A preliminary notice for a mechanics lien must be served within how many days after first furnishing labor or materials to a project?
Correct Answer
B) 20 days
California Civil Code requires preliminary notices to be served within 20 days after first furnishing labor, services, equipment, or materials to the work of improvement.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
California Civil Code requires that a preliminary notice (also called a 20-day preliminary notice) be served within 20 days after a claimant first furnishes labor, services, equipment, or materials. Serving this notice is a prerequisite to later recording a mechanics lien — missing the 20-day window can extinguish lien rights for work performed before the notice.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: 30 days
30 days is incorrect. The preliminary notice must be served within 20 days, not 30. Confusing this with other 30-day periods (e.g., stop payment notice timing) is a common error.
Option C: 15 days
15 days is too short. While some states use shorter windows, California's preliminary notice window is specifically 20 days.
Option D: 10 days
10 days is too short. No California lien-related preliminary notice requires only 10 days.
Memory Technique
20-day preliminary notice = 'first 20 days on the job.' Think of it as announcing your presence on the project within the first 20 days. After the job ends, you have 90 days to record the actual lien. Two different deadlines, two different purposes.
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A contractor completes $8,500 worth of kitchen remodeling work on March 15th. The homeowner disputes $2,000 of the charges. Under California prompt payment law, when must the undisputed portion be paid?
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