(a) Upon receiving the certificate the county recorder shall endorse upon it the time of its receipt.
§ 996.540.Filing and Recording Certificate
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 15. Enforcement Lien · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 996.540 requires the county recorder to endorse the time of receipt on the § 996.530 certificate and to file and record it the same way a notice of pendency of an action affecting real property is recorded.
Full Text of § 996.540
(b) The certificate shall be filed and recorded in the same manner as notice of the pendency of an action affecting real property.
Plain-English Summary
The recorder's role here is short but precise. Upon receiving the certificate the clerk sent under § 996.530, the recorder endorses on it the exact time it was received, a timestamp that matters because § 996.550's lien attaches from the moment of filing.
From there, the certificate is filed and recorded the same way a notice of pendency of an action, a lis pendens, affecting real property is recorded. That parallel isn't incidental: like a lis pendens, this recorded certificate puts anyone searching the county's real property records on notice of a pending claim against the defendant's property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the county recorder do when it receives the certificate?
Endorses the time of receipt on it, then files and records it.
How is the certificate recorded?
In the same manner as a notice of pendency of an action, a lis pendens, affecting real property.
Why does the time of receipt matter?
Because § 996.550's lien attaches to the defendant's real property from the moment of filing.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 998, Sec. 1.
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: recording certificate bond lien californialis pendens style bond lien