Mechanics lien deadlines by state

2026-09-048 min read

A blank desk calendar with three cells circled in red and one green dot — Re-read from the statutes on 2026-10-18, citation by citation.

Lien rights expire on a date set by statute. These are the dates for the states we read directly this session, each with its citation, and the events that quietly shorten them.

What we read, and what we did not

Every figure in the table below was read directly from the statute, last re-checked on 2026-10-18, and each row carries its citation. Where a state is not in the table, we did not read its statute in this session and will not print a number for it — a wrong lien deadline is worse than no lien deadline.

Two structural facts run through the table. California and Florida notice deadlines run from the day you first furnish work; Texas counts its notice from each month you worked. Recording deadlines run from the end of the work (your last furnishing, or in California the completion of the whole job) or from a recorded notice of completion, whichever falls first.

A blank calendar with four red-circled cells and one black square — A calendar grid, with the dates that are actually red.

The states we read directly

Lien deadlines read live 2026-10-18
State	Step	Deadline	Cite
California	Preliminary notice	20 days from first furnishing	Civ. Code § 8204
California	Lien — direct contractor	Earlier of 90 days after completion or 60 days after notice of completion	Civ. Code § 8412
California	Lien — everyone else	Earlier of 90 days after completion or 30 days after notice of completion	Civ. Code § 8414
California	Suit to enforce	90 days after recording	Civ. Code § 8460
Texas	Affidavit — original contractor	15th day of the 4th month after the month work ended (3rd month residential)	Prop. Code § 53.052
Texas	Notice — derivative claimant	15th day of the 3rd month after each month worked (2nd month residential), to owner and original contractor	Prop. Code § 53.056
Texas	Affidavit — subcontractor or supplier	15th day of the 4th month after the last month worked (3rd month residential)	Prop. Code § 53.052(b)-(c)
Texas	Reserved funds	Affidavit by the 30th day after completion, termination or abandonment	Prop. Code § 53.103
Florida	Notice to Owner	Before start, or within 45 days of starting	Fla. Stat. § 713.06(2)(a)
Florida	Claim of lien	Within 90 days of final furnishing	Fla. Stat. § 713.08(5)
Federal	Notice to prime (below 1st tier)	90 days from last labour or material	40 U.S.C. § 3133(b)(2)
Federal	Bond suit	No later than one year from last work	40 U.S.C. § 3133(b)(4)

Lien deadline

Texas counts to the 15th day of a later month, not a fixed number of days, so the same rule gives a different day count depending on where in the month the work ended. Count the months, check the section, and file early.

What shortens a deadline

The most dangerous event is a recorded notice of completion. In California it cuts a direct contractor to 60 days and everyone else to 30. The owner must send a copy within 10 days to the direct contractor and to anyone who served it a preliminary notice, and a notice it never sent does not shorten that person's time. Some owner-occupied homes are exempt, so if you have work outstanding on a job that looks finished, watch the county recorder as well as your inbox.

Termination and abandonment do the same thing in Texas: the affidavit clock runs from the month the work was completed, terminated or abandoned. A job that stops being a job starts the clock even though nobody declared completion.

Notice of completion recorded → California windows collapse to 60 / 30 days.
Contract terminated → Texas clock starts from that month.
Work abandoned → same, in Texas.
Punch list and warranty work → usually does NOT extend the last-furnished date.

Using the table without getting burned

Take the earliest date the table gives you for your state and your tier, subtract two weeks, and put that in the calendar as the day you file. Recording offices close, notaries are unavailable, and legal descriptions take longer to pull than anyone expects.

Then diarise the suit date the same day you record. California's 90-day enforcement window is the one that quietly kills otherwise valid claims. Run your own dates through the deadline calculator and print the result.

A blank calendar with two red-circled cells joined by a red string — Filing date, then suit date, both in the calendar.

Sources

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 2026-10-18
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 2026-10-18
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 2026-10-18
Cal. Civ. Code § 8190 (Wayback snapshot 2025-05-01; live site blocks automated reads)
An owner that records a notice of completion or cessation must give a copy within 10 days to the direct contractor and to every claimant that gave it preliminary notice. If it does not, the notice does not shorten that person's time to record a claim of lien. Owner-occupants of certain residential property are excluded.
Read 2026-10-18
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 2026-10-18
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. A subcontractor or supplier files by the 15th day of the fourth month after the last month it furnished work (third month on residential projects).
Read 2026-10-18
Tex. Prop. Code § 53.056
A Texas claimant who is not the original contractor must send a notice of claim for unpaid labor or materials to the owner and the original contractor for the lien to be valid, by the 15th day of the third month after the month the labor or materials were provided (the second month on residential projects).
Read 2026-10-18
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 earliest of the date the work is completed, the original contract is terminated, or the original contractor abandons performance.
Read 2026-10-18
Fla. Stat. § 713.06(2)(a)
A Florida lienor not in privity with the owner must serve the Notice to Owner before commencing, or not later than 45 days after commencing, to furnish labor, services or materials.
Read 2026-10-18
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 2026-10-18
40 U.S.C. § 3133(b)(2)
A claimant with a contract with a subcontractor but none with the prime must give the prime written notice within 90 days of its last labor or material, stating the amount claimed and who it was furnished to.
Read 2026-10-18
40 U.S.C. § 3133(b)(4)
A Miller Act bond action must be brought no later than one year after the day the claimant last performed labor or supplied material.
Read 2026-10-18