The California Preliminary Notice Covers Up To 20 Days Back
By Dave Barnier
#1 of the Top 10 Misconceptions about Mechanic's Liens
A California preliminary notice must be served within twenty days of the claimant first providing labor and/or materials and/or equipment etc. (benefit) to the project - otherwise, the claimant loses his entire mechanic's lien rights
Not true! That's a huge misconception!
A mechanic's lien claimant (this would be the subcontractor, supplier, or service provider) should serve his California preliminary notice on the reputed property owner, reputed lender, etc. within 20 days of his start date.
His start date is the date that he first provides benefit to the project. The preliminary notice can also be served before the job starts.
But all is not lost if the deadline date is missed!
"If he misses the 20-day deadline and serves his California preliminary notice more than 20 days after his start
date, the claimant does not lose his entire mechanic's lien rights."
He still has mechanic's lien rights for all the labor/materials/equipment/etc. that he's provided from the date 20 days prior to the date that he served the Preliminary Notice, forward - because a preliminary notice covers 20 days back from the date the preliminary notice form is served.
The date of service is determined by the date that the preliminary notice is mailed so, the preliminary notice covers 20 days back from the date the preliminary notice is mailed or served.
"So, even if you miss the 20-day 'deadline', still serve the California preliminary notice to protect the balance of your lien rights."
The California preliminary notice must be served by certified mail, and the green card receipts must be retained to show proof of delivery (or proof that delivery was attempted but refused by the recipient).
In addition, there's no such thing as a Preliminary Notice being served too early.
Because the preliminary notice covers 20 days back from the date it is served, it can be served as soon as the contract has been signed, it does not have to wait until the job has been started.
 |
Preliminary Lien Notices / Pre-Liens Word and PDF versions
Construction-Business-Forms.com |
The estimate and the identity of the owner must be reasonably investigated by the claimant prior to serving the Preliminary Notice, but once the Preliminary Notice is served, the claimant need not revise his estimate nor serve a new owner that he learns about after serving his Preliminary Notice, even if the notice was served prior to starting the job.
--
Thank you to Dave Barnier for the above information. :) Mr. Barnier is a practicing litigation attorney in San Diego CA and can be reached at 619.682.4842.
The information in this article is based upon California law current at the time of writing and is provided for general information, only. The information provided illustrates laws and legal principals in general. Any information or analysis presented in this article is intended solely to educate the reader on general issues. A comprehensive review of facts, documents, and applicable laws is always required before any attorney can competently provide any legal advice regarding any particular situation. In short: Please do not rely on any part of this article when analyzing any specific situation affecting you or your business.
Bookmark me!
Bookmark my site and let me help you with your construction project management - together we'll crush the chaos of contracting!
Be sure to subscribe to my free newsletter to stay updated on happenings here at the site, updates to the downloadable construction forms, and ongoing news in the construction world.
Thank you for visiting and have a great day!
Diane
Article Series: Preliminary Lien Law
Preliminary Notices and Conflicting Addresses
If the address on the Grant Deed is
different than the address on the prelim information given to us by the
General Contractor, who do we send it to?
Nevada Notice of Right to Lien & Request for Notice of Completion
The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How - not necessarily in that order :o)
The California Preliminary Notice Covers Up to 20 Days Back
Just because you missed the deadline doesn't mean that all is lost!
Preliminary Lien Notice Research
A preliminary lien notice won't do you any good if they don't go to the correct entities.
Who Do You Send It To?
Who is supposed to get your preliminary lien notice?
California preliminary notice, Supplier didn't do one...
Unfortunately, a prelim is required to file a lien, even if you're a supplier.
Preliminary Liens Deadlines Are Not To Be Missed
It's bad to miss the deadline, so bad that it'll cost you at least some of your lien rights.
Arizona Preliminary Liens
Arizona requires preliminary liens prior to mechanic's liens.
Who Do You Send Your Arizona Preliminary liens to?
Send your Arizona Preliminary Liens to these entities.
|
California 20-Day Preliminary Lien Notices
Construction-Business-Forms.com |
Don't Get Stiffed Working In Arizona
Don't get stiffed - An Arizona preliminary notice can help protect against that
General Contractor Was Paid But He Won't Pay Sub
What should you do? Do you still have lien rights?
California mechanic's lien laws, preliminary notices, and change orders
Do you have to do a preliminary notice for change orders?
California Preliminary Notice & Architectural Fees
I am an architect who is having difficulty with the final payment of fees...
