Legislators for the state of CALIFORNIA have enacted Senate Bill (SB) 2, Chapter 2.5 of the Statues of 2017 that will in effect increase by $75 the cost to record CALIFORNIA Mechanics Liens and Releases in all fifty-eight (58) counties in CALIFORNIA effective January 1, 2018. This is addition to the Real Estate Fraud Prosecution Trust Fund Fees that range from $3.00 – $10.00 in certain counties PLUS each counties respective recording fees that range from $9.00 – $28.00.

According to Jaime T. Pailma, Division Manager, Document Recording Division for Los Angeles County’s Registrar-Recorder/Clerk’s Office, “….the bill imposes a mandate on County Recorders to charge an additional $75 at the time of recording every real estate instrument, paper, or notice required or permitted by law to be recorded, except those expressly exempted from payment of recording fees, per each transaction per parcel of real property, not to exceed $225.”

The Nevada County Clerk Recorder-Registrar of Voters, Gregory J. Diaz, notes that a waiver of the $75 fee “….shall not be imposed on any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded in connection with a transfer subject to the imposition of a documentary transfer tax as defined in Section 11911 of the Revenue and Taxation Code or on any real estate instrument, paper, or notice recorded with a transfer of real property that is a residential dwelling to an owner-occupier.”

For a listing of CALIFORNIA County Recorders with addresses and phone numbers to contact about the new law and price increase, you can visit our listing by counties at TraditionSoftware.com/county-assessors-clerks-recorders/california/.

Effective January 1, 2015, pursuant to Senate Bill 1050, all CALIFORNIA county Recorder’s Offices will require the Notary Consumer Disclosure. This bill requires a legible notice at the top in an enclosed box, stating that the Acknowledgment, or or Jurat verifies only the identity of the individual who signed the document to which the acknowledgment, or jurat is attached, and not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of the document.

Documents such as a Mechanics Lien or Release of Mechanics Lien where the person appeared before a notary or other officer on or after January 1, 2015 must have this disclosure or will be rejected. Documents acknowledged before January 1, 2015 will be accepted for recording and must meet current applicable statue.

PreLien2Lien will have this new notary text change incorporated into the 18.12.01 version, slated to be released after Thanksgiving.

Those unable to personally deliver Mechanic’s Liens to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s Office may be surprised by the long turn-around-time. Currently, it takes 4-6 weeks from the time the Lien is received until it is recorded. Additionally, it takes another 4-6 weeks for them to mail the original paperwork back to you, and neither the Lien document nor the Indexing Information are available on the web.

On the bright side, a Conforming Copy of the original document can be sent to you within 2 weeks after recordation. Conforming Copies are non-certified copies on a lien that have all of the indexing information: Document number, date & time of recording, etc. There is no extra fee if you include an additional copy of the notice and an additional Self Addressed Stamped Envelope. Be sure to indicate that you are requesting a Conforming Copy.

For more information about all California County Recorders, click here.

Once a CALIFORNIA Mechanics Lien is recorded, as Claimant you are required to file suit to foreclose on the lien within ninety (90) days from date the CALIFORNIA Mechanics Lien was recorded. This deadline can be extended for up to a total of one (1) year with the consent of all legal parties by filing a CALIFORNIA Notice Of Credit for extension.