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Is the lien deadline still shortened if I send a preliminary notice but don't receive the Notice of Completion in return?

CaliforniaLien DeadlinesMechanics LienNotice of Completion

We have rarely ever received Notices of Completion at the end of a job, even when we send a preliminary notice which formally requests it. Is our timeline to file a lien still shortened to 30 days even if we don't receive a copy of the Notice of Completion? What if the property owner files a Notice of Completion but does not send us a copy and we file a lien after the 30 days but within the 90 days - is our lien still valid?

1 reply

Aug 27, 2019
Good morning! You are correct that notices of completion are fairly rare -- I'd guesstimate 10-15% of projects. And even when they are recorded and served, there is a decent chance that the notice of completion is actually invalid since there are stringent time and technical requirements that most owners do not comply with. Often times, a notice of completion is invalid because it is recorded too early. And to your question, an owner must serve all claimants that served them with a preliminary notice with a notice of the recordation of the notice of completion. If the notice of completion is invalid for any reason (e.g., a claimant who properly served a preliminary notice was not served with a notice of recordation of the notice of completion), then the claimant will have 90 days from actual completion of the project. When done correctly, however, a notice of completion can shorten your time to record a lien to 30 days from the date of recordation of the notice of completion. And because an owner can wait 10 days to mail it out to potential claimants, by the time you get it in the mail, you may only have 2 weeks to record a lien. I hope this helps! ---CN
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