Civ. Code, § 3319 · Article 1. Damages for Breach of Contract [[3300.] - 3322.
Civ. Code, § 3319
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) In each written contract for private works of improvement entered into on or after January 1, 1996, the contracting party and the design professional may agree to contractual provisions that include a late payment penalty, in lieu of any interest otherwise due. The terms of the late payment penalty shall be specifically set forth in the written contract.
(b) The penalty authorized pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be separate from, and in addition to, the design professionals liens provided by Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 8300) of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4, mechanics liens provided by Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 8400) of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4, and stop payment notices provided by Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 8500) of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4.
(c) None of the rights or obligations created or permitted by this section between design professionals and contracting parties shall apply to construction loan funds held by a lender pursuant to a construction loan agreement.
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Contracting party” means any person or entity entering into a written contract with a design professional for professional design services for a private work of improvement.
(2) “Design professional” means a person licensed as an architect pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, registered as a professional engineer pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or licensed as a land surveyor pursuant to Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 697, Sec. 17. (SB 189) Effective January 1, 2011. Operative July 1, 2012, by Sec. 105 of Ch. 697.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=3319.
- Text hash
- sha256 08f5c0b1fbb06d6771223c7bfbceb3888fe67900baaa9f177a8c8a8e7b9021c6
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- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, div. 3, ch. 3ArchitecturePrinted as Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, div. 3, ch. 7Professional EngineersPrinted as Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code
- Bus. & Prof. Code, div. 3, ch. 15Land SurveyorsPrinted as Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 8700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code
Civil Code
- Civ. Code, div. 4, pt. 6, tit. 2, ch. 3Design Professionals LienPrinted as Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 8300) of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4
- Civ. Code, div. 4, pt. 6, tit. 2, ch. 4Mechanics LienPrinted as Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 8400) of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4
- Civ. Code, div. 4, pt. 6, tit. 2, ch. 5Stop Payment NoticePrinted as Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 8500) of Title 2 of Part 6 of Division 4
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.