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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.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 guide

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CLAIM OF MECHANICS LIEN (CALIFORNIA)

Recorded under California Civil Code section 8400 and following. The undersigned claimant records this Claim of Mechanics Lien against the real property described below to secure payment for work of improvement furnished to that property.

  1. CLAIMANT Name: [CLAIMANT NAME] Role: [DIRECT CONTRACTOR / SUBCONTRACTOR / MATERIAL SUPPLIER / LABORER] Address: [CLAIMANT ADDRESS]

  2. AMOUNT OF THE CLAIM The current amount owed to the claimant, after deducting all just credits and offsets, is: $[AMOUNT].

  3. OWNER OR REPUTED OWNER Name: [OWNER NAME] Address: [OWNER ADDRESS]

  4. HIRING PARTY The claimant furnished work at the request of, or under contract with: [PERSON OR COMPANY THAT ORDERED THE WORK].

  5. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK General description of the labor, services, equipment, or materials furnished: [DESCRIPTION]. Date first furnished: [FIRST DATE]. Date last furnished: [LAST DATE].

  6. PROPERTY Street address: [PROPERTY ADDRESS]. Legal description: [LEGAL DESCRIPTION]. County: [COUNTY].

  7. VERIFICATION I, the claimant or the claimant's authorized agent, declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that I have read this claim of mechanics lien and that the facts stated in it are true.

Signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name and title: [NAME AND TITLE] Date: [DATE]

NOTICE OF MECHANICS LIEN (served with the recorded claim under Civil Code section 8416)

ATTENTION! Upon the recording of the enclosed MECHANICS LIEN with the county recorder's office of the county where the property is located, your property is subject to the filing of a legal action seeking a court-ordered foreclosure sale of the real property on which the lien has been recorded. That legal action must be filed with the court no later than 90 days after the date the mechanics lien is recorded.

The party identified as the claimant in the enclosed mechanics lien may have provided labor or materials for improvements to your property and may not have been paid for these items. You are receiving this notice because it is a required step in filing a mechanics lien foreclosure action against your property. The foreclosure action will seek a sale of your property in order to pay for unpaid labor, materials, or improvements provided to your property. This may affect your ability to borrow against, refinance, or sell the property involved.

To: [OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS] From (claimant): [CLAIMANT NAME AND ADDRESS] Date served: [DATE]

Note: This California claim of mechanics lien and notice follow Civil Code sections 8400 through 8494. Confirm the current statutory language and deadlines, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before recording.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

A California mechanics lien is a legal claim that a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier records against a property they improved but were not paid for. It attaches to the real estate, clouds the title so the owner cannot easily sell or refinance, and can be foreclosed through a court-ordered sale. It is governed by California Civil Code section 8400 and following.

Direct contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, and design professionals such as architects and engineers who furnished work to improve the property and were not paid can file. Subcontractors and suppliers must first serve a 20-day preliminary notice to preserve their rights; a contractor who dealt directly with the owner does not have to serve that notice.

A direct contractor must record the claim of lien within 90 days after the work of improvement is complete, or within 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation. A subcontractor or supplier has 90 days after completion, or 30 days after a notice of completion. The deadline is strict under Civil Code sections 8412 and 8414.

Subcontractors, suppliers, and others who did not contract directly with the owner must serve a 20-day preliminary notice within 20 days after first furnishing labor or materials, under Civil Code section 8204. A direct contractor who contracts with the owner is exempt. Serving late limits the lien to work furnished in the 20 days before the notice.

You must file a lawsuit to foreclose the lien within 90 days after you record the claim of lien, under Civil Code section 8460. If you do not sue within that 90-day window, the lien expires and is unenforceable. The deadline can be extended only by a recorded credit agreement, and never past one year after completion.

Missing the preliminary notice, the 90-day recording deadline, or the 90-day deadline to sue generally means the lien is lost, because California applies these rules strictly. You may still sue the party who hired you for breach of contract to recover the unpaid amount, but you lose the security that a lien against the property provides.

Yes. Civil Code section 8416 requires the claimant to serve the owner with a Notice of Mechanics Lien along with a copy of the recorded lien. If that notice is not served, the lien is unenforceable. The notice tells the owner that a lien has been recorded and that the property may be sold to satisfy the claim.

When the debt is paid, the claimant should record a release of lien to clear the title. A lien also expires on its own if no foreclosure suit is filed within 90 days of recording. An owner who believes a lien is invalid can petition the court to remove it, and California also allows a lien to be bonded off with a surety bond.