Lien Deadline Calculator
Miss a lien deadline by a day and the right is gone — not reduced, gone. The dates are not hard math; what’s hard is that every state counts from a different event, tiers the rules by who you signed with, and buries all of it in a statute nobody reads until it’s too late.
Enter the job below. You get your deadlines — preliminary notice, lien filing, and the enforcement clock — each with the statute it came from, a calendar file with reminders, and a one-page job sheet that pairs the deadlines with the job-start compliance checklist. Every rule here was read in the state’s own published code. States we have not verified yet say “not covered yet” instead of guessing.
Deadline math, not legal advice. Lien rules have exceptions — confirm your dates with a construction attorney before you rely on them.
Your company profile
Enter this once. It stays in this browser — we never see it — and it pre-fills the job tools on this site so you are not typing the same facts on every job.
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General information and deadline math only — not legal advice. Lien rules have exceptions; confirm your dates with a construction attorney before you rely on them.
This job's compliance pack
Two things protect you on a job: the deadlines above, and this paperwork done at the start instead of the end. This is the starter-kit checklist, pointed at this job — you run it; nothing here certifies anything. The full kit (expiration tracker and the chase scripts) lives on the Sub Compliance Starter Kit page.
The calendar holds every deadline that computed to an exact date, each with reminders 7 days and 1 day ahead. A deadline that needs a date you did not enter cannot go on a calendar — it is on the printed job sheet instead. Deadline math, not legal advice.
Coverage, honestly
Every rule in this calculator was read in the state's own published code, with the citation on each result. States still being verified say so:
- California — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Texas — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Florida — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- New York — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Arizona — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Nevada — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Washington — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Oregon — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Colorado — not covered yet
- Illinois — not covered yet
- Georgia — not covered yet
- North Carolina — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Pennsylvania — not covered yet
- Ohio — covered · rules checked as of November 1, 2026
- Virginia — not covered yet
General information and deadline math only — not legal advice. Lien rules have exceptions; confirm your dates with a construction attorney before you rely on them.
CSLB license renewal
The company-level deadline. A California license that lapses means work performed while it is expired counts as unlicensed — and CSLB is clear that renewing on time is your responsibility even if their renewal form never reaches you. Put your expiration date in once; take the calendar reminders with you.
Reminders land 90, 60, and 30 days before expiration, plus one on the day. CSLB says it mails a renewal application about 60 days out — if it has not arrived within 45 days of expiration, that is on you to chase, not a defense.
What renewal costs right now
| Sole owner | Non-sole owner | |
|---|---|---|
| Active, on time | $450 | $700 |
| Active, late (delinquent) | $675 | $1,050 |
| Inactive, on time | $300 | $500 |
| Inactive, late | $450 | $750 |
C-10 (electrical) licenses add $20 to the active fees. An expired license can still be renewed within five years of expiration; a completed renewal received within 90 days of expiration can be reinstated retroactively (SB 1474) — after that, the gap counts as unlicensed time. Online renewal is for single-qualifier licenses and adds a 2.99% card fee.
Fees and rules read on cslb.ca.gov — List of All CSLB Fees and CSLB General Renewal Information — checked November 1, 2026.
Deadline math, not legal advice — confirm your exact date with CSLB. Fees change; the CSLB fee page above is the source of truth, not this page.
Questions from the field
Is this legal advice? Deadline math, not legal advice. Lien rules have exceptions — confirm your dates with a construction attorney before you rely on them.
Which states does the calculator cover? California, Texas, Florida, New York, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, and Ohio are covered — every rule was read in the state’s own published code, with the citation on each result. Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are not covered yet. Only states whose rules we verified against the statute itself are live — we will not guess at a lien deadline.
What do I get for each job? Your deadlines — preliminary notice, lien filing, and the enforcement clock — each with the statute it came from, a calendar file with reminders 7 days and 1 day ahead, and a one-page job sheet that pairs the deadlines with the job-start compliance checklist.
What happens if a California license lapses? Work performed while it is expired counts as unlicensed — and CSLB is clear that renewing on time is your responsibility even if their renewal form never reaches you. An expired license can still be renewed within five years of expiration.
Want us to look at your shop?
The free tools cover the leaks most shops share. The free Snapshot is the one-on-one version: 15 free minutes with our team to pressure-test what you found and map your next step. No pressure either way — you leave with a short list you can act on yourself.
Book Your Free Snapshot — book your free 15-minute call first, then answer a few quick questions, so the call itself is spent on your shop, not on background.