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Enter your dates to estimate the three deadlines that protect your right to get paid. Miss one and you can lose your lien rights, so don't leave it to memory.
Estimate only. Not legal advice. California lien deadlines have exceptions (multiple completions, cessation, bonded jobs, public works, and deadlines that fall on a weekend/holiday roll to the next business day). Miss one and you can lose your lien rights entirely. Confirm every date with a construction attorney before relying on it.
The three dates that matter
1. Preliminary 20-day notice. Almost everyone except a direct contractor with a direct contract must serve this within 20 days of first furnishing to preserve full lien rights (Civ. Code § 8200, § 8204).
2. Record the mechanics lien. The clock depends on whether the owner records a Notice of Completion or Cessation, 60 days for a direct contractor, 30 days for subs/suppliers from that recording, or 90 days after completion if no notice is recorded (§§ 8412–8414).
3. Foreclose. Recording a lien isn't the finish line. You have 90 days from recording to file suit to enforce it (§ 8460), or it lapses.
Bullwork's compliance tracking flags these dates per project so it helps you avoid missing a preliminary-notice or lien deadline.
Questions
The 20-day preliminary notice must generally be served within 20 days of first furnishing labor or materials (Civil Code § 8204). Serve it late and you only protect amounts furnished in the 20 days before notice, so earlier is always safer.
If a Notice of Completion or Cessation is recorded, a direct contractor has 60 days and everyone else (subs/suppliers) has 30 days from that recording. If no notice is recorded, everyone has 90 days after completion of the work of improvement (Civil Code §§ 8412–8414).
You must file a lawsuit to foreclose within 90 days of recording the mechanics lien (Civil Code § 8460). Miss it and the lien generally becomes unenforceable.
Generally a deadline that falls on a weekend or holiday rolls to the next business day, but exceptions and project-specific facts apply. Always confirm a real deadline with a construction attorney.
Bullwork tracks lien and compliance deadlines per project, so getting paid isn't left to a sticky note.
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