Frequently Asked Questions

You lose your lien rights for everything billed before you served the notice. You can still serve it late but you can only lien for work performed after the date it was served. The earlier you serve it, the more you are protected.

A lien waiver is a document you sign in exchange for payment confirming you won't file a lien for the amount paid. In California, specific statutory forms are required — using the wrong one makes it unenforceable.

Four. California Civil Code §§8132–8138 defines exactly which form applies to each situation:

1. Conditional Waiver on Progress Payment (§8132) — send with a progress invoice before payment clears
2. Unconditional Waiver on Progress Payment (§8134) — send after a progress payment has cleared
3. Conditional Waiver on Final Payment (§8136) — send with your final invoice before the last payment clears
4. Unconditional Waiver on Final Payment (§8138) — send after the final payment has fully cleared

nøliens picks the right one automatically based on your invoice.

A conditional waiver only takes effect when payment actually clears. An unconditional waiver is immediate — the moment you sign it your lien rights are waived whether you've been paid or not. Never sign an unconditional before the check clears.

nøliens uses AI to read your invoices, identify the payment type, generate the correct waiver, and send it for e-signature automatically. If your accounting software is connected, you don’t lift a finger.

QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and any software that sends invoices by email. If you can CC an email address on your invoice, nøliens can read it.

No. You can upload an invoice or enter your job details manually and download a CA-compliant waiver PDF without signing up.

You need an account to file and send via certified mail. Creating one takes about two minutes.

Free for your first 3 projects. No credit card required to start. See noliens.co/pricing for current plan details.

When you create a project in NøLiens, we ask for your first date of furnishing — the day you first showed up on the job or made your first delivery. From that date we calculate your 20-day preliminary notice deadline automatically.

You get:

• A deadline counter on every project showing how many days you have left to serve the notice
• An email reminder at 15 days and again at 18 days if the notice has not been sent yet
• A red warning on the project if the deadline has passed and no notice is on file
• Quick notice filing from your project data — nøliens prefills your notice so you can review and send it fast

If you are already past the 20-day window, NøLiens will still help you serve the notice. You just need to understand that your lien rights only cover work performed from the date of service going forward — not before.

Yes. Every preliminary notice goes out via USPS Certified Mail with tracking and return receipt. We keep proof of delivery on file for as long as your account is active and within its plan limits. We also email you every document so you always have a backup.

Every notice includes delivery details so no one can claim they never got it.

We verify project details against public records so your notices match how lenders and owners see the job.

Currently yes. California has some of the most complex lien laws in the country and we built specifically for CA Civil Code. Other states are on the roadmap.

Yes. NøLiens gives the GC tools to request, track, and collect waivers from every sub and supplier in the chain so nothing falls through the cracks and the chain is never broken.

No. When you request a waiver from a sub, they receive a simple link to review and e-sign. No account, no app, no friction. It works like email.

Yes. All data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We do not sell your data or share it with third parties.

Go to noliens.co, drop a permit address or forward an invoice, and nøliens does the rest. No friction. No appointment. No credit card.

Levelset® (now part of Procore) and Handle™ are well-known names in construction compliance. They paved the way and we respect what they built.

NøLiens is different in a few key ways:

• California-first. Every form, deadline, and workflow follows CA Civil Code exactly.
• No gatekeeping. No demos, no sales calls, no onboarding appointments — drop a permit and see the product working in two minutes.
• Transparent pricing. Designed for small to mid-size contractors, not enterprise procurement teams.
• AI-powered. We read your invoices and generate the correct lien waiver automatically, so you spend less time on paperwork and more time on the job.

Levelset® is a registered trademark of Procore Technologies, Inc. (Reg. No. 5,838,420). Handle™ is a trademark of Handle, Inc. NøLiens is not affiliated with or endorsed by either company.