California Lien Search

Where tax and property liens are recorded, and how to ask for a sourced report.

California Lien Search

Property Liens

Quick answer. A property lien search uses the county recorder or clerk where the land is, under the owner name and the legal description or parcel. A California lien search might be a county recorder search, a Secretary of State UCC or state-tax-lien row, or an FTB question. A bizfile “active” status does not clear any of those.

Official office

California Secretary of State, Business Programs Division entity index

Open the official search

Phone: (916) 653-6814

1500 11th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Public search is online. Phone support is offered on business days.

Steps

  1. Pick recorder, SOS, or FTB

    Land, central tax lien, or a tax account. Say which.

  2. Open bizfile UCC only for central filings

    Use the file-type filter.

  3. Search the county for the property

    Address and owner. Read later releases.

  4. Do not compute lien deadlines

    California mechanic’s lien timing is statutory. Cite the instrument and send the reader to the code.

Property liens live in the land records

Mortgages, mechanic’s liens, abstracts of judgment, and many tax liens against real estate are in that office. The secretary of state UCC index is the wrong book.

Search the current owner and prior owners if the question is what encumbers the parcel. A name-only search misses a lien indexed under a former spelling.

Name the California office before you search

Mechanic’s liens and deeds of trust sit in county land records. The Secretary of State’s UCC system also holds certain judgment liens, attachment liens, and state and federal tax liens that statutes file there. Filter the type. FTB lien payoff and release status belong to FTB, not to a stale notice amount.

County pages link the recorder or clerk we have on file. Search the owner and the parcel. A false mechanic’s lien has statutory consequences. We do not advise whether a filing was false.

Common mistakes

  • Using entity status as a lien clear.
  • Missing the SOS tax-lien file type.
  • Searching the wrong county.
  • Treating a notice amount as a payoff.

Questions

Where do I search a California property lien?

At the county recorder where the land is.

What is an FTB tax lien?

A Franchise Tax Board claim for state tax. It is not the Secretary of State status flag.

Are mechanic’s liens in bizfile?

No. They are recorded against the real property in the county.

Sources reviewed