You Did the Work.Here's How to Keep the Right to Get Paid in California.
California law is strict. You have exactly 20 days from first furnishing labor or materials to protect your right to get paid.
•THE RULE: You must file a Preliminary Notice within 20 days of commencing work.
—THE RISK: If you file late, you permanently forfeit your lien rights for any work done prior to the 20 days preceding the notice.
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.
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.
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."
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.
File before you leave the job site.
Takes 2 minutes. Costs $24.99. File before the deadline does the damage.
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