California mechanics liens: 20 days to give notice, 90 days to record, 90 days to sue

California's mechanics lien rules are in Part 6 of the Civil Code, and the deadlines are short. Missing one can cost a contractor or supplier its lien rights entirely. This is a summary of the main time limits as the statutes state them, checked against the code on Oct. 30, 2026. It is not legal advice.

Step 1: the preliminary notice (20 days)

Section 8204 says a preliminary notice "shall be given not later than 20 days after the claimant has first furnished work." A claimant who gives it late is not shut out, but can then record a lien, give a stop payment notice or claim against a payment bond only for work performed within 20 days before the notice was served, and after.

In practice, that means a subcontractor or supplier who starts work and sends the notice a month later has lost lien rights for the first 10 days of work. Sending the notice at the start of every job is the simplest protection.

Step 2: recording the claim of lien

The recording window depends on who you are.

• Direct contractors (those who contract with the owner) must record after completing the direct contract and before the earlier of 90 days after completion of the work of improvement or 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation (§ 8412).
• Everyone else, including subcontractors, suppliers and equipment lessors, must record after they stop providing work and before the earlier of 90 days after completion or 30 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation (§ 8414).

The owner's recorded notice is the key variable. When an owner records a notice of completion, a subcontractor's window can shrink from 90 days to 30. Subcontractors should ask owners and primes whether a notice has been recorded, or check the county recorder.

Step 3: enforcing the lien (90 days)

Section 8460 requires the claimant to "commence an action to enforce a lien within 90 days after recordation of the claim of lien." If no action is filed, the lien expires and is unenforceable. The only exception is a recorded agreement between claimant and owner extending credit; even then, the action must be filed within 90 days after the credit expires and no later than one year after completion.

Public works: stop payment notices and bonds

Liens do not attach to public property, so public works use other tools:

• Preliminary notice: before giving a stop payment notice or claiming against a payment bond, a claimant must give preliminary notice to the public entity and to the direct contractor it works for, unless a statute says otherwise; laborers are exempt (§ 9300).
• Stop payment notice: it is effective only if given within 30 days after a notice of completion, acceptance or cessation is recorded, or within 90 days after cessation or completion if none is recorded (§ 9356).
• Payment bond: a direct contractor awarded a public works contract over $25,000 must give a payment bond before work begins, and the public entity must say so in its call for bids (§ 9550).
• Bond action: a claimant may sue on the bond any time after it stops providing work, but no later than six months after the stop payment notice period ends (§ 9558).

A checklist

1. Serve the preliminary notice within 20 days of first work, on every job.
2. Track whether the owner records a notice of completion or cessation.
3. Record the claim of lien within your window: 90 days after completion at most, and 30 (subs) or 60 (direct contractors) days after a recorded notice.
4. File suit within 90 days of recording.
5. On public work, give the stop payment notice within 30 or 90 days, and sue on the bond within six months after that period.

The statutes are linked below. Our California lien and stop payment guide collects them in one place, and the license guide explains why an unlicensed contractor cannot use these remedies for work that needs a license.