How to file a mechanics lien
2026-09-04 · 8 min read
Filing a mechanics lien is a sequence, and the sequence is unforgiving. Here it is in order, with the two steps that most often turn a valid claim into an unenforceable one.
The eight steps, in order
- Serve the preliminary or pre-lien notice on time — this is a precondition, not a courtesy.
- Reconcile the amount after every credit and offset. Never round up.
- Pull the legal description and the owner of record from the county assessor or the deed.
- Send a notice of intent to lien and give it ten days.
- Draft the claim of lien with the parties, property, amount and last-furnished date.
- Execute it as the state requires — verification, notarisation or both.
- Record it with the county where the property sits, before the recording deadline.
- Serve the recorded lien where the state requires it, and diarise the suit deadline.
Steps one and eight are the ones that get skipped. A lien recorded without the preliminary notice can be attacked on that basis alone; a lien recorded and then forgotten expires on the suit deadline and takes the claim with it.
Step one decides everything after it
California states it plainly: before recording a lien claim, giving a stop payment notice, or asserting a claim against a payment bond, a claimant must give preliminary notice to the owner, the direct contractor and the construction lender. Compliance is a necessary prerequisite to validity. A laborer is exempt; almost nobody else is.
The 20-day rule is a sliding window rather than a cliff — a late notice preserves work furnished in the 20 days before service and everything after. Serve one on every job on the day you mobilise, using the preliminary notice generator, and the question never arises.
Getting the amount right
The claim is for the amount owed after all just credits and offsets. Padding it with disputed extras or with interest the contract does not allow is the most common attack on an otherwise valid lien, and in several states an overstated lien carries its own penalty.
Retainage counts. If the general is holding retention that is now due, it belongs in the claim — work the figure on the retainage calculator so the number in the lien matches your own ledger.
| Item | Include? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Unpaid approved billings | Yes | Contract work, earned |
| Retainage now due | Yes | Earned and withheld |
| Approved change orders | Yes | Contract work once approved |
| Disputed extras | Usually no | Invites an overstatement attack |
| Interest and fees | Only if the contract allows | Statutes vary |
After recording
Recording is the middle of the process, not the end. Several states require the recorded lien to be served on the owner within a short window; all of them impose a deadline to bring suit. California gives 90 days from recording, after which the claim of lien expires and is unenforceable.
Most liens never reach suit — they are paid, or bonded off, or settled. Plan for the ones that do not: put the suit date in the calendar the same day you record, and instruct counsel with a month to spare.
Bonded off
An owner can transfer the lien to a surety bond. Title clears, your claim moves to the bond, and the deadlines change. Read the bond and the statute that authorises it before you assume the timetable is the same.
Sources
- Cal. Civ. Code § 8200
Before recording a lien, giving a stop payment notice or claiming against a payment bond, a California claimant must give preliminary notice to the owner, the direct contractor and the construction lender. A laborer is exempt.
Read 2026-09-04
- Cal. Civ. Code § 8204
The California preliminary notice is due no later than 20 days after the claimant first furnishes work. A late notice still works, but it reaches back only 20 days before service.
Read 2026-09-04
- Cal. Civ. Code § 8412
A California direct contractor must record its claim of lien 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.
Read 2026-09-04
- Cal. Civ. Code § 8414
A California claimant who is NOT the direct contractor must record before the earlier of 90 days after completion, or 30 days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation.
Read 2026-09-04
- Cal. Civ. Code § 8460
A California claimant must file suit to enforce the lien within 90 days of recording it, or the lien expires and is unenforceable.
Read 2026-09-04
- Tex. Prop. Code § 53.052
A Texas original contractor files its lien affidavit by the 15th day of the fourth month after the month work was completed, terminated or abandoned — the 15th day of the third month on residential projects.
Read 2026-09-04
- Tex. Prop. Code § 53.103
A Texas claimant reaches the reserved funds by sending the required notices and filing a lien affidavit no later than the 30th day after the work is completed, the contract terminated, or performance abandoned.
Read 2026-09-04
- Fla. Stat. § 713.08(5)
A Florida claim of lien may be recorded at any time during the work but not later than 90 days after the final furnishing of labor, services or materials by the lienor.
Read 2026-09-04