Notice of intent to lien

2026-09-04 · 5 min read

Geometric abstraction of a letter above a red downward triangle — A letter above a red triangle: the last step before recording.

A notice of intent to lien is a ten-day warning that costs a stamp. It works because the owner and the lender read it, and both of them can release money your customer cannot.

A ten-day warning with three readers

A notice of intent to lien is a letter saying a lien is being prepared. It is not filed, not recorded, and in most states not required — and it is still the single most effective piece of paper in construction collections, because of who reads it.

Your customer reads it as pressure. The owner reads it as a threat to title. The lender reads it as a reason to hold the next draw. The second and third readers are the ones who get the cheque released, which is why the notice goes to all three.

Geometric abstraction of two blocks joined by a rule — One letter, three readers, one of whom controls the money.

What it has to say

The exact amount owed, after all credits and offsets.
The property, by address and legal description.
The work furnished and the date it was last furnished.
A deadline — ten days is conventional and enough.
A plain statement that a claim of lien will be recorded.

Keep the tone flat. A notice of intent that reads as an accusation invites a defensive reply; one that reads as a procedural step invites a phone call from accounts. You are not persuading anyone — you are informing three parties of a date.

Timing, and the deadline that keeps running

A notice of intent does not extend anything. The recording window continues to run while you wait out the ten days, so send it early enough that the deadline still has room. If your recording date is inside ten days, record first and negotiate afterwards — a recorded lien is releasable, an expired one is not.

Work out the real date on the deadline calculator before you draft the letter, and count backwards from it.

Lien deadline

In California the claim of lien is due before the earlier of 90 days after completion or 30 days after a recorded notice of completion for a claimant who is not the direct contractor. Ten days of negotiation is a third of that window.

Follow through, always

Send a notice of intent only if you intend to record. A threat you do not carry out teaches the general that your paperwork is theatre, and the next letter — from you or from your lawyer — is discounted accordingly.

If the money arrives, close the loop the same day with the appropriate waiver rather than letting the file go quiet. Draft the letter with the notice of intent generator, and the claim itself with the lien form builder if it comes to that.

Geometric abstraction of three rising bars with a red tick — Ten days, then record. No third letter.

Sources

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
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
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