California Forms

San Diego County Notice of Mechanics Lien Form

San Diego County Notice of Mechanics Lien Form

San Diego County Notice of Mechanics Lien Form

Fill in the blank Notice of Mechanics Lien form formatted to comply with all California recording and content requirements.

Document Last Validated 10/15/2024
San Diego County Notice of Mechanics Lien Guide

San Diego County Notice of Mechanics Lien Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Document Last Validated 8/4/2025
San Diego County Completed Example of the Notice of Mechanics Lien Document

San Diego County Completed Example of the Notice of Mechanics Lien Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.

Document Last Validated 7/7/2025

All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees

Immediate Download • Secure Checkout

Important: Your property must be located in San Diego County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

Where to Record Your Documents

San Diego Clerk/Recorder Main Office
Address:
County Administration Center - 1600 Pacific Highway, Suite 260
San Diego, California 92101

Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Phone: (619) 236-3771, 238-8158; (760) 630-1219 North County

Mail to: San Diego Assessor/Recorder/Clerk
Address:
P.O. Box 121750
San Diego, California 92112-1750

Hours: N/A

Phone: mailing address

El Cajon Branch Office
Address:
200 S Magnolia Ave
El Cajon, California 92020

Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Phone: (619) 238-8158 or (619) 236-3771 Assessor

San Marcos Branch Office
Address:
141 E Carmel St
San Marcos, California 92078

Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Phone: (619) 238-8158 or (760) 630-1219 North County

Chula Vista Branch Office
Address:
590 3rd Ave.
Chula Vista, California 91910

Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.

Phone: (619) 238-8158

Recording Tips for San Diego County:
  • Bring your driver's license or state-issued photo ID
  • Both spouses typically need to sign if property is jointly owned
  • Leave recording info boxes blank - the office fills these

Cities and Jurisdictions in San Diego County

Properties in any of these areas use San Diego County forms:

  • Alpine
  • Bonita
  • Bonsall
  • Borrego Springs
  • Boulevard
  • Camp Pendleton
  • Campo
  • Cardiff By The Sea
  • Carlsbad
  • Chula Vista
  • Coronado
  • Del Mar
  • Descanso
  • Dulzura
  • El Cajon
  • Encinitas
  • Escondido
  • Fallbrook
  • Guatay
  • Imperial Beach
  • Jacumba
  • Jamul
  • Julian
  • La Jolla
  • La Mesa
  • Lakeside
  • Lemon Grove
  • Lincoln Acres
  • Mount Laguna
  • National City
  • Oceanside
  • Pala
  • Palomar Mountain
  • Pauma Valley
  • Pine Valley
  • Potrero
  • Poway
  • Ramona
  • Ranchita
  • Rancho Santa Fe
  • San Diego
  • San Luis Rey
  • San Marcos
  • San Ysidro
  • Santa Ysabel
  • Santee
  • Solana Beach
  • Spring Valley
  • Tecate
  • Valley Center
  • Vista
  • Warner Springs

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for San Diego County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The San Diego County forms will be in your account ready to download to your computer. An account is created for you during checkout if you don't have one. Forms are NOT emailed.

Are these forms guaranteed to be recordable in San Diego County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed all formatting requirements set forth by San Diego County including margin requirements, content requirements, font and font size requirements.

Can I reuse these forms?

Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in San Diego County you only need to order once.

What do I need to use these forms?

The forms are PDFs that you fill out on your computer. You'll need Adobe Reader (free software that most computers already have). You do NOT enter your property information online - you download the blank forms and complete them privately on your own computer.

Are there any recurring fees?

No. This is a one-time purchase. Nothing to cancel, no memberships, no recurring fees.

How much does it cost to record in San Diego County?

Recording fees in San Diego County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (619) 236-3771, 238-8158; (760) 630-1219 North County for current fees.

Questions answered? Let's get started!

Mechanic's liens are an available remedy in the state of California for unpaid direct contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, equipment lessors, laborers, design professionals, and any person providing work authorized for a site improvement (Civ. Code 8400).

To file a mechanic's lien in California, a claimant must have served preliminary notice to the property owner in accordance with Civ. Code 8410. In general, all work must have ceased before filing a claim of lien.

A direct contractor cannot enforce a lien unless a claim of lien is filed within 90 days after completion of work, or within 60 days after the owner records a notice of completion (Civ. Code 8412). A claimant other than a direct contractor may not enforce a lien unless the claimant records a claim of lien after it has ceased to provide work, or before the earlier of the following times: Ninety days after completion of the work of improvement, or thirty days after the owner records a notice of completion or cessation (Civ. Code 8414).

The law requires strict compliance with the statute in drafting and serving a mechanic's lien since it is an impediment on the owner's title that can affect his or her property rights. Once filed, a mechanic's lien can interfere with the owner's ability to sell the property or obtain financing.

The claim of mechanic's lien must be filed as a written statement, signed and verified by the claimant, containing a statement of the claimant's demand after all just credits and offsets; the name of the owner or reputed owner; a general description of the work furnished by the claimant; the name of the person by whom the claimant was employed or to whom the claimant furnished work; a description of the site sufficient for identification; and the claimant's address (Civ. Code 8416).

In addition to the claim of lien, a statutory statement of notice of mechanic's lien must be included in the document (Civ. 8416(a)(8)). As evidence that the claim of mechanic's lien has been properly served on the owner, the person serving a copy of it must also complete and sign a proof of service affidavit (Civ. 8416(c)(1)). California law also allows that if the owner cannot be served a manner provided by Civ. Code 8416(c)(1), the notice may be served on the direct contractor or construction lender (Civ. 8416(c)(2)).

