Nevada County Recorder Mechanics Lien Filing

You can file your mechanic liens in person at Nevada County Clerk-Recorder’s office located at:

950 Maidu Avenue
Suite 210
Nevada City, CA 95959

Phone: 530-265-1221
Fax: 530-265-9842

Hours
Recording hours:
8:00 am to 4:00 pm

The Nevada County Clerk-Recorder does not publicly disclose information on recording backlog. Although Nevada County does not publicly disclose their backlog, you can give them a call at 530-265-1221 and see how long it would take to process your mechanics lien. Sometimes county offices are busier during a specific part of the year compared to other parts of the year.

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

The Nevada County Clerk-Recorder’s basic recording requirements are as follows:

1. Original Signature Required – GC 27201(c): Requires original signatures on all instruments, papers or notices presented for recording except as otherwise provided by law. A certified copy is also acceptable.

2. All-Purpose Acknowledgment – CC 1188 and CC 1189: Any California notary public or other officer taking acknowledgments in California must complete the California all-purpose notary acknowledgment.

3. Legibility – GC 27361.7: Documents presented for recording must be sufficiently legible to reproduce a readable photographic copy. This includes notary seals and any attachments or exhibits. State law dictates that documents that cannot be reproduced legibly must be rejected.

4. Cover Page – GC 27361.6: If the first page of the document does not have required space (see above) for the recording information, a separate page or cover sheet must be attached to the front of the document. This cover sheet must show the name of the party requesting the recording, where to mail the document after it is recorded and the title or titles of the document. Recording fees will be charged for this page.

5. Document Title – GC 27324: All documents submitted for recording must indicate the title or titles of the documents contained therein. Titles should appear on the first page, directly below the space reserved for the Recorder.

6. Additional Titles Indexed – GC 27324: The Recorder is required to index all titles shown on the first page. Additional titles may be also be identified and indexed at the discretion of the Recorder. Additional titles indexed by the Nevada County Recorder’s Office include, but are not limited to, Assignment of Rents and Assignment of Leases found in the body of the document. When a document contains more than one title to be indexed, the recording fee will increase $8 for each additional title to be indexed.

7. Recording Reference Number Required – GC 27361.6: Any document that modifies, releases or cancels the provisions of a previously recorded document must contain the recording reference number of that prior document.

Page Size: All documents must comply with 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches standard page size and no larger than 8 1/2 inches by 14 inches.

Page Margins: All documents submitted for recording must have at least a 1/2 inches margin along each vertical side. In addition, the top 2 1/2 inches of the first page or sheet must be reserved for recording information. The left 3 1/2 inches of this space is used to show the name of the party requesting the recording and where to mail the document after it is recorded.

To make payment to the Nevada County Recorder, you should make a check payable to the Nevada County Recorder for the fees due for your lien filing. 

The Nevada County Clerk-Recorder’s regular recording fee is $14.00 for the first page and $3.00 for each additional page.

Additional Recording Fees

Non-Conformance Peanlty Fee: $3.00 for each page that is not exactly 8.5″ X 11″ and does not exceed 8.5″ X 14″

Small Print Penalty: $1.00 applied to any page if the printing is spaced more than 9 Lines per vertical inch or more than 22 characters
and spaces per inch, measured horizontally for not less than 3 inches in one sentence

Indexing Fees: $1.00 per reference to a previously recorded document

$1.00 per each group of 10 names or fraction thereof, after
the initial group of 10 names, with no reference to
previously recorded document

Federal Liens & Release of Lien: $14.00

Copy Fees

Official Copy: $3.00 for the first page and $1.00 for each addition page
Certification: $1.00
Conformed Copy: $1.00 (Available at the time of recording, ONLY and
when a copy of document(s), with a self-addressed, postage paid envelope is provided.)

You can obtain a recorded copy of your lien in person, by mail or by phone.

In Person
Documents can be viewed at no charge in the Nevada County Recorders Office. A copy of a document located in the Grantor / Grantee index can be purchased in person at the Nevada County Recorders Office.

The Nevada County Clerk-Recorder’s office is located at:

950 Maidu Avenue
Suite 210
Nevada City, CA 95959

Phone: 530-265-1221
Fax: 530-265-9842

Hours
Recording hours:
8:00 am to 4:00 pm

All other Functions:
8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Monday through Friday, excluding Holidays

By Mail
To request copies, provide the document number and date of recording, along with the appropriate fees.

Make check payable to Nevada County Recorder and mail the request and check to:

Nevada County Recorders Office
950 Maidu Avenue
Nevada City, California 95959

Note that these requests are processed within 1 to 2 business days of receipt of the request.

By Phone
A credit card will be necessary to purchase copies by phone. Call the Nevada County Recorders Office at 530-265-1221 with your document number and date of recording. Note that there is an additional $7 service charge applied to the copy fees to request the copies using a credit card. The copy/copies will be mailed the day of the request.

To get the property’s legal description from the Nevada County Recorder’s Office, you can visit the office in person at the following address. Nevada County only allows for legal description access in person. Documents can be viewed at no charge in the Nevada County Recorders Office. A copy of a document located in the Grantor / Grantee index can be purchased in person. 

Nevada County Recorder Office

950 Maidu Avenue
Suite 210
Nevada City, CA 95959

Online searches for Nevada County Recorder’s office Grantor-Grantee Index of Recorded Documents Dates back to 1987. The Index of Recorded Documents prior to 1987 is available in the Recorder’s office on microfilm.

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 Nevada 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 Nevada County is $39.00.