Sacramento County Recorder Mechanics Lien Filing

You can file your mechanics lien in person at any of The Sacramento County Clerk Recorder’s three office locations below:

Downtown Sacramento
600 8th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
(916) 874-6334 ​

Same-Day Document Recording
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 3:00 pm

Note that documents deposited after 3:00 p.m. are recorded the next business day.

County Service Center – East
5229 Hazel Avenue, Suite B
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
Monday – Friday
9:00 am – 4:00 pm​
(916) 874-6334

Note that same-day document recording is not available at this location. Documents are accepted for recording within 2 business days. ​​

County Service Center – South
8239 E. Stockton Boulevard, Suite A
Sacramento, CA 95828
Monday – Friday
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
(916) 874-6334 (Map)

Note that same-day document recording is not available at this location. Documents are accepted for recording within 2 business days.

The Sacramento County Clerk Recorder does not publicly disclose information on recording backlog. However, note that only the Recorder’s Downtown Sacramento office does same-day document recording. In the two other locations, documents are accepted for recording within 2 business days. ​​

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

Documents submitted for recording must meet certain basic requirements. The Sacramento County Clerk Recorder’s rules for recorded documents are as follows:

1. Original Signature : Requires original signature(s) on all instruments, papers, or notices presented for recording except as otherwise provided by law.

2. Document Titles​: All documents must have the title or titles of the document contained herein. Only that title or titles captioned on the first page of a document immediately below the space reserved for the recorder will be indexed.​

All documents must comply with the 8 1/2″ x 11″ standard paper size and not to exceed 8 1/2″ x 14″.​

The first page of all documents presented for recording must conform to the following requirements:

At least the top 2 1/2 inches of the first page shall be reserved for recording information.

The left 3 1/2 inches of this space shall be used by the public to show the name of the person requesting recording and the name and address to which the document is to be returned following recording.

All documents submitted for recording shall have at least a 1/2 inch margin on the two vertical sides except in the space reserved for recording information.

Title or titles shall be captioned on the first page of a document immediately below the space reserved for the recorder.

If the document being presented for recording does not comply with this format, an additional fee will be charged.

The Sacrament County Clerk Recorder’s acceptable forms of payment may vary depending upon how services are provided.

1. In-person.

Fees for transactions conducted in-person at one of the Recorder’s office locations may be paid by:

— cash
— check
— money order
— debit card†
— VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express

Note that recording fees for documents presented at the East or South service center, or after 3:00 p.m. at the Downtown office, must be paid by cash or check.

A service fee of $2.50 per transaction ($1,000 limit) applies to all in-person credit or debit card transactions.

You can visit any of the following office locations:

Downtown Sacramento
600 8th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
(916) 874-6334

County Service Center – East
5229 Hazel Avenue, Suite B
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
Monday – Friday
9:00 am – 4:00 pm​
(916) 874-6334

Extended Hours for Limited Services
4th Thursday of the month
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
– Certified birth/death/marriage record copies
– By-appointment-only marriage licenses and wedding ceremonies
​​
County Service Center – South
8239 E. Stockton Boulevard, Suite A
Sacramento, CA 95828
Monday – Friday
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
(916) 874-6334

2. Mail, fax, and online orders

Fees for mail, fax, and online orders may be paid by:

— Check
— money order
— VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express‡

Note that a processing fee of $6.00 applies to credit card transactions for mail, fax, and online orders.

Checks and money orders should be made payable to the “Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder.”

Note that the Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder accepts personal checks (pre-printed with the customer’s complete name and address), cashier’s checks, certified checks, traveler’s checks, but not starter checks, unnumbered checks, and non-personalized checks.

The Sacramento County Clerk Recorder’s basic recording fee is $95.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page.

Additions to basic recording fees

Non-conforming fee: a $3.00 fee will be charged for each page of the document that is not 8 1/2″ x 11″. Maximum size recordable is 8 1/2″ x 14″.

Indexing fee: a $1.00 indexing fee will be charged for each group of 10 names (or fraction after the initial 10 names)

For documents requiring additional indexing, a fee of $1.00 will be charged for each additional reference

Penalty Print (for more than 9 lines per vertical inch or 22 characters per horizontal inch): $1.00 will be charged per page.

Copy Fees

Recorded documents copy: $12.00 for the first page and $2.00 for each subsequent page.

Certification per document: $1.00

Self-service, uncertified copy (may be purchased in-person): $1.00 per page.

Conformed (Accomodation) copy: Free

To obtain a recorded copy of your lien, you can choose one of the following options:

1. Mail or fax a completed order form. Utilize the online index to find book and page numbers.

2. Visit one of Sacramento County Clerk Recorder’s office locations.

Downtown Sacramento
600 8th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 5:00 pm
(916) 874-6334 ​

Same-Day Document Recording
Monday – Friday
8:00 am – 3:00 pm

Documents deposited after 3:00 p.m. are recorded the next business day.

County Service Center – East
5229 Hazel Avenue, Suite B
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
Monday – Friday
9:00 am – 4:00 pm​
(916) 874-6334

Note: Same-day document recording is not available at this location.
Documents are accepted for recording within 2 business days. ​​

County Service Center – South
8239 E. Stockton Boulevard, Suite A
Sacramento, CA 95828
Monday – Friday
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
(916) 874-6334 (Map)

3. By Telephone (916) 874-6334.

The fee for a certified copy is $13.00 for the first page and $2.00 for each additional page. The fee for a non-certified copy is $12.00 for the first page and $2.00 for each additional page.

You can search the Sacramento County Clerk Recorder’s online index of recorded documents. The index allows you to search for documents recorded in Sacramento County since 1849. Note that you will not be able to view the actual document.​

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 Sacramento County, California.

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

The fee to file a California Preliminary Notice in Sacramento County is $29.00.