California Mechanics Lien
File a California mechanics lien to secure payment for construction work. Learn the 90-day recording deadline, the 20-day preliminary notice, and enforcement.
Introduction
A California mechanics lien is a legal claim recorded against real property by a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid. Once recorded, the lien attaches to the property, clouds the title, and can be enforced by a court-ordered sale. That security is what gives the lien its leverage, and California protects the right to it in the Civil Code. The lien only works if you perfect it on time. In California a subcontractor or supplier must serve a 20-day preliminary notice after first furnishing work. The lien claim must be recorded within 90 days after the work is complete, or sooner if the owner records a notice of completion, and you must then file suit to foreclose within 90 days after recording, or the lien expires. DocDraft prepares a California mechanics lien and its notices from your project details, and attorney review is available before you record.
0/5000
Key Things to Know
- 1
A California mechanics lien secures payment against the improved property. Contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, and design professionals who were not paid can claim one under Civil Code section 8400 and following.
- 2
Subcontractors and suppliers must serve a 20-day preliminary notice. Under Civil Code section 8204 the notice is due within 20 days after first furnishing labor or materials. A direct contractor who contracts with the owner is exempt from giving it.
- 3
The recording deadline is 90 days after completion. A direct contractor records the claim of lien within 90 days after completion, or within 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion; a subcontractor has 90 days, or 30 days after a notice of completion.
- 4
You must sue to enforce within 90 days of recording. Civil Code section 8460 requires the claimant to file an action to foreclose the lien within 90 days after recording, or the claim of lien expires and becomes unenforceable.
- 5
A Notice of Mechanics Lien must go with the recorded claim. Civil Code section 8416 requires serving the owner a specific notice along with the recorded lien, and failing to serve it makes the lien unenforceable.
- 6
California reads the deadlines strictly. Missing the preliminary notice, the 90-day recording window, or the 90-day suit deadline generally forfeits the lien, though a separate contract claim for the debt may remain.
- 7
The claim must state required details. It must give the amount due after credits, describe the property and the work, name the owner, and be verified by the claimant.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Mechanics Lien in California, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Mechanics Lien guide walks through them.
Open the Mechanics Lien guideCustomize your Mechanics Lien Template with DocDraft
California Requirements for Mechanics Lien
California Filing Deadline and Office
File the California mechanics lien in the correct office, a county recorder or court as California requires, within the state's deadline after you last furnish labor or materials. California applies the deadline strictly, so filing late or in the wrong office can void the lien.