Merced County Recorder Mechanics Lien Filing

You can file your mechanics lien at the Merced County Recorder’s Office located at:

Merced County
2222 M St., Main Floor
Merced, CA 95340

If you need more information, you can call them at (209) 385-7627.

The Merced County Recorder’s Office does not publicly disclose information on their recording backlog but you can give them a call at (209) 385-7627 to check on their backlog or how long recording your document might take.

If the project is located in Merced county, then yes, you will want to record your lien with the Merced County Recorder’s office.

Documents submitted for recording must meet certain basic requirements. The Merced County Recorder’s recording requirements are as follows:

1. The document must be photographically reproducible and contain proper information.

2. The document should name the person requesting the recording. Names must be printed or typed under all signatures and business names.

3. The property must be located in Merced County.

4. The document should have a name and address of where the document should be sent after recording.

5. Documents affecting title to real property must have proper notary acknowledgment.

All documents must comply with the 8.5″ x 11″ standard paper size.

You may create a cart of documents that may be printed and submitted by mail with payment to the Merced County Clerk-Recorder’s Office, 2222 M Street, Merced, CA 95340.

The Merced County Recorder’s regular recording fee is $14.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page or fraction of a page.

Penalty: $3.00 per page that is not 8.5″ x 11″

Indexing Fee: $1.00 for each reference to a previously recorded document, other than the first such reference, requiring additional indexing

$1.00 for each group of 10 names or fraction thereof after the initial group of 10 names
Penalty Print (9 lines per vertical inch or 22 characters per inch horizontally): $1.00

Release of State, County, or City Liens Fee: $12.00

To request a copy of your lien in person, you can visit the Merced County Recorder’s Office during normal business hours at:

2222 M Street
Merced, CA 95340

The following information must be provided in order to obtain copies of recorded documents:

1. Type of document
2. The document number (book and page number if document has one)
3. The recording year
4. Name of at least one of the parties named in the document
5. Name and address of the person or agency to whom the copies are to be returned

You may search your property records using the Merced County Clerk-Recorder’s Office Grantor/Grantee index. Note that you can only use the index for online searches of property documents recorded since 1963. Official records filed prior to 1963 must be searched in person at the Merced office. These document are public records and are available in the Clerk-Recorder’s office during normal business hours.

One of the Merced County Recorder’s Office recording requirements is that the property must be located in Merced County.

Determining whether you do or do not have a mechanics lien right can be tricky. Generally speaking, every state gives those who have furnished labor and/or materials to a construction project the right to file a mechanics lien if unpaid for the furnishing. The same is true in California. However, there are some state-specific limitations as to who is qualified to file a mechanics lien that is important when considering whether you have the right to file a mechanics lien in Merced County, CA.

Great and detailed information about this is available on our California Mechanics Lien Resources Page.

The fee to file a California Preliminary Notice in Merced County is $25.00.