Los Angeles County Preliminary Notice Form
Last validated May 19, 2026 by our Forms Development Team
Los Angeles County Preliminary Notice Form
Fill in the blank Preliminary Notice form formatted to comply with all California recording and content requirements.
Los Angeles County Preliminary Notice Guide
Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.
Los Angeles County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document
Example of a properly completed form for reference.
All 3 documents above included • One-time purchase • No recurring fees
Immediate Download • Secure Checkout
Additional California and Los Angeles County documents included at no extra charge:
Where to Record Your Documents
Registrar-Recorder /County Clerk Headquarters /Mailing Address
Norwalk, California 90650
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00 to 5:00
Phone: (800) 201-8999
Lancaster Recording Office
Lancaster, California 93534
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 to 3:30
Phone: (661) 945-6446
LAX / Courthouse
Los Angeles, California 90045
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 to 3:30
Phone: (310) 727-6142
Van Nuys Recording Office
Van Nuys, California 91401
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 to 3:30
Phone: (818) 374-7176
Recording Tips for Los Angeles County:
- Ask if they accept credit cards - many offices are cash/check only
- Check that your notary's commission hasn't expired
- Request a receipt showing your recording numbers
- Check margin requirements - usually 1-2 inches at top
Cities and Jurisdictions in Los Angeles County
Properties in any of these areas use Los Angeles County forms:
- Acton
- Agoura Hills
- Alhambra
- Altadena
- Arcadia
- Artesia
- Avalon
- Azusa
- Baldwin Park
- Bell
- Bell Gardens
- Bellflower
- Beverly Hills
- Burbank
- Calabasas
- Canoga Park
- Canyon Country
- Carson
- Castaic
- Cerritos
- Chatsworth
- City Of Industry
- Claremont
- Compton
- Covina
- Culver City
- Diamond Bar
- Downey
- Duarte
- El Monte
- El Segundo
- Encino
- Gardena
- Glendale
- Glendora
- Granada Hills
- Hacienda Heights
- Harbor City
- Hawaiian Gardens
- Hawthorne
- Hermosa Beach
- Huntington Park
- Inglewood
- La Canada Flintridge
- La Crescenta
- La Mirada
- La Puente
- La Verne
- Lake Hughes
- Lakewood
- Lancaster
- Lawndale
- Littlerock
- Llano
- Lomita
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Lynwood
- Malibu
- Manhattan Beach
- Marina Del Rey
- Maywood
- Mission Hills
- Monrovia
- Montebello
- Monterey Park
- Montrose
- Mount Wilson
- Mt Baldy
- Newhall
- North Hills
- North Hollywood
- Northridge
- Norwalk
- Pacific Palisades
- Pacoima
- Palmdale
- Palos Verdes Peninsula
- Panorama City
- Paramount
- Pasadena
- Pearblossom
- Pico Rivera
- Playa Del Rey
- Pomona
- Porter Ranch
- Rancho Palos Verdes
- Redondo Beach
- Reseda
- Rosemead
- Rowland Heights
- San Dimas
- San Fernando
- San Gabriel
- San Marino
- San Pedro
- Santa Clarita
- Santa Fe Springs
- Santa Monica
- Sherman Oaks
- Sierra Madre
- Signal Hill
- South El Monte
- South Gate
- South Pasadena
- Stevenson Ranch
- Studio City
- Sun Valley
- Sunland
- Sylmar
- Tarzana
- Temple City
- Toluca Lake
- Topanga
- Torrance
- Tujunga
- Universal City
- Valencia
- Valley Village
- Valyermo
- Van Nuys
- Venice
- Verdugo City
- Walnut
- West Covina
- West Hills
- West Hollywood
- Whittier
- Wilmington
- Winnetka
- Woodland Hills
Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Los Angeles County
How do I get my forms?
Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County?
Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Los Angeles County, including margin requirements, font requirements, and other layout standards. This guarantee applies to formatting, not to the legal sufficiency of information entered by the user or the suitability of a form for a particular transaction.
Can I reuse these forms?
Yes. You can reuse the forms for your personal use. For example, if you have multiple properties in Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County?
Recording fees in Los Angeles County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (800) 201-8999 for current fees.
Questions answered? Let's get started!
A claimant other than a laborer or direct contractor must serve preliminary notice under Civ. Code 8200 in order reserve the right to to claim a future mechanic's lien on a property. The notice must be served to the owner, direct contractor, and construction lender, if any.
California law requires notice to be served within 20 days of first furnishing labor, materials, services, or equipment in a work of improvement. A claimant may give late notice, but this limits the claimant's lien to only work performed within 20 days prior to giving the late notice, and work from that point forward (Civ. Code 8204).
Notices in relation to mechanic's liens must follow requirements under Civ. Code 8102, which include the names and addresses of the owners, direct contractor, and construction lender, if any, a description of the job site and job site address, and the name, address, and relationship to the parties of the claimant providing notice.
In addition to these requirements, the preliminary notice under Civ. Code 8200 requires a general description of the work provided by the potential claimant, an estimate of the total price of the work, and a verbatim notice to the property owner established by statute. If a preliminary notice is given by a subcontractor who has not paid all compensation due to a laborer, the notice also requires the name and address of all laborers to whom payment is due (Civ. Code 8202).
Pursuant to Civ. Code 8106, notice can be served by personal delivery, mail (as provided by Civ. Code 8110), or leaving a notice and mailing a copy according to the Code of Civil Procedure for service of summons in a civil action.
While this notice is typically not recorded, it may be filed with the county recorder for the limited purpose of facilitating the recorder's mailing of notices. When recorded, the preliminary notice does not constitute a recorded document and is maintained in a separate index. It does not function to provide constructive notice to third parties (Cal Civ. Code 8214).
Consult a lawyer with questions about preliminary notices, mechanic's lien laws, or any other issues related to real property in the State of California.
Important: Your property must be located in Los Angeles County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.
This Preliminary Notice meets all recording requirements specific to Los Angeles County.
Our Promise
The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Los Angeles County recording format requirements. If there is a rejection caused by our formatting, we will correct the issue or refund your payment. This guarantee applies to document formatting only and does not extend to information entered by the user, the selection of the form, or the legal effect of the completed document.
Save Time and Money
Get your Los Angeles County Preliminary Notice 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.
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December 15th, 2022
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February 2nd, 2023
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June 26th, 2020
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May 6th, 2026
Not good. The blanks on the form, supposedly especially tailored for the specific county, didn't have enough space for a document name or the doc #. I had to retype the whole doc myself.
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry the form did not provide enough room for the prior document information you needed to enter. We have canceled the order and reversed the payment. We are also reviewing the field spacing for the prior document title and recording number so we can improve the form. No further action is needed from you.
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August 10th, 2020
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May 12th, 2019
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October 11th, 2022
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September 10th, 2019
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December 29th, 2023
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