Legal Question in Construction Law in California

There is no law on when you must give releases, but the customer is allowed to require conditional lien releases in exchange for each progress payment and for each final payment to each sub, and is entitled to unconditional releases promptly after the payments clear the bank, although if conditional releases are given and the payments clear, the unconditional releases are really redundant. Owners who know their rights (and contractors who keep on top of their paperwork) require conditional releases from subs with each progress payment request, so that the job is released up to the amount paid automatically each time each payment clears.