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HomeFood and Agricultural CodeDiv. 20Ch. 12Art. 5§ 57537 Lien Release After Payment

§ 57537 Lien Release After Payment

Food and Agricultural Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 57537 Lien Release After Payment

Key Takeaways

  • •If someone pays off their debt and the lien holder hasn't provided materials for 30 days, the lien holder must send a paper saying they no longer have a claim on the property when asked.
  • •If the lien holder doesn't send this paper within 10 days after being asked, they have to pay for any real problems this causes, and if they did it on purpose, they also pay a $100 fine.
  • •The office that keeps these papers will mark the cancellation paper with the date and time it was filed and keep it under the debtor's name and the original lien number.
  • •The office can throw away the original papers after they have a copy on film or after one year if they don’t have a copy.

Example

A farmer buys feed on credit, and the feed store puts a lien on the farmer's equipment. The farmer pays off the debt and asks the feed store to send a paper saying the lien is over.

The feed store has 10 days to send this paper. If they don’t, and the farmer can’t sell his equipment because of this, the feed store has to pay for any money the farmer lost. If the feed store ignored the request on purpose, they also pay a $100 fine.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 57537 Lien Release After Payment

(a) When a lien claimant receives payment for the total amounts secured by the lien and the lien claimant has not provided feed for materials for a period of 30 consecutive days, the lien claimant shall, on written demand by the debtor, send the debtor a statement that he or she no longer claims a security interest under the statement, which shall be identified by the date, names of parties thereto, and file number. If the affected lienholder of record fails to send the termination statement within 10 days after proper demand therefor, he or she is liable to the debtor for actual damages suffered by the debtor by reason of this failure, and, if the failure is in bad faith, for a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100). (b) The filing officer shall mark each termination statement with the date and time of filing and shall index the statement under the name of the lien debtor and under the file number of the original lien. If the filing officer has a microfilm or other photographic record of the lien and related filings, he or she may remove and destroy the originals from the files at any time after receipt of the termination statement. If the filing officer does not have the record, he or she may remove and destroy the originals from the files at any time after one year after receipt of the termination statement. (Added by Stats. 1990, Ch. 1502, Sec. 1.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

statementterminationdamagespropertylienclaimpenaltysecurity

Related Statutes

  • § 57414 Lien Release After Payment
  • § 57587 Lien Termination Statement Requirements
  • § 57535 Lien Notice To Secured Creditors
  • § 57585 Lien Enforcement Notice Requirements
  • § 57512 Lien Perfection Filing Requirements

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Food and Agricultural Code. Section 57537.
View Official Source