When a lien provided for in this chapter shall have attached to a leasehold estate, forfeiture of such estate shall not impair any lien as to material, appurtenances and fixtures located thereon and to which such lien has attached prior to forfeiture. If a lien provided for in this chapter attaches to an equitable interest or to a legal interest contingent upon the happening of a condition subsequent, failure of such interest to ripen into legal title or such condition subsequent to be fulfilled, shall not impair any such lien as to material, appurtenances and fixtures located thereon and to which said lien had attached prior to such failure.
§ 1203.55.Forfeiture of Estate; Failure of Equitable Or Contingent Interest to Ripen Into Legal Interest
Title 4. Of the Enforcement of Liens · Chapter 2.5. Oil and Gas Liens · Enacted 1959 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1203.55 preserves a lien on materials, appurtenances, and fixtures that already attached to a leasehold estate even if that estate is later forfeited, or if an equitable or contingent legal interest the lien attached to never ripens into full title.
Full Text of § 1203.55
Plain-English Summary
Leasehold interests in oil and gas operations aren't always secure — they can be forfeited for breach of the lease, or they can be equitable interests, or legal interests contingent on some future condition. This section makes sure a lien claimant who already did the work isn't wiped out when that underlying interest later falls apart.
If the leasehold estate is forfeited after a lien has attached, the forfeiture doesn't impair the lien as to material, appurtenances, and fixtures already covered before the forfeiture. And if the lien attached to an equitable interest, or to a legal interest contingent on some condition being met, the later failure of that interest to become full legal title — or the condition failing to happen — doesn't impair the lien either, again as to whatever it had already attached to.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to my lien if the leasehold I worked on is later forfeited?
Section 1203.55 protects the lien as to material, appurtenances, and fixtures the lien had already attached to before the forfeiture.
Does it matter if the interest my lien attached to was only equitable or contingent?
No. The lien survives even if that equitable interest never becomes legal title, or the condition the interest depended on never happens.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1959, Ch. 2020.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: oil and gas lien forfeiture protection california