No Preliminary Lien and the Owner Won't Pay
You didn't do a preliminary notice and now the {friggin'} Owner won't pay up
When a Preliminary Lien Notice is Refused
Did someone refuse your preliminary lien notice?
Protect your lien rights
Preliminary liens allow you to file "real" liens
Preliminary Liens and Arizona Deadlines
Don't miss the deadline for the Arizona preliminary liens
Preliminary Liens When There's More Than One Location
The potential ramifications of using one preliminary notice for several locations when they're all under the same contract
|
California 20-Day Preliminary Lien Notice
Construction-Business-Forms.com |
Preliminary Notices and Dollar Amounts
Make sure the $ amount on the prelim is as accurate as possible
Preliminary Liens and Non-Responsibility
Why you should serve the owner with a prelim even if he posts a notice of non-responsibility
Preliminary Notices and Signatures
Can the signature on a preliminary notice be a copy/fax or must it be 'wet'/original?
Amending a Preliminary Lien Notice
Is it better to amend the notice, or issue a new one?
Preliminary Liens Protect Lien Rights
Brief information about preliminary liens protecting lien rights
Who Gets a Copy of the Preliminary Liens
Where to send the preliminary liens
|
California 20-Day Preliminary Notices
Construction-Business-Forms.com |
Preliminary Liens Required Information - Wisconsin Primes and Generals
Information that a prime/general/direct contractor's lien notice must contain
Preliminary Liens Required Information - Wisconsin Subcontractors
Information that a subcontractor's lien notice must contain
Serving the Wrong Party
When working in Arizona be sure to timely serve the preliminary notice *to the correct parties* or there could be trouble
Preliminary Liens
A primer on preliminary liens
Getting 'Stiffed' on the Job
Preliminary liens can help save you from being 'stiffed' on the job!
Property Records are your Friend
Research property records when doing your preliminary notices
Outsourcing your Preliminary Liens
Thoughts about using a company that handles your preliminary notices for you
Preliminary Liens - a detailed, step-by-step outline
A detailed step-by-step explanation of how to process preliminary notices
Preliminary Liens
Tracking the paperwork, the proof of service, and the USPS documents for prelims
|
California 20-Day Preliminary Lien Notices
Construction-Business-Forms.com |
Preliminary Liens and Notifying the Correct Parties
Make sure your prelims go to the correct entities
Mishandling of, or Not Processing, Preliminary Liens
Mishandling of, or not processing, preliminary liens is one of the top 10 mistakes contractors make
At one time the California preliminary notice form was mandated by California to be titled "20-Day
Preliminary Notice Form" (exactly, word for word). The California mandate has since changed and
the form is now known as the "Preliminary Notice Form" (again, exactly, word for word). Make sure what your state requires and make sure your forms are valid.
Make ANY Form Fillable!
Now, you can fill in any form on your computer - even if it's not fillable, EVEN IF IT'S just a hard copy!
Scan your hard-copy document into your computer/phone/tablet & upload it to PDFFiller to make it fillable.
You can also do this with PDF documents that aren't yet fillable; upload them to PDFFiller to make them fillable.
You'll be able to use your newly fillable forms over and over again, as often as you wish.
Recent Articles
-
All About Getting Started as a Commercial Real Estate Developer
Sep 13, 22 11:12 AM
How to get started as a commercial real estate developer -
Ensure Your Construction Business Remains in Good Financial Standing
Sep 06, 22 11:11 AM
Learn how to keep your construction business in good financial standing -
Monitor Your Website Performance
Jul 28, 22 05:28 PM
Monitor Your Website Performance for Serious Business Growth
Partner Websites
Lots of articles & info at the 1st construction website, started in 1999
---
You can Download Construction Forms at the 2nd website
---
More articles & info at the 3rd website
---
You're here at the 4th website
Free Newsletter, Free Bonus Downloads, Free Updates To Your Purchased Forms!
Back to the top of this page: California Preliminary Notice and 20 Days
Back to the home page: Construction Project Management
All articles are the opinions of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of other persons involved with this website. Nothing on my websites is to be considered legal advice. Everything is written from "in the trenches" experience.
Please contact an attorney for specific legal and/or other advice.
Your use of my websites is your acknowledgment and agreement to this policy.
By Diane Dennis, Copyright © 2000-2023 Monk and DBug, LLC - All Rights Reserved
Psst: Look Who's Shacking Up Together - Click Here!
New! Comments
Please leave me your comments below. Facebook doesn't notify me of comments but I'm tickled when I come across them and I always respond when I see them.