Legal Question in Construction Law in California

No contractor who does not have a license can make use of any of the mechanics lien or stop notice procedures for collecting payment for work. In fact, any contractor who does not have a license can even be sued and forced to return any payments they have received. If a subcontractor records a lien, he must first give the owner what is commonly referred to as a "20-day Notice," because it must be given within 20 days of starting work or delivering materials to the project. In that notice the subcontractor must tell the owner who the contractor is that the subcontractor is working for. That is not always the general contractor, though. Sometimes a subcontractor to the general contractor will sub-subcontract part of the work, such as when an interior finish subcontractor, sub-subcontracts the kitchen cabinet work to a specialty cabinet fabrication and installation shop. As for the rest of your question, I can't figure out any way it makes sense. How can a general contractor, who by definition must have a contract with the owner, hide who he is? He can't have a contract out of thin air with an owner who doesn't even know who he is.

An unlicensed contractor cannot record a lien notice and cannot sue for payment. A licensed subcontractor or a supplier of materials, etc. can record a lien for what they themselves are owed for work done, materials furnished, etc., and their 20-day preliminary notices must give the name and address of the party who hired or bought from them, which may be the general contractor, but these subs and materials suppliers cannot act as collection agents for the illegal contractor. Since your question discusses an "authority/government body," I assume this is a public works contract. How he ever got the contract in the first place without holding a license is a mystery; most public contracts are awarded too carefully for that .... was there some fraud in the bidding process? I don't know the likely outcome but I'd say the contractor will be contacted somehow and asked a bunch of questions.