As a claimant, be careful about the amount claimed in a mechanic's lien. Exercise good faith in the claimed amount without any exaggeration or inflation. Any mistakes or attempts to "fluff up" the amount can be detrimental to any lien right. You might even be liable for damages to the property owner in a lawsuit for a false claim of mechanic's lien. The amount cannot include any attorney's fees, lost profits, or delay damages. These may be recoverable, however, if your lien later transforms into a legal action. You are entitled to claim interest though, which is measured from the date on which the amount became due.

Once a lien is in place, a claimant has an enormous bargaining chip to induce payment by the property owner. However, obtaining a lien alone will not always guarantee payment. In California, a mechanic's lien is only effective for ninety days and will expire thereafter (Civ. Code 8460). Therefore, you must file an action in court to enforce the lien. For those wary of going to court, less adversarial options such as arbitration may be available.

Even if you correctly record you mechanic's lien by following all the required steps and ensuring the accuracy of all your filings, be aware that others may have preexisting claims. Creditors' claims are governed by the golden rule of priority of "first in time, first in right." Recall the old proverb, "The early bird gets the worm," because the same situation applies here. If a senior lien claimant seeks to enforce his or her claim first, your lien becomes junior to that claim. Therefore, when property is ordered sold to pay out a judgment and the senior claimant is paid, the amount remaining after sale might not be enough to satisfy what you were originally owed.

Additionally, it may even be split on a pro rata basis between you and other claimants. You're not completely out of luck, but it will be more difficult to collect the remainder. Your remedy will be through a deficiency judgment against the property owner for any amount that the sale of the property won't cover. Furthermore, even if you properly record before others, some types of property interests will have a "super priority" over yours, such as a construction mortgage due to the policy interest in encouraging lenders to finance construction projects. In summary, although priority cannot always be guaranteed, you should be diligent to mark important dates on your calendar for sending preliminary notice and filing the claim of lien.

Finally, remember that mechanic's lien laws are complicated, and mistakes or oversights can be fatal to your lien rights. Please contact an attorney with questions about mechanic's liens, or for any other issues regarding real property in California.

Important: Your property must be located in San Diego County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Notice of Mechanics Lien meets all recording requirements specific to San Diego County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here will meet, or exceed, the San Diego County recording requirements for formatting. If there's an issue caused by our formatting, we'll make it right and refund your payment.

Save Time and Money

Get your San Diego County Notice of Mechanics Lien form done right the first time with Deeds.com Uniform Conveyancing Blanks. At Deeds.com, we understand that your time and money are valuable resources, and we don't want you to face a penalty fee or rejection imposed by a county recorder for submitting nonstandard documents. We constantly review and update our forms to meet rapidly changing state and county recording requirements for roughly 3,500 counties and local jurisdictions.

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4578 Reviews )

John B.

December 23rd, 2020

Thorough. Thanks!

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Will O.

May 2nd, 2020

Saved me so much time and $!!

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Karina C.

March 27th, 2020

The process was very convenient, fast, and efficient. I appreciated the messaging feature which provided real-time communication. I would certainly recommended this service to anyone needing it.

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Donald H.

November 5th, 2019

EXCELLENT,,super good. Quick & easy

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Paul W.

March 11th, 2022

Exceptionally easy site to navigate. Forms and related documents downloaded quickly and were helpful in completing the forms, which have already been filed with the County Registrar of Deeds. Many thanks for an extremely useful site!

Reply from Staff

We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Thank you. Have a wonderful day!

Tyrone L.

April 24th, 2025

Great time saver fast service

Reply from Staff

Your satisfaction with our services is of utmost importance to us. Thank you for letting us know how we did!

Joseph R.

August 22nd, 2025

The form and instructions were easy enough to follow if you had all the information.rnThe only drawback to the form was the length of text allowed for the name of the document (#4). The form self populates in multiple locations but when printed truncated the name if too many characters were used. I kept having to update the name of the document to allow for proper printing.

Reply from Staff

Your insights are invaluable to us and help us strive for better service. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

Janice W.

October 10th, 2020

So easy to follow the directions and get what you need. Simple Quick and Easy.' I am very pleased with the outcome.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Thomas W.

January 16th, 2019

easy to use, no problems except in beneficiary box. Need to make the box bigger because I have 4 beneficiaries to list. how do I enlarge the box.

Reply from Staff

Thanks for reaching out. All available space on the document is being used. As is noted in the guide, if you have information that does not fit in the available space the included exhibit page should be used.

Jacque G.

December 18th, 2019

Very helpful and easy to access.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Margaret G.

April 5th, 2022

Easy to navigate.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Tanya D.

January 1st, 2019

No review provided.

Keith L.

March 15th, 2019

Great to have a downloadable form, rather than a cloud solution that gives no guarantee of privacy. Appreciated the sample.......but all of that still left me with open issues about how to tweak the form to serve my particular needs......for example: how to ensure that survivor rights were properly characterized; how far back I should go with the "Source" section + how I should layer my own additions to the chain of ownership, etc. Nonetheless, an overall happy experience. Thank you for your help

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Joseph E.

January 15th, 2023

At first I didn't trust all the 5 star reviews. So, I contacted lawyers to check their prices. The price being well over one hundred dollars made my mind up. I gave it a go, the form isn't hard and the directions are easy to follow. 5/5

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!

Brenn C.

April 11th, 2022

These products would be more useful if they final deed could be copied and pasted into a word document for proper formatting. Because most of the document is protected against selecting and copying, I did not find it useful. I would not purchase again.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback. We really appreciate it. Have a great day!