When your judgment lien was recorded in the Official Records of your county, it remained on the record for a period of 7 years. At the end of those 7 years, a certified copy of your judgment needed to be re-recorded, along with an affidavit containing your current address. Each time you recorded your judgment it was for a period of 7 years, and could have been re-recorded every 7 years up to 20 years. The re-recording would have to be done within the 90-day period immediately preceding the expiration of the lien. If your lien was still current and a title search was done on the property prior to the sale, the title company would locate the lien information, verify that the lien was valid and notify the seller. The sale could not have taken place until your lien was satisfied. Because your lien was not re-recorded, your lien was not considered to be valid. As a result, you were not notified and sent the money due you. Beginning July 1, 2001, the effective time period was extended from 7 to 10 years before a judgment must be re-recorded. The total effective period will still be no longer than 20 years.
Any judgment recorded prior to July 1, 1987 will not be affected by this change.