorded, every claimant has 90 days after the project is actually completed.3Justia. California Code Civil Code 8410-8424 – Conditions to Enforcing a Lien Completion means the end of all work on the whole project, not the end of your portion.
If the owner records a Notice of Completion, the window shrinks:
- Direct contractors: 60 days from the recording date.
- Subcontractors and suppliers: 30 days from the recording date.3Justia. California Code Civil Code 8410-8424 – Conditions to Enforcing a Lien
These deadlines are absolute. One day late and your lien rights are gone. Some owners record a Notice of Completion quickly for exactly that reason. If you served a preliminary notice, the owner has 10 days to send you a copy of any Notice of Completion, but check the county recorder’s records yourself rather than waiting.
Step 3: Prepare the Claim of Lien
The Claim of Lien is signed under penalty of perjury, and small errors have thrown out entire liens. It must include:4California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien
- Your demand amount, after subtracting any credits, offsets, or partial payments received.
- The property owner’s name, or the reputed owner if you are not certain of the legal name.
- A general description of the labor, materials, or equipment you provided.
- The name of the person or company that hired you.
- A property description with enough detail to identify the site. The legal description from the deed or county assessor’s records is the safest.
- Your address.
- A proof of service affidavit confirming that you served the owner with the claim and the required Notice of Mechanics Lien.
The claim must carry a statutory Notice of Mechanics Lien warning the owner in plain language that a lien has been placed on the property and that foreclosure could force a sale.4California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien
Do not inflate the amount. Attorney fees and interest do not belong on the face of the lien; only the value of the unpaid labor, materials, or equipment does. Padding gives the owner grounds to challenge the whole lien.
Step 4: Serve the Owner Before Recording
Serving the owner with a copy of the Claim of Lien and the Notice of Mechanics Lien is a precondition to recording. Skip it and the lien is unenforceable as a matter of law.4California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien
Use registered mail, certified mail, or first-class mail with a certificate of mailing, sent to the owner’s residence, business address, or the address on the building permit. If you cannot reach the owner by any of those methods, you can serve the construction lender or the general contractor in the owner’s place.4California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 8416 – Claim of Mechanics Lien
Step 5: Record the Lien With the County
Take the signed Claim of Lien, with the completed proof of service affidavit attached, to the county recorder’s office in the county where the property is located. The affidavit needs to show when, where, and how you served the owner.
Recording fees vary. Expect a base fee for the first page, a per-page charge for additional pages, and a statewide recording surcharge. For a typical one- or two-page lien, total recording costs generally fall in the range of roughly $90 to $100, though the exact amount depends on the county.
If you catch a mistake on a lien you have already recorded, you can file an amended lien, but only if the original recording deadline has not passed. The amendment must identify itself as an amendment, reference the original recording information (instrument number, recording date, and book and page if applicable), and meet all the same formatting, fee, and service requirements as the first filing. An amendment cannot revive an expired lien or extend the enforcement clock.
Step 6: Enforce the Lien Within 90 Days
Recording puts pressure on the owner, but it does not force payment. To actually collect, you have to file a foreclosure lawsuit asking a court to order the property sold to satisfy the debt. That lawsuit must be filed within 90 days after the lien was recorded. Miss the window and the lien expires.
Within 20 days of filing suit, record a notice of pending action, a lis pendens, with the county recorder for the property. It puts future buyers and lenders on notice that litigation is pending.5California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 8461
If you win, the court can award the lien amount plus attorney fees and costs. If you let the 90 days lapse without suing, the owner can petition the court for a streamlined order releasing the property from the lien.6California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 8480 The court must award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in that proceeding.7California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code CIV 8488 Letting the enforcement deadline slide means losing the lien and paying the owner’s legal fees on top of it.
Protect Your Rights While the Job Is Still Running
Owners and general contractors routinely ask for lien waivers in exchange for progress and final payments. California requires four specific statutory waiver forms, and a waiver that does not substantially follow one of them is unenforceable.8California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 8124 Two are conditional (progress and final) and two are unconditional (progress and final).9CSLB. Conditional and Unconditional Waiver and Release Forms
The distinction matters more than any other paperwork on the job. A conditional waiver only takes effect once payment actually clears. An unconditional waiver takes effect the moment you sign, even if the check bounces the next day. Never sign an unconditional waiver before the funds are in your account. Contractors quietly lose their lien rights this way more often than through any drafting mistake on the lien itself.
What Invalidates a Lien
Beyond the deadlines already covered, California courts commonly throw out liens for overstating the amount owed, failing to serve the preliminary notice, or neglecting to serve the owner before recording. A lien filed with false information, or one the claimant knew was unsupported, can also expose the filer to a slander of title lawsuit if the owner can show the statement was false, made with reckless disregard for the truth or actual knowledge of falsity, and caused real financial harm.
Release the Lien After Payment
Once you are paid in full, you have to record a Release of Lien with the same county recorder’s office that took the original filing. This clears the title. Do it promptly. An owner who has paid and cannot get the lien removed can sue you for damages.
If the Project Is Public, None of This Applies
You cannot record a mechanics lien against government-owned property. On public works projects exceeding $25,000 in construction cost, the general contractor is required to post a payment bond equal to 100% of the contract amount, and an unpaid subcontractor or supplier files a claim against that bond instead. The 20-day preliminary notice requirement still applies, so serve it just as you would on a private job. Everything after that runs on a separate set of bond-claim rules.