California Guide
You Did the Work.Get Paid for It — in California.
File your Preliminary Notice in 2 minutes and lock in your lien rights. Already owed and getting stonewalled? Send an attorney-vetted demand letter — certified mail, same day.
•THE RULE: You must file a Preliminary Notice within 20 days of first furnishing — your first day on site or first delivery.
—THE RISK: Serve it late and you only cover the last 20 days of deliveries — everything earlier goes unsecured.
Real Contractor. Real Loss. Real Fix.
Carlos R.
Electrical Subcontractor · Los Angeles, CA
"Missed my 20-day window once on a commercial build. Cost me $11,200. Now I file the same day I show up on site. LienFlash makes that a 2-minute job."
LienFlash · Delivered via USPS Certified Mail
The clock started when you stepped on site. See exactly where you stand.
See exactly where you stand — in 10 seconds.
Want the full breakdown? Open the dedicated California deadline calculator →
Why DIY Filing Fails
Three mistakes that void your notice
The 20-Day Window
You can file late in CA, but it only protects work done in the 20 days before mailing. You lose money for early work.
Multiple Recipients
California requires you to notify the owner, the direct contractor, AND the construction lender.
Strict Mailing Rules
It must be sent via USPS Certified, Registered, or Express Mail. Regular mail invalidates your rights.
The $280 billion mistake
This is not a small problem.
A plumbing contractor did a $40,000 job. Quality work. On time. The GC went quiet after the final invoice. By the time a lawyer looked at it, the contractor had missed his preliminary notice deadline by two weeks. No lien rights. No leverage. No recourse.
He did not lose that money because he did bad work. He lost it because nobody told him the clock was running from day one.
There are two ways that story ends better. The first is a piece of paper filed before the job even starts. The second — if you're already past that point — is a certified demand letter that puts the other side on notice: this contractor is documenting everything, and he's not going away. Either way, the contractors who get paid aren't the ones with better lawyers. They're the ones who put it in writing first.
Most contractors think a lien is what you use when a GC doesn't pay you. So they wait — for the invoice to go past due, for the ignored voicemail, until they're angry enough to do something.
But lien law doesn't work that way. The window to protect your rights opens the moment you step on site — and it closes on a hard deadline, whether you know it or not.
The contractors who never fight to get paid don't have better lawyers. They file a piece of paper before the job even starts.
"Storm season means we're running 10 jobs a week. I missed one notice on a tear-off and lost $8,500. LienFlash is my insurance policy. $24.99 is nothing compared to losing a paycheck."
Owed money right now?
Already owed and getting the runaround?
Ignored invoices. "Net 30" that turned into net 90. A GC who answered every call until the final bill came due. If that's where you are, a preliminary notice isn't the tool — a payment demand is.
LienFlash sends an attorney-vetted demand letter by USPS Certified Mail, same day. It states what you're owed, sets a deadline to pay, and creates the paper trail that changes the conversation — because a certified letter from a contractor who's documenting everything reads very differently than another unpaid invoice.
$79 flat. Preview free before anything mails. No lawyer's retainer, no waiting.
The two-minute fix
LienFlash files before you leave the job site.
Enter your job details
Property address, owner name, job amount, first day on site. We calculate your exact deadline automatically based on your state's law.
Takes 2 minutesReview your state-compliant notice
We generate the correct legal form for your state — including any verbatim statutory warning language required by law. Review it once and approve.
Takes 5 secondsWe print, mail, and track it
We send your notice via USPS Certified Mail and save your tracking number and Certificate of Mailing to your dashboard. You never stand in a post office line.
We do itWorried About the Legal Stuff?
Every template is attorney-reviewed for your state. We're not lawyers — we just make the paperwork disappear so you get paid.
You've been lucky so far.
Every job without a notice is a bet.
Eventually the bet loses.
A GC who knows you filed a notice on day one pays differently than a GC who knows you didn't. Not because of the law. Because of what the notice signals: this contractor knows their rights. That signal, sent before the first invoice, changes how fast you get paid. The contractors who never fight to get paid don't have better lawyers. They file a piece of paper before the job starts.
Miss the notice. Lose the money.