Orange County Preliminary Notice Form

Last validated June 18, 2026 by our Forms Development Team

Orange County Preliminary Notice Form

Orange County Preliminary Notice Form

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

Document Last Validated 6/18/2026
Orange County Preliminary Notice Guide

Orange County Preliminary Notice Guide

Line by line guide explaining every blank on the form.

Document Last Validated 6/15/2026
Orange County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Orange County Completed Example of the Preliminary Notice Document

Example of a properly completed form for reference.

Document Last Validated 6/18/2026

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

Immediate Download • Secure Checkout

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

Where to Record Your Documents

County Administration South

Address:
601 N. Ross St.
Santa Ana, California 92701

Hours: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday

Phone: (714) 834-2500

Old Orange County Courthouse

Address:
211 West Santa Ana Blvd.
Santa Ana, California 92701

Hours: Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday

Phone: (714) 834-2500

South County Branch Office

Address:
24031 El Toro Rd, Suite 150
Santa Ana, California 92653

Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 4:30 pm / Recording until 4:00pm

Phone: (714) 834-2500

North County Branch Office

Address:
201 N Harbor Blvd
Fullerton , California 92832

Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm

Phone: (714) 834-2500

Recording Tips for Orange County:
  • Bring extra funds - fees can vary by document type and page count
  • Leave recording info boxes blank - the office fills these
  • Recording fees may differ from what's posted online - verify current rates

Cities and Jurisdictions in Orange County

Properties in any of these areas use Orange County forms:

  • Aliso Viejo
  • Anaheim
  • Atwood
  • Brea
  • Buena Park
  • Capistrano Beach
  • Corona Del Mar
  • Costa Mesa
  • Cypress
  • Dana Point
  • East Irvine
  • El Toro
  • Foothill Ranch
  • Fountain Valley
  • Fullerton
  • Garden Grove
  • Huntington Beach
  • Irvine
  • La Habra
  • La Palma
  • Ladera Ranch
  • Laguna Beach
  • Laguna Hills
  • Laguna Niguel
  • Laguna Woods
  • Lake Forest
  • Los Alamitos
  • Midway City
  • Mission Viejo
  • Newport Beach
  • Newport Coast
  • Orange
  • Placentia
  • Rancho Santa Margarita
  • San Clemente
  • San Juan Capistrano
  • Santa Ana
  • Seal Beach
  • Silverado
  • Stanton
  • Sunset Beach
  • Surfside
  • Trabuco Canyon
  • Tustin
  • Villa Park
  • Westminster
  • Yorba Linda

View Complete Recorder Office Guide

Hours, fees, requirements, and more for Orange County

How do I get my forms?

Forms are available for immediate download after payment. The Orange 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 Orange County?

Yes. Our form blanks are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable formatting requirements used for recording in Orange 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 Orange 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 Orange County?

Recording fees in Orange County vary. Contact the recorder's office at (714) 834-2500 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 Orange County to use these forms. Documents should be recorded at the office below.

This Preliminary Notice meets all recording requirements specific to Orange County.

Our Promise

The documents you receive here are guaranteed to meet or exceed the applicable Orange 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 Orange 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.

4.8 out of 5 - ( 4754 Reviews )

Debbie M.

August 21st, 2019

Everything that I needed was included. I appreciate that there was a sample as well as the step-by-step directions included in the download. I would definitely recommend this site to anyone that needs it.

Reply from Staff

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

albert C.

May 21st, 2021

thumbs up

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Lisa A.

January 3rd, 2024

I am so thankful for the time saved by using Deeds.com. Not having to run downtown and stand in line is awesome!

Reply from Staff

We are delighted to have been of service. Thank you for the positive review!

Nello P.

January 4th, 2021

very satisfied, useful, and of great assistance

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Brian S.

March 2nd, 2026

PDF fields change font sizes leading to an unprofessional-appearing printed page. The examples for "Convey to" section don't include how to specify just one person instead of a married couple. Maybe that is simple but it would help to spell it out in an example. Haven't submitted to County Recorder yet, so will find out if it is acceptable.

Reply from Staff

Thank you for the feedback Brian.

The font issue is caused by using a PDF viewer other than Adobe Acrobat Reader. Our form fields are set to a uniform 12-point font, but non-Adobe viewers often render form fields inconsistently. Opening and printing the form with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader will resolve that.

Regarding the examples, that's a fair point, we'll look at expanding them.

Lawrence R.

February 4th, 2020

Forms do not allow enough space for fields and cutoff. Need to expand the fields to allow for more writing. I ended up re-typing to be able to include full property description. Would be nice if available in Word format rather than only PDF format.

Reply from Staff

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

Jose G. C.

October 2nd, 2020

It was OK but unfortunately useless. The jurisdictions are now requesting that documents such as Notices of Commencement not only be recorded at their offices, but also certified. This last service is not provided by Deeds, or at least I could not find it in your website and did not receive a response when I asked if you did. Thus, we are going back to traditional means of recording/certifying

Reply from Staff

Thank you for your feedback Jose. We do hope that you find something more suitable to your needs elsewhere. Have a wonderful day.

Charles W.

December 26th, 2022

in one of the reviews, the person said they wished that there was more room allowed for use in the grantor section. the reply was that they were sorry but there was only enough room for what was there considering margins, etc. that is not true. on the forms i downloaded there was plenty of extra room at the top of the page (about 2 inches) that was not being used.

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Shanna B.

March 26th, 2026

So quick and easy

Reply from Staff

We’re glad you had a positive experience. Thank you.

Dawn L.

May 26th, 2022

Not totally satisfied as unable to edit as needed on signature page of the deed. I want to be able to date the document and don't want the verbage "signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of" to appear and cannot remove it. The notary will make his or her own statement below as to the date executed.

Reply from Staff

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

Celeste G.

January 23rd, 2019

Very helpful!!! Thanks again.

Reply from Staff

Thank you Celeste.

janna C.

January 11th, 2023

Great site! I found everything I needed.

Reply from Staff

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

Ted D.

August 17th, 2020

Very good/user friendly

Reply from Staff

Thank you!

Lois S.

June 8th, 2020

This website made it easy to quickly research what was recorded/released on the title of my home.

Reply from Staff

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

Kathryn M.

May 1st, 2019

Never know an online service was available for recording county documents. It was so easy and simple and FAST! Within a matter of a couple hours it's done. I would definitely recommend Deeds.com to anyone.

Reply from Staff

Thank you Kathryn, we really appreciate that.