A material supplier delivered $25,000 worth of lumber to a job site on January 10th. The project was completed on February 15th, and no notice of completion was recorded. What is the supplier's deadline to file a mechanics lien?
Correct Answer
D) May 17th
When no notice of completion is recorded, suppliers have 90 days from project completion to file a lien. February 15th + 90 days = May 17th.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Under California Civil Code, when no notice of completion is recorded, material suppliers have 90 days from the date of project completion to file a mechanics lien. February 15 + 90 days = May 17th (February has 28 days in a non-leap year: 13 remaining days in Feb + 31 in March + 30 in April + 16 in May = 90 days, landing on May 17th).
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: April 15th
April 15th would be 59 days from February 15th, not 90 days. This is well short of the 90-day deadline and would cause a supplier to file prematurely or, if they waited thinking they had until April 15th, miss the actual calculation entirely.
Option B: June 14th
June 14th is 119 days from February 15th, which exceeds the 90-day window. Filing on June 14th would mean the lien rights have already expired by nearly a month, rendering the lien invalid.
Option C: May 15th
May 15th is 89 days from February 15th—one day short of the correct 90-day count. This is a close distractor designed to catch candidates who miscalculate the date math by failing to count correctly across month boundaries.
Memory Technique
No Notice of Completion = 90 days for everyone. Notice of Completion IS recorded = 30 days for subcontractors/suppliers, 60 days for direct contractors. No NOC = most time (90 days). Always count calendar days precisely.
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