No order expunging a notice of pendency of action shall be effective, nor shall it be recorded in the office of any county recorder, until the time within which a petition for writ of mandate may be filed pursuant to Section 405.39 has expired. No order expunging a notice of pendency of action shall be effective, nor shall it be recorded in the office of any county recorder, after a petition for writ of mandate has been timely filed pursuant to Section 405.39, until the proceeding commenced by the petition is finally adjudicated. This section imposes no duty on the county recorder to determine whether the requirements of this section or of any order expunging a notice of pendency of action have been met.
§ 405.35.When Order Effective and Recorded
Title 4.5. Recording Notice of Certain Actions · Chapter 3. Expungement and Other Relief · Enacted 1992 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 405.35 bars an expungement order from taking effect or being recorded until the time to petition for a writ of mandate under Section 405.39 has run, or, if a timely petition is filed, until that proceeding is finally decided, and it places no duty on the recorder to verify compliance.
Full Text of § 405.35
Plain-English Summary
Winning a motion to expunge is not the last step. Section 405.35 builds in a waiting period: no expungement order becomes effective, and none may be recorded in any county recorder's office, until the window to file a petition for writ of mandate under § 405.39 has expired.
If a party does file a timely petition, the order stays ineffective and unrecordable until the writ proceeding is finally adjudicated -- preserving the status quo while the reviewing court considers the expungement decision. The section closes with a practical point: the county recorder has no independent duty to check whether these conditions, or the terms of the expungement order itself, have been met before recording.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon does an order expunging a lis pendens take effect?
Under § 405.35, it does not take effect, and cannot be recorded, until the time to petition for a writ of mandate under § 405.39 has expired.
Does filing a writ petition delay an expungement order from taking effect?
Yes. Section 405.35 keeps the order ineffective and unrecordable until the writ proceeding is finally adjudicated if a timely petition is filed.
Does the county recorder have to verify that an expungement order is ready to record?
No. Section 405.35 places no duty on the recorder to determine whether the statute's requirements or the order's own terms have been met.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1992, Ch. 883, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 1993.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: when is lis pendens expungement order finalwrit of mandate stay expungement order